be a big help at the moment, but how come you happen to have so much free time on your hands? The last I heard you’d been appointed to some new government health committee. I’d have thought you would have had enough to do with that on top of your job at St Theresa’s.’
‘St Theresa’s has been undergoing a major refurbishment programme for the past two years. Obviously, we couldn’t close the whole hospital while the work was being done so we’ve had to shut each department in turn.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s our turn at the moment, so it seemed like the ideal opportunity to take some of the time I had owing to me.’
‘It won’t be much of a holiday if you end up working here,’ she pointed out.
‘Oh, I don’t know. They say that a change is as good as a rest, don’t they?’ he quipped, tipping back his chair and grinning at her.
It was the sort of smile that Grace had seen him bestow dozens of times before on some poor unsuspecting woman or other, but if Harry thought he could turn on the charm and get her to agree to his proposal, he was mistaken. Harry never did anything unless it furthered his own interests and she wasn’t about to let him fob her off with any nonsense.
‘I can’t see any point in trying to have a sensible discussion if that’s your attitude.’ She went to stand up then stopped when Harry leant across the desk. Her heart jolted when she saw how serious he looked. Normally, Harry treated life as a huge joke just there for his enjoyment and it was unsettling to see this other side of him for once.
‘I’m sorry. I know how you feel about me, Grace. I should do because you’ve always made it perfectly clear that you doubted my motives. So to answer your question properly, I happened to be in the area on business rather than on holiday. Working here for a couple of weeks won’t spoil my plans one little bit.’
He didn’t explain what sort of business had brought him all the way to Cumbria and Grace didn’t ask. What Harry did was of little interest to her, except where it impinged on her own life, of course.
‘I see. Now that your business has been concluded, you have some free time on your hands.’ Her brows rose steeply when he nodded. ‘That’s very altruistic of you, Harry. Not many people would offer to give up their time off like this.’
‘I just want to help. Miles told me about your locum leaving and what had happened to your practice nurse. You might feel that you can cope, Grace, but Miles obviously doesn’t share your confidence. Quite frankly, he sounded as though he’d reached the end of his tether last night. It’s obvious the two of you are under a tremendous amount of pressure and I think you need to take that into account before you turn me down.’
‘I don’t need you to remind me about the pressure we’re under,’ she snapped, because Harry had touched a nerve. Although she and Miles shared the responsibility of running the practice, she couldn’t ignore the fact that Miles had the added worry of Penny to contend with. Not for the first time Grace found herself thinking how fortunate she was not to have to worry about anyone else. She was single out of choice and happy with her life.
Or she was most of the time.
She wasn’t sure where that qualification had sprung from and quickly dismissed it. Thoughts like that would only clutter up her mind and that could prove disastrous when dealing with Harry. She sat down again and treated him to a look that was meant to prove she was in control of the situation. The problem was that Harry looked so worried that she couldn’t help feeling alarmed, too.
‘I’m not trying to start an argument with you, Grace. It might surprise you to learn that I didn’t come here tonight for a fight. I came because I was worried about Miles. Have you looked at him recently?’
‘Of course I have. I see him nearly every day of the week. What kind of a stupid question is that?’
‘I mean really looked at him.’ Harry sat back in his chair and regarded her thoughtfully. His blue eyes were so intent that Grace found it impossible to look away.
‘I didn’t realise there were different ways of looking at people,’ she snapped, because he was making her feel really uncomfortable now.
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear then realised what she was doing. She wasn’t going to start worrying about how she looked because of Harry. No way, not in a million years. So what if she was wearing her oldest sweater—the one with the worn patches on the elbows—and a skirt that should have been sent to the charity shop months ago? And what did it matter if her nose was shiny and her hair needed brushing? She’d worked non-stop from the moment she’d arrived that morning and she’d been far too busy to worry about her appearance. Maybe Harry had the time to choose the perfect tie to go with his perfect shirt and perfect suit, but lesser mortals didn’t.
She opened her mouth to tell Harry that only he’d carried on speaking. Grace felt a tremor work its way from the tips of her toes to her knees when she heard what he was saying. She wanted to stop him but some perverse little imp inside her refused to coperate.
‘There’s dozens of ways of looking at people. It just depends who they are and what they mean to you. It also makes a difference how long it’s been since you saw them, too.’ Harry made a steeple with his fingers and studied her over the top of the spire. ‘Take you, for instance, Grace. It must be almost a year since we last saw each other and you look very different now from what you did then. Your hair is shorter for starters and although it suits you, I have to say that I think it’s a shame you’ve had it cut because that caramel-brown colour is so unusual. You’ve also lost weight. Not a lot, granted, but you’re definitely slimmer.’
‘Thank you, Harry. I think you’ve made your point now.’
Grace brusquely cut him off. She couldn’t explain it, but the fact that Harry had noticed the changes in her appearance made her feel very odd indeed. It was as though he was seeing her as a woman for the first time and she couldn’t pretend that it didn’t make her feel extremely conscious of her own femininity all of a sudden.
‘Then you understand what I’m getting at, don’t you?’ Mercifully, Harry seemed unaware of her dilemma as he continued. ‘You see Miles every day so you probably haven’t noticed the change in him, but I was shocked when I saw him last night. To be honest, I almost didn’t recognise him at first. He looks like he’s aged five years in the past twelve months.’
‘It’s been tough for Miles this past year,’ Grace conceded. She sighed when Harry’s brows rose. She could hardly refuse to explain that comment. Anyway, it might divert his interest away from her and that would be a blessing.
‘I don’t suppose I’m betraying any confidences because Miles has never made any secret of the fact that he and Penny have been having problems,’ she said quickly, not sure why she was so sensitive all of a sudden. She and Harry had traded enough insults to sink a fleet of battleships over the years and she couldn’t imagine why she should have been so alarmed by his comments.
‘Problems. You don’t mean with their marriage, do you?’
Harry sounded so shocked by the suggestion that she looked at him in surprise. ‘Of course not. Their marriage is rock solid and they’re really happy together. Everything would be perfect, in fact, if they could just have the family they’re both longing for, but Penny’s had problems conceiving. She had a miscarriage last year so now that she’s pregnant again, Miles is taking no chances. He’s insisted that she must rest as much as possible, but that means he’s been trying to do everything himself.’
‘Not
