“But that’s so expensive!” Lolean gasped.
“Hang the expense!” Sheffield waved his hand in the air airily. “We’re going out on the town, so you two have your best dresses on at seven o’clock. I’ll put on my ratty old suit. But people won’t be looking at me anyway. We’ll go out and have ourselves a time.”
“It sounds wonderful, doctor,” Leonie said. “We’ll enjoy it, won’t we, Lolean?”
Lolean did not even answer. “I’ll send the next patient in,” she said.
“What’s the matter with her? She seems grumpy,” Ransom said.
Leonie almost burst out, “She wants to be alone with you—can’t you see it?” but she caught herself just in time. “I think she’s all right. She just works hard.”
The two women and the doctor all worked long hours that day. It was late in the afternoon when the younger woman confronted Leonie. Leonie had gone to the room where they kept their meager supplies, and as she turned to leave, suddenly Lolean came in. “Hi, Lolean,” she said, smiling. “We’re going to have a good time tonight, aren’t we?”
Loleen did not smile but said abruptly, “I know you think you’re in love with Dr. Sheffield, but you don’t love him like I do. You couldn’t.”
Leonie had known for some time of the girl’s affection for the doctor but was surprised at the bluntness of her words. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re in love with him. I can see it.”
“No, you mustn’t say that.”
“Don’t bother to deny it,” Lolean said scathingly. “I know it’s true. But I love him more than anyone else, and I just want you to know that you couldn’t make him happy.” She turned and left the room, leaving Leonie staring after her. “The poor girl,” she said, “but she’s wrong.”
The rest of the day was unpleasant since the two women had to work closely together, and Leonie could feel the hard feelings that Lolean had for her.
About four o’clock she heard a voice and looked over to see that Blaise Mignon had entered the clinic. He rushed up to her, and she saw that his face was flushed. He had been drinking, she realized, but his eyes were alert. “Hello, Blaise,” she said. “What brings you here?”
“A little business. I’ve got some bad news from the house.” Seeing the quick look of worry on Leonie’s face, he said, “It’s Hugh. He’s very ill. Dr. Sheffield needs to take a look at him.”
“What’s wrong with him, Blaise?”
“I don’t have a clue,” he said. “What with the scarlet fever floating around New Orleans, every time anybody coughs it scares us a bit. I’m quite fond of Hugh.”
“I’m sure the doctor will want to go.”
“Well, this won’t be a charity call. He’ll be well-paid for his trouble.”
The two chatted for a moment, then Blaise said, “I’ve been poking around a little bit, and I think I may have a line on why you had to leave the house.”
“What is it?” Leonie asked.
“I won’t say much about it now, but you keep your faith up, for one of these days Lady Maria is going to know the truth about all this. I’ll be going now, but I’ll probably see you at the house. You be sure Dr. Sheffield gets the message.”
“I will, Blaise.”
She quickly found Ransom and told him what Blaise had said. He said, “We’ll have to go out as soon as we get the patients all seen. You’d better go with me.”
“I’m not sure I’d be welcome.”
“You’re my nurse,” he said. “You’ll be welcome enough.”
As the horses pulled the buggy along at a fast clip, Ransom spoke with obvious excitement of the plans he had for the clinic. The buggy was one of his recent purchases, made possible by the donations from wealthy patrons.
Leonie listened, giving him a smile and an encouraging word from time to time.
Finally he said, “If we expand like I’d like to, we’d have to get some more help. You and Lolean won’t be enough.” One of the horses suddenly reared up and threw the other horse out of step. It took some time for Ransom to get them quiet, and he shook his head. “Must have been a snake or something. Jack’s not usually that spooky. Come on, Jack, calm down now. It’s all right.” When he got the horses under control, he was quiet for a time, and then he said, “I’ve been a little bit worried about Lolean.”
“Why is that, Ransom?”
“She seems sort of—oh, I don’t know, hard to get along with. No, that’s not right. She’s very affectionate, but she’s moody.”
“Don’t you really know what’s wrong with her, Ransom?” Leonie asked. She knew him, she suddenly realized, better than she had known any man, and now she studied the familiar features of his face. Although he was not at all handsome, something in him strongly appealed to her. He had almost a fanatical streak in him when it came to doing the right thing. She had never known a man so concerned with being fair and honest. The patients sensed this and clung to it, and now, as she studied the rugged terrain of his features, she knew that somehow he had a lack of confidence in himself where women were concerned, which surprised her.
“I suppose she’s just not feeling well.”
“Oh, Ransom, she’s in love with you! Surely you can see that.”
Suddenly Ransom Sheffield he turned and looked at her, his eyes wide. “Oh, don’t be foolish, Leonie!”
“Why would it be foolish?”
“Why, she can’t be in love with me. She’s just a child.”
“She’s not a child. She’s a woman, and you came to her aid when nobody else would, Ransom. She’s with you almost constantly. The fact that you’re a doctor has an appeal for some women. You’re not handsome, but women like you. I’ve seen that.”
Ransom grinned wryly. “I’m not handsome.”
“No more than I’m pretty.”
“Well, there’s two opinions about that. But you’re wrong about Lolean—at least, I hope you are.”
