Prescription-One Bride

CHAPTER NINE

BED…

Not yet. First there were her two little orphans.

For Jess there were always her two-or more-little orphans. They were restless when she got back to her flat, the little wallaby out of his pouch and nosing around the kitchen. Jess sat on the floor by the stove and gave them their milk, using the time to settle her jangled nerves.

She should relax…

She couldn’t.

Niall was gone. He was down at the police station attending the awful Barry.

So…

If Niall was gone why were her senses alight as though electrified? Her whole body seemed to be straining-listening for his return.

He’d go straight to his flat, she told herself crossly. There was no reason for him to come past her room.

He’d check Ethel again.

He could come this way.

It didn’t matter if he did. He’d just walk straight down the corridor, check Ethel, keep going, turn left and go to his side of the hospital.

Right.

So she should get into bed and not sit here by the fire nursing stupid wallabies and listening for stupid footsteps.

‘I’m going nuts,’ she told the little wallaby, and the tiny animal looked up as though in complete agreement.

A car.

The ambulance returning from the police station.

Footsteps down the corridor. They checked outside Ethel’s room. Paused. Stayed for ten minutes. There was a low conversation at the ward door as Niall gave Geraldine her instructions for the night.

The footsteps came on.

Down the corridor and turn left.

Down the corridor…

They didn’t turn left. The footsteps stopped right outside Jessie’s door.

She was hardly breathing. Somehow her lungs had stopped-or was it her heart?

‘Jess?’ A light tap on the door-not loud enough to be heard by Geraldine. ‘Awake?’

No. She shouldn’t be awake. She should be inside her bed with the bedroom door locked and with chains on her heart

Instead of which she was placing the tiny wallaby on the floor and crossing to open the door.

‘Niall…’

‘Who did you think it was?’ he asked wickedly. ‘Santa Claus?’

‘It might have been a call,’ she said with quiet dignity. ‘I do get them.’

‘Surely your farmers don’t come scratching on your bedroom door at three in the morning?’ he teased. He took a step into the room but paused as Jess laid a warning hand on his arm. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Wilfred’s out,’ she said briefly. ‘Watch your feet.’

‘Wilfred?‘ Niall looked around-and then down. His eyes creased into a smile at the sight of the little wallaby nosing his shoes. ‘Wilfred,’ he said in satisfaction, leaning over and scooping the joey into his large hand. ‘Haven’t you heard it’s time youngsters were in bed?’

‘He’s a nocturnal animal,’ Jess smiled, moving aside to let Niall come closer to the fire. ‘In another month or so I’ll be starting to prepare him for release.’

‘How do you do that?’

‘I put him out on the verandah at first,’ Jess told him. She was having trouble making her voice work. Niall’s presence filled the room.

‘He learns to come and go as he pleases. I start weaning him off milk. When he’s thoroughly weaned I move his pouch out near the back fence and start putting pellets on both sides of the boundary. The wild wallabies come in to feed-and Wilfred feeds alongside them, with the fence between them. After a few months I open the gate at night so that the wild wallabies can come in-or Wilfred can go out.’

‘It’s a long process,’ Niall said thoughtfully.

‘Any faster and the wild animals will kill him,’ Jess said. ‘After he’s acclimatised I go back to laying pellets further from the fence on the outer side of the boundary-I’m doing that now-so animals I’ve already released always have a fall-back position.’ She smiled. ‘So they’re released-but I usually keep track of them for ever. That’s the plan, at any rate.’

‘For ever,’ Niall said slowly. ‘That’s a long time, Jess.’

‘I’m in no hurry,’ she said equably. Then, at the look on Niall’s face, her composure left her. ‘How…how was Barry?’

‘Aggressive. Belligerent. Foul-mouthed. Called his wife every name in the book-and a few more besides. Sergeant Russell ended up charging him with assault so we can keep him locked up and I don’t have to admit him here.’

‘Can you do that?’ Jess said doubtfully. ‘If he was on the other side of the wall then he wouldn’t know where Ethel’s hand was.’

‘I’m not saying tonight was any more than a stupid, mindless accident,’ Niall told her. ‘But there’s the bruising, the unset broken arm and your evidence.’

‘She won’t lay charges.’

‘My evidence will hold him until she’s fit to decide whether to lay charges or not,’ Niall said in satisfaction. ‘I’ve given her a fair dose of pethidine now with orders that it be repeated two-hourly. If she doesn’t need pain relief she sure as heck needs a sedative. She’s been through a shocking experience. The lady will sleep-or will be reported to be sleeping-until we can arrange an air ambulance to the mainland. It might have to wait until she’s in Sydney before the police interview her. With luck Barry might have to kick his heels in the lock-up for two days.’

