Medic on Approval

by Laura MacDonald

  ‘At least Gwynneth won’t be terrorised any more.’

  ‘You mean, by Bronwen?’

  ‘Yes, she made her life an absolute misery.’

  He frowned. ‘I didn’t know it was that bad. You should have said.’

  ‘Gwynneth begged me not to.’ Lindsay sighed. ‘I wish I had now. Have you said anything to Henry about this yet?’

  Aidan shook his head. ‘No, I thought I’d get your reaction first.’

  ‘Well, provided it’s what Janet wants, I think it’s a wonderful idea.’

  Rufus met them in the yard. He looked agitated as if all the cares of the world were on his thin shoulders. Lindsay felt sorry for him.

  ‘Where’s your mum?’ asked Aidan as he and Lindsay hurried behind the boy into the farmhouse.

  ‘She’s upstairs in the bedroom,’ Rufus replied briefly. There was no time today for looking at geese or stopping to chat with anyone. Evie was in one corner of the living room a terrified expression in her huge eyes. A boy was with her whom Lindsay presumed was the other son, Jared. Dai was at the top of the stairs.

  ‘Thank God you’ve come, Doctor,’ he called when he caught sight of Aidan. ‘Come up—there’s something wrong. I’m sure there is. It’s all much more difficult than any of the others.’

  Lindsay ran up the stairs behind Aidan and followed him into the overcrowded, untidy bedroom. Clarrie was lying on the bed dressed only in a cotton nightdress. Her skin looked a greyish colour and there was a film of sweat over her face and neck. Her hair, lank and straight, was plastered to her head while her hands had gathered up great bunches of bedclothes. Even before they were properly in the room a contraction seized her swollen body and she twisted the material in her hands as a desperate cry left her lips.

  ‘It’s all right, Clarrie, we’re here now.’ Aidan swept a space clear on the top of a chest of drawers and set down his case. ‘Let’s have a look at you and see what this baby is up to.’ Swiftly he took latex gloves from his case and pulled them on. Then, after Lindsay had folded back the bedclothes and lifted Clarrie’s nightdress, he proceeded to examine her.

  When he’d finished he straightened up, then indicated for Lindsay to join him by the window.

  ‘What is it?’ she murmured. ‘Is there anything wrong?’

  ‘She’s about seven centimetres dilated but the baby is in a face-to-pubes position instead of the usual way.’

  ‘Won’t that mean a forceps delivery?’ asked Lindsay in the same low tones.

  ‘Not necessarily. Sometimes a baby will turn naturally, or if it doesn’t and the mother doesn’t get too tired—one of these can sometimes mean a long labour—she’ll be able to deliver normally. I’m sure that’s what Clarrie will want.’

  ‘But is the baby all right?’ Lindsay persisted anxiously.

  ‘Foetal heartbeat is fine,’ Aidan replied. ‘I’m going to ring Sister Mackett on her mobile and see if she has any idea what time she’ll get here. If Clarrie is going to deliver naturally she’ll be wanting some gas and air, and I don’t have that.’

  ‘What is it?’ demanded Dai. He was standing in the doorway, supporting his weight on his elbow crutches. ‘There’s something wrong, isn’t there?’

  ‘Not really, Dai.’ It was Aidan who answered him. ‘We have a situation where the baby is in an unusual position.’

  ‘I don’t want to go to hospital,’ Clarrie had lifted herself up in the bed.

  ‘OK, Clarrie. I’m hoping that won’t be necessary,’ Aidan replied. ‘Baby’s heartbeat is nice and strong—it’s just whether or not you’ll get too tired before the birth.’

  ‘I won’t.’ Determinedly Clarrie bit down on her lower lip.

  ‘In that case, I think we’ll get ourselves a bit organised here,’ said Aidan. ‘Sister Mackett will have a fit if she arrives and there’s nothing ready.’

  ‘I’ll sort things out,’ said Lindsay, aware as she spoke that Aidan threw her a grateful look. ‘Dai, do you think you and the boys could organise tea for everyone? And, Clarrie…’ she turned to the bed ‘…if you tell me where everything is for the baby, I’ll set it out.’

  ‘It’s all in the cupboard over there.’ Clarrie nodded towards a large corner cupboard. ‘The cradle is in the other bedroom. I wasn’t due till next week. All the others were late. Ah…’ She gasped as another contraction shook her.