“I don’t think I am.”
“But, dash it all, that’s going to complicate everything!”
“Why is it?”
“Because I’m not in love with her. I have no idea of being in love with a child like that.”
“Stop referring to her as ‘a child’!” Leonie said sharply.
“Well, don’t snap my head off! But you can see how difficult it would make things.”
“I don’t know what you can do about it.”
“Why, I can talk to her.”
“And what would you say?”
“I would say—let me see—I would say, ‘Don’t be in love with me.’”
Leonie laughed. “Oh, Ransom, you can’t say that! You’d hurt her feelings. But you’ve got to say something.”
“I know. Why don’t you talk with her, Leonie? You’re good with talking with women patients.”
The idea was so ridiculous that Leonie could not help but laugh again. “I can’t talk to her.”
“Why not?”
“Don’t you see? She’s jealous of me.”
Once again Ransom was taken aback. “Did she tell you that?”
“She would be jealous of any woman you paid attention to.”
Ransom was quiet for a time. Finally he turned and said, “Well, we’ll just have to work it out, you and I. I don’t want to hurt the girl.”
“Of course you don’t. You don’t want to hurt anybody.”
Ransom did not answer. They pulled up at the door of the house, and Julius came out at once to take the team away. “Good day, Sir, and to you, Miss.”
“I probably won’t be staying too long, Julius, but you might feed the horses a little bit.”
“Yes, Sir, I will do that.”
The two went up the steps. When they rang the bell, it was Zara who answered the door. She gave Leonie a frigid glance and nodded without enthusiasm at the doctor. “I suppose you’ve come to see Hugh.”
“Yes, I have, Miss Zara. How is he?”
“Not too well.”
; “Then we’ll go up right away.”
“Hello, Zara,” Leonie said. She received only a brief nod in reply, and the two went up to the sick man’s room. Hugh was lying in bed, his face twisted with pain. “Hello, Doctor. Hello, Leonie,” he said in a strained voice.
“What’s the trouble, Hugh?”
“It’s my gut. It feels like I’m being stabbed with a sword.”
“Well, we’ll have to find out about that. Let’s take a look . . .”
“It’s appendicitis, Lady Maria.” Sheffield stood alone in the parlor with the older woman. Leonie had stayed to try to comfort Hugh.
“Oh dear!” Maria said, alarm washing across her face. “What can you do?”
“We’ll have to operate. No time to go to the hospital. We’ll have to do it here.”
“Will he be all right?”
“If nothing goes wrong. Operations are always dangerous, but I have Leonie to help me. We should do fine.”
“What will you need?” Lady Maria listened as Sheffield outlined his needs. Then she said, “I’ll see that it’s all done.”
“He’s going to do fine, isn’t he, Ransom?”
The two had were sitting in rocking chairs on the porch. The operation had been much briefer than Leonie, who had never seen such a thing, had expected.
“I think he is, but it would have been dangerous if we had waited much longer.” He turned and smiled. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“I’ll bet you could,” Leonie said, “but I’m glad I was able to help.”
“I’m sorry that Lady Maria feels the way she does about you. It’s not right.”
“It will come out all right.”
“You think so? You really do?”
“I was reading in the Bible today. All things work together for good to those that love the Lord.”
“I’ve always loved that verse, but it’s hard to understand sometimes. When a terrible thing happens, how can we apply that verse?”
“I don’t really know, except it doesn’t say ‘All things are good.’ It says ‘All things work together for good.’ That’s a little bit different.”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
“Well, I was reading the story of Abraham in the Old Testament last week. You remember God told him to go out and make a sacrifice of his only son, the one he had waited for all of his life.”
“That was a terrible command, wasn’t it?”
“It seemed to be, but Abraham obeyed. But God let him keep his son, and when it was over, Abraham was a better man. God knew that he wouldn’t withhold anything from him. So while it was all going on it didn’t seem good, but it worked for good, just as the Bible says.”
“You’re becoming quite a Bible scholar.” Ransom leaned over and put his hand on her shoulder. She was startled at his touch, and she turned and saw that he was smiling at her. He had heavy lips and his features were plain enough, but there was a light in his eyes now that caught her attention. “You’re a fine young woman. God’s going to do great things in your life.”
Leonie could not answer. The touch of his hand was warm on her shoulder, and the approval in his eyes meant more to her than she could say. She tried to express herself, but she could only say, “I try to do what I can.”
Chapter twenty
Leonie looked up, and when she saw Lowell enter, she grew nervous. She had been walking through the garden, thinking mostly of Hugh and how miraculously he had recovered from the operation. Ransom had gone back to town but had asked her to stay and be sure that Hugh suffered no aftereffects.
“Hello,” Lowell said, and he came over and stood beside her. He was studying her as if he was not quite sure how to approach her, and finally he asked, “How did the operation go?”
“It went fine. He’s much better.”
“That’s good. I’ve always been fond of Hugh.”
“I think he’s going to be all right. Dr. Sheffield is a wonderful surgeon.”
“I’m sure he is.” A silence fell between the two, and finally Lowell said, “I always feel a little bit protective toward Hugh.”
