reared up with all the finesse of a rusty spring uncoiling when he realised who she was. The woman gave him a tight little smile as he stood up and spun round, but he could see the strain on her face and knew she was worried that he was going to say something about how they had met. He took a deep breath and used it to damp down his racing pulse. In that second, he knew that neither thumbscrews nor boiling oil would make him reveal what had happened in Dalverston. Her secret was safe with him. He would never tell a soul.
Heather could feel the tension humming along her nerves and fought to control it. The only way she was going to get through the next few minutes was by staying calm. She fixed a smile to her mouth as she turned to the ward sister.
‘Mrs Jackson wants to know if Emily can go home tomorrow. I said that I’d check with you.’
‘I’d like to keep her in for at least another day.’
Heather’s gaze swivelled sideways when a male voice answered. In a fast sweep her eyes took in the rumpled dark brown hair, the tired green eyes, the firm but beard-shadowed jaw. He was taller than she remembered, his body looking lean and fit beneath the pale grey shirt he was wearing with a pair of darker grey trousers. He looked older and far more careworn than when she had seen him last and the thought bothered her. His kindness that day had been the one bright spot to come out of a very dark experience.
‘Sorry. I’d better introduce myself.’ He held out his hand, his green eyes looking straight into hers. ‘I’m Archie Carew, head of the paediatric unit. I take it that you’re one of the agency staff?’
‘I…um…that’s right,’ Heather murmured. She took his hand, feeling the jolt that ran through her as his fingers closed around hers. She wasn’t sure what was happening but all of a sudden she felt safer than she’d done for ages. There was something immensely comforting about the firm pressure of his palm against hers. She had the strangest feeling that if she held onto Archie Carew’s hand then nothing could ever hurt her.
She took a quick breath as she pulled her hand away. It was ridiculous to get carried away by such a fanciful notion. The only person she could rely on now was herself, not some man she barely knew.
‘Heather Thompson,’ she said crisply. ‘I just started working here tonight.’
‘Rather a baptism of fire,’ he replied easily. He glanced at the ward sister and raised his brows. ‘Apparently, Charlie’s mum hit Heather. I don’t know if she told you.’
‘No, she didn’t!’ Marion exclaimed. ‘You should have said something, Heather.’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Heather said quickly, because the last thing she wanted was to make a fuss. ‘The poor woman was upset and I understand that’s why it happened.’
‘It’s good of you to take it that way, but I made it clear to Mrs Maguire that we view these matters extremely seriously,’ Archie said firmly. ‘I won’t have members of staff being assaulted for any reason.’
Heather shrugged. ‘I’m sure it won’t happen again.’ She swiftly changed the subject, loath to get into an argument. ‘What should I tell Mrs Jackson? She seems very anxious about taking Emily home.’
‘I’ll have a word with her,’ Archie offered immediately. He turned to Marion and grinned. ‘I’ll have to take a rain-check on that tea and the massage, I’m afraid.’
He laughed when the sister rolled her eyes. It was obviously an ‘in’ joke and Heather couldn’t help feeling excluded as he followed her out of the office. She sighed. Being out of the loop was something she would have to get used to now that she was doing agency work. Still, the up side was that she wouldn’t have to explain herself to anyone and that more than made up for it.
They went back to the ward and Archie headed straight for Emily’s bed. He seemed to have taken it for granted that Heather would go with him so she did. He smiled at Emily’s mother when she hurriedly stood up. Heather had noticed how nervous the woman appeared to be when she’d been speaking to her and she was pleased to see that Archie was making allowances for that.
‘I believe you were asking if Emily could go home tomorrow, Mrs Jackson,’ he said gently.
‘That’s right. Her…her father is very keen to have her back at home so I said I’d ask you,’ the woman whispered, nervously plucking at the cuff of her expensive cashmere sweater.
Heather frowned when she spotted a livid bruise on the woman’s wrist. It was obviously a recent injury and it must have been painful, although Mrs Jackson appeared unaware of it.
‘I can understand that,’ Archie replied soothingly. ‘However, I think it would be better if we kept Emily here for another day or so. Her kidney function is almost back to normal but I don’t want to take any chances of her relapsing. Another couple of days will make all the difference.’
‘If you say so, Doctor,’ the woman mumbled.
She quickly gathered up her belongings, said goodbye to Emily and left. Heather smiled at the little girl when she noticed her downcast expression.
‘Mummy will be back tomorrow to see you, sweetheart. In the meantime, would you like to watch some television or maybe read a book?’
Emily’s big dark eyes fastened hopefully on her face. ‘Will you read me a story?’ she whispered, sounding exactly like her mother.
‘Of course I will!’ Heather reached over to hug her, feeling alarm run through her when the child immediately cowered away. It was obvious the little girl had been expecting a blow and there could be only one explanation for it, too.
‘I’ll go and find you a book then come straight back,’ she assured her, glancing at Archie to see if he had noticed Emily’s reaction. It was clear from his expression that he had, and that he’d drawn the same conclusion as she had done. He followed her to the dayroom and she could feel the waves of anger emanating from him.
‘You noticed it too, didn’t you?’ she said quietly, crouching down in front of the bookcase.
‘The way she cringed when you went to touch her? Yes.’ His tone was grim. ‘I had my suspicions when Emily was admitted but there was no proof that she’d been injured deliberately. The father’s explanation could very easily have been true.’
‘What did he say had happened to her?’ Heather asked, pulling out a book about Paddington Bear, a particular favourite of hers when she’d been Emily’s age.
‘He said that Emily had fallen off her scooter in the park and had hurt herself when she’d banged into a tree. The mother backed him up.’
‘I read her notes and I know she had severe bruising to her right kidney when she was admitted.’
‘That’s right. She was in a bad way when she was brought in—passing blood and in tremendous pain. Although only her right kidney had been damaged, we decided to take the strain off her left one and put her on dialysis while it recovered.’ He shook his head. ‘It’s hard to believe that any parent could do that to their own child.’
‘Has she been brought into hospital before?’ Heather asked, standing up.
‘We don’t have any notes for her here, but I’ll have a word with the social workers and
