Her Consultant Boss. Joanna Neil

sure that I know what you mean.’

      He added cream to the cup. ‘Since he probably brought the injury upon himself, maybe he doesn’t deserve all the fuss he’s getting.’

      Her eyes widened. ‘How can you say such a thing?’ she demanded crossly. ‘That poor child is a victim of your workmen’s carelessness. How can you possibly suggest that he shouldn’t get all the sympathy due to him?’

      ‘You’re right, in part,’ he said with cool deliberation. ‘To some extent the men were careless. After all, they forgot to lock up the storage shed after they cleared away.’

      Puzzled, she stared at him. ‘I’m afraid you’re not making any sense to me,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘The ladder was propped up against the wall, for all to see, and yet you’re telling me that the men put it away. It simply doesn’t add up.’

      ‘It won’t, put like that.’ He made a faint smile. ‘You forget that we’re dealing with children, here…with young boys, in fact. They do tend to get themselves into trouble from time to time, doing things that they’re not supposed to.’

      ‘Such as?’

      ‘Such as going through the store to see what they could find. They thought it would be a good game to get the ladder out and see if they could reach the roof. Fortunately, as it turned out, they weren’t able to do that.’

      ‘Oh, my!’ She looked at him, her blue eyes stunned. ‘I had no idea.’

      ‘So I gather. Actually, it isn’t the first time they’ve raided the store. Despite your experience of working with young children, perhaps you have little idea of what they’re like in their home environment.’

      His tone was clipped, and she remembered the accusations she had made. Had she really lectured him on his responsibilities as a landlord? She swallowed hard. ‘I seem to have… I, er… I didn’t know that the boys had brought this on themselves.’

      ‘No.’

      She hunted around for a way to apologise. ‘I was wrong. I thought that they had suffered because of someone else’s negligence.’ She thought about that for a moment, then said slowly, ‘Of course, you do realise that they shouldn’t have been able to get into the store in the first place.’

      He nodded. ‘I certainly do, and that’s why I shall be having a word with the men on Monday. In the meantime, I’ve called in a locksmith to come and fit a padlock. The lock has been changed once before, but one or both of the boys seems to have learned how to get into places by using a hairpin.’ He grimaced. ‘They’ve come unstuck this time. I’m going to have an alarm fitted to make sure nothing like this can happen again.’

      Megan winced. ‘I’m really sorry that I dragged you down here for nothing. If I’d known that the boys had been messing about, I wouldn’t have said anything.’

      He looked at her sternly. ‘I expect you to keep me informed of anything that’s not right. If someone is hurt on my property, I want to know about it. You live here now, and that’s part of your responsibility as a tenant.’

      He glanced down at his watch. ‘I should go. I had to leave a dinner appointment to come here and sort this out, but there may still be time for me to go back and salvage what’s left of the evening.’

      Now she felt even worse than before.

      ‘I’m sorry,’ she said again.

      ‘Don’t be. You did what you thought was right.’ He walked to the door. ‘Thank you for the coffee.’ His grey glance drifted over her, appraising her thoughtfully. ‘I’ll say goodnight, Dr Llewellyn, and I’ll see you on Monday morning, bright and early. I shall want see the results of those tests you ordered for Matthew.’

      He didn’t add, And they had better have been worth it, but he may as well have.

      Megan saw him to the door and watched as he strode to his car. It had been neatly parked on the wide stretch of ground that led along the side of the building. It was a sleek, silver model, the top of its range, and she couldn’t help thinking that it suited its owner to perfection. He had a way about him, a way of being in control, of expecting everything to run smoothly and to his satisfaction. Woe betide anyone who threw a spanner in the works. They would the one to suffer from the almighty explosion that followed.

      Sam’s visit had disturbed her, and she went back to her living room and tried to turn her thoughts away from anything to do with Sam Benedict and work at the hospital. Going to the window, she looked out over rolling hills and distant mountains. This place was home to her, and she was glad to be here despite the troubles she was having right now.

      Then, remembering Jenny and her problems, she made up her mind to ring Tom, Jenny’s husband. He wasn’t at home so she left a message, asking him to get in touch and suggesting that they might meet one lunch-time.

      * * *

      On Monday morning, Megan found herself working in the clinic with Sam. He asked her to sit alongside him during his meetings with patients, and from time to time he would ask questions, checking whether she was keeping up to date with current medical thinking, or perhaps he simply wanted to know whether she had been paying attention. It was a nerve-racking experience, partly because she had the feeling that he was waiting for her to come unstuck.

      He checked the last case-note file on his list for the morning. ‘Glance through this and update me on Sarah Danvers’s condition, will you?’