‘I know.’ Devlin smiled at her father’s description of her sometimes melodramatic mother.
‘You know,’ Gerry mused, ‘I think I might take her away on a holiday after all this. We could do with a break. I’ll ask her what she thinks.’
‘That’s a good idea, Dad. I could do with a holiday myself,’ Devlin said wryly.
‘Why don’t you go out to Caroline? You were talking about it at one stage,’ Gerry suggested.
‘That’s a very good idea.’ Luke had arrived in time to overhear the last remark. ‘A holiday away from everything is just what you need, Devlin.’
‘I’ll see,’ Devlin said offhandedly and Luke raised his eyes to heaven.
It was another hour before Lydia was brought up to the ward. When she arrived she was still drowsy, but looking better.
‘I’m sorry,’ she murmured, as Gerry and Devlin leaned over to kiss her.
‘Just rest yourself, Lydia. Devlin and I are here.’ Gerry took her hand in his. They stayed with her for a while until the nurse told them it was time to leave. Devlin went ahead, to give Gerry a bit of privacy with his wife for a few moments. Luke was waiting outside.
‘We have to go now,’ she told him.
‘I was just thinking: should we ask your dad to stay the night with us? I don’t think we should let him go home on his own tonight. He could stay with us or we could stay with him. If he comes over to the penthouse he can have the guest-room and I’ll sleep on one of the sofas so as not to make him feel uncomfortable.’ Devlin was struck once again by Luke’s sensitivity and kindness. When his own father had been alive, Luke had always been very good to him, a trait that she had always admired.
‘I’ll miss you.’ She slipped an arm around him and leaned her head on his shoulder.
‘We can send erotic vibes to each other,’ he said with his usual grin.
‘It’s a very cold night,’ she sighed.
‘I’ll make you a hot water bottle.’
‘You’re very good, Luke.’ She stretched up to kiss him.
‘Actually I’m in line for canonization! Didn’t you know that? I’m a saint in the making,’ he teased as Gerry joined them.
Her father jumped at the offer of staying with them and Devlin was glad it was Luke who had suggested it.
The following morning, after Gerry had phoned the hospital and been told that Lydia had slept normally through the night and was much better, he and Devlin decided to go to work for a couple of hours. They arranged to meet at the hospital later in the morning. Gerry went off to the bank feeling much relieved and Luke and Devlin had a cup of coffee together before she left for City Girl. She wanted Luke to fly back to London later in the day. He had been extremely good to her, very generous with his time, but Devlin knew he was a busy man and she felt guilty about keeping him from his business.
‘Why don’t I wait until tomorrow?’ he suggested as he tidied up with her after their breakfast.
‘Luke, I’ve got to get on with it, and it’s not fair keeping you from work. I’ll be fine.’
‘I like being here with you, Devlin. One more day isn’t going to cause chaos. Dianne could run that company without me; she’s a terrific asset. I rarely take holidays so this is my time off. Don’t send me back to work. I’m overworked! Think of my health.’
‘You’re a brat, Luke Reilly!’ Devlin burst out laughing. He was impossible to resist. So, happily, she accepted his decision to stay another day.
She arrived into her office to find a magnificent basket of red, yellow and white carnations on her desk, with a card signed by all the members of her staff offering her their support and good wishes. Devlin was very touched by their gesture, her morale boosted by their concern. This whole sorry episode had brought home to her just how many friends and supporters she had and, deciding to keep hold of that thought, she called Liz and got stuck into her agenda immediately.
Two hours later she had achieved a very satisfactory output of work so she didn’t mind telling Liz that she was taking the rest of the day off. As she headed for St Vincent’s, she decided that she would spend a couple of hours there and then go home to Luke.
Lydia had been moved to the private wing and Devlin walked down the quiet corridor towards her mother’s room, deep in thought. She almost bumped into a tall man emerging from one of the private wards and was just about to apologize when she recognized Colin. He had gynaecological patients in most of the private hospitals. He must have been doing his calls, she thought in dismay. They stood for a moment staring at each other, and then he let fly.
