me. Will you mind? ’
‘ It will be a change from hospital routine, ’ Julie assured him gravely. ‘ I ’ m sure I shall enjoy it, especially if it does all you say to make you get better quickly. ’
‘ I must .’ There was a sudden emphasis on the words. ‘ Get better quickly, I mean, ’ he rushed on. ‘ There ’ s so much to do. This development scheme means a great deal to Aunt Lavinia, and she ’ s so pleased and proud that I ’ ve been awarded the prize. The judges were all independent of the Borough, you see, ’ he explained carefully. ‘ It was the only fair way. That means nobody could have been influenced by the fact that Mrs. Crossman is my godmother and great-aunt, ’ he ended.
‘ I can see that. ’ Julie frowned and hastily took his temperature. The volatile temperament which had made him so enthusiastic about his work was already lighting fires of enthusiasm now, which might well impede his physical progress, and if that happened, Julie reflected, Ian would be really angry with her.
‘ Now, you mustn ’ t get so excited about it, ’ she cautioned him. ‘ Remember, the quieter you are for the next few days the greater your chances of a fairly speedy recovery. It ’ s up to you ...’
By the time Ian came in, not many minutes later, she was thankful to find Garth trying to follow her advice to settle down and relax.
Ian made his customary quick but careful examination of the patient and pronounced himself well satisfied with Garth ’ s progress. He was in an unusually lighthearted mood, and Julie wondered if that was because he had planned to go and bring Tansy ’ s ring from the wrecked car, putting her engagement to Garth once more back on a visible if somewhat insecure footing. As though he could read her thought his next question to Garth was whether or not he would like Ian to ‘ make a survey for you ’ , and Garth ’ s delighted acceptance set the seal on the project.
‘ I have a consultation in Catherine Street this afternoon, ’ Ian said. ‘ As you know, that ’ s at the end of the road where Bell ’ s garage is, so I thought I may as well slip in and see how things were for you. I know if it were my car I ’ d want to know. ’
‘ I do, ’ Garth told him gratefully. ‘ I was asking N urse about it only this morning. ’
‘ I ’ ll report later, then, ’ Ian smiled down at him. ‘ You ’ re making fine progress, ’ he went on. ‘ Soon you ’ ll be at Woodlands and on the last lap of your progress towards recovery. ’ Just before he left the room he called Julie to one side and, with the temperature chart before him, as though that were the subject under discussion, he said very quietly: ‘ I ’ ll give the ring to you before Miss Maitland arrives. Try to tell him who she is and why she ’ s wearing it before she comes. If he ’ s distressed, warn her to take it off ... he ’ ll have vague recollections of something being wrong. ’
‘ I ’ ll do that, Mr. Greensmith, ’ Julie said quietly, but her heart seemed to twist suddenly with a completely unexpected feeling of pain so that she had to turn aside lest Ian should read her expression and place his own interpretation on what he saw there.
Garth was sleeping when Ian returned from his consultation. He drew Julie into the corridor and handed her the small half-hoop of diamonds and sapphires, glittering in the shaded corridor lights.
‘ I believe I saw her downstairs as I came up, ’ Ian said as he parted with the ring, ‘ so try to give it to her before she goes in to see him. ’ He looked suddenly very grave as he added: ‘ I wonder if we are doing the right thing after all, Julie? When one talks to him, gets to know him a little. Garth Holroyd is a very decent sort of chap, the sort one would be proud to call a friend. Somehow I have the vague feeling that in giving this ring back to the girl we ’ re giving her the key to untold misery for him, and yet he wouldn ’ t have proposed
‘ It will be a change from hospital routine, ’ Julie assured him gravely. ‘ I ’ m sure I shall enjoy it, especially if it does all you say to make you get better quickly. ’
‘ I must .’ There was a sudden emphasis on the words. ‘ Get better quickly, I mean, ’ he rushed on. ‘ There ’ s so much to do. This development scheme means a great deal to Aunt Lavinia, and she ’ s so pleased and proud that I ’ ve been awarded the prize. The judges were all independent of the Borough, you see, ’ he explained carefully. ‘ It was the only fair way. That means nobody could have been influenced by the fact that Mrs. Crossman is my godmother and great-aunt, ’ he ended.
‘ I can see that. ’ Julie frowned and hastily took his temperature. The volatile temperament which had made him so enthusiastic about his work was already lighting fires of enthusiasm now, which might well impede his physical progress, and if that happened, Julie reflected, Ian would be really angry with her.
‘ Now, you mustn ’ t get so excited about it, ’ she cautioned him. ‘ Remember, the quieter you are for the next few days the greater your chances of a fairly speedy recovery. It ’ s up to you ...’
By the time Ian came in, not many minutes later, she was thankful to find Garth trying to follow her advice to settle down and relax.
Ian made his customary quick but careful examination of the patient and pronounced himself well satisfied with Garth ’ s progress. He was in an unusually lighthearted mood, and Julie wondered if that was because he had planned to go and bring Tansy ’ s ring from the wrecked car, putting her engagement to Garth once more back on a visible if somewhat insecure footing. As though he could read her thought his next question to Garth was whether or not he would like Ian to ‘ make a survey for you ’ , and Garth ’ s delighted acceptance set the seal on the project.
‘ I have a consultation in Catherine Street this afternoon, ’ Ian said. ‘ As you know, that ’ s at the end of the road where Bell ’ s garage is, so I thought I may as well slip in and see how things were for you. I know if it were my car I ’ d want to know. ’
‘ I do, ’ Garth told him gratefully. ‘ I was asking N urse about it only this morning. ’
‘ I ’ ll report later, then, ’ Ian smiled down at him. ‘ You ’ re making fine progress, ’ he went on. ‘ Soon you ’ ll be at Woodlands and on the last lap of your progress towards recovery. ’ Just before he left the room he called Julie to one side and, with the temperature chart before him, as though that were the subject under discussion, he said very quietly: ‘ I ’ ll give the ring to you before Miss Maitland arrives. Try to tell him who she is and why she ’ s wearing it before she comes. If he ’ s distressed, warn her to take it off ... he ’ ll have vague recollections of something being wrong. ’
‘ I ’ ll do that, Mr. Greensmith, ’ Julie said quietly, but her heart seemed to twist suddenly with a completely unexpected feeling of pain so that she had to turn aside lest Ian should read her expression and place his own interpretation on what he saw there.
Garth was sleeping when Ian returned from his consultation. He drew Julie into the corridor and handed her the small half-hoop of diamonds and sapphires, glittering in the shaded corridor lights.
‘ I believe I saw her downstairs as I came up, ’ Ian said as he parted with the ring, ‘ so try to give it to her before she goes in to see him. ’ He looked suddenly very grave as he added: ‘ I wonder if we are doing the right thing after all, Julie? When one talks to him, gets to know him a little. Garth Holroyd is a very decent sort of chap, the sort one would be proud to call a friend. Somehow I have the vague feeling that in giving this ring back to the girl we ’ re giving her the key to untold misery for him, and yet he wouldn ’ t have proposed
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