a gesture reminiscent of her Italian mother. They were opposites in temperament as well as looks—because if she was noted for her even temper then Maggie was renowned for her fiery one!
‘Typical! I might have known you’d miss it!’ Maggie declared, stepping into a pair of blue cotton uniform pants. ‘Anyway, it has to be the same guy—tall, good-looking, extremely good-looking, in fact, all sort of mean and moody, if you know what I mean?’
Meg raised her brows. ‘Mean and moody? I don’t know if that’s how I would have described him, although, on second thoughts, maybe you’re right.’
She pulled a blue cotton V-necked top over her head and smoothed it down her slim hips. ‘He certainly didn’t come across as all that welcoming when I spoke to him this morning. In fact, I got the distinct impression that Dr Trent had reservations about asking me to go on this trip.’
‘Really?’ Maggie was brushing her hair but she stopped to stare at Meg. ‘Why do you say that? I mean, you’ve loads of experience thanks to working on the surgical wards and, from what I heard him saying last night, surgery is going to play a major part on this trip. Isn’t he some sort of eye specialist?’
‘That’s right. Evidently, he works at St Augustine’s as well as being a director of the aid agency. He’s head of the ophthalmology unit there. I believe he also spends a lot of his time lecturing, both here and abroad.’
‘Busy man from the sound of it. Must make it difficult for him to find time for a private life.’ Maggie twisted her hair into a knot and pinned it in place. ‘Pity! He looked rather a dish to me, but you can’t go by appearances, can you? You tell him where to get off, Meg, if he tries giving you a hard time. To my mind, he’s lucky to have got you!’
Meg laughed as she slid her feet into a pair of comfortable rubber-soled clogs. ‘Thanks for the vote of confidence! Can I have it in writing, please, just in case I need it in the next three months?’
‘You aren’t really worried that you might?’ Maggie had been heading out of the staffroom door but she paused to look worriedly at her friend. Meg shrugged, feigning a nonchalance she wished she felt as she slipped past her friend and hurried towards the ward.
‘Not really,’ she fibbed, pushing open the swing doors and smiling at Mrs Watkins who was in the first bed. ‘As you say, I’ll soon put Jack Trent in his place.’
‘Attagirl! Good morning, Mrs Watkins. How are you today?’ Maggie asked as they both automatically stopped beside the middle-aged woman’s bed. Joan Watkins loved to chat, and all the staff made a point of stopping to have a word with her whenever they could spare the time. A widow whose grown-up children lived abroad, she had few visitors to break the monotony of her day.
She had been admitted as an emergency case, suffering from an obstruction of the colon. A temporary colostomy had been performed until she was well enough to have the blocked section removed, and all the staff had been impressed by her cheerfulness and positive attitude. Now she looked curiously at Meg.
‘Morning, girls. Who were you talking about just now? Your boyfriend, was it, love? Is he giving you a hard time, then?’
Meg chuckled wryly. ‘No, he isn’t my boyfriend! He’s someone I’m going to be working with for the next few months.’ She quickly filled Joan in on the details of her trip, smiling when the woman shuddered.
‘Oh, I don’t think I’d fancy doing that! You never know what you’ll catch, going to those sorts of places. What made you decide to apply for the job? Don’t you enjoy working here?’
‘I love it,’ Meg replied sincerely. ‘Both the work and the people I work with. I just feel that I want to try something different, use my skills to help people who so desperately need helping, and this seems the ideal way to go about it. I can work overseas for the aid agency, knowing that I still have my job here to come back to.’
‘But how about your young man—what does he think about you going to a place like that? I bet he doesn’t like the idea,’ Joan persisted, obviously not convinced it was the right thing to do.
‘I don’t have a ‘‘young man’’. Or an old one for that matter!’ Meg laughed. ‘I’m fancy-free at the moment and can do whatever I like. That’s another reason why the time is right for me to take on a job like this. I don’t have commitments at present but all that could change in a couple of years’ time. I couldn’t imagine leaving behind a husband and family while I flew off to the other side of the world to work.’
‘Well, I expect you know what you’re doing,’ Joan conceded reluctantly. ‘So when do you leave?’
‘Thursday evening,’ Meg replied, lifting Joan’s chart off the end of her bed and glancing through it.
‘And are they giving you a send-off, then?’ Joan turned to Maggie. ‘Surely you’ve got something planned to mark the occasion?’
‘We hadn’t but we soon will have! Great idea, Mrs Watkins. Why didn’t I think of it?’ Maggie shook her head as Meg opened her mouth. ‘Don’t waste your breath. I’m going to give you a send-off to remember!’
Meg groaned. ‘Why do I have the feeling that I am going to regret this?’
She did regret it! On the way to the airport late Thursday afternoon, Meg couldn’t think of anything she regretted more, in fact. She’d had only a few hours’ sleep the night before and she felt completely exhausted. Between getting ready for the trip, finishing her decorating and working till eleven the previous night it had been a hectic couple of days.
Even when she’d finished work the previous night, that hadn’t been the end of it. Maggie had rounded up a bunch of their friends and had dragged everyone off to a nightclub where she’d insisted that Meg have a glass of sparkling wine to toast her departure.
After a couple of hectic hours of dancing, Meg had pleaded tiredness as her excuse to leave, only everyone had suddenly decided that a curry would be the perfect ending to the night. Unfortunately, it seemed in imminent danger of making its reappearance so she was thankful when the taxi pulled up outside the departure terminal. Hopefully, a breath of fresh air would make her feel better…
‘Where the hell have you been? I thought I told you to be here well before we were due to fly out?’
Maybe he hadn’t really shouted but to Meg’s sensitive ears it certainly felt as though he had. She turned slowly around and stared at Jack Trent, noting almost idly how angry he looked. Why? Because she’d turned up only five minutes before the alloted time? Or because she’d turned up at all?
‘It is five minutes to four, Dr Trent,’ she said as coolly as she could, because that last thought had stung. ‘I wouldn’t have thought there was any cause for concern just yet.’
‘Wouldn’t you indeed? Well, that’s where you’re wrong, Ms Andrews. As it happens, our flight has been brought forward and we’re due to leave in less than an hour’s time. So, if you wouldn’t mind getting yourself inside, we can check in your luggage.’
He turned to walk inside the building but Meg stopped him by dint of a well-placed hand on his arm. Her fingers closed around the hard biceps and even though she was annoyed she couldn’t help noticing just how very hard it was. That Jack Trent was in superb physical condition couldn’t be disputed. However, his attitude left a lot to be desired!
He
