the surgery changed everything. How could she risk asking him for help now when she had no idea how he might react? Maybe she was doing him an injustice, but she had always suspected that he must have known why Claire had wanted to see him, and that was why he hadn’t replied to her letter.
He hadn’t wanted to face up to his responsibilities, that was what it had boiled down to. In the circumstances, she’d known all along that asking him for help was a long shot. However, it was one thing to approach a stranger with the request but another entirely to broach it to a colleague. Frankly, the situation could become intolerable if he refused. This job was important to her and she didn’t want to risk losing it…
More important to her than Hannah was? a small voice whispered.
She took a deep breath.
Nothing was more important than Hannah. Neither her job nor Adam Knight’s feelings were of any consequence weighed against that. It was Hannah who mattered. Nobody else!
Somehow Beth got through the rest of her appointments with an outward show of calm which only she knew was a sham. She cleared up after her last patient had left then took the record cards through to the office for filing.
Eileen was getting ready to go home for lunch and she smiled cheerfully at her. ‘Just leave them in the tray, dear, and I’ll do them later. It didn’t go too badly, all things considered, and now that Adam’s back, we should cope until poor Dr Wright is better.’
Beth smiled and nodded in all the right places but she wasn’t really listening. Her ears had picked up the sound of a surprisingly familiar voice. She had already prepared herself by the time Adam Knight and Chris Andrews appeared.
‘I’m going to make a start on the house calls,’ Chris informed them, poking his head round the door. ‘Adam tells me that you two have introduced yourselves, Beth, so I don’t need to go through the formalities. He’s going to take this afternoon’s antenatal clinic to save me having to race back. I might even get some lunch today so things must be looking up!’
He turned to the other man without waiting for her to answer. ‘Thanks, Adam. It’s great to have you here. I’ll leave you in Beth’s very capable hands.’
A small silence fell after Chris and Eileen left. Beth knew that Adam was still standing in the doorway but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. Should she tell him now why she had been trying to contact him or should she wait until later? They had to work together that afternoon and it could make the situation extremely difficult…
‘Did Claire ever talk about me?’
She jumped when he spoke, feeling the colour rush to her cheeks when she looked round and found him staring at her. ‘Not really,’ she replied, glad that she could be truthful because she doubted that she could have lied.
‘Then she didn’t say anything bad about me?’ He must have seen her surprise because he smiled thinly. ‘I got the distinct impression earlier that you were upset when you found out who I was. I just wondered if Claire might have said something.’
‘Should she have done?’ she countered.
‘I’ve no idea.’ He leant against the doorjamb and regarded her thoughtfully. ‘We certainly didn’t part on bad terms, not so far as I was concerned, anyway.’
‘Then you have nothing to worry about, have you?’ Beth gave him a tight little smile and went to the door, pausing when he made no attempt to get out of her way.
‘How much did your sister tell you about our relationship?’ he asked bluntly.
‘Enough.’ She met his gaze squarely, refusing to let him think that she was embarrassed in any way. ‘Naturally, she didn’t go into any detail but I know that you and Claire were lovers at one time, if that’s what you mean.’
‘I see. And how do you feel about the idea? Does it bother you?’ he replied smoothly.
‘No. How about you? Does it worry you that I know about you and Claire?’ she shot back.
‘Not at all.’ He shrugged but his gaze was intent. ‘It all happened a long time ago and it has little bearing on the present situation. There’s no reason that I know of why my relationship with your sister should get in the way of us working together. However, I have a feeling that something is troubling you, despite what you’ve just said.’
Beth looked away because she simply couldn’t stand there and meet that forceful stare any longer. Part of her wanted to tell him the truth and get it over with, whilst another part urged her to be cautious. Maybe it would be better to tread carefully until she had a better idea how he might react to her request.
‘I was just surprised when you turned up here,’ she said, choosing her words with care. ‘Claire never told me much about you so I had no idea that you were related to Dr Wright.’
‘I see. It must have been a shock for you, then,’ he said quietly.
‘It was.’ He must have heard the ring of truth in her voice because he visibly relaxed. Beth felt a flurry race along her nerves when he suddenly smiled at her. She had noticed how attractive he was when they had first met but he was devastating when he smiled like that.
‘And I’m not helping the situation by cross-examining you. Sorry. My excuse is that it was a surprise for me, too, to meet you here. Claire spoke about you many times. She was very fond of you, Beth.’
‘I was very fond of her,’ she admitted, feeling the ready tears welling into her eyes.
‘Now I’ve upset you and that was the last thing I wanted to do.’ His tone was so gentle that she had to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat before she could speak.
‘It’s not your fault. It’s been a difficult year, what with Claire’s death and…’ She stopped as she realised what she had been about to say, feeling her heart racing when she saw the way Adam was looking at her again.
‘And what? What were you going to say before you thought better of it?’ he asked in a silky tone that made her shiver with apprehension. ‘Why do I get the feeling that I’m missing something, Beth?’
‘I…I don’t know what you mean,’ she murmured, avoiding his eyes.
‘Don’t you?’ He paused, obviously giving her the chance to explain, but she knew that she wasn’t ready to do that just yet. It was too important that she didn’t make any mistakes. So much hinged on him agreeing…
Did she really think that he would agree, though? Everything she knew about him pointed to the fact that he might very well refuse. After all he hadn’t bothered to answer Claire’s letter, neither had he made any attempt to contact her in the last seven years. Were those the actions of a man who would be prepared to help?
She bit her lip in a quandary of indecision and heard him sigh. ‘I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Interrogating you?’
He smiled apologetically when she glanced at him but she could tell that he was still curious about the way she had been behaving, and was merely trying to smooth over an awkward moment.
‘It’s a rather strange situation for both of us,’ she suggested diffidently.
‘I suppose it is.’
