Dance-of-the-Snake-Yvonne-Whittal Read online

clearly over the line and, despite herself, her heart skipped a beat.

  'I've been out at Mountain View,' she explained. 'Olivia King gave birth to a son

  late this afternoon.'

  'You mean the baby was born out on the farm?'

  'That's correct.'

  Her affirmative answer caused an explosion to erupt at the other end of the line.

  'Why the hell didn't she come in to the hospital?'

  'There was no way she could get to the hospital, with her husband out in the bush

  hunting down an injured kudu.'

  'You could have arranged for an ambulance to go out and collect her.'

  'There wasn't time,' Jessica argued, becoming more than just annoyed.

  'What do you mean, there wasn't time?' Dane demanded fiercely, and Jessica

  sighed inwardly.

  'Olivia was already in the final stages of labour when I arrived out at Mountain

  View.'

  'So what!' Dane replied cuttingly. 'Do you know how many women have hardly

  had time to cool their heels in hospital before their babies were born?'

  'Hundreds, I suppose, but

  '

  'Then why the hell didn't you see to it that you brought her in to the hospital?'

  'Because, Dr Trafford,' Jessica began, trying desperately to control her anger, 'I

  considered that my patient would prefer the comfort of her own bed to the back

  of a bumpy ambulance when it came to selecting a place for her baby to be born.'

  'Oh, that's nice,' his cynical voice slided through her. 'You carry an emergency

  theatre around with you, no doubt, in case you should require it.'

  'There's no need for you to be sarcastic!'

  'I am not being sarcastic, damn you!' Dane exploded.

  'Then what, in the name of heaven, are you trying to prove?' Jessica

  demanded, no longer troubling to keep her temper in check. 'Do you consider

  me incapable of dealing with emergencies?'

  'How should I know whether you're capable or not?' he replied bitingly,

  denting her pride.

  'Well, until you do, I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself, Dr Trafford,'

  she retorted icily, determined not to let him know how much his lack of

  confidence in her had hurt.

  'Confound it, Jessica,' he sighed irritably, 'all I'm trying to say is that things

  wouldn't have looked so good if you had encountered complications with none

  of the necessary equipment to deal with it.'

  He had a point, of course, she admitted to herself, but had he been there to

  examine Olivia as she had done, he would have seen for himself that the

  inconvenience of an ambulance journey would have been unnecessary.

  'I did what I considered best for Olivia, and what I knew she would have

  preferred,' she said at last.

  'One should expect that kind of reasoning from a woman, I suppose.'

  'And what's that supposed to mean?' she demanded coldly.

  'It's a known fact that women allow their judgment to be clouded by emotion,

  and you're a typical example of that,' he stated harshly.

  'Emotion had nothing to do with my decision, Dr Trafford.' 'Didn't it?'

  Jessica's knuckles whitened on the receiver with the effort to control the wave

  of fury that washed over her.

  'Was there anything else, Dr Trafford?' she enquired

  with a politeness that stuck in her throat.

  'Yes,' he snapped, 'but it'll keep.'

  The line went dead, and Jessica slammed the receiver back on to its cradle to

  find that she was shaking in every limb with the force of her anger.

  'Damn the man!' she thought, her eyes dark and stormy. If he was not trying

  to seduce her, then he was treating her like a first-year medical student, and she

  could not decide at that moment which was worse. He was, at times, infuriating

  and insufferable, and this was one of those times.

  Jessica slept very little that night. She was called out to the hospital in the

  early hours of the morning, and it was almost dawn before she arrived back at

  the cottage. She showered and changed, and watched the sun come up before

  making herself a slice of toast and coffee, but Sister Hansen was quick to

  notice the signs of weariness which Jessica had tried to hide with the aid of her-

  make-up.

  'You've had a busy night, it seems,' she remarked shrewdly when Jessica

  entered the consulting-rooms through the private entrance at the side of the

  building, 'And I can't promise you a quiet morning either. Dr O'Brien is at the

  hospital, and Dr Trafford has gone out to the clinic at the forestry department,

  so that more or less leaves you holding the fort, and the waiting-room is

  crowded with patients this morning.'

  Jessica shrugged herself wearily into her white jacket and forced herself to

  smile. 'Then you'd better send the first patient in, Sister Hansen.'

  That was the start of a morning the like of which Jessica had never

  experienced before. The steady stream of patients seemed endless, and added

  to that a truck-load of patients arrived from the neighbouring state of Venda.

  Jessica stared at the sea of black faces eyeing her with curiosity and interest,

  and she knew at last what one of her university professors had meant when he

  had said that

  there were times when one cursed the fact that you possessed only one pair of

  hands.

  This was one of those occasions, Jessica groaned inwardly, and she set to work

  with grim determination while Sister Hansen tirelessly ushered the patients in

  and out of her rooms.

  When Emily Hansen finally looked in on Jessica after the last patient had

  departed, she found a tired young woman sitting slumped in her chair with her

  eyes closed.

