Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to guess how much it’s worth,’ she retorted. She was still smiling as they rounded a corner on their way to the lifts and almost collided with the man who was coming in the opposite direction.
‘Oops, sorry…!’ she began then found her voice drying up when she realised that it was her ex-fiancé, Ian Patterson.
‘Hello, Beth. Fancy running into you like this,’ he said with a distinctly unpleasant smile. ‘How’s the new job going? You’re not sorry yet that you decided to leave the bright city lights behind?’
‘Not at all. I’m really enjoying working at the surgery,’ she replied stiffly. She hadn’t seen Ian for some time but the memory of what had happened between them still rankled. After Claire had died, she had taken Hannah to live with her and Ian, confident that he’d shared her desire to give the child a secure and loving home. However, it hadn’t taken her long to realise that she’d made a huge mistake.
Now she tilted her chin and stared defiantly at him. ‘Hannah is fine, by the way. I’m sure you were going to ask about her so I’ll save you the trouble.’
‘You already know my views on that subject,’ he replied bluntly. ‘If you choose to waste your life by looking after someone else’s kid then that’s your business.’
He glanced at Adam and she saw an expression of disdain cross his face as he took stock of the other man’s appearance. It was obvious when Ian turned away without uttering a word that he intended to ignore him. However, it appeared that wasn’t what Adam wanted.
‘Aren’t you going to introduce us, Beth? Never mind, I’ll do it for you. I’m Adam Knight.’ Adam held out his hand. Beth saw Ian hesitate before he reluctantly shook it.
It struck her then that she had never realised just what a snob Ian was. She had always known that he was ambitious and that his aim was to mix with the very top levels of society. She had found it rather endearing, in fact, a tiny flaw in his otherwise perfect character. However, now she could see that there was nothing endearing about the way Ian looked down on people whom he considered inferior.
‘Sorry, I didn’t catch your name?’ Adam’s tone was so courteous that she couldn’t explain the shiver that crept down her spine. She shot him a wary glance but there was nothing about the polite smile he gave Ian to confirm her suspicions that he was up to something.
‘Ian Patterson, senior registrar on the coronary care unit. Basically, it means that I’m in charge of the unit for most of the time,’ Ian stated pompously.
‘Really?’ Adam looked impressed. Beth saw Ian start to relax, confident that he was on safe ground. However, she had a horrible feeling that he was going to regret that rather large distortion of the truth. Although Ian’s position was a senior one, he was one of three registrars on the coronary care unit, and by no means the head of the team.
‘You must have to shoulder an awful lot of responsibility in a job like that,’ Adam continued in a tone that simply invited confidences. ‘It must be terribly stressful at times.’
‘I suppose it can be if you’re that type of person,’ Ian replied, positively preening under all the interest. ‘However, making life and death decisions comes easier to some than it does to others.’
‘I see. Obviously you find it easy—to make life-and-death decisions, I mean,’ Adam said mildly.
Beth bit her lip because she didn’t know whether to laugh or admonish him for the way he was leading Ian on. Couldn’t Ian see that he was being led like a lamb to the slaughter? Apparently not!
‘Oh, yes. I have no difficulty at all with that. The trick is to take a dispassionate view. Unfortunately, far too many doctors get emotionally involved with the people they treat.’
Ian was getting into his stride now as he expounded his views. ‘That’s a big mistake. One needs to think of them merely as cases. That way you can do your job far more efficiently.’
‘And James feels the same as you do?’ Adam inserted smoothly.
‘James?’ Ian repeated, before he suddenly paled. ‘You know James Dickinson, the consultant on Coronary Care?’
‘Yes. Sorry, didn’t I mention it before?’ Adam laughed deeply. ‘James and I go way back. We were at Guys together as housemen. We still keep in touch. In fact, I’m hoping to get together with him in the next couple of weeks. I must remember to mention that I met you. Patterson, wasn’t it? Senior registrar?’
‘I…um. Yes. Fine. Well, if you’ll excuse me.’ Ian hurried away, still muttering.
Beth took a deep breath and somehow managed to contain her mirth until they were safely inside the lift. ‘Oh, that was wonderful! I can’t believe that you did that, Adam. I can’t believe that Ian fell for it either!’
Adam smiled as the lift whizzed them down to the ground floor. ‘Everyone needs taking down a peg or two occasionally. Some deserve it more than others.’
‘Ian definitely deserved it! I can’t understand why I never realised how pompous and self-opinionated he is,’ she admitted ruefully. The lift reached the ground floor just then so they got out and walked towards the exit.
‘People always say that love is blind. I think that can apply to character as well as appearance,’ Adam observed as they left the building and walked back to the car.
Night had drawn in now and the light had dimmed to a blue-grey opalescence. There were few people about at that hour and those they passed seemed more concerned with their own affairs. It was a moment that simply invited confidences and Beth found herself suddenly eager to pour out the whole miserable story.
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