“Protective—why is that?”
“Well, I’ve always felt that he missed out on life somehow. He could have done a lot more with his life than he did. He could have made something of himself.”
The remark did not sit well with Leonie. She was a quiet, modest girl not given to making judgments, but as she looked at the tall young man who stood beside her and thought of what his life was, she could not help remarking, “What about you?”
The simple question seemed to put Lowell on the defensive. “What do you mean, ‘What about me’?”
“I mean you could have made something of your life, too.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my life.”
Leonie did not answer. She only looked at him, and something in her gaze struck Lowell. He said stiff ly, “Are you trying to tell me that my life isn’t right?”
“Well, is it?”
Lowell’s face flushed a dusky red. He was an easygoing young man, but Leonie’s questions obviously disturbed him. “I don’t do any harm to anyone.”
“Life’s more than that, I think,” Leonie said. “I’m sure you don’t harm anyone, but do you help anyone?”
“That’s none of your business!” Lowell snapped.
“I suppose not, but you were the one who brought it up, speaking of Hugh. I felt sorry for him, but I don’t feel sorry for you. At least he has some reason for having missed out, as you put it, on life. He lost the one he loved very dearly, but your own losses have never crippled your penchant for laziness and luxury. Your life isn’t making anyone else’s better.”
“I don’t appreciate your comments,” Lowell said angrily. He turned without another word and stalked away. His back was stiff, and as he entered the house, he slammed the door behind him.
“Well,” Leonie said, not at all disturbed by his anger. “We are a little touchy about it, aren’t we?” She walked for another half hour in the garden and then reentered the house. Climbing the stairs, she went up to Hugh’s room, and when she stepped inside, she halted suddenly. Lady Maria was sitting in a chair beside Hugh’s bed. “Excuse me,” she said, “I didn’t know you were here.”
“Come in, Leonie,” Hugh said. His head was propped up with a pillow, and his color was much better. He smiled, and his voice was weak but stronger than it had been. “Come in and take care of your patient.”
Leonie smiled and walked over to his bedside. “You don’t need much care,” she said. “You’re looking fine.”
“I feel pretty washed out, but I think I would have died if you and Dr. Sheffield hadn’t come.”
“I think you might. Dr. Sheffield said he got to you just in time.”
“Sit down, Leonie. I was just talking to my sister about what happened to me.”
Somewhat hesitant, Leonie sat down. She felt Lady Maria’s eyes on her and met them. The older woman was studying her carefully, and there was something in her gaze that was cryptic. She turned again to face Hugh, f inding his smile ready. “What is it you’ve been telling her?”
“I’ve heard all my life that when someone is drowning, just before he dies, his whole life f lashes before him.”
“I heard that too.”
“Well, it’s true enough, or at least it was for me.” Hugh lay quietly in the bed. His hands were folded together, and there was a thoughtful expression on his face. “I really thought I was going to die, and the thing that came to me was what a waste I’ve made of my life.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Maria said suddenly. She leaned forward and put her hand over Hugh’s, and her voice was gentle. “You’ve been a help to me.”
“No, I haven’t, but you’ve been a help to me,” Hugh said. “Ever since I lost my wife, I just haven’t cared about living. I just gave up. But when I lay here thinking I was going to die, it came to me that that was the last thing Autumn would have wanted for me.
She wasn’t a quitter, but I have been.”
“You loved her very much, didn’t you?” Leonie said quietly.
“More than anything else. You know, I just wonder, from time to time, if I didn’t love her too much.”
“I don’t think it’s possible to love anyone too much,” Maria murmured.
“I don’t know about things like that, but I thought maybe God took her because I loved her more than I loved Him.”
The three were silent, and finally Maria said, “I don’t think that’s the way it was. We can’t explain why we lose those we love.” The sunlight filtered down through the window, and millions of tiny dust motes danced and fluttered in the yellow beams. The beams touched the carpet and brought out the rich colors of the oriental rug, and from outside a bird, lifting his voice in a chorus, sounded joyful and full of hope.
Hugh turned his head. “Listen to that bird. He sounds happy, doesn’t he? That’s what I’d like to be like. What I used to be like.”
“We can’t sing like birds all the time,” Leonie smiled. She leaned forward and studied Hugh’s face. “But I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
“I’ve always had kind of a contempt for those who made New Year’s resolutions,” Hugh said. “I’ve always thought, Why fool with such things? Just do what you intend every day. But I made a resolution while I thought I was not going to make it.”
“What was it?” Maria asked.
“I resolved that if I got well, I was going to go back to work. I was going to start painting again. I was going to make myself of some use in the world.”
Immediately Leonie thought of Lowell’s words about Hugh’s uselessness, and it pleased her that Hugh had come to this conclusion. “I think that’s wonderful,” she said. “I’ve seen some of your early work— you’re very talented. In a way it’s sort of cheating not to paint.”
“What do you mean?” Hugh asked curiously.
“I mean when we have a gift God gives us, we’re obligated to use it to help others.”
“I think you’re right about that,” Maria said, “and you do have a great gift, Hugh. Your work gives pleasure to so many.”
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