Nurse Bride, Bayside Wedding

by Gill Sanderson

  That evening the telephone trolley was wheeled to her bedside, she was told that there would soon be a call for her and she was left on her own. When the phone rang she had to stop herself from grabbing for it. No need for Ed to think she was desperate for a call.

  ‘Hi, sweet heart, how are you?’ It was Ed. And her heart bounded.

  ‘Hi, Ed. I’m fine. I’m improving. I’ve had visitors— Ben Carter, Kate Althorp and your dad.’

  As so often there was a smile in his voice. ‘Living the social round without me. It’s all happening in Penhally Bay.’

  ‘So how was your day?’ she asked.

  ‘Long but interesting. There’s a new treatment for diabetes. It looks good and I’ll try to persuade the practice to try it out.’

  It was good to sit and chat to him. But suddenly she wanted him by her, she wanted his physical presence. Just so she could see him, hold him if she wished. ‘Tell me where you are,’ she said rather sadly.

  ‘I’m in my hotel room. I should be looking through my notes, but…don’t laugh. I’m reading Pride and Prejudice.’

  Maddy couldn’t help a little giggle. ‘You!’

  ‘Yes. And I’ve just got to the bit where Darcy has apparently given up the idea of marrying Elizabeth. But I’ve not given up. I still want to marry you right now. But I know you’re ill so I won’t push you.’

  ‘Ed, for the good of both of us, forget it for a while. I may be ill but I’m not mad. Let’s wait for a year and see how we feel then.’

  His voice was serious. ‘It’s how I feel now that’s important. How we feel. I love you, Maddy.’

  ‘I love you, too,’ she said. ‘But I’m not going to change my mind about marrying you.’

  It was sunny again next day. Well, she was entitled to a few sunny days after the storm the week before. In the afternoon a nurse helped her dress. It seemed strange to be putting on clothes that she hadn’t seen for so long. Her clothes? How had they got there?

  ‘Dr Tremayne organised it all,’ said Samantha, the nurse who was dressing her. ‘Dr Ed Tremayne. He got a lady doctor on the ship to pack for you.’

  Organisation. She might have guessed.

  It wasn’t what she wanted but she was taken in a wheel chair to the front door, where Kate was waiting for her in her car. ‘My hours tend to be irregular,’ Kate said. ‘Babies arrive to suit themselves. So I can often take time off when I need to. We’ll take a couple of hours and you can look around Penhally Bay and the country side.’

  They went up onto the moors first, saw the great sweep of green, the blue of the sea beyond. Maddy felt that it was wonderful to breathe fresh air again, something different from the all-pervasive hospital smell she was so used to. Then they drove into the little town and she was shown the harbour, the walk along the beach. Then up to the surgery. It was a beautiful white building.

  ‘We could go inside and have a look around,’ Kate suggested. ‘Who knows? You might find yourself working there.’

  ‘Why do you say that? Has Nick said anything to you?’

  ‘No. He keeps his ideas to himself a lot of the time.’ Kate shrugged. ‘But we are expanding, Nick is always on the lookout for good staff and I know he thinks well of you. Anyway, what are you going to do when you’ve recovered? Off on a cruise ship again?’

  ‘I just don’t know! At the moment my life seems all over the place.’

  There must have been stress in her voice, because Kate patted her hand comfortingly. ‘Don’t worry about it. You’ve still not recovered. But all will come out well in the end.’

  They drove on, came up to the church and saw a line of cars outside. But there were only one or two people about. Kate pulled up where they could have a good view of the church gate. ‘I love a good wedding,’ she said. ‘The bride must be just about to arrive. Let’s watch.’

  Maddy was quite happy to sit and watch. They saw a vintage, open-topped car draw up, two brides maids help the bride out of the car, smooth down her dress and adjust her veil.

  ‘She looks good in plain white,’ Kate said in a judicious voice, ‘it suits her colouring. Would you get married in pure white, Maddy?’

  Maddy shook her head. She was rather enjoying herself. She hadn’t had a girly conversation about clothes in months. ‘Pure white makes me look washed-out. I’d go for ivory. What’s that material? I like it.’

