Free Corridors of the Night by Anne Perry Page A

better than to allow any patient to provoke her like that. And it would give him the satisfaction of knowing he was dictating the relationship between them. Instead she forced herself to smile at him, gently, almost sweetly, as if she were nanny to a rather objectionable child.
    He looked away. That was a battle she had won, but she knew there would be more.
    She finished tidying the bed and the rest of the room, opened the window to let in the warm fresh air, and went out into the corridor.
    She all but bumped into Adrienne, who looked exhausted. Her plain, dark dress was crumpled; her hair was pinned up too hastily and was pulled tight in places. But it was her face that most affected Hester. Her skin was pale and looked like that of a much older woman. There was no bloom to it; she looked almost bruised around her eyes.
    ‘How is he?’ she asked immediately, her voice sharp with fear.
    Hester put out her hand and laid it on Adrienne’s arm, holding her, feeling the strength with which she pulled away.
    ‘He’s resting,’ she answered firmly. ‘And he has taken some beef tea with a little tonic in it. Dr Rand is hoping to begin the treatment soon.’
    Adrienne was still pulling away, as if she would not believe anything until she saw it for herself.
    Hester kept hold of her.
    ‘You must take more care of yourself,’ she said gently. ‘Once treatment begins, we will need your help. You need to be well, in order to look after him.’
    Adrienne stared at her. She was exhausted, frightened and desperately in need of belief that the long battle could be won.
    ‘Come and have a cup of tea,’ Hester asked. ‘I need to tell you certain things about caring for him that you need to know.’
    Adrienne hesitated.
    ‘You have done an excellent job so far.’ Hester could see the doubt in the other woman’s eyes, the hunger to check for herself that Radnor was indeed all right. As soon as she was in the room he would ask her to do one small task after another, all of them unnecessary, and she would obey. Hester had already seen how he needed to feel the power of ordering her around, and she never refused him anything. Whether it was love, fear of losing him, or guilt that he had imbued her with over the years, she could not tell. And it made no difference. He was drawing the strength out of her, and what Hester had told her about how she would be needed later on was perfectly true, even if that was not the reason she said so now.
    ‘I’ve tried.’ Adrienne smiled very slightly, searching Hester’s face to see if she were telling the truth, or just trying to be kind.
    ‘I doubt he would still be alive if you had been any less diligent.’ Hester meant that. Radnor might well have survived out of sheer will to feed on the relationship. ‘Please come so I can tell you more of what will happen,’ she added.
    Adrienne yielded and followed Hester along the corridor to the small room where nurses could take the necessary breaks now and then. There was a small burner where a kettle could be boiled and Hester immediately lit it and began to prepare the teapot and two cups.
    There was nothing of real importance to tell Adrienne, but she could make it up easily enough. What she really wanted was to persuade her of the necessity of getting several hours of sleep herself. Tired people made mistakes. Every fear was larger when the emotional strength was worn out. Whatever they did, Radnor would die someday. Adrienne needed to be free of the guilt for living on, being younger, stronger, most of her life still ahead.
    She made the tea, piping hot, and they sat together sipping it, along with some excellent biscuits, and she was glad to see that Adrienne ate until the plate was empty. She wondered when Adrienne had last eaten a full meal.
    Adrienne had finished her tea. She leaned forward a little as if to stand up.
    ‘Your father has told me about some of his adventures,’ Hester said quickly. ‘He has seen so many things most of