Nurse Hilary (21 page)

Jud turned a shocked face to Jill and Elliott, and their eyes widened beneath the impact of a thought that struck them all at once.

“
You don
’
t suppose—
”
Jill began faintly.

“
Of course not, don
’
t be silly,
”
Elliott stammered.

“
Not Mother, she couldn
’
t be that much of a fool,
”
Jud tried to dismiss the thought.

Mrs. Keenan, looking from one shocked, pale face to the other, brought the thought out into the open, gleefully,
“
Did you mean maybe they have eloped?
”

“
At their age? Nonsense!
”
Jud protested savagely.

Mrs. Keenan looked slowly from one to the other of Mrs. Barton
’
s family and suddenly she laughed as no one had heard her laugh since she first entered the T. & C.

“
Well, bless their hearts, the darlings!
”
she laughed.
“
Of course that
’
s what they
’
ve done. Lily-Mae was terrified of facing you, you had been so unpleasant when you saw the story in the newspaper. And I suppose poor Mr. Hodding felt that you
’
d bully her as you
’
ve always done—
”

“
I resent that, madam!
”
snapped Jud furiously.
“
Bully her? Mother? You
’
re out of your mind!
”

“
Of course you have. You—what was that you said this morning, Hilary?
”
Mrs. Keenan turned to a wide-eyed, startled Hilary, laughter still bubbling in her voice,
“
something about their having tucked their mother into some sort of mold and being determined to keep her there. Well, Mr. Hodding has broken the mold and taken her out—and I
’
m just delighted for both of them!
”

“
Mrs. Keenan, we simply do not want our mother making a laughing-stock of herself—
”
began Jud haughtily.

“
What you really mean is that you don
’
t want your precious family to be ridiculed. Well, what kind of a family name do you have that it could be so seriously damaged, just because two elderly people want a little companionship as they grow older? Mr. Hodding is a very fine man; he and Lily-Mae can spend their remaining years together in great peace and happiness, if only you four will keep your—your grubby paws off of their lives!
”

Jill cried furiously,
“
This is outrageous!
”

Mrs. Keenan surveyed her coolly, disparagingly, and nodded.
“
It is, isn
’
t it?
”
she admitted.
“
Well, I
’
ll have to run along to the kitchen and make peace with Raoul. I want to give a reception for the happy couple when they get back.
”

She went briskly down the corridor, forgetting to use the stout stick with which she had, heretofore, steadied herself.

“
What a perfectly horrible old woman!
”
snapped Jill.

“
This is getting us nowhere,
”
said Jud, who seemed to have elected himself spokesman for the group.
“
You don
’
t have any idea where they may be, Miss Westbrook?
”

“
I
’
m sorry, no,
”
answered Hilary pleasantly.
“
Did they take any luggage, Ethel?
”

“
Oh, no, Hilary,
”
answered Ethel.
“
I
’
d have called you right away if they had.
”

“
Then I suppose you
’
ll just have to wait,
”
said Hilary pleasantly.
“
They will be coming back soon, I
’
m sure. May I get you some coffee? Have you had lunch?
”

“
No!
”
snapped Jill.
“
We were in too much of a hurry.
”

“
Then do come into the dining room, and I
’
ll have one of
the waitresses bring you something. Lunch is over, but
I’
m sure they can find something
.”

“
See here, nurse,
”
said Elliott and there was a faint touch of contempt in his use of the word
“
nurse
”
instead of her name,
“
it seems to me you
’
re pretty casual about all this. As if you didn
’
t feet any responsibility whatever for what
’
s happened.
”

“
Why, I don
’
t Mr. Fleming,
”
Hilary answered him, surprised.
“
Why should I? Our guests are neither children nor imbeciles—
”

“
Mother certainly seems to be acting like one,
”
snapped Elliott.

Jud turned on him furiously.

“
Don
’
t you dare talk that way about Mother,
”
he said sharply.
“
After all, she
’
s not your mother.
”

“
Well, she
’
s mine, and I think she
’
s behaving shamefully,
”
Jill sided with her husband.

Hilary managed to get them into the dining room, conferred briefly with a waitress and thankfully escaped to the lobby once more.

The door of Dr. Marsden
’
s office opened and he peered out.

