Free Outpost Hospital by Sheila Ridley Page B

said coldly. She was about to say that she hoped to be away only a short time when he added very slowly and deliberately, “and I would regard the change as a permanent one.” Katherine gasped. This was too unfair. He seemed to think she was not entitled to have personal feelings. “You mean that if I go I can’t come back?”
    “I’m afraid that is exactly what I do mean. I’ll be very sorry if that happens. You’ve worked well here and I’ve never had any reason to doubt that I made a wise choice when I selected you to be my assistant. But now ... well—” he shrugged his wide shoulders “—you know the position.” And he stalked out of the room.
    A heavy silence filled the darkening room for a minute. Then with a broken sob Katherine pushed Andrew’s arm away and ran from the room. Hardly knowing where she was going, she went through the front door, down the steps, across the tangled grass and found herself leaning breathless against the carved mahogany doors of the little chapel.
    She opened the doors and entered. A lamp burned on the table at the far end, and, walking toward it, she saw beside it a carving of the Crucifixion not skilfully but very lovingly executed. Of course, it was nearly Easter. How Dad loved the Easter services! He would miss them this year.
    She sat on one of the front benches, her head bowed. This little place was so full of peace. She would be able to think calmly about the problem here. But, the more she thought, the more complex it seemed to become. When the telegram had arrived it had looked simple enough. Her father was very ill, so she must go home until he was well.
    Mark’s reaction had been completely unexpected and extremely upsetting, but she couldn’t disregard the fact that Mrs. Parks might have exaggerated the seriousness of the illness. If she had, Katherine might throw up everything she had achieved here in Ngombe needlessly. And there would be no coming back. Mark had made that very plain. So that she would probably never see him again. Never see Mark again. She said the words to herself and k n ew that all the meaning would go out of her life if that happened. She loved him as much, perhaps more than she ever had.
    She stood up. She would take Andrew’s advice an d not try to reach a decision until the morning. Sleeping on it was supposed to be a good idea, although she didn’t feel much like sleeping at the moment.

 
    CHAPTER TWELVE
    S leep finally came, bringing with it disturbing dreams, so that when Moses brought her washing water next morning, Katherine got up feeling tired and depressed. She went automatically through the routine of washing and dressing, telling herself over and over, “You must decide now.”
    She had already put on her nursing uniform when she realized that, if she was going home, she would not want the uniform on. Did that mean that subconsciously she had decided to stay? No! She pulled the white coat off and stood in the middle of the room looking uncertainly from the coat to the cupboard that contained her other clothes and back again.
    She was still standing there in her slip when someone knocked at the door. Goodness! That would be Andrew wanting to know if he was to take her to his neighbor who had the airplane.
    Hastily pushing her arms into her housecoat and tying the belt she opened the door.
    Mark Charlton was there.
    “Oh, it’s you, Doctor,” she exclaimed in surprise, fidgeting with her hair and the belt of her housecoat. “Er ... good morning.” He said “Good morning,” and then she noticed that he had an envelope in his hand. An all too familiar envelope! It was another cable. An icy fear spread over her as she stared at it.
    He held it out to her. “I was walking by the river when the boat brought this so I said I’d give it to you.” She made no move to take it from him and he said, “Shall I open it for you?”
    She nodded, and when he had slit open the envelope and taken out the cable she whispered,