His Perfect Bride? (9 page)

Just as soon as she’d tracked down whether her mother was here or not she’d move on. If she did find her mother she wouldn’t want to stay in the village and pressure her into anything. She’d keep her distance. And if she
wasn’t
here then it didn’t matter. She would move on and try…what? There were no other clues. She had to be
here
.

Somewhere.

Her first patient arrived—Arthur Cross. He’d developed a nasty cough, so she listened to his chest and it sounded quite crackly. Concerned about a possible infection, she wrote a prescription for some antibiotics and said goodbye. Next was a young mother with a baby, who wanted to know whether she could go back on the contraceptive pill. Her husband wanted more babies—she didn’t. Lula suggested they have a discussion with each other, but wrote a script for it anyway and hoped it wouldn’t cause a huge marital argument between the two of them.

She saw a steady influx of patients all morning and was busy. The work kept her mind off her mother, and most definitely off Olly. It was only
when it got to about eleven o’clock that she noticed the time, because Olly brought her through another drink.

‘Made you a tea.’ He put it down on the desk and she took it gratefully.

‘Oh, thanks. Busy morning, isn’t it?’

‘It is. I was wondering if you’d come out with me on a house call later?’

‘Oh?’

‘Can you remember yesterday we had Ruby’s mum in? The teenage girl who was being a bit weird?’

Yes, she remembered.

‘Well, the mum’s more concerned and has asked us to come out and talk to the girl. If she
is
the mother of the baby left on your doorstep I think I’d quite like some female backup, if that’s okay?’

She nodded. ‘Sure. You really think it might be her?’

Olly shrugged. ‘I don’t know Ruby very well. I’ve only seen her for vaccinations when she was a baby herself. But she’s the only possible I’ve got at the minute.’

‘Okay. What time are we going?’

‘About two? She’s not at school. Refusing to speak or come out of her room for the last day or so.’

Oh, dear. Lula hoped it
was
her, so that they
could get her urgent medical attention, but she also didn’t want to think that a scared thirteen-year-old had had to go through labour and birth on her own—and then dispose of a baby…

‘Get me when you’re ready to go. And thanks for the tea.’

He winked as he left and she smiled, finding herself wishing he would come back and talk to her some more.

Oh, my goodness! What am I doing to myself?

Olly could only be a friend. There was no point in having those sorts of feelings or thoughts.

As two o’clock approached Lula hid in her room, eating her lunch and trying to stay out of Olly’s way as much as she could. But when he came to collect her she could put it off no longer. She would have to be in the car with him and go on this house call.

But that’s fine. It’s just a ride out. It’s work, not pleasure. There’s nothing to be afraid of.

She got in his car, highly aware of how close his hand came to her thighs every time he had to change gear or adjust the heating, but thankfully it wasn’t for long. Ruby’s family didn’t live too far from the surgery.

There was a deep drift of snow beside where Olly parked, so she had to climb out of his side. He held the door open for her as she clambered over the gearstick and proffered his hand for her
to steady herself before getting out. Blushing, she took it, hoping he assumed her cheeks were going red from the cold and nothing else. And then they were both tramping through the snow to Ruby’s front door.

Olly knocked and they waited.

When Ruby’s mum answered the door she invited them in and they went inside, happy to be in the stifling warmth of the house. Lula and Olly removed their snow-caked boots in the hall and padded into the lounge in their socks. They sat down.

‘Ruby’s still in her room. I told her you were coming but she still won’t speak or open the door.’

‘Do you want me to go up to talk to her?’ Lula offered.

‘If you want…but mind the mess. I’ve not had a chance to tidy up.’

Lula smiled sympathetically, then left Olly to talk to Ruby’s mum as she went upstairs. At the top of the stairs were three doors. One had a giant yellow ‘
Danger! Keep Out!’
sign on it, which she presumed was Ruby’s, so she gently knocked and waited for a reply.

‘Ruby?’

Silence, except for the gentle murmur of voices coming from downstairs.

‘Ruby? It’s Dr Chance. Can I come in for a chat?’

Still nothing. It seemed odd. She’d expected something. An outburst. A yell to go away—
something
.