  A call to the midwife revealed that she was still awaiting the arrival of the rescue service. Aidan briefly put her in the picture and told her that all was well because Clarrie had no fewer than two doctors in attendance.

  While Aidan kept a close watch on the baby’s progress Lindsay proceeded to tidy the bedroom, folding up clothes or hanging them in the wardrobe. She carried the wooden cradle into the room and set it at the foot of the bed, then she opened the cupboard to find its shelves stacked with baby clothes and toiletries. It was quite easily the neatest corner of the house, proving beyond doubt that if everything else had become too much for Clarrie in recent months she was obviously determined to be fully prepared for the birth of her baby.

  After a while Rufus brought tea for everyone. On entering the bedroom, he threw a fearful glance at his mother, as if dreading what he might be about to see.

  ‘It’s all right, Rufus.’ Aidan intercepted the glance. ‘Your mum is doing just fine. There’s a bet on at the moment to see who arrives first—the baby or Sister Mackett.’ He paused then, looking at Clarrie, he said, ‘Was Dai present when the others were born, Clarrie?’

  She nodded. ‘Yes…all of them,’ she said.

  ‘In that case, Rufus, tell your dad to come up when he’s drunk his tea. We can’t have him missing this one.’

  By this time Lindsay had made up the cradle and finished her preparations for the birth. Picking up one of the mugs of tea, she took a sip. ‘Anything else I can do?’ she said, her gaze meeting Aidan’s.

  ‘If this baby wins the race and gets here before the midwife, how would you like to deliver it?’

  ‘Well…I…It’s a long time since I delivered a baby,’ she murmured.

  ‘Then it’ll be good experience for you,’ Aidan replied firmly. ‘We GPs never know when we’re going to be called upon. Perhaps you’d like to check and see if there’s any progress while we’ve all been guzzling our tea.’

  Apprehensively Lindsay donned a pair of latex gloves. It had indeed been a long time since she’d delivered a baby. It had been back in her training days in London during her stint in obstetrics. Carefully she examined Clarrie.

  ‘The foetal heart is still strong,’ she reported to Aidan a few minutes later. As she spoke another huge contraction gripped Clarrie.

  ‘I want to push…’ she grunted. The contraction died away and Lindsay checked the cervix.

  ‘Ten centimetres dilated and I can feel the anterior fontanelle.’

  ‘Where’s Dai?’ gasped Clarrie as another contraction seized her.

  ‘I’m right here, love.’ Unbeknown to either Aidan or Lindsay, Dai had come back into the bedroom. Moving to the head of the bed, he sat down and took hold of Clarrie’s hand.

  ‘Clarrie’s in a hurry now,’ said Aidan cheerfully. ‘She and the baby have decided not to bother about gas and air, neither are they going to wait for Sister Mackett.’

  ‘I’m going…to…push again…’ Clarrie’s face went purple with exertion.

  ‘Will everything be all right?’ asked Dai anxiously, looking over his shoulder at the two doctors at the foot of the bed. ‘What with the baby being in the wrong position and Sister Mackett not being here?’

  ‘Everything’s fine, Dai,’ said Aidan calmly. ‘Dr Henderson here is going to deliver the baby. She’s one of the finest baby doctors in the country. It’s a privilege to have her here.’

  Lindsay looked up sharply and as her startled gaze met Aidan’s he winked at her. Then Clarrie’s actions demanded her attention once more.

  ‘Baby’s head has crowned,’ Lindsay announced triumphantly some while later
. ‘Now, Clarrie, I want you to pant for me…Yes, that’s right, like that. I can see you’ve done this before. Well done.’ Vaguely, out of the corner of her eye she was aware that Aidan was drawing up an injection. For the life of her she couldn’t think what it could be.

  At last the baby’s head was born with its face uppermost instead of in the usual position, and it was then that Aidan administered the injection to Clarrie. ‘Synometrine,’ he murmured to Lindsay, ‘to prevent the risk of a haemorrhage in the final stage of labour.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Lindsay, remembering. Then, following a further contraction, gently but firmly she guided the baby into the world—first the tiny shoulders, quickly followed by another contraction which expelled the rest of its body.

  ‘It’s a girl,’ said Lindsay triumphantly, at the same time lifting the baby onto Clarrie’s chest. ‘She’s beautiful, just beautiful.’ She gulped as tears suddenly filled her eyes, momentarily obscuring her vision.

