Forbidden Night with the Duke

by Annie Claydon

  That was a good thing. The child was coming back to them, and as she did so she was starting to register pain.

  ‘Do you need a hand with the X-ray machine? I can go and clean up.’

  He grinned. ‘No. Ranjini can deal with that on her own.’

  She wasn’t needed, even for that. And she couldn’t even look Jaye in the eye, she was so afraid of what she’d see there. That he didn’t need her at all. After the intensity of the connection between them it was almost physically painful.

  His finger moved under her chin, tipping her head up. Megan instinctively moved to swat his hand away, but she couldn’t. The warmth in his eyes wouldn’t allow that.

  ‘I could really do with some coffee, though.’

  * * *

  Jaye sat in the small living area of Megan’s bungalow. It wasn’t so different from his own as the bungalows were all built to the same plan and were furnished the same. It was the little changes that Megan had made that made it so special.

  There was a bright, woven throw across the back of the small sofa, obviously from Africa. A couple of large candles on the coffee table, which Megan must have brought with her from England. He liked the fact that she’d felt the soft light warranted the space they’d take in her suitcase. And the scent of her soap, which seemed to follow him around whenever he was close to her.

  Something had happened. He wasn’t sure what but, whatever it was, it had changed everything. This morning they’d set out, both flinching every time the other got too close. And now...

  It was if they’d been taken, shaken and then thrust together in an intimacy that should have sent Jaye running scared. At the time it had been necessary, but now he had the leisure to replay it in his head.

  Her yelp sounded from the small shower room. Clearly the water was cold. The bungalows were powered by solar panels, and there was a choice between shade in the afternoons and consistently hot water. It was a design flaw, and Jaye turned his mind to how he might rectify it, in the hope that it would take his mind away from the idea that Megan must currently be naked.

  It didn’t. Not being able to see her now didn’t mean that he didn’t remember the softness of her skin against his cheek. He’d felt it again today, and somehow it had been just the same. Working with her wasn’t the same as an embrace, but the two seemed to have a lot in common.

  He puzzled over the thought for a while, and then Megan breezed back out of her bedroom, wearing a striped T-shirt and a clean pair of chinos. She walked over to the small kitchenette in the corner of the room and reached up into the cupboard.

  ‘I have ground coffee...’

  ‘Where did you get that from? Not the kitchen, surely.’

  ‘I brought some coffee with me. I’ve been eking it out and this is the last of it.’

  So she was sharing the last of her best coffee with him, rather than the milky instant stuff that the clinic kitchens served up. ‘I’m going down to Colombo next week. I’ll get you some more.’

  ‘You’re planning on driving? With that hand?’

  Jaye hadn’t really thought about it. ‘I should think it’ll be okay by then.’

  Megan raised her eyebrows, pursing her lips in that delicious I don’t think so expression. ‘You’d be better taking Dinesh to do the driving.’

  There it was again. Someone to notice. Someone who would care about him and boss him around a little when he needed it.

  ‘Maybe. I’ll see.’

  She plonked a mug of coffee down in front of him and Jaye took a sip, savouring the rich aroma. ‘So how does it feel? Your hand?’

  He shrugged. ‘It’s okay.’

  ‘Don’t worry about me, Megan.’ Her tone deepened by a couple of octaves, mimicking his. ‘As Director of the Western Province Free Clinic, and Peer of the Realm, my nerve endings should be different from everyone else’s. I allow myself to feel no pain.’

  Jaye caught his breath, almost choking on his coffee. ‘I never said that.’

  ‘No, you never said it.’ She sat down in the chair opposite him, her gaze challenging him to pretend that he’d never thought it.

  ‘Okay. I’ll take Dinesh with me. Happy now?’

  ‘I’ll be a lot happier when it’s been X-rayed and properly splinted.’

  Jaye had been figuring on doing that himself. Suddenly he wasn’t. ‘You’ll be sorry you said that when I start crying like a baby.’