  ‘It’s raw silk. Creases easily but hangs beautifully.’

  They watched as the bride took the arm of her father and walked towards the church. Dimly heard organ music swell to greet her.

  ‘I know the girl,’ Kate said. ‘Rowenna Pennick. Her father’s a fisherman. She met a visitor last summer, a solicitor from London, and now she’s marrying him.’

  ‘And going back to London to live?’

  ‘No. He’s found a job down here. It’s surprising how often that happens.’

  They drove on, slowed as they passed another handsome stone building. ‘That’s Nick’s house,’ Kate said.

  Maddy wondered at her flat tone. ‘It’s lovely. Does he live there all on his own?’

  ‘Yes he does now. Whether anyone else will ever move in, I just don’t know. Now. See what we have here. One bit of the family hasn’t moved very far.’

  They pulled up outside a white washed cottage and Maddy fell in love with it at once. ‘Whose is it?’ she asked, although she already had a good idea.

  ‘It’s Ed’s cottage. Like to look inside?’

  ‘But we can’t. He’s in London somewhere.’

  ‘He always leaves a spare key in the surgery. I phoned him last night. There are some notes I need to see and he has them in his desk. I’m going to pick them up. Come and have a look.’

  Maddy so much wanted to. She thought that you could tell a lot about a person by their home and she wanted to know more about Ed. Just out of curiosity, of course. ‘Won’t he mind?’ she asked.

  ‘Not at all. If I can go in, then you can, too.’

  ‘Maybe just the front room,’ Maddy said. In fact, she wanted to see the whole house, spend a couple of hours dreaming there. But the front room would do.

  Kate helped her out of the car and she walked cautiously to the front door—through a tiny hall and then into the front room.

  ‘Sit down,’ said Kate. ‘It’ll take me a minute to run through these papers.’

  So Maddy sat and looked about her. The room was even more lovely than the outside suggested. A through room, with the front facing the road and French windows at the back, over looking a tiny patio and then the sea. It had a black wood-burning stove set into an alcove.

  The room itself was fine, but…it needed something.

  ‘He hasn’t been here long,’ Kate said, noting Maddy’s interest. ‘He hasn’t really moved in, has he? It’s all a bit bare.’

  ‘Did he buy the curtains and the carpet?’ Maddy asked. ‘Did he decide on wallpaper rather than paint?’

  Kate chuckled. ‘Who’s a little nest-builder, then?’ she asked. ‘You’re right—wallpaper, curtains and carpet all came with the cottage. They need replacing. What this place needs is a woman’s touch. Now, I’ve found my papers. We’d better get you back.’

  Maddy had really enjoyed her outing with Kate. It had left her pleasantly tired—but in some ways strengthened. Now she could think. Decide on things.

  She loved what she had seen of the moors, of Penhally Bay. She could be happy here. She had loved Ed’s cottage and there was so much she could do to it. Kate was right, it needed a woman’s touch. New carpet and curtains, redecoration. The furniture was fine but the room needed vases with flowers in them, pictures, photographs. She wondered what the kitchen, the bathroom were like. The bedroom…

  This was silly! She was day dreaming when she ought to be making decisions about her future. What was she to do?

  She had accepted it, she loved Ed. She had lost all her old fears. Ed could be the man for her, she would be happy with him. And she knew he loved her. Or he thought he loved
her. That was the problem. Would he be happy with her?

  The trouble with Ed was his sense of honour, his determination to do whatever was right. His dying, pregnant wife had told him to leave her side to help those he could save. And he had done it. He’d listened to her. And had suffered for it ever since.

  She couldn’t allow him to make another mistake. To discover after a few months that the woman he had married was not the one he needed. He was in too much of a hurry. He had to have time, whether he knew it or not.

  Could she give him time? One thing was certain—she couldn’t live here with him, just waiting. She’d have to get on with her life to give him time to get over her—if he wanted to.

  So, she had made her decision. She knew it was the right one. And she hated it.