“
Safe for me to come out now?
”
he asked softly.

“
You coward!
”
Hilary turned on him.
“
You
’
ve been listening—why didn
’
t you come out and help me?
”

“
From what I heard, I thought you and Mrs. Keenan were handling things beautifully,
”
he assured her, and then his eyes went beyond her to the door and Hilary whirled about.

Mr. Hodding was holding the door open and Mrs. Barton, very smart and looking very pretty in her becoming thin gray suit, a purple orchid on her shoulder, walked in, head high, cheeks pink, eyes bright.

“
So there you are!
”
Hilary greeted them, affection in her eyes, as she took in the bright banners of happiness that seemed to wrap them about.

“
Here we are,
”
said Mr. Hodding happily.
“
Miss Westbrook, may I present my wife?
”

Mrs. Hodding looked up at him radiantly, and touched the orchid on her shoulder with gentle fingers.

“
Isn
’
t it lovely? Oh, Hilary dear—we
’
re married!
”

“
Well, congratulations, Mr. Hodding. My best wishes,
Mrs.
Hodding,
”
said Hilary and Dr. Marsden echoed the good wishes.
“
There
’
s someone waiting to see you. They
’
re in the dining room.
”

There was just the tiniest instant in which Mrs. Hodding
l
ooked frightened. And then she tucked her white-gloved hand through her brand-new husband
’
s arm, lifted her chin and said sweetly,
“
Come, my dear, I want you to meet my children.
”

“
By all means, dear,
”
said Mr. Hodding pleasantly, and above her head winked at Dr. Marsden and Hilary.
“
I
’
ve been looking forward to this.
”

And as they walked across the lobby and into the dining room, Hilary once more had the feeling that she heard the sound of trumpets, not so faint nor so far away now.

Momentarily, she was forgetful of Dr. Marsden as the big thick glass doors cutting off the dining room from the lobby swung shut behind the couple. Until he spoke very quietly.

“
Well, what do you think now about the practice of geriatrics?
”
he asked softly.

Hilary looked up at him, startled, and beneath the warmth in his eyes felt her color rise.

“
Oh, it
’
s a fascinating study and—and very important,
”
she told him hurriedly, and would have walked away, but he caught her hand and drew her into his office and closed the door in Ethel
’
s disappointed face.

“
Important enough to persuade you to stay on with me for at least a few more months?
”
Dr. Marsden asked as the door closed behind them.

“
Oh, but I can
’
t. Mr. Ramsey has interviewed some nurses
...
”
she stammered.

“
And found none of them satisfactory,
”
Dr. Marsden interrupted.

“
And I
’
ve already placed my name on file at the Nurses
’
Registry for another job.
”

“
I cancelled that.
”

Startled, wide-eyed, she stared up at him.

“
But—but—why would you do that?
”
she stammered inanely.

“
Several reasons,
”
he told her cheerfully, a twinkle in his eyes that did not quite hide the warmth there.
“
One being you
’
re an ideal nurse for a place like this; also, Drew and I have come to an agreement about using the wards—
”

“
Oh, I
’
m so glad! That
’
s wonderful!
”

“
And of course, I
’
ll need you to assist me there.
”

Her heart, that had been standing on tiptoe, practically fell flat on its silly face and she turned her eyes away from him.

“
But the main reason I have no intention of ever letting you go, my dearest, is that I no longer
think
I
’
m in love with
you, I know it beyond the smallest infinitesimal shadow of a doubt,
”
he went on, and now all hint of raillery was gone from his voice, and his arms were holding her close against him, so that against her out-flung palm she could feel the rapid thudding of his heart.
“
So, having found you, I can
’
t possibly let you go. You
do
see that, don
’
t you?
”

Because her face was flaming with color, because at the moment she dared not let him see her eyes, she hid her face against his shoulder and his arms tightened about her, his cheek against her hair, the pert little cap slipping its moorings beneath that pressure.

When the silence had endured for what she felt was an age-long time, he put his fingers beneath her chin, tilted her face upward so that he could look down into it. But still she could not let him see her eyes, for fear of the revelation they would make of her inner tumult.

“
I asked you a question,
”
he said softly.
“
Don
’
t you know it
’
s impolite not to answer a question?
”