Unknown Read Free

advertise.
    As his car pulled out into the main street of the village Fenella was wishing it wasn't happening. She hadn't intended it to be like this. Her idea had been to appear in front of Dr Max Hollister as a cool, efficient graduate who would be an asset to his practice.
    But instead he was seeing her as someone who did foolish things, took risks, and their first meeting had been in a police cell. A meeting that she'd known nothing about until today, and she could tell by his manner that he was not impressed.
    All right, he was taking her on his calls with him. She supposed that could be a step in the right direction. But the feeling that she had made a mess of things was strong within her and as if tuning into her thoughts the man beside her said, 'If there is one thing that a doctor is not expected to do it is to take chances, make errors of judgement. I care about my patients and am not prepared to put them at risk with the services of a harum-scarum trainee.'
    'I can understand that,' she told him in a small voice, 'but what happened the other night was due to the wrongdoing of others, and if I did a stupid thing by getting myself arrested, as far as I was concerned anything was better than being drugged and then assaulted by two strangers. I would have thought you might understand that.'
    He did, Max thought irritably. He saw it only too well, and if he could get his hands on the two predators who had sought to satisfy their sexual urges in such a manner they would think twice before trying it again. He could still see her lying there in a drugged sleep.
    But if he was going to take Fenella into the practice, she was going to have to learn that he asked for high efficiency from all his staff and the first time she put a foot wrong he would be wanting to know why.
    She was biting into her bottom lip with even white teeth and, sorry for giving her a hard time, he was about to tell her that he did see her point of view when she forestalled him by saying, 'Will you, please, stop the car and let me get out? I can see that it isn't going to work.'
    Max sighed impatiently. 'I will decide whether it is going to work or not. So sit back, pull yourself together, and look and learn. We will shortly be stopping at the home of the Copley family, which will bring any knowledge you might have of paediatrics to the fore.'
    Fenella was still feeling uncomfortable but now he had her interest, though she didn't like the 'might have'. There was something in his manner that made her feel she'd been tried and found wanting before she'd had the chance to show him that she was no idiot.
    'Why, what's the problem?' she asked, trying to sound cool.
    'Callum, the youngest of their three boys, is complaining of his neck hurting and sounds to be generally unwell.'
    'Are there any epidemics of children's illnesses in the area, such as measles and chickenpox?'
    Max shook his head. 'Not that I know of. I haven't had any cases of either recently, but that doesn't say that young Callum isn't the first to go down with something of the sort. They are a nice family, the Copleys. His father works for the National Trust at one of the stately homes nearby and his mother has a job as a school dinner lady.'
    'How old is the boy?'
    'Coming up to five, I would imagine. He's just started school and I know what you're thinking.'
    You don't, she thought. Otherwise you would be letting me out of the car. But not being prepared to aggravate him further, she said meekly, 'That he will be open to all that is going in his first year?'
    Max nodded but didn't reply. He was stopping the car in front of a large stone cottage and before they'd had time to ring the bell a harassed-looking young mother was opening the door and saying, 'Oh, I'm so glad to see you, Dr Hollister. Callum isn't at all well. His neck is swollen and tender and he's having trouble chewing his food and swallowing.'
    'Lead us to him, then, Sarah,' he said briskly. 'Dr Forbes may be joining the