  While Clarrie and Dai were welcoming their new daughter Lindsay clamped and cut the umbilical cord and a little later delivered the placenta. It was at that moment that Sister Mackett arrived.

  ‘I can see,’ she said as she bustled into the bedroom and was greeted by a ring of happy faces, ‘that I’m not needed here.’

  ‘Hello, Sister,’ said Clarrie. ‘I’m afraid the baby couldn’t wait for you.’

  ‘What do we have?’ Sister Mackett leaned over the bed to look at the tiny, crumpled face.

  ‘A little girl.’ There were still tears in Dai’s eyes as he answered.

  ‘The children are desperate to come up,’ said Sister Mackett. ‘It’ll be a bit over crowded in here but I think we should let them, just for a moment.’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ said Clarrie. ‘They must meet their new sister.’

  The older children crowded into the bedroom—Rufus shy and embarrassed, Jared wary and Evie so eager that she almost hurled herself at her mother and had to be restrained by Dai. They all dutifully kissed their mother and examined the baby, and were just on the point of being shooed out by Sister Mackett again when Jared, who’d reached the door, paused and looked back. ‘Does she have a name?’ he asked.

  Clarrie glanced at Dai who gave a tiny nod. ‘Yes,’ she said with a little sigh of contentment. ‘She does now. We couldn’t decide before, but now we’re both agreed—it has to be Lindsay.’

  ‘Well, I would say that just about clinches it,’ said Aidan as later they drew away from the farm.

  ‘What clinches what?’ Lindsay had been waving to Dai and the children who had all crowded into the yard to see them off, but she turned now and looked at Aidan beside her.

  ‘Having a baby named after you. I would say your acceptance amongst the locals has been well and truly confirmed.’

  Lindsay flushed. ‘You think so?’

  ‘I know so.’ He nodded. ‘That particular family have really taken you to their hearts. Mind you, I can’t say I blame them.’ Taking one hand from the steering-wheel, he covered hers and squeezed it tightly. ‘That was a great job you did. Well done. I was proud of you.’

  ‘I feel quite light-headed.’ She gave a little sigh. ‘It’s an experience to even watch a birth but to actually deliver a baby—well, that’s something else. I had a job to keep my emotions under control—I have to confess I very nearly disgraced myself and had a good howl.’

  ‘You may not have been the only one,’ he admitted sheepishly.

  ‘You, too?’ She raised her eyebrows, surprised to hear him admit to such a thing.

  ‘Every time.’ He nodded. ‘It really gets to me.’

  ‘I must say they all seemed in a happier frame of mind since the last time we were there.’

  ‘Dai told me he’s started his physiotherapy,’ said Aidan. ‘A neighbour has agreed to take him in twice a week. Maybe at last they can begin to see an end to their troubles.’

  ‘Oh, I do hope so,’ Lindsay replied.

  They drove on towards Tregadfan and had almost reached the village when Aidan spoke again. ‘Lindsay,’ he said quietly, and there was something about the tone of his voice that let her know that what he was about to say was serious. She turned her head to look at him but waited in silence for him to continue, at the same time studying his profile—those features which in such a short space of time had become so familiar and so dear to her.

  ‘I think we should go and see Henry,’ he said quietly. ‘I think we should tell him.’

  ‘I thought you said we should wait until all the fuss over Bronwen had died down.’

  ‘I know I did. But I would hate him to hear it from anyone else, and the way things are between us—well, I don’t think I can hide my feelings for much longer. I love you, Lindsay, and I want everyone to know it.’ Pulling the Land Rover to the side of the road, he switched off the engine. Leaning across, he pulled her into his arms and covered her lips with his own in a kiss so full of longing that her pulse began to race.

  From the rear of the vehicle Jess gave a single sharp bark but when she realised that no one was about to get out she settled down again, her nose on her paws.

  When at last they drew apart Lindsay spoke. ‘What will we do,’ she said, ‘if Henry says you can no longer be my trainer?’

  ‘You mean, if the worst came to the worst and you had to return to London to continue your training? Well, I guess I’d just have to come with you and find another job.’

  ‘You’d do that?’ she asked wonderingly, allowing her gaze to roam over his face.