  She smirked, clearly understanding that this was some kind of victory. ‘I’m a nurse, crying doesn’t bother me. And these will have kicked in by that time. One or two?’

  She held up a blister pack of paracetamol. Jaye was suddenly tired of managing, tired of making do by himself. If he couldn’t rely on Megan as a lover, he might just be able to as a newfound friend.

  ‘I’ll take the full thousand milligrams.’

  ‘Good. My thoughts exactly.’ She broke two tablets out of the pack, and handed them over to him. When he swallowed the paracetamol, washing it down with a swig of coffee and then leaning back in his seat, it felt as if he was relaxing for the first time in weeks.

  * * *

  Megan had let him rest for all of five minutes before ushering him back to the clinic. She then allowed him to at least supervise the X-ray procedure, reminding her of the safety protocols before they switched the machine on. Then she positioned his hand carefully on the couch. He resisted the impulse to move his fingers slightly. It would have been arrogant to do so, since she had the angle just right.

  ‘Not bad. Not bad at all.’ He grinned at her as they reviewed the X-rays together on the computer screen. He could see the break, but the finger had been straightened almost perfectly, which was no mean feat considering the conditions she’d been working under.

  ‘Hmm. Maybe a little more.’ She peered at the screen, assessing the two X-rays carefully.

  ‘So you’re going to hurt me again, are you?’ Jaye would have done the same himself to ensure that the finger healed perfectly straight.

  ‘You know it’s for your own good.’ That pursed-lips expression again. He was beginning to like it, because Megan’s eyes were full of a humorous, almost self-mocking light. Being one of her patients seemed like the best thing in the world at the moment.

  ‘Do I get a sweet?’ He nodded towards the jar of sweets on the countertop intended to dry children’s tears.

  ‘Yeah, you get a sweet. When I’m done with you, though, and not before.’

  * * *

  Could it hold? Could this really hold?

  Megan felt as if she were tiptoeing into new territory, into a fragile friendship built on the foundations of something completely different. Something that they’d both rejected because it was far too hard for either of them to contemplate. But the friendship was surprisingly easy, and after a few days of thinking that its foundations were made of sand and it was all going to topple in on her at any moment, Megan began to cautiously rely on it.

  And Jaye made a very good friend. He never gave her any quarter professionally, never made things awkward by favouring her over any of the other staff. But he gave her the opportunities that had been promised, and ensured she made the best of them. At his behest, she and Ranjini started a review of the outreach programmes, with a view to expanding the women’s services that were so dear to Ranjini’s heart.

  He’d remembered the coffee, returning from Colombo with half a dozen bags for her. And he must have bought some himself because the following day, when she knocked on the door of his bungalow to inspect the swelling on his hand, wash it and change the plastic sleeve that protected the splint, he had a cup ready for her.

  It wasn’t entirely necessary. But it was the one time in the day that Jaye kept entirely for her. Megan justified it with the knowledge that Jaye made time to speak with everyone in the clinic every day. This was just her five minutes.

 
‘You’ve been washing your hands again.’ She inspected the skin between his fingers, where soapy water had seeped under the plastic sleeve and inflamed the skin slightly.

  ‘Yeah. Force of habit. I can’t help it.’

  ‘I thought you were going to let Dr Stone do the hands-on stuff and stand back for a while,’ she reproved him gently.

  ‘I’m trying.’ He gave her a delicious smile, and Megan couldn’t help but chuckle.

  ‘Okay. As long as you’re trying.’

  ‘What are you up to on Friday?’ He watched, uncomplaining, as Megan taped the plastic cover in place.

  ‘I haven’t got anything planned. Ranjini’s interviewing for a new nurse, and I thought I’d catch up on some paperwork.’

  ‘You’ve done enough paperwork already. Dinesh isn’t available to drive me, so I thought you might like to come along for the home visits. We’ll try to keep the digging to a minimum this time.’

  It was so easy to say yes. They were entirely alone now, and Jaye treated her just the same as when they were surrounded by people.

