Free Starting Over by Penny Jordan Page A

Jon reminded her gently, 'and if any of your cases run over you could find yourself having to stay over in Chester....'
    'Chester is hardly the other end of the universe,'
    Livvy snapped. Worriedly Jon watched her walk away. He hated seeing her like this, so prickly and defensive. She had been such a loving little girl. Shy and reluctant to put herself forward. That was Ben's doing, of course, and her parents'. But once she had been coaxed out of her shell she had been a joy and Jenny, he knew, had a special place in her heart for her.
    'LIVVY...how are you...?'
    From the concern she could hear in Tullah's voice, Olivia knew immediately that Tullah had heard about her separation from Caspar. Normally she would have been happy to see the other woman, but right now all she could think of was how lucky Tullah was to be married to a man like Saul who loved and supported and valued her.
    'I'm fine,' Livvy responded dismissively and un-truthfully, starting to turn away and then stopping as Tullah asked tentatively, 'Have you spoken to Jenny today?'
    'Only briefly,' Livvy responded, once again making to leave the practice's reception area and head for her own office, but before she could do so Tullah was continuing anxiously, 'Did she say anything about Maddy...or how long they're going to keep her in hospital? Max must be going out of his mind....'
    'Maddy's in hospital?' Olivia couldn't keep the shock out of her voice, the work waiting for her on her desk forgotten.
    'Yes, she is. Didn't you know?' Tullah looked confused. 'Oh, well, when she went to hospital for her normal check-up they told her that she would have to stay in because she's suffering from pre-eclampsia,'
    she started to explain. 'Saul had to ring Max about something, that's how we know. / tried to ring Jenny earlier but I couldn't get through and I thought...'
    Olivia wasn't concentrating fully on what Tullah was saying. In her confusion, she was too busy dealing with the sickening sense of disbelief and guilt that was filling her. Jenny had been looking after her grandchildren because Maddy was in hospital seriously ill—
    and she had said... The burning sensation, a combination of guilt, shock and anxiety which had stormed her face before spreading to the backs of her eyes now ached emotionally in her throat, shocking her out of the black misery of her own despair.
    'I—I didn't know,' she acknowledged shakily.
    'What has the hospital said? How long...'
    'I don't know any of the details,' Tullah interrupted her as they shared eloquent looks, both of them united as women and as mothers in their shared feelings for Maddy herself as an individual, a friend and a relative whom they both loved.
    'I tried to catch Jon earlier before he left,' Tullah confided, 'But I missed him and I knew you would have seen Jenny....' Her voice tailed away.
    'It was just a quick call... this morning... on my way here,' Oh via responded uncomfortably.
    She looked so shocked and anguished that Tullah felt guilty for having raised the subject.
    During the afternoon when Olivia should have been concentrating on her work she was desperately wondering what she should do—what she could do to put things right. She knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to go straight round to Queensmead and throw herself on Jenny's mercy, to beg her for her forgive-ness, her understanding. But what if Jenny refused to listen to her? What if she was so disgusted, so appalled by Olivia's selfish behaviour that she refused to accept her apology and explanation and refused to have anything further to do with her? She would be perfectly within her rights to do so; Livvy knew that she had been unpardonably selfish and rude.
    Olivia's face went grey-white with guilt as she recalled her own sharply accusing bitter words.
    And what about Maddy? How must she be feeling?
    Olivia looked at the telephone on her desk.
    Before she could change her mind she reached for it. Less than two minutes later she was through to the