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‘My dad helps people move house,’ Jack volunteered. ‘He doesn’t live with us any more. He has a van and he goes around moving furniture for people. He says it does him in, with all the lifting, but that’s because he smokes. Do you smoke?’
‘No, Jack. I never have done. I don’t think it’s very good for you.’
Jack mulled that over. ‘It makes my dad cough. He says he’ll have to cut down… I think maybe I won’t start smoking.’
Megan nodded. ‘I think you’re very wise.’
They had been busily fetching and carrying for about half an hour, and she was just about to offer the children a glass of lemonade when there was an almighty crash, followed by the sound of a boy howling, and she rushed out onto the balcony to see Jamie on the floor, clutching his ankle.
She rushed over to him. ‘Let me have look at you, Jamie…show me where it hurts,’ she said quickly.
‘It’s my foot.’ White-lipped, Jamie looked up at her, the pain showing on his face. ‘Have I broke it?’
‘I don’t think so,’ she murmured, carefully examining the ankle. There was some swelling, but she didn’t think the damage was too bad. ‘I think you’ve just twisted it, Jamie. Stay there, and don’t try to get up. I’ll go and get a bandage for you.’
She glanced at Jack, who was watching and looking concerned for his brother. ‘Jack, will you stay with him?’
He nodded.
Megan quickly went and found her medical bag, and came back to crouch down beside Jamie so that she could set about strapping up the ankle. ‘Jack, will you go and fetch your mother? Tell her what’s happened.’
He sped off, glad to have something to do.
Megan concentrated on examining Jamie. It looked as though he had a nasty sprain.
‘There, does that feel a little better?’ she asked after a while.
He nodded, and she said lightly, ‘How did you manage to fall over?’
‘I tripped over the ladder. I forgot about it.’ He looked at his freshly bandaged ankle. ‘Are you sure it’s not broke?’
She nodded. ‘Yes, I’m sure. It will be painful for a day or so, and you might need to rest it for a while, but there’s no serious damage.’
By this time his mother had come hurrying along to see what was happening. ‘Is it bad?’ she asked anxiously. She knelt down to comfort her young son.
Megan shook her head. ‘No. He’s twisted his ankle, and I imagine it must be painful for him. He’ll probably need to take paracetamol for a day or so until he feels better.’
His mother nodded. ‘I’ll see to it that he has some. It was really good of you to help. Thank you for looking after him.’ She pulled a face. ‘You know, it’s about time those workmen finished up here and moved all their stuff. If they hadn’t left it lying about, this wouldn’t have happened.’
Megan could see her point. ‘I think I’ll have a word with the landlord,’ she said.
‘I’ll be all right, Mum. You don’t need to say anything to him about it,’ Jamie said.
His mother shook her head. ‘It isn’t right to leave things like this. We were lucky that it was just a twisted ankle. It could have been much worse.’ She led Jamie away, and he was still protesting as they went in through their door.
Megan went back inside her flat and phoned the accommodation officer, Mrs Carter, and explained what had happened. ‘Perhaps you could let the landlord know that there’s a problem,’ she said. ‘I think it’s something that should be dealt with fairly soon. Maybe he could have a word with the workmen?’
‘I’ll see what I can do,’ Mrs Carter said. ‘I expect he’ll be in touch before too long.’
Megan went back into the living room and tried to sort her belongings into some kind of order. Luckily, the flat was equipped with lots of shelves and cupboards and there was plenty of room to store everything away. It wouldn’t be too long before she had everything the way she wanted it. For the moment, though, she contented herself with adding a touch of colour to the place with cushions and rugs and some of her favourite ornaments.
When she had finished she went and soaked in the bath for half an hour, glad of the chance to relax in the scented water. Coming back to Wales had been a good move, she decided. She was back with her family, and although her new job had its own difficulties, she would do her best to make things turn out well.
The doorbell rang as she was towelling herself dry. Frowning, she pulled on a soft robe and belted it around the waist. Who on earth would that be at this time of the evening?
Opening her door a fraction, she was startled to see Sam standing there.
‘Oh!’ she said in surprise. ‘I wasn’t expecting you.’
His glance drifted over her, taking in the soft robe that clung to her like a second skin and gliding down over the smooth expanse of her bare legs, before returning to rest on the tousled mass of her auburn curls.