  ‘Thanks. I’d like to do that.’

  Chapter Twelve

  THEY WERE MAKING it work. Not without a few awkward silences from time to time, a few things that Jaye wanted to say but which remained unsaid. Not without missing her, when she set out for a four-day tour of potential sites for the new women’s clinic that she and Ranjini were setting up, and not without feeling a sharp twang of regret that he had work to do here and couldn’t go with her. Not without worrying about her safety either, even though he knew that Megan could handle herself.

  When the truck pulled back into the compound, late in the afternoon, he saw Ranjini hurry out to greet her. Then watched as Megan disappeared out of view, obviously making for her bungalow. Jaye finished his afternoon ward round and then went to his bungalow, fetching the bottle of brandy that he kept for emergencies along with a couple of glasses.

  He found her sitting under the tree, as he’d known he would. When he put the bottle and glasses on the wicker table, she smiled up at him.

  ‘So you want a full report on how it went?’ She nodded at the bottle.

  Jaye sat down, pouring a little of the brandy into each of the glasses. ‘Yes. Four days’ worth.’

  She laughed. ‘Okay. I’m glad to be back. Warmish water in the shower and a soft bed.’

  ‘You could swap bungalows with me if you want hot.’

  ‘No, I’ll keep the one I have. Warm water’s fine and I like the shade. Yours is too hot.’

  Jaye leaned back in his seat, taking a sip from his glass. ‘So what about the places you saw?’

  Megan told him all about the sites they’d visited, people she’d met and places she’d seen. Jaye listened, as if he hadn’t visited them himself, many times. She made it sound fresh and new.

  ‘So you’re going for the more central site.’ It would have been his choice too.

  She nodded. ‘I think so. The existing facilities aren’t as good, but that’s something we can change. We want a location that’s accessible to as many people as possible. And there’s plenty of space there to build.’

  Jaye smiled. ‘You’re thinking of building something?’ Of course she was. Megan might content herself with the status quo, and make the best of it, but she never lost sight of the possibilities.

  ‘I’m just saying that if the project is successful, there’s space to build.’ She grinned at him.

  ‘Here’s to it, then.’ He refilled their glasses, clinking his against hers.

  ‘Yeah. Even if I don’t get to see it.’

  If everything went to plan, she would. She’d be involved with all of the new developments that the charity was undertaking, all over the world.

  ‘You’re not thinking of going anywhere, are you?’

  ‘No. But even the basic clinic’s going to take a while to set up. I’ll probably be gone by that time.’ She looked at him thoughtfully. ‘Wherever John Ferris decides to send me.’

  This was the one thing he’d kept back from Megan. It was his decision, not John’s. She’d done well here, and he’d already emailed John to tell him that Megan should be offered the post that had been discussed when she’d been recruited. It was sooner than intended, but she was ready.

  He’d kept quiet about that, though. The fragile balance of their relationship would be tipped if Megan felt that her future depended on his assessment of her.

  ‘Well, here’s to coming back.’

  ‘Yes. It is beautiful here.’

  Jaye smiled. Six weeks ago she hadn’t yet had a chance to see the beauty of this country or to connect with its people. Now she’d used her growing connection with both to underpin her determination to give the right help, exactly where it was needed.

  ‘It is. This place is something special.’

  ‘Is that why you were so stressed out? When you got here and found that it had changed?’ Megan deftly put her finger on one part of the reason, conveniently forgetting that she was another part of it. She must know that she had been.

  ‘Yes. But it’s built on good foundations, with good people. All it needed was a nudge to get it back on track. And now that it is, it’s one of my favourite places in the world again.’

  She smiled lazily. ‘What is it you like best about it?’

  One of those half serious, half playful games, played over a couple of drinks, to pass the time on a long, hot evening. Jaye could go for that.

  ‘The people... And everything’s less complicated here.’

  She grinned at him. ‘Is that because you’ve got a great big house at home to store your complications in while you’re gone?’

