the cup towards him. ‘I’d offer you biscuits, but I’m afraid I haven’t been able to get to the shops yet.’
‘That’s all right. I’d say biscuits were the least of your worries.’ He looked at her as though he thought she must have been completely mad to take on a project like this. ‘How on earth are you going to manage?’
‘I’ll get by,’ she murmured. She took a sip of her tea to calm her nerves. What did he know of how the other half lived? From the looks of the expensively tailored suit he was wearing, and the car outside, he had never had to struggle for anything.
‘Wasn’t there any possibility of you going to live with your aunt—that is, assuming that her house is more habitable than this one?’
She grimaced. He wasn’t one to mince his words, was he? ‘She only has two small bedrooms, one for herself and my mother has the other one. We can’t complain. We only moved to Devon a couple of weeks ago, and it was good of her to take my mother in.’
Her mother had been adamant that they should come here. There was every possibility that Amber’s brother could be in the area, and she was desperate to get in touch with him.
She said cautiously, ‘Your father must have been devastated by the news of the fire. Does he own other properties, or is the nurses’ accommodation his only investment?’
‘He has others, locally. Yes, it’s a blow, but the insurance will cover the damage. The biggest problem is the disruption to the lives of the people who were living there.’ He looked at her over his teacup. ‘They were lucky to come out of this alive—you among them—and most of them will have lost belongings.’
‘What happened to the man whose jacket was on fire?’
‘He’s OK. He escaped without any major injury. It’s the doctor who saved him who has the problem.’
‘How badly was he hurt? I know you said he had burns to his hands, but will he recover from them? Will he be able to work again?’
‘From what I gather, he should come through this all right. It will take time for his hands to heal, though, and of course it will be some months before he’ll be able to go back to work. It was a brave thing he did, saving his friend.’
‘I didn’t know him. I sort of remember seeing him at the party, but I wasn’t sure whether he worked at the hospital—at the Castle Hill hospital.’
‘Yes, he does—or, rather, he was about to start work as a senior house officer in the A and E department. That isn’t going to happen now, of course. We’ll have to find someone to take his place.’
Amber’s eyes widened. He sounded as though he knew all about the A and E department. She said hesitantly, ‘How is it that you know the ins and outs of it? Do you work there?’
He nodded. ‘I’m the A and E consultant there.’ He looked at her searchingly. ‘You look taken aback. Is there a problem?’
‘No…’ It came out as a sort of squeak, and she tried again. ‘No. There’s no problem at all,’ she managed weakly. ‘I think I’m just overtired and things are all becoming a bit too much for me.’
She said it, but it was not the truth. The truth was she was shocked to the core to discover that he was in charge of the A and E unit. Her heart was thumping discordantly at the news, crashing about in her chest like a mad thing. Why did it have to be him, of all people? How on earth could this be happening to her?
‘You’re right, of course.’ He pushed his cup to one side. ‘Thank you for the tea. I should leave you to get to bed. Are you sure you can manage on your own now? Do you need any help?’
A bubble of hysteria welled up in her throat and she swallowed hard to suppress it. What was he suggesting…that he put her to bed? That would be one step too far as far as she was concerned.
‘I can manage, thank you,’ she said. ‘Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I do appreciate it.’
His grey eyes studied her. ‘If you’re sure?’
‘I am.’ A sudden thought occurred to her. ‘Just give me a minute to find a robe, and I’ll let you have the blanket back.’ It came to her that she should have done that some time ago, but maybe she still wasn’t thinking clearly.
She hurried up to the bedroom and put on a towelling robe. Seeing herself in the mirror for the first time in several hours, she was horrified at her reflection. Her hair was sticking out at all angles, a tousled mass of curls that had settled in chaotic disorder to frame her face and brush her shoulders, making her look like a wild thing. Added to that, there were faint streaks of soot on her forehead and along her cheekbones, and she guessed she must have run her hands along a soot-caked banister or a piece of furniture at some point. As for the nightshirt, it didn’t bear thinking about. It revealed far too much of her slender curves.
Not wanting to see any more, she turned away from the mirror and wrapped the robe firmly around herself. She hurried downstairs.
Nick was in the hallway, surveying the wrecked plasterwork with an expression of disbelief, but as she came down the stairs he turned towards her.
‘Here’s the blanket.’ She handed it to him and then saw him to the door. ‘Thanks again for all you’ve done.’
‘You’re welcome.’ He glanced at her as he left, and she could see that he didn’t quite know what to make of her. This man, of all men, thought she was a complete oddity, a partygoer, someone who was prone to taking leave of her senses, a crazy sort of woman who had bought a property that was falling down around her ears, and this was the man who was going to be her new boss in a couple of days’ time. Could things possibly get any worse?
CHAPTER TWO
‘CAN I get you anything, Mum?’ Amber gave her mother an affectionate smile. ‘Another cup of tea, or some more toast?’ The kitchen table was littered with the remains of breakfast—cereal bowls and toast rack, along with two little pots of fruit preserves, but there was still some toast left and a portion of scrambled egg in a heated serving dish.
‘Nothing, sweetheart. I’m full to the brim, thanks.’ Her mother pushed her plate away and leaned back in her chair. ‘Besides, you don’t have to wait on me. It’s enough that you managed to get here to share breakfast with us. You ought to be thinking about yourself. You start your new job today, don’t you? And you must have an awful lot on your mind. Are you ready for it—do you have everything you need?’
Amber nodded. ‘I think so. I sorted my medical bag out last night, and I put it in the car before I came here this morning. I just hope I haven’t forgotten anything essential. I don’t want to get off to a bad start.’ Her stomach was churning at the thought of coming face to face with the consultant after all that had happened the other night, but she wasn’t going to tell her mother that. It was probably better to leave her in ignorance.
‘I’m sure you’ll get on really well. You’ve been fine everywhere else you’ve worked, and they’ve been sorry to lose you, from what I heard.’
Amber’s mouth twitched. ‘Maybe. You always see the best side of everything—I think you might be just a little bit prejudiced.’
Her