  'It's been a rotten morning for you, Dr Neal, but can you imagine what it was

  like before you came?5

  Jessica opened her eyes and smiled up at the woman who was clucking around

  her sympathetically. 'Do you know something, Sister Hansen? I admit that I'm

  tired, but I also admit to a tremendous satisfaction within myself. This is the kind

  of doctoring I've always wanted to do. The kind that leaves you bone weary, but

  satisfied.' Amusement lifted the corners of her mouth, and put a sparkle back in

  her eyes. 'If my father could have seen me this morning he would have been

  horrified!'

  'Didn't your father like the idea of you becoming a doctor?'

  'Oh, he liked the idea all right,' Jessica laughed, 'but he had something totally

  different in mind for me.'

  Sister Hansen did not pretend that she understood, and neither did Jessica

  explain as she took off her white jacket and picked up her bag. 'I think I'll skip

  lunch and take a drive out to Mountain View to see Olivia and the baby. After

  that I'll be at the hospital if anyone needs me.'

  Emily Hansen stared after her slim, retreating figure, and shook her head

  reprovingly. Doctors were always making their patients aware of the dangers of

  skipping meals, but they seldom took their own advice.

  Jessica drove out to Mountain View at a leisurely pace. There ,was plenty of

  time before she had to be at the hospital that afternoon, and, besides that, she had

  a problem that she had been wrestling with ever since Vivien had relaxed her

  guard a fraction the day before. A plan was taking shape in her mind, but before

  she d
id anything about it she thought it advisable to find out a little more about

  Peter O'Brien's wife, and the one who could enlighten her was Olivia King.

  A little sigh escaped Jessica, but it was lost above the sound of the Alfa's

  engine. Instead of the shimmering road ahead of her, she saw the lost expression

  on the face of a small, fair-haired little girl, and it brought a lump to her throat

  which was difficult to get rid of.

  'Women allow emotion to cloud their judgment,' Dane Trafford's scathing

  remark leapt into her mind, and with an angry exclamation she thrust aside his

  disturbing and infuriating image to concentrate on her driving once more.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  As luck would have it, Jessica found Olivia alone out at Mountain View;

  alone, that was, except for the faithful Evalina and the rest of the servants.

  When Jessica had examined Olivia as well as the baby, she allowed herself to

  be persuaded to stay for a cup of tea and a slice of Evalina's delicious apple pie.

  Jessica enjoyed talking to Olivia. She was an intelligent, well-read woman,

  and she gave no indication now of the insecurity she might once have

  experienced in her life.

  'Vivien was here early this morning to bath little Logan,' Olivia said

  eventually, and her laughter fell softly " oh Jessica's ears. 'She just about had a

  fit when she heard that Evalina intended bathing him.'

  This was the opening Jessica had been waiting for and, with a casualness

  which could not be faulted, she said: 'Vivien is fond of children, it seems.'

  Olivia smiled and nodded. 'She adores Frances, and there's Already a clear

  indication that Logan's aunt is going to spoil him abominably.' •

  'Why didn't she have any children of her own?'

  Olivia's expression sobered. 'That's a subject Vivien never discusses, but

  Bernard told me that she was treated by several specialists before she was

  forced to accept the fact that she would never have children.'

  'Did they never think of adopting a baby?'

  'That I can't tell you, but Vivien has always given me the impression of

  someone who accepted the inevitable, and got on with the job of living.'

  'You say that as though you don't quite believe it,' Jessica remarked daringly.

  'I don't,' Olivia confessed. 'I think that, deep down,. Vivien has wanted a child

  desperately, but the Kings are a proud family, and rather than admit defeat by

  adopting a baby, she decided to face up to the fact that she would never have a

  child by pretending that it didn't matter.'

  ‘1 see,' Jessica murmured, taking time off to digest the enormity of Olivia's

  personal observations.

  'What's on your mind, Jessica?'

  Jessica looked up quickly into those calm, smiling eyes. 'I have an idea, and if

  it works . . .'

  'You'd better tell me about it,' Olivia suggested when Jessica left her sentence

  hanging tantalisingly in the air.

  Jessica placed her empty tea cup in the tray on the bedside table, and plunged

  into what she had to say. 'There's a very unhappy ten-year-old little girl in the

  orphanage in Johannesburg. She survived an accident which robbed her of both

  her parents, and I became acquainted with her while she was still a patient in

  the hospital.' Jessica paused for breath and, glancing quickly at Olivia, she

  added: 'She has no one else, and I promised her I would arrange for her to

  spend one of her school holidays here with me.'

  'I think I'm beginning to see what you're aiming at,' Olivia murmured

  thoughtfully. 'If Vivien takes this child to her heart, then she might consider

  giving her a home.'

  Jessica nodded. 'Megan Leigh is a lovely child, and I can't see anyone not

  becoming fond of her. She loves easily, and she needs to be loved in return.'

  'You know what, Jessica?' Olivia smiled eagerly. 'I hope with all my heart

  that it works.'

