Nurse Saxon's Patient (15 page)

‘
And he did,
’
Tansy breathed.
‘
I read about it in the paper. He went for a long holiday
...’

‘
Not exactly a holiday.
’
Julie smiled, remembering the heart-burning discussions she and Roger had shared before he finally, as he phrased it,
‘
took the plunge
’
.
‘
What actually happened was he asked for a year
’
s leave of absence from the paper, and the editor, who took a very dim view of people not being satisfied with what he considered a good and responsible job for a young man, told him he could take a chance. He could have the year
’
s absence, but he would be paid no retaining fee nor would he be guaranteed a job on his return. If his place was vacant, all well and good. If not, then Roger would have to look for work on some other paper, and the
Chronicle
is the best—the only one, really—in Hyncaster.
’

‘
And he took the chance
!’
There was no
mistaking
Tansy
’
s admiration.
‘
What did he live on?
’
she asked next.

‘
He did all sorts of jobs,
’
Julie remembered.
‘
He even sang in a caf
e
where he
’
d worked as a waiter. I don
’
t know half the things he did do, but they brought him enough to live on and gave him enough time to write in the evenings or the afternoons, depending on what job he was doing at the moment.
’

‘
That
’
s what I admire about him,
’
Tansy asserted.
‘
He
’
s evidently not the sort of man to be daunted by
circumstance! I
’
m crazy to meet him. You mustn
’
t let him leave before I come again, Julie.
’

‘
I can
’
t interfere with his plans,
’
Julie told her,
‘
but I don
’
t think he
’
ll be leaving for a while, as I told you.
’

For the remainder of the evening Tansy was more lively than any of them had ever seen her during her visits to Woodlands. She talked incessantly of men she had known, people she had read about, who were not content to look only for security but went out looking for the unexpected,
‘
for adventure
’
. It seemed to Julie that, whether deliberately or not, she was talking
‘
at
’
Garth, comparing his decision to stay and carry on with the Development Site instead of accompanying Tansy to the States with Roger
’
s determination to fulfil a boyhood dream.

It
’
s not the same thing at all, Julie thought in mental protest on Garth
’
s behalf. Roger went because he wanted to, because it was part of the work he felt he could do best, part of himself. If Garth gives in and goes with Tansy it
’
s only because he is pandering to her whims. It won
’
t mean anything to him. I
’
ve read about these tours. He won
’
t even have time to see any of the
modern
buildings and things
he
’
ll
want to know about
...
She
’
s just being purely selfish.

By the time they all retired to bed Tansy had almost exhausted the subject, but her conversation was still directed at Garth in a roundabout way. Julie went in with him to help him, and found him tense and angry.

‘
I
’
m not giving in,
’
he said suddenly as she helped
_|
him off with his coat.
‘
She needn
’
t think so. I
’
d be letting everybody down if I went off the moment I was well enough to take up my new appointment. Aunt Lavinia, the Borough Architect, the Council members
...
everybody who is waiting to get on with the job. Just because she wants me dangling along while she sings.
’

Julie used all the tact she could bring to the occasion to smooth over his ruffled feelings and when she left him he was his usual smiling self.

‘
You know I
’
m right, don
’
t you, Julie
?’
he demanded,
‘
If it comes to a showdown between Tansy and me, shall I have the medical authorities on my side
?
Tansy thinks a change would do me good. But I think it will be sufficient change to get back to my desk and drawing-board, to go round the site and so on,
’
he ended belligerently.

‘Mr.
Greensmith doesn
’
t think you should go, if that
’
s any comfort to you,
’
Julie told him.
‘
I
’
ve no doubt he
’
ll have something to say if Tansy persists in asking you to change your mind.
’

She was astonished to see the light burning in her own room as she opened the door. She knew she had switched it off as she went in to Garth, but as she entered the room Tansy rose from the chair by the window, smiling in her most winning way.

‘
I just had to come in,
’
she said apologetically.
‘
I do hope you don
’
t mind. I just wanted to ask you some more questions about your brother. I couldn
’
t ask you there, not in front of them all. What sort of a person is he, Julie? Big, handsome? Quiet or jovial? What sort of friends does he like, what sort of hobbies has he
?’