  Samantha came back into the room. Maddy asked her if there was a copy of the Nursing Times she could borrow. Time to look for a new job. Did she want to go back on a cruise ship? No. She had enjoyed it but she knew it would never be the same again. A large city A and E department? Possibly. But after looking around Penhally Bay, large cities had lost their attractions. But she had to carry on looking.

  That night the trolley was wheeled to her bedside again, and Ed phoned almost at once. He asked after her, was pleased she had gone out with Kate. Maddy didn’t tell him that she had been in his home. He might ask what she thought of it, how it could be improved, and she didn’t want to go into that.

  He was good company, even on the phone. He told her a story about one of the dele gates falling asleep and snoring during a lecture. The lecturer had said that he could accept a subtle hint that he had gone on for long enough. She loved listening to him, talking to him.

  But there were things that she had to say. ‘Ed, I’ll tell you now so as not to hurt you. Your dad offered me a job and I would love it. But I’ve decided definitely to leave Penhally Bay. We need to be apart for a while.’

  His voice was gentle. ‘Maddy, I want to marry you. I feel that way now and I’ll feel that way in a year’s time and in fifty years’ time. But not if you’re unsure. So just don’t decide anything yet. I’ll be back soon and I’m so much looking forward to seeing you.’

  There were plenty of tears when she rang off.

  Next morning there was a message that Kate was coming to take her out again. Good. Maddy felt that she needed to be with a friend. After a while, even the best of nursing-homes got a little claustrophobic. And she could gossip about the Tremayne family, though it was a bitter-sweet experience. Not just Ed, of course. All the Tremayne family.

  She managed to dress herself but with a nurse hovering near, in case she was needed. Then she insisted on walking to the front to meet Kate—but once again with a nurse in attendance. It would be great when she could look after herself again!

  Kate was waiting, kissed her on the cheek again. ‘You look better every day,’ she said. ‘Now, we’ll try something a bit more exciting today. We’re going to meet Angie, an old friend of mine. She’s a dressmaker, just set up in business but doing very well for herself. It’s your birthday soon, isn’t it?’

  Maddy was surprised. ‘Yes, it is. But how did you know that?’

  ‘There was a phone call to the practice from your Captain Smith. The cruise line and he want to give you a birthday present. Something a little bit different, a bit special. They asked my advice—I said an evening dress. It always cheers a woman up.’

  ‘But I never get the chance to go out in evening dress!’

  ‘The odd thing is, once you get the gown then opportunities to wear it mysteriously appear. So let’s go and see what Angie can do for you.’

  They drove across the moors again. Maddy wasn’t really interested in a new evening dress. She looked a mess, her head was half-shaved and covered in bandages. She couldn’t wear an evening dress looking like this. But Kate’s enthusiasm was infectious and so she decided she’d enjoy the trip out.

  Angie was tall, thin, serious and dedicated. She worked from the ground floor of a large house. There were lots of fabric samples on view, patterns and pictures on the wall. She looked at Kate with a critical eye and said, ‘You’ve got the perfect figure for a long dress. Just enough fullness, enough curves in the right places.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Maddy, wondering if she’d been complimented.

  ‘Have you any style in mind?’

  Maddy hadn’t. ‘I’m not sure,’ she said. Then, not wanting to disappoint anyone, she said, ‘I’m not quite myself, you know. But in general I like flowing lines and an absolute minimum of decoration. And not too low-cut.’

  ‘Hint but not state,’ Angie said approvingly. ‘Look at these patterns here.’

  It was fun, the three of them looking through the patterns. But eventually Maddy decided on one, and the other two agreed that it would be a perfect choice. It was simple but elegant. Maddy’s mood changed a little. She wanted to wear this dress.

  ‘Now fabric and colour,’ said Angie. ‘I’ve got some swatches here.’ She looked at Maddy’s face with the same considering expression and said, ‘You’ve an autumn colouring. Look at these shades, warm with a touch of darkness.’

  Maddy looked. And eventually she decided on a heavy bronze silk-linen mixture. Because it was a mixture there was a subtle change in colour as she moved. It matched her hazel eyes beautifully and would go well with her hair. When her hair was on show.

