Knave of Hearts

‘Excuse me,’ he murmured, and reached past her for the phone.

‘It was me—I need you,’ she told him.

‘I never thought I’d hear you say that,’ he said under his breath, and then told the switchboard operator that he’d been found while Anne dealt with the flush rising on her cheeks.

‘So, what’s the problem?’ he asked, his eyes tracking laughingly over her still-pink face.

‘Apart from your innuendoes?’

‘I was only teasing.’

‘And downstairs with Maggie and Ben? God knows what they think.’

He smiled wolfishly. ‘They think we were lovers—which we were.’

‘Once,’ she retorted repressively. ‘We have a patient. Consultant’s wife, nursing sister—here are the notes. Looks like one for the big shots.’

He ran his eye over the notes and winced. ‘Ouch. Rather her than me. OK, let’s have a look. Have you examined her yet?’

Anne shook her head. ‘I thought I’d check the notes first, but in any case I’d rather you handled it.’

‘Chicken,’ he said softly.

She shook her head. ‘No, just deferring to your experience. I know my limitations.’

He snapped the notes shut and tucked them under his arm, and then, accompanied by the midwife who would be monitoring Lizzi during her labour, they went into the little side-ward.

Lizzi was sitting up cross-legged on the bed, dressed in a voluminous old cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up and leg-warmers round her ankles. Her husband was perched on the edge of the bed, and they were laughing softly at something he had said.

Jake introduced himself, shook hands with both of them and then perched on the bed himself.

‘Right,’ he said to Lizzi, ‘what did Jo Carter tell you?’

‘That I might have problems and shouldn’t go over term. Ross’s other children by his first wife were fairly hefty, I gather.’

Jake nodded. ‘OK. Well, as you must know, you’re very slightly built, although you’re tall, so before this goes any further we need to be fairly sure that you’re going to be able to complete the delivery.’

Lizzi sighed. ‘I had hoped it would be all right—in fact I’m not due for another twelve days. Jo even rang me at home and said she’d be back in time, and I’d be first on her list.’

Jake smiled. ‘Well, you beat her to it, but it’s probably just as well. The smaller the baby is, the easier it’ll be, and it’s plenty old enough now. This is your first, isn’t it?’

She nodded.

‘Is there a recent scan? I wonder if it would be a good idea to do one this morning if not.’

‘I had one at thirty-six weeks.’

‘Mmm.’ Jake pursed his lips, thoughtfully, and then put down the notes with a decisive snap. ‘Let’s have a look first before we make any decisions—how are the contractions?’

‘The last gap was ten minutes,’ Ross said quietly.

Jake nodded. ‘Good, they’re picking up.’ He washed his hands thoroughly, pulled on a pair of gloves and began to examine her.

‘Well, your cervix is dilating nicely, about six centimetres, and the head’s certainly well down. I just want you to relax as much as you can, Mrs Hamilton. I’m going to try and push the baby down to see how snug the fit is. It may be a little uncomfortable, but it shouldn’t hurt.’

With one hand on the smooth curve of the baby’s bottom, he pushed steadily down, his brow creased with concentration. After a few seconds, he released the pressure, straightened up and stripped off his gloves.

‘Well,’ he said, as he rewashed his hands, ‘it’s certainly going to be close, but the presentation is excellent, and I think you should manage it.’ He dried his hands and smiled reassuringly at Lizzi. ‘I’ll order a scan now, just to be on the safe side, but I’m pretty confident you’ll be all right.’

They left Lizzi with the midwife, and a few seconds later Ross followed them out.

‘Could I have a word?’ he asked Jake.

‘Sure—let’s have a cup of coffee. Coming, Annie?’ They went into Sister’s office, and Jake poured three cups of coffee from the jug in the corner.

‘Ifs and buts?’ Ross asked without preamble.