HER MIRACLE TWINS Read Free

The evidence was there before the poor woman’s eyes, for heaven’s sake. I found myself feeling sorry for her.’
    ‘So, did she start shouting at you?’
    ‘No, that was the strange thing. She barely glanced at me. It was her pig of a husband she was mad with. I’d heard enough about his womanising as she continued to hurl abuse at him. I just wanted it all to stop. So I opened my door and asked them both to leave.’
    ‘And then?’
    ‘They noticed me at last. His wife grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. I continued to hold the door wide open. She was still shouting. I told them both again to get out of my apartment. After they’d gone I went into my bedroom. My brain had gone numb. I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep.’
    No, she couldn’t tell her any more of the agony that had come afterwards, not now anyway. She wanted to move forward with her life. She was a different person from the innocent, trusting woman she’d been. The heartbreaking experience later that night had changed her for ever. She couldn’t even speak about her miscarriage.
    ‘I’m sorry, Sidonie, to burden you with all this.’
    Sidonie leaned across and patted her hand. ‘Thank you for sharing a confidence with me. I feel privileged to have been told something of your background. You always seemed so quiet and withdrawn when you first started working in Emergency. I hadn’t realised the suffering you’d been through. If ever you need a shoulder to cry on...’
    ‘Thanks, but I’ve done all the crying I’m going to do. The past is over. It’s the present and the future that are important to me now.’
    * * *
    She must have fallen asleep after Sister had gone back into the ward. The sun, which had been shining full into her window, had dipped below the rooftops of the hospital. She became aware of someone being in the room and turned to look at her bedside chair.
    ‘I hope I didn’t wake you?’
    ‘Julia! What a lovely surprise.’ She held out her arms at the sight of her cousin then winced as she unwittingly moved her damaged ankle.
    Julia rose to her feet. ‘Don’t try to move, Chantal.’ She bent down and kissed her cheek. You looked so peaceful when I came in. Sister said you would probably be waking up soon.’
    ‘Oh, it’s so good to see you again. How did you know I was here?’
    ‘Well, Bernard phoned Sidonie this afternoon to say he was coming in to Orthopaedics to check on the patient he’d chosen for teaching purposes tomorrow morning. Bernard always asks their permission, checks these patients carefully and makes sure they know that he will be supervising his students all the time. I remember when I was one of his students I was always so impressed with the care he took to ensure the patients knew exactly what they were letting themselves in for.’
    ‘I love to hear about when you were one of Bernard’s students and you found him so difficult and demanding as a professor while you were studying with him for that prestigious exam in orthopaedic surgery.’
    Julia laughed. ‘He was only being difficult, he told me afterwards, to ensure I got the best results. After that I managed to thaw him out and...well, you know how it all ended. Marriage and a baby on the way. Anyway, Sister Sidonie told Bernard you were in the side ward here, having sprained your ankle and stretched the ligaments. That must be really painful. I just had to come and check how you are and if there was anything you need.’
    ‘I can’t fault the way they’ve treated me. Right from the time Michel picked me up off the beach’
    ‘Michel? What on earth were the two of you doing on the beach together?’
    Chantal, well aware of the insinuating grin on her cousin’s face, quickly set her straight with the basic details, starting with the important fact that they hadn’t gone to the beach together. Michel had arrived just as she’d tripped up on a killer of a stone absolutely lying in wait for