Lula tapped on the door again. ‘I’m going to come in.’ She took hold of the handle, not sure if it would open or not, and gave the door a push.

It did open.

But Ruby wasn’t there. The room was empty.

‘Oh, no…’

Lula hurried back down the stairs and into the lounge. ‘She’s not there.’

Ruby’s mum stood up, frowning. ‘What do you mean, she’s not there? She’s got to be!’

‘She isn’t. The room’s empty.’

Ruby’s mum hurried upstairs to check for herself and then came back, looking completely bewildered. ‘I don’t know where she’s gone!’

‘Does she have any money? Are any clothes missing?’ asked Olly. ‘Her coat?’

She shook her head. ‘I don’t know. Let me check.’

She disappeared leaving Olly and Lula in the lounge, looking at each other.

‘What do you think?’

‘I think she may be our girl,’ Lula admitted.

‘It’s looking like it. Perhaps she did a bunk because she knew doctors coming to the house would notice if she’d just given birth or not.’

Lula glanced over at Ruby’s mother as she
came back in. ‘Her coat’s gone, and her boots. She must have sneaked out when I was in the kitchen.’

‘Call the police. Give them a description.’

Her mum frowned. ‘Why? She’s only been gone a few minutes. She’s probably at a mate’s house, or something.’ She noticed the conspiring glances between the two medics. ‘Is something going on?’

Lula sat her down. ‘A baby was abandoned at my home yesterday morning and we’ve been trying to find the mother, who we believe may be a teenager.’

‘You think Ruby…?’ She looked horrified. ‘But…I’d have noticed if she was pregnant. She’s only thirteen!’

‘I know, and it might not be her, but we have to take the possibility into consideration.’

She nodded slowly. ‘Right. I’ll phone the police, then.’

‘Could we check her room? See if there are any signs in there?’

Ruby’s mum nodded and picked up the phone. ‘Go on up.’

Upstairs, Olly and Lula searched for clues as if they were a pair of detectives. Olly rummaged through Ruby’s wardrobe whilst Lula was on her knees, pulling things out from under the bed.

She could see something at the back—a large
bedsheet, or something like it—all screwed up into a ball… Grabbing it, she pulled it out and saw that it was covered in blood.

‘I’d say this nails it, Olly.’

Olly turned around and his shoulders slumped. ‘Poor Ruby. We need to tell the police she’s our new mother and it’s imperative they find her.’

‘She can’t have gone far, surely? Perhaps we could organise a search ourselves?’

Olly liked the idea. ‘I can get Dad to cover the surgery. We could ask for volunteers to help us search.’

‘We need to search the bins, too. See if we can find the placenta—check if it’s intact.’ If a piece of the afterbirth—the placenta—had been left behind inside Ruby it might cause some very serious complications. Bleeding, haemorrhage or infection.

He nodded. ‘I’ll do that. Why don’t you talk to the police?’

Lula headed downstairs to find Ruby’s mother already on the phone with them. She asked to speak to them, too, and informed them of her and Olly’s findings. The police responded that they’d send officers straight away.

‘We’re going to organise a search,’ she told Ruby’s mother. ‘You stay here in case Ruby returns. This is my mobile number.’ She handed over a card. ‘Call me if she comes back.’

‘I want to search, too.’

‘We need you here.’ She laid a reassuring hand on the woman’s arm. ‘I know you want to be doing something. But the best place you can be is here. We need to know where to find you if we find Ruby first.’

The solemnity of her words must have hit home, because Ruby’s mother nodded quickly and sank onto the sofa.

Olly didn’t find anything in the bins, and once the police had arrived at the house they set off to organise a search party.

* * *

The village hall was thrumming with locals. A quick ring round the village, asking people to spread the word, had prompted a large turnout.

Lula was touched by how many people from the village had come out of their lovely, warm and cosy homes to go searching in the cold, wet snow for someone who was nothing to do with them—except for belonging to their village.

Most of these people are sixty or over. It’s an amazing community spirit…

When Lula had arrived in Atlee Wold she’d been the only person on a search for a mother. Now the majority of the village had turned out to do it.