‘I hope you’re satisfied now you’ve got your revenge,’ he snarled. ‘I’m the laughing-stock of the profession, my wife’s told me to get out, my children despise me and Nurse McGrath’s resigned and told me she couldn’t in all conscience work with a philanderer. I hope you’re bloody happy, Devlin.’
She looked at him. His good looks were fading, but he hadn’t really changed much in the intervening years. A little heavier at the waist maybe, but he still had a great physique and although he had much more grey in his hair than when she had been with him, it gave him a distinguished air that many women would still consider very attractive. His life had been destroyed by that article. Although nothing actually libellous had been printed, the innuendo was enough. Like her, Colin was in an impossible situation: if he took the Sunday Echo to court, the publicity attached would be a disaster. Even if he did win a case against the paper it would be a Pyrrhic victory.
‘I had nothing to do with the Sunday Echo’s article, Colin,’ she said quietly, aware that two nurses that had passed by were staring at them with ill-concealed curiosity.
‘Oh, come on, Devlin,’ he said in disgust, ‘you don’t expect me to believe that you weren’t in cahoots with that lot. You must have got a fortune for that article, not to talk about all the free publicity and making muck of me.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Colin,’ Devlin retorted. ‘Why do you think I gave the interview to the Chronicle on Saturday – and I didn’t get paid for that either. I wanted the truth to be printed. I didn’t want people to think that what that rag of a Sunday newspaper printed was my story. I never mentioned your name in the interview that I gave. I never spoke to any journalist about you ever. I have too much respect for myself.’
‘Well, why didn’t you get an injunction to stop the Echo?’ he demanded.
‘Use your head, Colin. If I had, both of us would have had reporters on our doorsteps morning noon and night. At least it’s not going to drag on now after the fuss has died down. It will be a nine days’ wonder.’
‘For you, maybe,’ he snarled. ‘I’ll have to live with the fall-out for the rest of my life.’
‘I’ve been living with it ever since I got pregnant by you,’ Devlin said evenly. ‘The reason I’m here today is to visit my mother, who took an overdose as a consequence of that article. Some of the ladies on the fund-raising committee for your maternity unit demanded that she resign from the committee and that just pushed her over the edge. I’ve lost more than you ever will. I lost my baby and I nearly lost my mother. Don’t try to blame me for your troubles. You brought them all on yourself by your actions, just as I did mine.’ With immense dignity, Devlin stepped out of his way and with her head held high she continued down the corridor, leaving Colin staring after her.
Colin ran his hands through his hair. He was shocked at the news about Lydia and had to believe Devlin when she said she had nothing to do with that damned article. Despite all the antagonism between them, when he thought of those crystal-clear aquamarine eyes that he remembered so well staring at him with such contempt, he felt a niggle of shame. He had treated her badly, especially in denying their child.
Devlin had too much integrity to kiss and tell and he secretly admired the guts she had shown in picking up the pieces of her life and making such a success of it. As far as he was concerned, all the status that he had sweated blood for had gone down the drain. It would take him years
to get over this. His wife would never forgive him and his current mistress would probably take advantage of the situation to start urging him to get a divorce and marry her. He was getting a bit fed up with her anyway. She was always whingeing about having to be discreet. It was a pity she wasn’t a bit more like Devlin, he thought, as he strode out of the hospital, trying to ignore the knowing looks that were coming his way. Devlin had never whined. She had accepted the situation, although she had totally believed him when he told her that his marriage was over and his wife and he were staying together for the sake of the kids.
Devlin had been a corker – she still was, he had to admit as he marched over to his Mercedes in the consultants’ car-park. Despite their history, he wouldn’t mind a hot night with her in the sack. What a body! And what a shame that he’d had her only the once. It wasn’t as if they’d even had a proper affair, he thought, feeling very aggrieved. He put on a charming smile as he passed Stella Richmond, a kidney specialist he often referred his patients to. She cut him dead.
