Page 48 of A Helpin g Hand for the Village Nurse

‘You heard me. Believe what you want, but I have your gran’s best interests at heart, nothing more and nothing less. I took her to have her tests today for that reason. I followed her up that hill because it seemed important to her that she go, and I asked for your help to get her down because I wanted her to be safe and well and at home again. It’s clear to me that you don’t like me, and let me be clear that I don’t really like you, but if we can get along for her sake then I’d say that’s a win – wouldn’t you? So why don’t we try? Because she seems very keen that we do.’

He gave a short nod. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said quietly. ‘I guess that was uncalled for.’

‘Completely uncalled for,’ she replied stiffly. ‘But thank you for acknowledging it.’

‘You can see, surely, how I might get the idea…well, you’re always here.’

‘You’re not, so I don’t see how you could know that.’

‘I come as often as I can,’ he said, his tone offended.

‘I’m sure you do.’

Without another word, Ottilie went back into the living room and handed the biscuits to Flo. ‘I’m sorry, but I have to go.’

‘Already? You haven’t had your tea.’

‘I really need to get back – it’s already later than I’d meant to be home.’

‘But you never say no to tea! And I thought you wanted to check me over!’

Ottilie gave a faint smile. ‘I think you’re all right. If there’s anything to worry about, I’m sure Heath will come and get me. And I have tea at home, so…’ Ottilie’s smile grew into something more genuine. ‘I’ve had a very…interesting afternoon. Nice – bits of it at least. Bits not so much. Definitely eventful. Thank you.’

‘Thank you,’ Flo said. ‘Very much.’

‘Well,’ Ottilie added briskly, ‘I’m sure I’ll see you at the surgery in the next couple of weeks to go over your test results – unless Dr Cheadle wants to, that is – but I’ll still be around for you to talk to if you need me.’

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Ottilie staggered under the weight of the box in her arms as she stood outside the front door of the cottage where Stacey and her daughter Chloe lived. She’d seriously underestimated what she could carry and how long she could keep hold of it, and if someone didn’t answer the door in the next ten seconds she was convinced she’d drop it.

Thankfully, the door opened in less than ten, and Ottilie peered over the top of the box to see a surprised-looking Stacey.

‘I wondered if you and Chloe could find a home for any of this baby stuff,’ Ottilie said. She nodded at the threshold. ‘Can I…?’

‘Oh yes! Come in!’ Stacey stepped back. ‘Sorry for being so slow, I wasn’t expecting…Sorry, the house is a mess and?—’

‘If I had a pound for every house call I’ve done where they’ve apologised for a non-existent mess, I’m sure I could retire. I would have phoned ahead but I forgot to get your number from Geoff and I thought it would be just as easy to pop round. My friend in Manchester was getting rid of this and I said I knew just the person who might appreciate it.’

Sometimes it was kinder and less humiliating to tell a little white lie. Ottilie had gone searching for donations after Geoff and Magnus (mostly Magnus, whom, Ottilie was learning, didn’t know when to shut up) had told her how Stacey and Chloe were struggling to afford equipment for the baby and were running out of time. But Ottilie didn’t want to make Stacey feel like a charity case. She wanted it to feel to them like they were doing the favour by taking unwanted items off someone’s hands. Pride was a funny thing, Ottilie had learned from many years of doing her job, and it often stopped people taking help that they needed and sometimes caused more pain than the need itself.

‘Let me take it,’ Stacey said.

‘Careful,’ Ottilie warned, desperate to dump the box but uncertain whether Stacey could cope with the weight any better than her. She was only tiny after all, a good four or five inches shorter than Ottilie’s average height and slender with it. ‘It’s heavy – heavier than it looks.’

‘So am I,’ Stacey said with a laugh.

‘Well, if you grab one end and I keep hold of the other and you can lead me to where you want me to put it down.’

Between them, they took it through to the kitchen.

‘Obviously there’s no obligation to take any of it,’ Ottilie said as they navigated a narrow hallway. ‘And what you don’t want I’m sure we’ll find a home for somewhere else. Might come in handy for the new mum and baby group – if we ever get that off the ground, that is.’

With a thump, both women let the box drop onto the table. Chloe was in there, the remains of a meal in front of her, studying something on her phone.

At the commotion, she looked up. ‘What’s in there?’

‘Hello, Ottilie,’ Stacey said wryly. ‘How lovely to see you. How are you?’

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