stethoscope; with it still swinging around her neck, she turned to draw the heparin and mephine.
She knew exactly what to do, and did it with calm speed, reflecting that it would have been easier with two. She had the syringe in hand when Dr Doelsma walked in. Without a word she handed it to him, and held the limp arm rigid so that he could inject the blood vessel in the elbow. ‘Heparin,’ she said. ‘I gave morphia’—she glanced at the clock—‘two minutes ago. The mephine is drawn up.’
He nodded, jabbed the needle in, took the mephine from her and gave that too.
She gave him the stethoscope and said quietly, ‘I’ll ring Sir Charles.’ She sent her urgent message, and went back to find the doctor sitting on the edge of the bed, his mother’s hand in his.
Mevrouw Doelsma still looked very ill, but they could see now that she wasn’t going to die. Maggy wrote up the charts; Sir Charles would expect them accurate and ready for him. Dr Doelsma was using the stethoscope again; he took it off and handed it to Maggy. This time it recorded something—a poor something, but obviously the drugs were having effect. They agreed their reading, and smiled at each other; she could see how anxious his eyes were. They both stood looking down at the face on the pillow between them. It held some semblance of life again, and as they watched, the eyelids fluttered and his mother’s eyes opened. She looked at her son and then at Maggy, and a tiny smile came and went, but as she was about to speak he gave her hand a warning squeeze.
‘Don’t talk, Mama, everything’s all right. You shall have your say presently.’
She smiled again before she closed her eyes again. They stood on either side of her, patiently waiting. There was nothing very much to do now, except regular and frequent pulse and BP checks. By the time Sir Charles arrived, it was normal. He looked at the charts while he listened to Maggy’s concise, brief report. He nodded at Dr Doelsma. ‘Not much for me to do, eh, Paul? Lucky you turned up when you did.’ He spent a little time examining his patient and said, ‘She’ll do, thanks to you, Paul.’
The other man shook his head. ‘It is Sister MacFergus whom we must both thank. She did everything necessary in the most competent manner.’
Sir Charles smiled at Maggy. ‘Yes, she always does. A most reliable girl.’
The two men stood looking at her; it was a relief to find Staff Nurse at her elbow.
‘Shall I clear up here, Sister? Nurse Sims has got the ward straight—the night staff are on.’
Maggy thought a minute. ‘Nurse Sims can go now; I’ll give the report, then you can go. I’ll stay here until they can send another nurse.’
Williams said eagerly, ‘I’ll stay…’ but was interrupted by Sir Charles.
‘Will you stay here for a while, Sister? Have you a good nurse for night duty here?’
Maggy shook her head. ‘There’s a shortage of nurses, Sir Charles, it’s this gastric bug. There’s no nurse at present, but Matron will arrange for one later on, I’m sure. I’ll bide till she comes.’ She looked at Williams and saw the disappointment on her face. ‘When I come back, Staff, will you make coffee for all of us. I’m sure the doctors would like a cup.’ She was rewarded by a grateful smile as she turned to Sir Charles.
‘I’ll give the report, sir, and be back. Staff Nurse will clear up and set the room ready.’ She gave Williams the keys and slipped away, watched by the two doctors.
Paul said low-voiced, ‘When Mother goes back home to Oudehof, I want Sister MacFergus to go with her.’
Sir Charles pursed his lips and looked doubtfully at his companion, who met his gaze with a cool determined look of his own.
‘She’s a ward sister, you know.’
‘I know. Could she not have special leave for a couple of weeks or so? I’ll pay whatever fee the hospital requires. I want someone I can trust to look after Mother.’
‘Naturally. And you trust Sister MacFergus?’
‘Yes, Uncle Charles, I do.’
The older man turned away and bent over his patient. There was a faint pink in her cheeks now; her pulse was regular and much stronger. He gave Williams some instructions, and went back to Paul. ‘Very well, Paul, I’ll do my best for you. Your mother will be here for a month—you know that. I daresay something can be arranged in the meantime. But I think we will say nothing of this for the time being. Do you agree?’
Paul nodded. ‘I’d like to stay the night. I don’t need to be back in Leiden until Monday morning.’
He broke off as Maggy came back into the room. She nodded to Williams, then took off her cuffs and rolled up her sleeves.
‘Staff’s making coffee. You’ll have a cup, Sir Charles? And you, sir? It’ll be ready in my office.’
‘And you, Sister?’ It was Dr Doelsma speaking.
‘I’ll be here, sir. I’ll have mine later.’ She didn’t even look at him, but busied herself with the drip.
Williams was waiting for them, hovering over Sister’s own coffee pot, very anxious to please. There were only two chairs, so Dr Doelsma sat on the desk and drank his coffee.
‘Are you not off duty, Staff Nurse?’
Williams, the faithful Jim’s image temporarily dimmed, fluttered her eyelashes and used a dimple devastatingly.
‘Yes, sir. But the night staff haven’t time to make coffee now.’
‘And Sister?’
‘She’s off too. Oh…’she remembered…‘she’s not been to supper, and she’ll be on duty until two o’clock—there’s no one to take over before then. I must make her some sandwiches.’ She forgot all about charming the Dutch doctor in her anxiety for Sister MacFergus.
‘Sister is fortunate to have a staff nurse who takes such care of her.’ He smiled down at the pretty little creature. Something in his face made her realise suddenly that behind his rather arrogant good looks there was strength of character, as well as kindness and a concern for others; it became of paramount importance to her to win his good opinion.
‘No, we’re the lucky ones. I mean the nurses on this ward. You see, sir, Sister’s one of the nicest people any of us have ever met. Of course, we all call her Maggy behind her back, but that’s because we like her—’ She broke off and looked uncertainly at Sir Charles who called Sister MacFergus Maggy to her face.
‘A good Scottish name,’ he murmured, and got up. With a smile and a nod of thanks he went back to Sep where the ECG machine was ready by the bed. He said, ‘Right, Sister,’ and Maggy started fastening the straps very carefully and gently, leaving Dr Doelsma to connect up the leads, and then stood back, waiting for the doctors to make a recording. They had just finished when Williams came in, whispered to her, said a low goodnight, and went off duty. Maggy had hardly begun to disconnect the leads before Dr Doelsma was by her side.
‘I’ll do that, Sister. Go and have your coffee and sandwiches.’ She glanced at Sir Charles. ‘Yes, Maggy, go and sit down for ten minutes. I’ll be over presently before I go. Dr Doelsma will be staying the night; he’ll be on hand