‘
I
...
that
’
s rather a tall order.
’
Julie smiled at Tansy and sat down on the edge of the bed, taking
her cigarette case from the side table and offering one to the other girl before lighting up herself.
‘
Let me see,
’
she wrinkled her brow in thought:
‘
Roger
’
s a big man, takes after our father. He
’
s taller and broader
than
either Garth or Ian. His hair is dark gold, a bit darker than mine, and his eyes are a sort of sea-blue—he likes people, but they must be interesting people. He likes new things, new places, new ideas. He reads a great deal, and he likes music. But he likes to be quiet sometimes too,
’
she ended thoughtfully.
‘
He likes to talk
...’

‘
Has he a—girl friend?
’
Tansy asked next.
‘
What sort of girls does he go for? Will he think I
’
m a silly sort of creature? I know
Mr.
Greensmith does, and Garth does too, deep down in his heart. I
’
m not,
’
she
went on defiantly.
‘
I
’
m serious about my work—about all sorts of things—but I just can
’
t get up an enthusiasm about drains and sinks and things, nor about people
’
s illnesses. I
’
m asking all this,
’
she ended with a sudden burst of confidence,
‘
because I want to make a good impression on your brother. From what I
’
ve read about
him
he
’
s the type of man I
’
ve always thought of as the hero type, and I
’
ve never met one in real life before. I
’
d hat
e
to meet one now and then have him think me a scatterbrain. That
’
s what Garth called me this afternoon.
’

‘
Roger won
’
t think any such thing,
’
Julie assured her,
‘
and I
’
m sure you two will get along like a house on fire. He hasn
’
t ever had what one might call a real girl friend, but the ones he
’
s taken out from time to time have been girls like yourself, good to look at, fun to be with. One I remember was a reporter on the paper with him. She was a very lively girl, lovely too, but she had a boy friend in the Services or something. They just went out together as friends. Of course
’
—she rose, laughing—
‘
he may spring a surprise on me and have brought someone back with
him
from Mexico, but I think he
’
d have given me warning if he had. Don
’
t worry,
’
she ended, smothering a yawn which, whether intentional or not, had the effect of making Tansy rise and prepare to leave her room,
‘
Roger
’
s the easiest person in the world to get along with, and in any case, all new people fascinate him
...
that
’
s the journalist in him coming to the top, I suppose.
’

‘
So long as he won
’
t think me a nitwit
’
—Tansy turned at the door—
‘
that
’
s all I
’
m worried about. I
’
m getting tired of people who think I
’
ve no brains at ill
!’
With which enigmatical statement she said goodnight and left Julie to make what she liked of the interview.

When Tansy left Woodlands, late on the Sunday evening, her farewell words to Julie were a reminder that she was
‘
looking forward to meeting your brother
’
, before she went out to where Bailey was waiting to drive her
back to Hyncaster. Julie had turned and returned to the house when Garth caught up with her, evidently not waiting to watch his
fiancée
out of sight.

‘
I
’
m intrigued by all this interest in your brother, Julie,
’
he commented as they went into the drawing room together.
‘
Is he really Tansy
’
s type
?’

‘
I don
’
t know,
’
she confessed, wondering whether she had imagined the hopeful note in his voice.
‘
He may be.
’
And her heart added, despite herself, Which is more than you are, my dear.

‘
I hope they get on well together, anyway,
’
Garth said reflectively.
‘
When Tansy takes a dislike to anyone—or perhaps it would be more understanding to say is frightened of anyone—she makes the atmosphere difficult all round, whether she knows it or not.
’

Without being told Julie knew he was referring to the strange antipathy which
Mrs.
Andy and Tansy had for each other. There was nothing basic about it, Julie knew.
Mrs.
Andy was too generous a person for that, but she knew instinctively, just as Julie herself knew, that Tansy was not the right person for Garth, and there was nothing she could do about it as matters stood at the moment.

They said no more on the subject, and when she helped him prepare to retire later in the evening Julie was astonished when he asked abruptly:
‘
Can you drive, Julie? A car, I mean.
’

‘
I can,
’
she confessed,
‘
and I have a licence. Roger has a little Ford tourer and he taught me to drive, but it
’
s not licensed or insured at the moment. We couldn
’
t afford it, with all the expense we had just before he went away. Why?
’