‘So I see,’ he drawled, a glint of something unreadable darting in his grey eyes. ‘Perhaps I should have rung first…although I would have expected Mrs Carter to have let you know that I was coming here.’
‘Mrs Carter?’ she echoed faintly. ‘I don’t think I understand…’
He lifted a dark brow. ‘You don’t?’ He studied her thoughtfully for a moment. ‘Perhaps she didn’t tell you that I’m your landlord?’
Megan felt her world tilt on its axis. Sam Benedict was her landlord as well as her boss?
She groaned inwardly. She had just complained about conditions at the flat she was leasing from him. Was there no end to the trouble she could land herself in?
CHAPTER THREE
SAM BENEDICT’S glance flickered down over the skimpy robe Megan was wearing. His mouth tilted. ‘Wouldn’t it be a good idea if you invited me in?’ he murmured. ‘Dressed like that, you could catch your death of cold, standing out here. I know it’s springtime, but the evenings haven’t warmed up that much yet.’
She felt a tide of pink run along her cheekbones. Coming face to face with him like this had made her forget all about the way she was dressed—or, rather, undressed. She lifted a shaky hand and ran it through her hair, and immediately regretted it because the movement caused the robe to come adrift and reveal rather more of her creamy flesh than she wanted him to see. ‘I was in the bath…’ She tugged the offending garment around her more closely. ‘I wasn’t expecting anyone to call this evening.’
‘Weren’t you?’ He lifted a dark brow. ‘Mrs Carter said something needed to be done quickly—that’s why I’m here.’
Pulling in a deep breath, she took a step back, and said, ‘You had better come in.’
A hint of amusement flared in his grey eyes. ‘Thank you, I will.’
He was enjoying her confusion and that sent a spark of irritation racing along her spine. Why was she forever on the wrong foot with him?
Megan showed him the way into the living room, and then stood and stared at Sam. ‘I had no idea that you were the owner of this place,’ she said awkwardly. Then, regaining a little confidence, she added with a flash of her blue eyes, ‘When you mentioned this accomodation, you didn’t say that it was your flat that I would be renting. I would have thought you’d let me know.’
Sam shrugged. ‘Would it have made a difference? It didn’t seem to me to be all that important at the time. You told me that you were looking for somewhere to stay and I simply pointed you in this direction. I wanted to make sure that things went smoothly at work, and that nothing could interfere with the day-to-day running of the unit.’ He grimaced. ‘It doesn’t do to have colleagues overloaded with problems in their everyday lives. There’s enough for them to concentrate on at the hospital, without their home life intruding.’
‘I think you should trust me to do my job properly,’ she said stiffly. ‘I’m perfectly able to decide for myself what needs to be done to make my private life run smoothly. Perhaps you should concentrate on your responsibilities as a landlord?’
Something flared in his grey eyes as her barb struck home. ‘You could be right about that.’ He went on briskly, ‘Let’s sort the problem out, shall we? You rang Mrs Carter to complain about the work that has been going on here, and she said that there had been some kind of accident. Would you like to tell me about it?’
‘I wasn’t objecting to the work,’ she pointed out in a cool tone. ‘After all, I took this place on knowing full well that it was still being refurbished.’
He nodded. ‘Yes. That was how I understood the situation. That’s why I was rather surprised that you needed to get in touch with me so soon. So, tell me, what went wrong?’
‘One of my neighbour’s little boys fell over a ladder that had been left out.’ The fact that the child had been hurt made her angry, just thinking about it. Even if Sam was her boss as well as her landlord, it was only right that he should have the truth spelt out to him. ‘It should never have been there in the first place. I really think you should tell your workmen that they need to make sure that they put their equipment away at the end of each day.’
He frowned. ‘They’re supposed to do that. There’s a brick-built store to one side of the balcony where they can put away their ladders and tools at the end of the day.’ His expression became serious. ‘So, tell me—what happened to the boy? How badly was he hurt? Mrs Carter wasn’t specific about what has been going on.’
‘Jamie, the little boy from the flat next door, hurt his ankle. He was in a lot of pain.’
‘And is he all right now?’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Does he need to go to the hospital for an X-ray?’
Megan threw him a sharp glance. ‘No—if that had been called for, I would have seen to it, wouldn’t I? As it was, I had a look at him and I’m sure nothing was broken. I bound the ankle up for him so that he would feel more comfortable. I’ve also advised his mother what she should do for him to make him feel better.’