‘And fuck you too!’ he swore as he got into his car and gunned the engine. ‘Self-righteous old cow,’ he muttered. He should have known she’d turn on him. Wasn’t she one of that Opus Dei crowd, with her bloody holier-than-thou attitude? Well, he’d never refer a patient to her again – that was for sure.
That is, if he had any patients left for referral, he reflected, as he shot past the Merrion Centre on his way to his rooms.
Lydia was sitting against her pillows saying the Rosary, when Devlin, looking more composed than she felt, peered around the door of the room. In a perverse way, she was glad of her encounter with Colin. It had afforded her the opportunity of setting the record straight concerning the interview.
‘Devlin.’ Lydia laid down her Rosary beads when she saw her daughter and held out her hand.
‘Hello, Mum,’ Devlin said as she leaned over and kissed her mother’s pale cheek.
Lydia gave a sheepish grimace. ‘I’m so ashamed, dear.’
‘Why did you do it, Mum?’ Devlin sat on the edge of the bed, holding her mother’s hand tightly.
Lydia sighed and gripped Devlin’s hand. ‘I don’t know really. When Angeline and Jane came and they were so smug, I was furious. I was very angry for the rest of the evening and then I thought I’d really like a drink. And of course we all know what happened the last time I had a drink,’ she added bitterly. ‘Anyway I went to bed, and I thought about those two madams and then I began to think: what if Gerry’s bosses felt the same about him? And then I thought that some of your clients might leave you. I’m afraid I got myself into a right state and the urge to take a drink got stronger and it all got on top of me and I took the pills. After a while when I began to get really woozy, I decided I’d been a bit of an idiot and I got up to go down and tell Gerry what I’d done. I remember getting to the stairs and I’m afraid after that I don’t remember too much. I remember getting my stomach pumped; that was ghastly.
‘There’s something that I remember very well, though, and you’ll probably say I was hallucinating or imagining things. But Devlin, as sure as you’re sitting here before me, I swear I saw Kate and the baby. They were smiling at me and they looked so happy. They were telling me to go back and I never felt such a sense of peace and serenity as I did then. It lasted for a minute or two and then I remember coming to and having my stomach pumped. You probably think I’m mad, Devlin,’ Lydia said a little defensively.
‘Actually, I don’t, Mum.’ Devlin squeezed her mother’s hand. ‘It’s very hard to explain and I wasn’t going to say anything to anyone but now that you’ve brought it up, I’ve had such a strong sense of them all this weekend. I feel as if they’re here taking care of us. I think it was Kate who put it into my head about doing the interview with Sally Briers. Anyway, that’s what I want to think.’
‘You just keep thinking like that, pet, and so will I, and we’ll get through this. I promise I won’t pull any more funny stunts.’ Lydia met Devlin’s eyes.
‘We love you very much, Dad and I, you must know that,’ Devlin exclaimed. ‘If you’re down about anything or feel like taking a drink or whatever, you must share it with us. Then we’ll know what you’re feeling and be there to help. Don’t bottle it all up.’
Lydia gave a wry chuckle. ‘Do you hear the kettle calling the pot black?’
‘I know,’ Devlin smiled. ‘But I am getting much better. Ask Luke. I’m always moaning to him.’
‘It is good to know there are loved ones you can share your ups and downs with. I know you’re learning that with Luke and I’m glad. You know something, Devlin, this weekend and especially the visitation of Saint Angeline and Saint Jane has really brought home to me that if people behave like that they’re not worth having as friends. Do you know what Mrs Darcy next door did?’
Devlin shook her head. She knew Mrs Darcy, her mother’s next-door neighbour, only to say hello to. Mrs Darcy kept to herself in her big detached house and didn’t go around poking her nose in other people’s business.
‘She knocked on the door on Sunday morning with a packet of firelighters which she told me to use to burn any copies of the Echo that might come my way. She said you were a lovely girl and a credit to me and I wasn’t to take a blind bit of notice of what anyone said. Now, can you believe that?’