  ‘Absolutely,’ he replied unhesitatingly. ‘I couldn’t bear to be away from you now and there’s no way I intend to risk losing you.’

  ‘Oh, Aidan,’ she whispered. ‘You won’t lose me, whatever happens—I promise you that.’ Reaching up, she touched his cheek with her fingers. ‘And let’s face it,’ she went on after a moment, ‘there’s always the chance that Henry knows anyway and will say it doesn’t matter and that you can carry on as my trainer even if we are in love.’

  ‘Well,’ he replied, ‘there’s only one way to find out.’ Drawing away from her, he turned the key in the ignition.

  The shadows were lengthening by the time they reached the Llewellyns’ house.

  ‘Looks like they have company,’ said Aidan as they drew in alongside an unfamiliar car parked on the drive.

  ‘Maybe now is not the best time…’ Lindsay began. ‘Perhaps we should go…’

  ‘Too late,’ Aidan replied. ‘Henry has seen us.’ A movement in the window was followed by the opening of the front door.

  ‘Aidan.’ Henry stood in the doorway. There was a guarded expression on his face. ‘Did everything go all right?’

  Aidan nodded. ‘Yes, Clarrie had a daughter. Lindsay delivered her.’

  ‘Well done, Lindsay.’ Henry turned to her but there was a weariness about him. ‘I’m glad you’ve come,’ he added shortly. ‘You have a visitor.’

  ‘A visitor?’ said Lindsay in surprise as they followed Henry into the house.

  ‘Yes.’ Henry nodded. ‘He’s in here.’ Opening the study door, he stood back for Lindsay to precede him into the room.

  Briefly she wondered if her visitor was her father, thinking how appropriate that would be, how he could meet Aidan, but as she crossed the threshold she stopped and her heart seemed to turn over as the man standing by the window turned to face her and she saw that it was Andrew Barlow.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  ‘ANDREW!’ Lindsay stared at him in astonishment, only vaguely aware that Henry had withdrawn from the room and shut the door behind her. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’

  He drew in his breath sharply, his nostrils flaring—a gesture she’d once found attractive. ‘I’ve come to take you home, Lindsay.’

  ‘Take me home? Whatever do you mean?’ She continued to stare at him. A thought suddenly struck her, and in sudden alarm she said, ‘There’s nothing wrong, is there? My father…is he all right?’

  ‘As far as I know, yes.’
Andrew frowned. ‘Lindsay, it’s you I’ve come about. It’s high time you stopped all this nonsense and came home.’

  ‘What are you talking about,’ she demanded, ‘and what do you mean by nonsense?’ She faced him across Henry’s study, only too aware that Aidan was in the other room and of what they’d come here to discuss. What he must be thinking of Andrew turning up like this out of the blue, she had no idea.

  ‘This whole thing,’ said Andrew in answer to her question, throwing wide one hand in a gesture, as if including the whole area. ‘This running away to Wales.’

  ‘I haven’t run away to Wales,’ she retorted. ‘I’m here in Wales to do a job. I’m undertaking my GP training—’

  ‘But surely you didn’t have to come all this way for that! Wasn’t there somewhere in London you could have done the same thing?’

  ‘Yes, I dare say there was,’ she replied, stung by his attitude. ‘But I chose not to stay in London—’

  ‘You were running away,’ he repeated.

  ‘Running away from what?’

  ‘From the unfortunate situation that had arisen between us.’

  ‘Unfortunate situation…’ She stared at him, speechless at his audacity. ‘Is that what you called it?’ She managed to speak at last but the words threatened to choke her. ‘I called it infidelity…’

  ‘Oh, hardly that, Lindsay,’ he protested. ‘Come on, we weren’t married—we weren’t even engaged, come to that.’

  ‘We were living together, Andrew,’ she said tightly. ‘Maybe to you that didn’t mean anything, but as far as I was concerned we’d made a commitment. I’m not in the habit of inviting men to share my home.’

  ‘Well, no…’ for the briefest of moments he had the grace to look shamefaced then the same old confident smile was firmly back in place, its object as always to charm her into submission. ‘Lindsay, come on. I told you how sorry I was at the time. I’ll say it again now and then perhaps we can forget the whole thing. We can’t just throw away everything we had—we were so good together. Now, you can’t deny that, can you?’ He moved towards her as if he was about to take her in his arms. Hastily she sidestepped.