Page 79 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
‘I’ll see you before I go this afternoon,’ Zoe added, but Lavender only gave a dismissive nod. She didn’t feel at fault, but Zoe did feel bad for letting Lavender down. Maybe she’d buy her a little something in Windermere too as an apology.
‘Lavender…’ Emilia came to the desk, giving Zoe a brief look before turning back to their receptionist. ‘Could you phone this patient to see if he can come in before we close today? I need to see him ideally before Christmas.’
‘Yes, Doctor,’ Lavender said, viewing Emilia with such reproach that there was no way Emilia could fail to recognise it. But if she did, she saw no reason to comment. She didn’t even look a bit concerned; she only nodded. ‘Let me know what he says. Please impress on him the urgency.’
‘Is it bad news?’ Lavender asked.
‘It’s not the best.’
‘Then surely you should wait until after Christmas to give it to him? There’s no point in making him worry over the whole break.’
‘Christmas or not, there are time limits that we need to adhere to. I want to see him before we break up.’
‘But he’s got literally an hour to get here!’
‘How far away is his house?’
‘A couple of streets away.’
‘And he’s retired. Shouldn’t be a problem.’
‘But—’
‘If you could,’ Emilia insisted before leaving them again.
Lavender glared at her retreating figure, and Zoe decided to get out of the way before she got dragged any further into their feud.
24
The sun was a few hours from setting, but the hills were gloomy as Emilia drove towards Windermere. Gloomy but still beautiful, Zoe reflected as she gazed out of the passenger-side window, like a scene from a gothic classic, snowy peaks scarred by dark cracks and heavy skies pushing down on them. There had been no new snowfall since the previous night, though it had been forecast. Zoe wondered how there could possibly be any more on the way – surely it must end soon? One thing was for certain, they’d get their white Christmas.
Emilia drove without speaking, and she didn’t put the radio on. They’d shared some sporadic comments on the weather and the current state of the roads but nothing any deeper than that. Zoe, though, could tell something was bothering her. Emilia was always serious, but this was more than that. She thought about asking, but it didn’t seem as if Emilia wanted to talk. Perhaps Lavender’s antagonism was getting to her. Or perhaps she was beginning to regret taking the job at Thimblebury surgery. She’d come from Manchester, and it was only natural that some would welcome the slower pace, and some wouldn’t. Zoe knew from experience that either way, going from a huge bustling city likeManchester to a tiny village out in the wilds was a culture shock. Then again, it could be any number of things.
‘I’ve got quite a lot to get,’ she said into the silence. ‘I hope that’s OK. I know the shops will probably close early, but I’m hoping I can get everything before they do. So I’ll probably let you go and do what you need to and meet you back at the car park.’
‘That’s fine by me,’ Emilia said. ‘How long do you reckon you’ll need?’
‘As long as you can give me, really. Of course, we have the carol service later, so we’ll have to be back in time for that.’
‘I’ll make sure to have you back for that.’
‘You’re not going?’
‘I doubt it.’
‘But it’s the one thing everyone in the village goes to. Almost everyone. So Lavender tells me.’
‘I’m sure Lavender thinks it’s very important. She’s quite a Christmas fan.’
‘When it comes to the carol service, the whole village seems to join in. Fliss used to, apparently. As the village GP, she felt she had to show her face every once in a while, especially to big events. Or rather,onlybig events. Other than those, she mostly kept to herself.’
‘Sounds sensible to me.’
‘So you might come?’
‘I’d rather keep an eye on Georgia.’
‘But she’s going? I’m sure last time I mentioned it, she said she would.’
