sheets.â A sudden thought struck her. âUnless itâs urgent?â
âItâs urgent,â he said instantly.
âThen Iâll come down,â said Tabitha, to find herself instantly clasped round her waist and lifted to the ground. The linen room was small, a mere cupboard, and they were forced to stand very close. She put a hand to her cap and said a trifle anxiously: âNot Mr Bowâ¦he was fine.â
âAnd still is. Why did you run away?â
A question Tabitha didnât wish to answer. She said instead: âIt was urgent.â
âI consider it urgent, and I should like an answer.â
She saw that she would have to give him one or stay imprisoned with the sheets and pillowcases for an unlimited period. She drew a breath and began quietly: âI donât want to be pitied. To be compared with Lilith and then pitied is more than I can standâit makes me bad-tempered and envious and I try not to be, and then you come along and stir me up.â
âGood,â said Mr van Beek with lazy satisfaction.
Tabitha flashed him a cross look and found his eyes, very calm and clear, contemplating her. Her voice throbbed with the beginnings of temper. âItâs nothing of the sort. Iâve made a life for myself; Iâve a home and Meg and a job that I can keep for the rest of my life.â
âGod forbid!â interposed Mr van Beek with deep sincerity, and when she gaped at him he added: âNo, noâI donât mean that youâre not a splendid nurseâyou are, but there are other things. You seem to think youâre not entitled to any of them.â
She made a small sound, half snort, half sigh. âYouâre not a girl.â
His lips twitched. âNoâmeaning that I am unable to understand?â
âYes,â said Tabitha baldly, âthatâs exactly what I do mean. And now if thereâs nothing more you want to say, I think I should get on with my work.â
His eyes twinkled. âShall I lift you up, since I lifted you down?â
She shook her head and he turned away from the door and then paused to ask:
âWould it be possible to do the Wednesday round half an hour earlier? That beguiling young sister of yours has teased me into taking her to Torquay, and if I could get away by elevenâ¦â
Tabitha fought a violent desire to burst into tears, box Mr van Beekâs ears and find Lilith at once and do her some injury. She wasstill feeling surprise at her strong feelings as she said stonily: âThat will be perfectly all right, sir,â and stood waiting for him to go, and when he saw that she wasnât going to say anything more, he said: âWell, goodbye.â He stretched out a large, well-shaped hand and touched her hair lightly.
âStill determined to be Cinderella?â he enquired as he went.
Tabitha prayed wickedly for a cyclone, a terrific thunderstorm, or just a steady downpour of rain, starting just before eleven oâclock on Wednesday, but the faint promise of rain on Tuesday evening had evaporated before a clear blue sky when she went on duty the following morning, and by the time the round began the sun was blazing down from a cloudless sky, justifying Mr van Beekâs elegant summer suiting and beautiful silk shirt.
Tabitha, handing X-rays and reports and whisking bedclothes off plastered arms and legs, wondered where he would take Lilith. There was an hotel in Torquay famed for its foodâshe couldnât remember its name, but she felt sure that that was where Lilith would expect to go, and no doubt Mr van Beek would spend his money very freely indeed just for the pleasure of having such a pretty girl for his companion. She scowled fiercely at Mr Prosser, who was so taken by surprise that for once he was left speechless.
The round was businesslike, and although Mr van Beek did all that was expected of him by each of the patients, he wasted no time on