Not for the same mother, obviously. They didn’t know about Lula’s circumstances and she
wasn’t about to share that information—even if it was tempting to ask people what they might know whilst they were all gathered in one place.

No. These people were all here for Ruby. Poor little Ruby, who was probably running scared, unaware that her life might be at risk.

Where is she? It’s the middle of winter. It’s freezing out here.

Lula couldn’t imagine for one second how that poor girl must be feeling. Cold, for sure. Alone, definitely. But what else? What had run through Ruby’s head to make her go through labour alone and give up her baby? Like Lula’s mother. What was the situation that prompted someone to give up a baby?

It was such a massive thing to do. Once it was done there was no turning back. There would always be that knowledge in your head that you’d given up a baby. Even if the reasons for it had been honourable, even if you’d hoped the child would have a better life somewhere else, there would still be that pain, that hole in your heart, to tell you that something was missing.

Something loved…?

Did my mum love me when she abandoned me? Or didn’t she care one way or the other? Has she ever regretted her decision? Does she think about me every day?

Ruby having gone missing was prompting this
torment in Lula now. There’d always been some element of it inside her, but she’d always kept it in check before. It had been a fleeting thought, a passing wonder or consideration, soon flattened down by more pressing matters. But here, now, with another abandoned baby and another missing mother, Lula couldn’t help but think about her own situation.

Olly stood up behind the table and called the meeting to order. The mass of voices in the room were suddenly silenced as everyone turned to hear what he was about to say.

Lula studied him as he spoke. Tall, straight backed, he’d turned his shirtsleeves back to the elbow and she could see his strong, muscular forearms. He really was an attractive man. Solid, dependable, down to earth. The sort of man you could settle down with.

If that was what you were looking for.

If I was the type to settle down, he’d be the type I’d go for…

She watched the faces of the people from the village. They were listening to Olly’s every word, some of them even writing down the description of Ruby as he presented it.

He spoke easily, not afraid of addressing the whole room, and there was a command to his voice that she’d never noticed before. It was reassuring. Even though this was a difficult
moment—an awful situation—his voice gave the sense that there was someone in charge who knew what to do. If they all just did as he suggested the matter would soon be settled.

She hoped so. She hoped Ruby would be found quickly.

A police officer then added his bit and Olly sat down, glancing at her with a quick smile.

Lula smiled back, her heart warming. He’d done a great job.

She could only hope that now the village would do a great job and find the poor missing girl.

The police presented a map of the village that they’d segregated into different zones, including the large woods that Olly and Lula had been assigned to. They were all given a whistle to blow if they found Ruby, or any sign of the young teen. With a wish for good luck, the villagers were ready to search, and they stood up with much scraping of chairs and mumbling as they wrapped up in their coats and scarves and headed out into the snow.

Outside, fresh snow was falling. It would almost have been pretty if the situation hadn’t been so dire.

Lula got into Olly’s car and he drove them to the woods. As he drove Lula glanced at him, seeing the strain on his face, the worry lines across his brow, his white knuckles gripping
tight about the steering wheel. She asked him if he was all right?

He glanced at her. ‘Yeah, I’m fine. This just reminds me of Mum, that’s all.’

‘What happened?’

He shook his head. ‘Mum and Dad went hiking one year, when I was two. My grandma looked after me whilst they went backpacking in America.’ He indicated quickly and took a turning that took them in the direction of the woods they were heading for. ‘They were walking the Pacific Crest Trail, but they’d not planned it very well and had picked the wrong time of year. There was a lot of snowfall, but they thought that as they were together they’d be fine.’

‘What happened?’ she asked, with tenderness in her voice.

‘Dad went to get water from a stream and Mum apparently headed out to find some firewood. When he came back to their campsite there was no sight of her, but he wasn’t too worried. She was an accomplished walker—he figured she’d be back…not realising she’d slipped on some ice and cracked her head open on a rock.’

‘How long did he leave it?’

‘Long enough. Thirty minutes? He knew they had a long trek ahead of them that day and thought he’d better track her down. When he found her she was cold and hypothermic.’