A Man To Tame - Rachel Lindsay (Roberta Leigh) by Rachel Lindsay Page A
Authors: Rachel Lindsay
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and good, company. She could do far worse
than to encourage him.
I’m glad you came here, Kate,’ he
went on. 'I don't think it's a move you will regret.'
‘I hope not,' she said, and thought
of the overpowering man to whom she was finally answerable. Joshua Howard
regretted her coming here and made it plain that he would do everything in his
power to be rid of her. One false step, he had said. Well, she was going to
tread very carefully indeed.
CHAPTER FIVE
Kate's surgery the next day was as
empty as it had been the day before and, despite Nurse Evans's assurances that
the men would accept a woman doctor, given time, Kate was anything but
sanguine. Indeed the thought of accepting Dermot's offer to go into town on
Saturday and buy some things for the house seemed childishly optimistic, and
she decided it would be wiser to delay spending company’ money until she knew
whether or not she would be staying on conceding that Joshua Howard was right
after all.
She went to the canteen early for
her lunch and had already finished by the time Dermot and the other managerial
members of the staff came in. She was asked to stay and have coffee with them,
but she pretended she was busy and, returning to the surgery, shut herself in
her room. She had always complained at not having enough time to catch up on
her medical reading and now seemed as good a time as any to do it, though it
gave her a guilty feeling to be reading in the middle of the day when she felt
she should be doing something-more active.
Afternoon surgery was a repetition
of the morning, with only two men coming in to have prescriptions renewed, but
at five o'clock—after the whistle had sounded and the car park began to
empty—Kate received a call from an agitated woman who could not retrieve a bead
which her child had stuffed down its ear.
'Our own doctor's on holiday,' the
woman explained, 'and I can't get hold of the one who's standing in for him. I
know you're the doctor in the factory and—-‘
Interrupting the flow of words Kate
managed to get the woman's address and said she would be therein ten minutes.
She was better than her word and,
with a minute to spare, was walking up the path of a neat little semidetached.
She was met by a frightened mother and her hysterical child and it took a while
to calm both of them sufficiently for her to try and extricate the bead. It was
solidly lodged. But the old-fashioned remedy of olive oil helped her to
extricate it, after which she took a piece of paper from her bag and drew a
ample picture of an ear to show the child what had happened, at the same time
explaining in simple terms what a wonderful hearing apparatus the ear was, and
how one must safeguard it.
‘You were wonderful with Caroline,'
the woman said as she went with Kate to the front door. I’m ever so grateful
you came.'
I’m delighted I could help you,'
Kate smiled. 'I don't just look after the men at the factory, you know; I'm
also available to their families.’
'I know, and I did go to see Dr
Morris a few times, but I never took to him. He wasn't the sort of man you
could talk to.'
Unwilling to enter into criticism
of another doctor, Kate answered the women yet again that she was available at
any time and drove off, conscious of having made a favourable
impact and hoping something good might develop from it; Yet if she had to rely
on word of mouth before patients started to come to her she might be as old as
Methuselah before she had sufficient work to do; and the one thing she knew for
certain was that she could not continue to go on being idle for much longer.
It was too late to return to the
factory and she went straight home. Only as she parked her car did she notice
the silver-grey Porsche a few yards down the road. Joshua Howard must be
visiting one of her neighbours. Fervently hoping he
would not take it into his head to call and see her at the same time, she
hurried up the path to her front door, afraid lest he come out of one of
than to encourage him.
I’m glad you came here, Kate,’ he
went on. 'I don't think it's a move you will regret.'
‘I hope not,' she said, and thought
of the overpowering man to whom she was finally answerable. Joshua Howard
regretted her coming here and made it plain that he would do everything in his
power to be rid of her. One false step, he had said. Well, she was going to
tread very carefully indeed.
CHAPTER FIVE
Kate's surgery the next day was as
empty as it had been the day before and, despite Nurse Evans's assurances that
the men would accept a woman doctor, given time, Kate was anything but
sanguine. Indeed the thought of accepting Dermot's offer to go into town on
Saturday and buy some things for the house seemed childishly optimistic, and
she decided it would be wiser to delay spending company’ money until she knew
whether or not she would be staying on conceding that Joshua Howard was right
after all.
She went to the canteen early for
her lunch and had already finished by the time Dermot and the other managerial
members of the staff came in. She was asked to stay and have coffee with them,
but she pretended she was busy and, returning to the surgery, shut herself in
her room. She had always complained at not having enough time to catch up on
her medical reading and now seemed as good a time as any to do it, though it
gave her a guilty feeling to be reading in the middle of the day when she felt
she should be doing something-more active.
Afternoon surgery was a repetition
of the morning, with only two men coming in to have prescriptions renewed, but
at five o'clock—after the whistle had sounded and the car park began to
empty—Kate received a call from an agitated woman who could not retrieve a bead
which her child had stuffed down its ear.
'Our own doctor's on holiday,' the
woman explained, 'and I can't get hold of the one who's standing in for him. I
know you're the doctor in the factory and—-‘
Interrupting the flow of words Kate
managed to get the woman's address and said she would be therein ten minutes.
She was better than her word and,
with a minute to spare, was walking up the path of a neat little semidetached.
She was met by a frightened mother and her hysterical child and it took a while
to calm both of them sufficiently for her to try and extricate the bead. It was
solidly lodged. But the old-fashioned remedy of olive oil helped her to
extricate it, after which she took a piece of paper from her bag and drew a
ample picture of an ear to show the child what had happened, at the same time
explaining in simple terms what a wonderful hearing apparatus the ear was, and
how one must safeguard it.
‘You were wonderful with Caroline,'
the woman said as she went with Kate to the front door. I’m ever so grateful
you came.'
I’m delighted I could help you,'
Kate smiled. 'I don't just look after the men at the factory, you know; I'm
also available to their families.’
'I know, and I did go to see Dr
Morris a few times, but I never took to him. He wasn't the sort of man you
could talk to.'
Unwilling to enter into criticism
of another doctor, Kate answered the women yet again that she was available at
any time and drove off, conscious of having made a favourable
impact and hoping something good might develop from it; Yet if she had to rely
on word of mouth before patients started to come to her she might be as old as
Methuselah before she had sufficient work to do; and the one thing she knew for
certain was that she could not continue to go on being idle for much longer.
It was too late to return to the
factory and she went straight home. Only as she parked her car did she notice
the silver-grey Porsche a few yards down the road. Joshua Howard must be
visiting one of her neighbours. Fervently hoping he
would not take it into his head to call and see her at the same time, she
hurried up the path to her front door, afraid lest he come out of one of
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