Page 44 of The Village Midwife
‘I know…but I’d feel better if I went over there. If I don’t get any joy, then it will have to wait until tomorrow. At least I’ll know I did my best to be there if I was needed.’
Simon’s look of intense sympathy told her he’d do exactly the same thing. She’d been told by Ottilie how dedicated he was to his patients – often to the detriment of his own well-being – and though she’d yet to see it in any extreme form, looking at him now, Zoe fully believed it.
‘Again,’ he said, ‘let me know if I can assist. I’ll keep my phone close by.’
‘Thanks.’
Zoe walked back to the car, where Alex was waiting to take her back to Hilltop. ‘Could you take me home?’ she asked as she got in. ‘I need to get my car after all.’
‘You’re going out again?’
‘I want to call at someone’s house.’
‘This is your patient? You want to go there now?’
‘I sound crazy, I know, but it would only take half an hour, and if there’s someone home, I can get all this sorted out. I’ll sleep a lot better for knowing.’
‘It’s pointless going all the way back up the hill to get your car, and then for you to drive down again when we’re right here in the village already. Surely it’s better and quicker for me to take you now.’
Again, Zoe wanted to argue, but there was no point. His suggestion made too much sense. And so she relented and typed the address into the map function on her phone so she could direct him. The sooner she could get to the bottom of this and confirm it was all a silly misunderstanding, the better, and she said so at least three times as they drove the short distance to Tegan’s house, which lay on the road between their village and the next.
‘This is it,’ she said, pointing out of the window at a large, double-fronted new build. The garden path leading to the front door was lit by a pair of antique lanterns and flanked by neat beds of flowers. Aside from the outdoor lighting, the house seemed to be in darkness, and Zoe was disappointed to surmise that nobody would be home. Despite this, she knocked anyway, waited for a couple of minutes, knocked again, and then made her way back to the car where Alex was waiting.
‘That’s that,’ she said flatly. ‘All I can do now is go home and see if I can get hold of her tomorrow.’
‘You’re annoyed,’ he said.
‘Not annoyed, just frustrated. I don’t think she would have called for nothing, and I don’t see how it was a misdial because she’s never phoned my mobile number before, so it’s not like it would have been on her list of recent calls or anything.’
‘She may only have wanted to ask you about something she wasn’t certain of.’
‘Yes,’ Zoe said, though she wasn’t convinced of that. ‘I’m sure that was all. I’m sorry I’ve made you drive round all night for nothing.’
‘Not for nothing,’ he said. ‘It’s shown me how much you care for your patients. I’m glad to see how good you are at your job; it makes me glad you’re looking after Billie.’
‘She’d be fine with any good midwife,’ Zoe said, blushing at the praise. ‘She’s healthy and young.’
‘She might be healthy, but I think you and I both know she needs special care all the same. She’s healthy, but she’s not strong…’ He tapped his head and then placed his hands over his heart. ‘Not up here or in here. It’s been a tough couple of years.’
‘She’s had you. I think she’s grateful for that.’
‘Fat lot of good I’ve been. I did my best, but I had no clue if it was what she needed.’
‘I’m sure your best was all she wanted from you.’
‘Hmm…’ He was silent as he turned the key to start the car.
Zoe, having seen light through the chink in his armour, wanted more of the picture, but something told her she wasn’t going to get it – at least, not so easily. Like Billie, he seemed slow to trust, and whenever he came close to letting something meaningful begin, he shut it down again.
‘You don’t need to go anywhere else tonight?’ he asked.
‘I don’t think…’ Zoe paused, watching another car slowly pull to a halt a few yards ahead of them. A man got out and went to the gates of Tegan’s house. She tumbled out of the car to follow.
‘Hello… Excuse me… Are you… Do you live here?’
The man turned to her with a deep frown. ‘What are you here for?’
‘I’m Zoe Padbury.’ He showed no sign of recognition, and Zoe cast around her memory for the name of Tegan’s husband. ‘Dennis?’ she blurted out after a gap. ‘Are you Dennis?’
