she was very frightened about being in the hospital, and it took the nurses there a long time to calm her.’
‘Yes, it did. That’s why you’ll be with her for all the procedures that we’re going to do at the clinic. So that she’s always got a familiar face to reassure her.’
She smiled. Mercy was going to love that smile.
‘I’ll do my best for her.’
Charlotte snapped into work mode as soon as they entered the doors of the hospital, following quietly behind him, listening carefully to everything that was said. Edward stopped at the nurses’ station and caught the attention of a trainee nurse who seemed to have nothing to do.
‘Will you get me Mercy’s notes, please?’
The nurse jumped to attention, handing him the file. ‘She had a good night last night. Woke up a few times, but she wasn’t crying the way she did before.’
‘Good. This is Charlotte King. She’s going to be looking after Mercy when she comes to the Hunter Clinic.’ He squinted at the nurse’s name badge, because he couldn’t for the life of him remember her name. ‘Charlotte, this is Kendra.’
Charlotte ignored Kendra’s dismissive look and stepped forward. ‘Hi, Kendra. It’s good to hear that Mercy’s been so well looked after here.’
Kendra sniffed, obviously feeling that her role as a very junior nurse at one of the best children’s hospitals in the country made her in some way superior to Charlotte. She had a lot to learn.
‘You’re a qualified nurse?’
‘Yes, I’m an RN. Working towards being a Nurse Practitioner,’ Charlotte replied quietly. She didn’t seem to mind Kendra’s attitude, however much it rankled with Edward.
‘Charlotte!’ A voice behind them made her turn. ‘How good to see you—how are you?’
The senior nurse who greeted Charlotte obviously knew her well. Kendra realised her mistake and disappeared out of range as quickly as she could, followed by a small smirk of satisfaction from Edward.
‘So how’s Isaac?’ Sandra Morton gave Edward a brief nod and then turned back to Charlotte.
‘Oh, growing up. He’s going to school now.’
‘Really? Yes, I suppose he must be. He was such a cute baby. And how’s Peter?’
A small pause.
Edward wasn’t sure whether he should intervene or not, and decided that Charlotte was perfectly capable of handling the situation herself. Much better than he could, probably. He started to leaf through Mercy’s notes.
‘Actually, I haven’t seen him for a while. He left.’
‘No! But he was such a nice guy—’ Sandra stopped herself. ‘Obviously not.’
‘It just didn’t work out. But everything’s good now.’
‘Great. I hear you’re working at the Hunter Clinic?’
‘That’s right. I’m here with Mr North to see one of your patients.’
‘Ah, Mercy. Well, I’m glad to see that you’ll be looking after her. The kid’s had a bad time, and she deserves the best.’
Charlotte grinned. ‘She’ll get it. Just as she has here.’
Sandra nodded. There was clearly a great deal of mutual esteem between the two women and it warmed Edward to see Charlotte being treated with the respect she deserved.
‘Well, I’d better get going. Call me some time—or I’ll call you. Maybe we can go out one evening?’
‘Yes. It’s good to see you, Sandra.’
Charlotte turned back to Edward, and he flipped a page in the notes in front of him.
‘You can stop pretending to read now...’ She leaned towards him, whispering.
‘What makes you say that?’
‘Your eyes aren’t moving.’
Fair enough. Edward hadn’t thought that anyone would notice that he was staring at the same word on the page in front of him, listening to what the women were saying.
‘I know what it says, anyway.’ He snapped the notes shut.
‘Can you fill me in on Mercy’s history? Before we go to see her?’
‘Yes, sure.’ Edward looked at the sign above the door of the conference room and saw that it was empty. ‘Let’s go in here.’
He sat down, and Charlotte took a seat opposite him. He’d seen her at the clinic, and he knew that she was great at her job, but she always made it seem so natural. This change in context let him see just how professional she was.
‘We don’t know much about Mercy’s background. She’s thirteen years old, an orphan, and was clearly fending for herself for a while before being picked up by one of the charities working in the area. They’ve found a new adoptive family for her, back in Africa, and by all accounts she’s very happy with them. She’s been going to school and doing well.’
‘Sounds good so far. Have they accompanied her to the UK?’
‘No, she’s staying with a foster family. I’ve spoken with the mother and she seems to be doing an excellent job. The problem is that Mercy doesn’t want to talk about what happened to her before she was taken in by the charity.’
‘So you’ve not been able to take a detailed medical history?’
‘Yes and no. We know what’s the matter with her, but I’d like to know what caused some of her problems as well. For instance, she has a perforated eardrum.’
‘Hmm... Not usually a result of trauma. Although it sounds like a good probability in this case.’
Charlotte pressed her lips together in thought, and Edward ignored the little thrill of pleasure that seemed to accompany all his dealings with her.
‘Your first objective is just to let her get to know you, though. See if you can reassure her so that she feels she’s got a friend at the Hunter Clinic. Any information you can get is a bonus.’
‘Okay. What else do I need to know?’
‘She’s here for surgery on a healed Buruli Ulcer.’
‘That’s a bacterial infection, isn’t it?’
Edward nodded, pleased that Charlotte wasn’t slow in asking for more information when she needed it. ‘Yes, that’s right. A Buruli Ulcer is relatively easy to treat when it’s caught early, but if it’s not—as was the case here—patients can develop large ulcers which result in disabilities and restricted joint movement as the scars heal. In Mercy’s case there was a contracture which had multiple joint involvements—hand, wrist and elbow.’
He