  ‘Probably.’ Jaye chuckled. ‘I love the silence just before the dawn. No old floorboards to creak around you.’

  ‘You like being a doctor, don’t you? More than you like being a duke.’

  ‘Yes, I like being a doctor very much. I can’t do much about being a duke, but it gives me the ability to do things I couldn’t otherwise do.’

  ‘Means to an end?’

  ‘Sometimes...’

  ‘And other times?’

  He shrugged. ‘People can look at you differently. In fact, they sometimes don’t look at you at all, they’re too busy looking at the house and everything that comes with the title.’

  She was nodding slowly. ‘Sonia?’

  ‘Yes. Amongst others.’

  ‘But here you’re a doctor.’

  Jaye nodded and they lapsed into companionable silence. Drinking buddies on a warm evening, who could just let the time slip by and the conversation go wherever it wanted.

  ‘So how about you? Why did you want to become a nurse?’

  ‘I didn’t actually. I had to do something, though...’

  ‘And the careers guide just happened to fall open at the letter N?’

  Megan laughed. ‘No, I chose nursing because my father wanted me to do business studies at college. He was going to take me into his company and fast-track me, without anyone knowing who I really was, of course. So I picked the course that I thought he’d most disapprove of.’

  ‘Which was nursing.’ Jaye chuckled. Megan had always seemed so sure of her goals, so focussed, and it was ironic that she’d fallen into the one thing that seemed to define her by accident.

  ‘Yes. You’re not taking notes, are you? I’d be devastated if this turned up on my employment file.’

  ‘I don’t need to take notes. I’ve got this place fitted with hidden cameras.’

  ‘Oh, hidden cameras are okay. So, anyway, I started the course, with the idea of dropping out in six months’ time and going travelling. But then I fell in love with the job.’

  Jaye chuckled. ‘So you were caught out by your own scheming.’

  ‘Yeah. I was pretty immature in those days. Nursing knock
ed a lot of things out of me, and I’m lucky I found it before I did something stupid.’

  ‘I...can’t really imagine you doing something stupid.’

  ‘No? I found out who my father was when I was thirteen. Before that I just thought he was an uncle. I spent a bit of time after that concentrating on doing as many stupid things as I could think of, just to annoy him.’

  ‘That sounds...’

  ‘Constructive. It was a very constructive reaction.’ She turned the corners of her mouth down, giving the lie to her words.

  ‘How about understandable, then? It must have been a bit of a shock.’

  ‘Yes, it was a shock. He used to come and visit when I was little, and he’d bring me presents and take my mum and me out to nice places. When I found out that it was all a lie...it felt as if I was a lie. As if I had no real right to exist.’

  Jaye’s heart thumped. He wanted to reach out and comfort her but that wasn’t what drinking buddies did. He picked the bottle up from the table, tipping another splash into both their glasses. She seemed to understand the meaning of the gesture, giving him a little nod before she took a sip.

  ‘And nursing was your one big rebellion.’

  ‘It is now. When I was a teenager I used to specialise in unsuitable boyfriends.’ She flashed him a grin that was pure mischief.

  ‘You can’t stop there. Unsuitable how?’

  ‘Well, they weren’t really unsuitable as far as I was concerned. Being unsuitable in my father’s eyes was always a big plus point for me. One of them was a professional poet. He travelled around in a beat-up minibus, giving readings in the evenings and doing odd jobs to make ends meet during the day.’ She laughed.

  ‘And your father didn’t like him.’

  ‘He loathed him. The whole thing was a bit of a non-starter really, but the fact that Harry was purple with disapproval made me hang on in there for almost two years. I had a lot of fun, went to quite a few music festivals, and then we went our separate ways.’

  ‘So you wouldn’t mind if we put a few poetry books in the back of the medical truck? Did a few readings when we weren’t otherwise occupied?’

  She laughed. ‘No. We’re not doing that. I think that’s enough skeletons in cupboards for this evening. What are your top ten favourite films?’