In Dr Darling's Care. Marion Lennox

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СКАЧАТЬ This wedding was obviously hugely important to Emily—of course it was—but there was no escaping what must be faced. By all of them.

      ‘I mean Harry needs to go to Melbourne tonight,’ she said gently, turning back to the man in the bed. ‘Harry, I’ve organised the air ambulance to come straight away. They should be here in about thirty minutes to collect you.’

      ‘Melbourne…’ Harry said, bemused.

      ‘You know I can’t fix your leg here.’

      ‘Why not?’

      So he hadn’t fully understood what she’d told him about his leg. ‘Would you like to see the X-rays?’ she asked him, producing the films she’d carried in with her. ‘That is, if you can stand seeing them without feeling ill?’

      He nodded and she held them up to the light. As X-rays went, they were fairly dramatic. This was no hairline fracture. The bones were split and splintered. Even a layman could see the extent of the damage.

      There was a long moment’s silence as Harry and Emily took them on board together. Then…

      ‘Hell,’ Harry said.

      That about summed it up, Lizzie thought. She couldn’t have put it any better. ‘As you say.’

      ‘I’ve thoroughly busted it.’

      ‘There’s a comprehensive medical diagnosis if ever I heard one.’ She gave him an appreciative smile. The man had courage. ‘It’s a complete break of both tibia and fibula. You were lucky it didn’t break the skin.’

      ‘More than lucky.’ He held out an imperative hand and took the films from her, staring at them intently one after the other. ‘I could have blocked the blood supply.’

      ‘You did. I straightened the leg on the road and was really lucky to get circulation again.’ She pointed to the film. ‘But look at these shards of bone. They’re not fixed. I’ve been lucky—you’ve been lucky—but I want that leg operated on as soon as possible.’

      He whistled. He stared at the film some more and then whistled again. And then he looked up at her, obviously confused.

      ‘When did you straighten my leg? I can’t remember…’

      ‘When you were unconscious.’

      ‘So… I have a headache,’ he murmured, thinking it through with obvious care. ‘But I’m starting to realise that maybe I owe that bump on my head a lot.’

      ‘It meant I could manipulate your leg while you were unconscious, yes.’

      ‘I guess I should be grateful to you.’

      She smiled at that. ‘Well, maybe not too grateful. I did run you down.’

      ‘I ran straight into you,’ he told her ruefully. ‘I thought that road would be deserted. I didn’t think anyone would be staying in those holiday units at this time of year. They’re awful and the only time they’re used is in midsummer.’

      ‘They were the only ones that would let me take my dog.’

      He nodded. His eyes were still on the X-rays. He was having trouble focusing, Lizzie thought. The morphine would be doing that. It was a wonder he was awake at all.

      ‘Your leg’s hurting?’

      ‘Not much.’

      ‘You make a bad liar,’ she said softly. ‘I’ll give you a top-up before the plane leaves.’

      ‘But…’ Emily had been staring at the two of them as if they’d gone mad. ‘This is crazy. You’ve forgotten. Harry can’t go on any plane.’

      ‘He must,’ Lizzie said gently. ‘This leg needs to be fixed. It needs pins to be inserted. Harry needs a skilled orthopaedic surgeon and highly specific equipment. Until Harry has the operation, he can’t weight-bear, and the splinters of bone are a real danger to his blood supply. He knows that. Don’t you, Harry?’

      Harry laid the films down on the coverlet. ‘Yes,’ he said. And sighed. ‘I do.’ He sighed again.

      Something wasn’t right.

      Lizzie stared down at him. He stared straight back and her initial impression intensified. Was it possible? She must be imagining it, she told herself, but for just a moment she thought she’d detected a note of real relief in his voice. And…the faintest trace of laughter?

      She must have been imagining it. There was no such relief in Emily’s tone—or in her expression. The woman faced Lizzie with desperation, and her face was more shocked than Harry’s.

      ‘If he can’t weight-bear… That just means traction. You can do it here and he’ll just have to use a wheelchair. We can do that.’

      But Lizzie was shaking her head. ‘Traction can’t guarantee Harry the same results as pinning,’ she told her. ‘You don’t want Harry to end up with one leg longer than the other.’ Then, as Emily’s face said she wasn’t so sure, Lizzie pressed on.

      ‘Emily, look again at that film,’ she said gently. ‘When Harry was first injured the blood supply was completely blocked. I was lucky enough to get the leg into a position where the blood vessels are operating but I don’t know how permanent that is. The X-rays are telling me there are loose splinters of bone that could block the blood supply again. He has to be operated on and that need is urgent. I don’t have an anaesthetist and I don’t have the equipment, even if I was trained to do this sort of operation. Which I’m not. I’m sorry, Emily, but there is no choice.’

      ‘There must be.’

      ‘There isn’t.’

      ‘Harry, make her see…’ There were tears rolling down the woman’s face. Good grief, Lizzie thought. She was verging on the hysterical.

      It was only a wedding.

      She opened her mouth to say something, but Harry was there before her. His hand came out and caught his fiancée’s, gripping it tight. ‘No, Em. It’s you who has to see. Dr Darling’s right. I need to go to Melbourne. We need to postpone the wedding.’

      ‘If you give us a list of guests, May and I will sit down tonight and contact them,’ Lizzie told them. ‘May’s already offered. She tells me the hospital is quiet. Only five patients.’

      ‘I’ll need to go through patient lists before I go,’ Harry said sharply, and Lizzie thought, Gee, he sounds more worried about his patients than he does about his wedding.

      Maybe he was. Weddings weren’t her cup of tea either.

      ‘May’s shown me the ward sheets. There’s nothing I can’t deal with.’

      ‘Unless Phoebe goes into labour,’ Harry told her, and Lizzie found herself smiling at the man. He was grinning up at her—a faint half-grin, but magnetic for all that.

      He did have the most wonderful smile…

      ‘I already checked to see if СКАЧАТЬ