‘Lucky for Jamie, then, that you were around.’
‘That’s as maybe,’ she remarked tautly. ‘The point is, it could have turned out to be a far more serious incident, with an altogether more devastating outcome. It isn’t right that the children were allowed to get themselves into that kind of situation. I think you should deal with it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.’
He sent her a sharp glance. ‘And you should know that it goes without saying that I will look into this. That’s why I’m here.’
She frowned at him in return. ‘Well, I’m glad to hear it. Although I must say that I hadn’t really expected you to come along today—after all, it’s out of working hours now and you can hardly get in touch with the workmen until Monday. Still, I suppose the fact that you’ve been able to decide that something needs doing is a start.’
His mouth twisted. ‘You have a very sharp tongue, Dr Llewellyn,’ he said with a bite. ‘Perhaps you should be careful that it doesn’t get you into trouble one of these days.’
His rebuke made her think twice about what she had said. Had she gone too far? She winced inwardly. Probably. This kind of thing was always happening to her. She often said what she thought when sometimes it would have been better to hold back and dial her brain first.
‘It’s been a long day,’ she murmured, backpedalling. ‘I’ve only just moved in here, and I’ve had a lot to do to get things straight. I expect we should both take time to calm down. Besides,’ she added on a defensive note, ‘you have me at a disadvantage. I’m not used to talking to people when I’m half-dressed. It doesn’t do much for my powers of concentration.’
Unexpectedly, he laughed at that, his eyes crinkling attractively. ‘I can’t say that it does an awful lot for mine either.’ He tossed her a flame-filled glance. ‘Perhaps I should leave you for a while so that you can get yourself together.’
He turned towards the door. ‘I think I’ll go and look in on young Jamie and see for myself how he’s doing.’
Megan watched him go, annoyed with herself for getting into this situation. And it wasn’t over yet, was it? He had said he was leaving her for a while—didn’t that mean that he would be back?
Knowing him, he wouldn’t leave things as they were. He would deal with everything, down to the smallest detail, just as he did at work. And that being the case, she would have to get a move on and get herself organised.
Hurrying into her bedroom, Megan riffled through the clothes in her wardrobe and grabbed the first item that came to hand, a pale blue shift dress. She quickly slid it over her head and then smoothed it carefully down over her hips. Viewing the result in the mirror, she decided it didn’t look too bad. The material was a soft wool and the colour brought out the highlights in her hair.
Belatedly, she wondered whether it was wise to draw attention to those vibrant, wayward curls. Dragging a comb through them seemed to make little difference. Still, it was too late to change things now. She had the feeling that he would be back at any moment, and she was determined that this time she would be properly dressed.
Sam’s knock on the door came as she was brewing up a fresh pot of coffee. Hurrying to answer the summons, she remembered to pull the door wide open and invite him in this time.
‘I thought you might come back,’ she said, leading the way into the small kitchen. ‘I’ve just made coffee. Would you like some?’
‘Thanks, yes, I would.’ His glance travelled over her, making her suddenly conscious of the way the dress clung to her curves.
‘You didn’t need to get changed on my account,’ he murmured, and she wondered whether she detected a note of amusement in his tone.
Her head went up, and she said evenly, ‘I thought it was for the best.’
‘As you please.’
Megan cleared her throat. ‘Is Jamie OK?’
‘He appears to be.’ He pulled up a barstool and leaned negligently by the breakfast bar, one foot hooked around the leg of the stool. His legs were disturbingly long, Megan thought, distracted. He seemed to fill the small kitchen.
She took a couple of mugs down from the shelf, and tried to concentrate on what he was saying.
‘When I arrived there, he was making the most of the attention, sitting on the settee with his leg up on a cushion and watching his favourite video.’
‘That’s good.’ She pushed a mug of coffee towards him. ‘Help yourself to cream and sugar.’
He looked at her thoughtfully as he stirred his coffee. ‘I am sure he deserves some sympathy,’ he murmured, ‘but how much he should receive depends on your viewpoint, of course.’
Megan frowned. ‘I’m not sure that I know what you mean.’
He added cream to the cup. ‘Since he probably brought the injury upon himself, maybe he doesn’t deserve all the fuss he’s getting.’
