The Doctor's Family Secret. Joanna Neil

absorbed in what he’s doing, to the exclusion of everything else.’ She sent Matthew a smiling glance. ‘I take it that Catherine’s not back from her shopping trip yet?’

      He nodded. ‘She phoned to say that she met up with a friend, and they’re having a meal together to celebrate the friend’s birthday. She’ll be back later on this evening.’

      ‘Would you like to stay for dinner with us?’

      ‘That would be great. I’m sure Connor will enjoy spending some more time with both of you.’

      Over dinner, she told her father what had happened to Tom.

      ‘I heard about it,’ her father said. ‘It’s a bad business. I like Tom. We’ve worked together for years, and he’s always been a good friend to me.’

      Matthew frowned. ‘Is this the same Tom who goes fishing with you in the summer?’

      ‘That’s right. I’m sorry to see him brought down by something like this.’ He sent Laura a quick glance. ‘I’m glad that you and Nick were there to take care of him.’

      ‘I think Nick was expecting it, to be honest. I knew that Tom had been unwell for some time, but I didn’t know how bad it was.’

      ‘Nick’s more observant than most, I’ll give him that. He’s a very clear-headed young man, but he’s very forthright in his views, too. He doesn’t pull his punches, and he forgets that there is more than one side to most situations.’ He frowned, his mouth tightening in a spasm of anger. ‘We’ve had more than a few arguments over this very subject. He didn’t think Tom should have still been working in A and E.’

      ‘I know.’

      ‘Sometimes it seems as though Nick is totally insensitive to what other people are going through. I can understand how Tom must have felt, faced with the thought of giving up his work. I know what it’s like to have to give up a career in medicine. It isn’t an easy thing to accept that your way of life, everything that you’ve worked for, has to come to an end. It can be a brutal blow, but Nick will never appreciate that.’ There was a bitter edge to his words. ‘For him it seems like a simple enough decision, but for Tom it was something he couldn’t even bear to consider.’

      ‘It’s been forced on him now.’

      ‘Yes. He’ll have a lot of thinking to do over these next few months while he recovers his strength.’

      He reached for the coffee-pot and filled his cup. ‘Actually, I called in to see Tom before I came home this evening. He said that you’d been in to see him, too, and I think it’s made him feel a lot more cheerful to know that he’s surrounded by friends. He seemed resigned to the fact that he’s not going to be able to avoid surgery.’

      ‘A triple bypass would give him a new lease of life.’

      ‘That’s true enough.’ He shook his head in grim reflection. ‘It’s a sad fact, but I can’t see him being able to come back to work. He’s only a year or so off retirement, and I think in the end he’ll come around to the fact that he will have to accept his limitations.’

      ‘That’s probably true, but at least he’ll have his family around him. That will be something for him to look forward to.’

      Her father nodded. ‘I’m sure he’ll be glad of their support.’ His expression was sombre. ‘On the other hand, as far as we’re concerned, this whole sorry business leaves us with something of a predicament.’

      Laura looked at him curiously. ‘What do you mean?’

      ‘I mean that the A and E department has been left with no consultant in charge.’

      ‘Yes, I had thought of that. I suppose, if Tom is ill for any length of time, which seems likely, the hospital will have to appoint an acting consultant, a locum perhaps.’

      ‘I don’t imagine it will be easy to get someone suitable as a matter of urgency. What’s most likely to happen is that Nick will be asked to stand in temporarily.’ His features darkened. ‘I expect he’ll be glad enough to step into Tom’s shoes. With nobody standing in his way, he’ll have free rein, won’t he? What is there to stop him from going after what he wants?’

      Laura’s eyes widened. ‘You mean that he will be in charge?’

      ‘Unfortunately, I think that’s a strong possibility.’

      Laura struggled to absorb that. Nick, in charge? While she respected him as a doctor, there was no way she would be happy for him to have overall control of her daily work situation. It was bad enough at the moment, when there seemed to be constant friction between them. She was forever having to bite her tongue when their sometimes heated disagreements threatened to get out of control. How would it be when he was the acting consultant?

      And that was without even beginning to consider the damaging effect his sudden promotion would have on his working relationship with her father. The result would be calamitous and didn’t bear thinking about.