her eye as he was cornered by a journalist from one of the national newspapers. Niall had recently published a paper on a new treatment for infertility, which was causing quite a stir. She watched him bend his head to listen to what the journalist was saying, before he threw his head back and laughed. Whatever his feelings about events like this, he would play his part. Robina knew he would never do anything to embarrass her publicly. She felt the familiar stab of regret. Once she had made him laugh like that. Robina swallowed a sigh, before turning her attention back to the presenter, who was still speaking. She was on duty, and for the time being, at least, would forget about the mockery that was her private life.
‘You want me to talk about the documentary I’m doing?’ she asked.
The presenter frowned. ‘Documentary? No, not really. People are interested in Dr Zondi the woman. Especially your new book. They know about the doctor, now they want to know what makes the woman tick.’
Robina shook her head. ‘I don’t do chat shows,’ she said dismissively.
‘Of course you do.’ Richard Christchurch laughed. ‘You have your own show every week.’
‘That’s different,’ Robina insisted. ‘That’s not about me.’
‘Isn’t it?’ Richard raised an eyebrow.
‘It’s not a chat show,’ Robina persisted. ‘It’s a chance for patients to talk about their medical problems and get some answers. And for viewers to get information. They come on and talk about how illness affects their lives and what help they have found. It’s not entertainment!’
‘Isn’t everything on TV entertainment?’ Richard continued. ‘But if, as you say, your programme is more of a public service, then you appearing on my show can only help get information to the public.’
Robina still wasn’t sure. She didn’t altogether trust Richard Christchurch as he had a reputation for taking cheap swipes at his guests. On the other hand, he was right. If she appeared on his show, it would help raise public awareness about her own show. And that was good. Wasn’t it?’
‘I’ll need to speak to my agent,’ she hedged. ‘But I don’t know if I’ll have the time. I’m in the middle of this documentary, and my own programme returns in a couple of months. And somewhere in between I have to find time to promote my latest book—at least my agent tells me I have to.’
Richard smiled. ‘Of course. It was only a thought, but I’ll get my agent to speak to yours, shall I? In the meantime, perhaps you want to discuss it with your husband?’
Discuss it with Niall? Who was he kidding? Niall was the last person she’d be discussing it with. She glanced across the room to find her husband’s eyes on her. He was too far away for her to read his expression, but as their eyes held, she felt her heart thump against her ribs. There had been a time when their eyes would have met across the room and she would have known exactly what he was thinking. That he wanted to leave, so he could make love to her. At one time, they couldn’t get enough of each other. At one time no words had been necessary.
At dinner, she and Niall were placed at different sides of the table and she was thankful that they wouldn’t have to pretend to everyone to be wrapped up in each other. Throughout the seemingly endless meal she would look up from conversations she was having with the guests on either side to find Niall’s unfathomable eyes on her. Whenever he caught her eye he would smile dutifully and she would grin back as if her heart wasn’t breaking.
After the main course, the band struck up and Niall got to his feet, came over to her side, and held out a hand to her.
‘Shall we, darling?’ he drawled. As usual he was playing the attentive husband role and if he had a sardonic look in his cool blue eyes, only Robina saw it.
Conscious of several pairs of eyes on them, she let him whirl her around the dance floor. His hand was low on her back as he guided her and she could feel his fingers on her bare skin, burning into her. The movement of the dance brought her body tight against his and she let her body melt into him, taking the opportunity to let herself believe, even for a few minutes, that they were a normal couple, still in love.
Her head only reached as far as his shoulder, and she rested her head against the rough material of his suit, breathing in the scent of soap and the faint smell of his aftershave.
‘What did Richard Christchurch want?’ he murmured into her ear, his breath like a caress.
‘He wants me to appear on his show.’ She smiled up at him, conscious that people would be watching.
‘And will you?’ He frowned. ‘Be careful, Robina. He’s a snake.’
The concern in his voice was unexpected. ‘I can look after myself,’ she responded lightly.
Niall’s answer was to pull her closer and Robina let herself relax into his arms, enjoying the feeling of his arms around her, even if it was all for show. All too soon the music ended and they returned to their seats.
The evening was almost over when Robina heard a commotion coming from the rear of the room. Looking across, she noticed several people had jumped out of their seats and were standing about in confusion.
She glanced across at Niall. The noise had attracted his attention too.
‘Someone call an ambulance.’ The voice cutting across the room was shrill, panic not far away.
Wordlessly, she and Niall were on their feet moving swiftly across the room. As the crowd parted, Robina’s heart missed a beat. On the floor lay a middle-aged man, his face grey and his lips tinged with blue. He didn’t appear to be breathing. Immediately Niall took command of the situation. Squatting beside the stricken man, he loosened his tie and felt for a pulse.
‘What happened?’ he asked the woman who had cried out.
‘Bill…my husband…he said he had indigestion earlier. He took something for it, but then all of a sudden he said the pain was getting worse and he would go to the bathroom. But when he stood he clutched his chest and just dropped to the floor.’ The woman’s teeth were chattering with shock. Niall looked at Robina.
‘No pulse. We need to start CPR.’
‘Call an ambulance,’ Robina told one of the bystanders. ‘Tell them we have a cardiac arrest.’ In the same breath she dropped to Niall’s side. Aware of the eyes of the room on her and the flash of cameras, she shut them out of her mind. First and foremost she was a doctor and this man needed their help. It had been some time since she had done any clinical practice and she was hugely relieved that Niall was with her. She knew that, as a practising clinician, he was required to keep his resus skills up to date.
He was pressing on the stricken man’s chest, counting off the beats under his breath. She waited for him to count to thirty before she bent over the stricken man and, taking a deep breath, tipped his head back and blew twice into his mouth.
The room was deathly quiet as she and Niall worked together, completely in synch as they once had been in everything. As long as they could keep blood circulating in his system until the ambulance arrived, the man had a chance. They worked silently, until after a couple of minutes the man coughed.
‘I’ve got a pulse,’ Niall said. He looked at her and grinned. Robina’s heart rate escalated further. With his help she turned Bill onto his side, into the recovery position. There