Her eyes widened. ‘How can you say such a thing?’ she demanded crossly. ‘That poor child is a victim of your workmen’s carelessness. How can you possibly suggest that he shouldn’t get all the sympathy due to him?’
‘You’re right, in part,’ he said with cool deliberation. ‘To some extent the men were careless. After all, they forgot to lock up the storage shed after they cleared away.’
Puzzled, she stared at him. ‘I’m afraid you’re not making any sense to me,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘The ladder was propped up against the wall, for all to see, and yet you’re telling me that the men put it away. It simply doesn’t add up.’
‘It won’t, put like that.’ He made a faint smile. ‘You forget that we’re dealing with children, here…with young boys, in fact. They do tend to get themselves into trouble from time to time, doing things that they’re not supposed to.’
‘Such as?’
‘Such as going through the store to see what they could find. They thought it would be a good game to get the ladder out and see if they could reach the roof. Fortunately, as it turned out, they weren’t able to do that.’
‘Oh, my!’ She looked at him, her blue eyes stunned. ‘I had no idea.’
‘So I gather. Actually, it isn’t the first time they’ve raided the store. Despite your experience of working with young children, perhaps you have little idea of what they’re like in their home environment.’
His tone was clipped, and she remembered the accusations she had made. Had she really lectured him on his responsibilities as a landlord? She swallowed hard. ‘I seem to have… I, er… I didn’t know that the boys had brought this on themselves.’
‘No.’
She hunted around for a way to apologise. ‘I was wrong. I thought that they had suffered because of someone else’s negligence.’ She thought about that for a moment, then said slowly, ‘Of course, you do realise that they shouldn’t have been able to get into the store in the first place.’
He nodded. ‘I certainly do, and that’s why I shall be having a word with the men on Monday. In the meantime, I’ve called in a locksmith to come and fit a padlock. The lock has been changed once before, but one or both of the boys seems to have learned how to get into places by using a hairpin.’ He grimaced. ‘They’ve come unstuck this time. I’m going to have an alarm fitted to make sure nothing like this can happen again.’
Megan winced. ‘I’m really sorry that I dragged you down here for nothing. If I’d known that the boys had been messing about, I wouldn’t have said anything.’
He looked at her sternly. ‘I expect you to keep me informed of anything that’s not right. If someone is hurt on my property, I want to know about it. You live here now, and that’s part of your responsibility as a tenant.’
He glanced down at his watch. ‘I should go. I had to leave a dinner appointment to come here and sort this out, but there may still be time for me to go back and salvage what’s left of the evening.’
Now she felt even worse than before.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said again.
‘Don’t be. You did what you thought was right.’ He walked to the door. ‘Thank you for the coffee.’ His grey glance drifted over her, appraising her thoughtfully. ‘I’ll say goodnight, Dr Llewellyn, and I’ll see you on Monday morning, bright and early. I shall want see the results of those tests you ordered for Matthew.’
He didn’t add, And they had better have been worth it, but he may as well have.
Megan saw him to the door and watched as he strode to his car. It had been neatly parked on the wide stretch of ground that led along the side of the building. It was a sleek, silver model, the top of its range, and she couldn’t help thinking that it suited its owner to perfection. He had a way about him, a way of being in control, of expecting everything to run smoothly and to his satisfaction. Woe betide anyone who threw a spanner in the works. They would the one to suffer from the almighty explosion that followed.
Sam’s visit had disturbed her, and she went back to her living room and tried to turn her thoughts away from anything to do with Sam Benedict and work at the hospital. Going to the window, she looked out over rolling hills and distant mountains. This place was home to her, and she was glad to be here despite the troubles she was having right now.
Then, remembering Jenny and her problems, she made up her mind to ring Tom, Jenny’s husband. He wasn’t at home so she left a message, asking him to get in touch and suggesting that they might meet one lunch-time.
* * *
On Monday morning, Megan found herself working in the clinic with Sam. He asked her to sit alongside him during his meetings with patients, and from time to time he would ask questions, checking whether she was keeping up to date with current medical thinking, or perhaps he simply wanted to know whether she had been paying attention. It was a nerve-racking experience, partly because she had the feeling that he was waiting for her to come unstuck.
He checked the last case-note file on his list for the morning. ‘Glance through this and update me on Sarah Danvers’s condition, will you?’
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