  'Do you think I should go ahead and arrange for Megan to come and spend

  the September holidays here with me?'

  'Why not?' Olivia demanded with a degree of excitement in her voice that

  matched Jessica's. 'The sooner we get this experiment under way, the sooner

  we'll know the results.'

  Jessica flashed Olivia a grateful smile. 'I'm glad now that I thought to discuss

  this matter with you, Olivia.'

  'I'm glad you did, and I shan't breathe a word to anyone,' Olivia promised.

  ‘You realise, of course, that if Vivien should suspect anything, then the whole

  experiment might fail miserably.'

  Jessica was only too aware of this, but when she finally drove back to town

  she was in a much lighter frame of mind. She would make the necessary

  arrangements as soon as possible, and it would at least give the child something

  to look forward to.

  It was not until two days later that Jessica had the opportunity to make the

  necessary telephone call which would allow Megan to spend the spring

  holidays with her in Louisville, and when she finally replaced the receiver on

  its cradle there was a smile of intense satisfaction hovering about her mouth.

  All that remained now was for her to give her father a ring to ask him to collect

  the child at the end of that school term, and to see to it that she was put safely

  on a train bound for Louisville.

  'Now what, I wonder, has brought on that smile of satisfaction,' a mocking

  voice remarked, and Jessica swung round in her chair to see Dane Trafford

  entering her consulting-room. 'Am I going to be enlightened, or must it remain

  a mystery for ever?' he demanded when she continued to sit there staring up at

  his lean, muscular frame which never failed to stir her senses in the most

  peculiar way.

  'I've arranged for a little girl to spend the September holidays with me. She

  was orphaned at the beginning of this year,' she explained.

  'Was she a patient of yours?'

  'Indirectly, yes.'

  Cynicism curved his mouth. 'That proves my point, doesn't it, that women

  doctors become too emotionally involved with their patients.'

  Jessica pushed back her chair agitatedly, and rose to her feet, but she took great

  care to put a considerable distance between herself and the man who had seated

  himself on the corner of her desk before she said: 'I not only care about the state

  their bodies are in, I also happen to care about the mental state of my patients, and

  I'm not ashamed to admit it.'

  'Spoken like a woman,' he mocked her.

  'I should hope so,' she retaliated swiftly, 'because that's what I am.'

  It was a mistake saying that, but she realised it too late, for his eyes were

  already travelling over her with that slow sensuality that nearly always succeeded

  in making her feel as if she had been stripped to the skin.

  'I've been aware of that fact for quite some time/ he informed her with a derisive

  smile, and then he was gone before she could think of anything to say.

  He was really the most abominable man, she decided furiously, her hands

  shaking while she packed her bag, then she said goodnight to Sister Hansen, and

  drove herself home.

  A telephone call to her father that evening set her mind at rest. They would see

  to it that Megan Leigh was collected at the orphanage, and put on the first
r />   available train to Louisville at the end of that term.

  'We're coming up to Louisville this weekend, then we can discuss the matter in

  more detail,' Jonathan Neal told his daughter. 'We should arrive there Friday

  afternoon, and we'll leave again on the Monday morning.'

  'That's wonderful!'

  'Will there be place for us to stay?'

  'The cottage has a guest room.'

  'Fine,' Jonathan sighed. 'That should put your mother's mind at rest. You know

  how she hates hotels.'

  'Give her my love, and tell her not to worry,' Jessica laughed.

  'She's not the only one who happens to be worried, and that's why we're coming

  up there to see you.' There was a pause as if he expected her to say something,

  but when she remained silent he merely sighed once more and said: 'Oh, well,

  we'll have a long chat when we're there.'

  They said goodbye shortly afterwards, but her conversation with her father had

  left Jessica feeling faintly amused. They would, no doubt, find it difficult to

  accept that she was happy in what she was doing, but it would be up to her to

  convince them.

  She took a quick shower and exchanged her neat, serviceable skirt and blouse

  for an apricot-coloured silk dress which was cool against her skin. She was

  looking forward to a quiet evening at home; the first in a long time. She would

  make herself something to eat, and afterwards she would catch up on the latest

  information in the medical journal which came in the post.

  It was a delightful thought, but no sooner had she taken a piece of steak out of

  the refrigerator when Dane Trafford burst into her cottage, almost wrenching the

  front door from its hinges.

  'Drop whatever you're doing, and come with me,' he . ordered, looking

  unfamiliar in a white, open-necked sports shirt, and grey denim pants. 'It's an

  emergency.'

  Jessica thrust the steak back into the refrigerator without hesitation. 'I'll get my

  bag.'

  'Leave it!' he rapped out the command. 'I have everything we'll need.'

  Jessica obeyed without question, stopping only to lock the cottage door behind

  her, but when she sat beside him in his .Mustang she could contain her curiosity

  no longer.

  'What is it?' she asked anxiously. 'What's happened?'

  'It's not what has happened. It's what's still going to happen.'

  'What do you mean, it's what's still going to happen?'