  She thought there had been times in the past when she would have loved this. But now wasn’t the time. It would be nice to have the dress, but when could she wear it? Who would be her partner?

  Now she had to stand in the middle of the floor with her arms out stretched as Angie took her measurements. It didn’t take long. Then Angie stood back with a satisfied expression and said, ‘That’s all I need for now. And I gather this is to be an express job? I’ll have it ready for fitting in a couple of days.’

  Maddy looked at her in bewilderment. ‘That fast? It usually takes weeks.’

  ‘Only if you hang about,’ said Angie.

  Maddy was getting better, and every day now she felt stronger. Ed phoned each night and they chatted about what he had done, how she was feeling. But he never asked her about her future plans and she never told him. He didn’t mention marriage again, and she didn’t bring up the subject either. Perhaps he had given up the idea completely. Had decided to accept what she said?

  That thought made her feel strangely unsettled.

  After two days she was called for by Kate and taken to Kate’s home. Another lovely cottage, but with the little extras that Maddy had thought that Ed’s cottage lacked. This was a home.

  Angie was waiting there. ‘Take your dress off and stand in the middle of the floor, please,’ she said.

  Maddy did as she was told, standing still as the bronze silk was carefully lowered over her head. Angie walked round her, pulled at a sleeve, adjusted the hang at the back. ‘Not bad,’ she muttered. ‘Just a bit of alteration.’ Like all dressmakers she put pins in her mouth then started to take in here, let out there. And then eventually Maddy was told, ‘Now you can turn and look at yourself.’

  Kate had brought a full-length mirror into the room. Maddy did as she was told. And she thought she looked wonderful. The dress was simple, elegant. It brought out her figure and enhanced her colouring. But the bandages on her head spoiled the overall effect.

  ‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Kate said. ‘Don’t. The bandages will go, your hair will grow again.’

  Maddy smiled ruefully. ‘I know. It’s a truly gorgeous dress and the cut is absolutely wonderful.’ She meant it. But she couldn’t sound too enthusiastic. When would she need an evening dress? Never in the fore seeable future.

  So the week passed and she continued to improve. Nick came in, said how pleased he was with her progress. But he didn’t mention his job offer again and she wondered why.

  The dressing on her head was now much less obvious and she could feel the faint itching that said that her hair was begin
ning to grow again. But she still felt a mess. Who could possibly fancy a woman with half her head shaved?

  She now went out every afternoon or evening with Kate. Although there was a difference in ages, they had become firm friends. She thought that working with Kate would be fun. But that would mean working with Ed. And she couldn’t do that. Not if they didn’t… And she hadn’t found a job she fancied either. What was she to do?

  Then it was the night before Ed was due to come back. She was both dreading and looking forward to seeing him. She had missed him so much! But she had also decided that Ed could not be held to a promise that he had made so thoughtlessly. What could she say to him?

  Kate picked her up later that evening. ‘Your dress has arrived,’ she said as they drove down into Penhally. ‘I’ve been desperate to see you in it, so we’ll have a fitting at once. Angie asked if she could have a photograph of you in it.’

  ‘Not with my hair like this,’ Maddy said.

  The car slowed, and Kate turned off the engine. Maddy peered out of the window and blinked. ‘This isn’t your house,’ she said, her voice rising. ‘It’s Ed’s cottage. What are we doing here?’

  ‘Slight chance of plan,’ Kate said briskly. ‘Not important. You’re still going to try the dress on. Now, out you get.’ She helped Maddy from the car.

  ‘But it’s Ed’s cottage!’ Then she noticed there was a light on inside. ‘Is Ed in there?’

  ‘Let’s go and find out.’ There was a conspiratorial smile on Kate’s face.

  Maddy was instantly suspicious. ‘I’m being set up here, aren’t I?’

  ‘I’m your friend, Maddy! No way would I set you up!’ Kate didn’t knock on the door, just pushed it open and then pushed Maddy into the cottage. ‘I forgot something,’ Kate went on. ‘I’ll have to fetch it. I’ll be back in a quarter of an hour.’ And she was gone.