Devlin was delighted. ‘Isn’t she a little old dote?’
‘She certainly is,’ Lydia replied. ‘It’s people like that, who stand by you when the chips are down, that are the important ones. Those and family. And I’ve got the best family in the world!’
‘Dad will be in soon,’ Devlin informed her mother cheerfully, feeling relieved beyond measure at Lydia’s explanation of the overdose attempt. The most reassuring thing was that Lydia had realized that she had made a dreadful mistake and knew that she wanted to live. She could have shaken her mother for giving them such a fright, but Lydia had been through a lot in the last few years and Devlin knew that beneath the sophisticated veneer, her mother was a very sensitive woman who was only learning now how to reveal her emotions.
‘I’m glad we had this time to ourselves, dear, and I do apologize for being so stupid. You’ve enough on your plate without worrying about a neurotic mother.’ Lydia hugged her daughter and Devlin hugged her back tightly, rejoicing in their new closeness.
‘I’ll call tonight, love.’ Luke put his arm around Devlin as they stood by the boarding-gate the following morning. She had insisted on bringing him to the airport, wanting to be with him until the last minute.
‘I love you.’ She held him close and wished that he didn’t have to go. Having him with her for the past few days had been such a treat and it had been such a relief to share all her trials with him. It had been the weirdest weekend of her life, but one thing had come out of it: Devlin had realized that Luke played a very important part in her life, and she just couldn’t imagine what that life would be like without him.
Well, at least Lydia was out of hospital and seemingly none the worse for her experience, Luke reflected, as he sat on the plane awaiting take-off. He had really felt for Devlin this past weekend, with all she had had to endure. It had made him feel so powerless not being able to prevent all that dreadful ordeal. He hated going back leaving her to shoulder everything but he knew Devlin: she’d cope, although Devlin had had to cope with more than her fair share. Luke just wished he could stay to help her. The past few days had brought them much closer together, closer than he had ever thought possible. At least he had that consolation, he thought, as the jet thundered down the runway and lifted its huge bulk into the grey misting clouds.
Dianne let herself into the office and enjoyed the feeling of being there all by herself so early in the morning. It was just gone seven-thirty, but she wanted to get to work early to make sure everything was just right. Luke was coming home today and she was longing to see him. Whatever crisis Ms Delaney had been going through must be over, or else he had come to his senses and decided that Miss Wishy-Washy
was not for him. As happy as a lark, she laid out all the reports she had prepared for Luke in his absence and placed on his desk a neat sheaf of letters that required his signature. Her mouth tightened as she glanced at Devlin’s newly repaired picture. She had replaced the broken glass after her outburst the other day. It had been a very satisfying little tantrum, but on reflection she had decided that it would be better to have Luke find everything just as he had left it. One of these days it would be her photo that adorned Luke’s desk. ‘See if it isn’t,’ she said viciously to Devlin’s smiling image.
Luke had said on the phone the day before that he would take a taxi directly from the airport to the office. He’d probably be hungry, Dianne thought, as she ground the coffee beans. In another hour or so she’d order fresh croissants from the deli.
‘Dianne, you’re the best in the world!’ Luke smiled at her an hour and a half later, as he walked into his office to the enticing smell of freshly percolated coffee and croissants, freshly baked. Dianne glowed. How she wanted to run into his arms and hug him tightly to her. With superhuman restraint, she kept her composure and played it cool, pouring his coffee and handing him a crisp linen napkin as he sat behind his desk.
‘Oh, Dianne, would you do something for me?’ Luke smiled – that attractive crinkly smile that made her melt.
‘Of course,’ she responded warmly. ‘Anything!’ And she meant anything, she thought longingly.
‘Would you have three dozen pink roses sent to Devlin at her office, to be delivered as soon as possible?’ he said, before taking a bite out of one of the croissants.
Dianne couldn’t believe her ears. I hope it bloody chokes you, she thought savagely, as she saw Luke’s even white teeth taking another bite out of the croissant. Pink roses indeed!
City Woman Page 46