‘You and Sergeant Russell thought that up,’ Jess accused and Niall grinned.

‘We’re just following the law. And sometimes the law is a very handy thing. And very, very slow.’

‘I see.’

Jessie’s answering smile was unsure. She lifted her little wallaby and held him close. Niall stood smiling down at her and she felt shy-and infinitely vulnerable. ‘Well, thank…thank you for coming to tell me. I’ll…I’ll put Wilfred to bed now.’

‘I didn’t come to tell you anything,’ Niall said softly and the smile on his face changed. He put a hand out and touched the soft fur of the wallaby. ‘I came to see you. And Wilfred doesn’t want to go to bed.’

‘He does…’

‘I think it’s your duty as Wilfred’s treating veterinarian to introduce him to his new life,’ Niall smiled. ‘And as the island’s new medical superintendent it’s my duty to superintend you while you superintend Wilfred.’

‘I…I beg your pardon.’

‘We’re going for a walk,’ Niall told her. His hand dropped to take hers in a grip that brooked no argument. ‘You’re still dressed, I see. Wise girl.’ He smiled again and his smile made Jessie’s heart do strange things inside her. ‘Did you know I’d come back, then? Or hope…?’

‘I did no such thing,’ Jess managed with an attempt at dignity. ‘I…I had to feed my animals.’

‘For close on an hour?’ He shook his head and gently led her over to the outside door. ‘Sweet liar,’ he whispered and ushered her outside into the moonlight.

It was a night of magic.

The moon hung low over the horizon, glinting across the distant sea. Jess was wearing a soft sweater over her jeans but she hardly needed it. The warmth of the night was comfort enough.

The smell of the sea was in the air and the fragrant stands of Australian native frangipani were dropping a scattering of creamy yellow blooms in the breeze drifting from the ocean.

There were fuchsias growing in profusion by the verandah. Jess placed the tiny joey gently on the green grass and the joey took one look at the fuchsia bushes and started to munch. Heaven for a small wallaby…

He’d make it, Jess thought in satisfaction. This little one followed his instincts-and he was coming through his tough times.

He followed his instincts…

A dangerous path.

Jess glanced sideways at Niall Mountmarche’s dark figure and her heart misgave her.

Should she too be following her instincts?

Along what dangerous path were her instincts leading her?

She shouldn’t be out here. She should gather her little wallaby and run.

‘I know who looks like the wild creature here,’ Niall said conversationally. He stood with his hands in his pockets, surveying Jess and her joey with satisfaction. ‘You look like something’s about to eat you. If I had to guess which of you was more afraid…’

‘Wilfred hasn’t learned to be afraid yet,’ Jess whispered.

‘And you have?’

‘Y-yes.’

‘There’s no need.’ Niall moved then, once more swinging into that lithe, easy movement which reminded Jess of a big cat. Effortless…

Jess couldn’t move. She was like a small creature in his sights-powerless to resist.

And not sure that she wanted to.

‘Jess, don’t look like that…’

He gathered her hands, pulling her body into his in a swift, sure movement. ‘Jess, there’s no need for fear. There can’t be. I’ve spent my life looking for someone like you-and I’d started to think she didn’t exist.’

‘No…Please…’

‘There’s no “no” about it, my Jessie,’ he murmured. ‘Here you are, my lovely, lovely Jess, and I need you to say “yes” more than I need life itself. My Jess of wild creatures. You’ve come into my life and lifted my daughter from her cage of fear. You’ve pulled me from the shadows and bullied me into medicine again.

‘You…you take the whole world on your shoulders-and yet you fear it. There’s sanctuary for the healer as well, Jess, if only…if only you’ll let me into your heart.’

‘I can’t…I don’t…’ Jessie’s face was against the coarse cotton of his shirt. She could feel his heart beat-strong and sure.

‘You don’t what?’ He put her away from him, holding her at arm’s length and watching her face in the moonlight. ‘You trusted one man once-one man out of many-and that one man betrayed you. Are you going to impose John Talbot’s face on mine-see him wherever you see me? I’m here to tell you, Jess, that love has nothing to do with what was between you and John Talbot. Love has no fear.’ His grip tightened. ‘Except…except the fear of losing.’

‘Niall…’

‘I swear to you, Jess,’ he said softly. ‘I have no hidden agenda. There are no vicious surprises in my background. I want you for your own lovely self.’

‘You…’

‘I want you, Jess,’ he said, his voice low and husky with emotion. She was somehow pulled against him again, his lips moving in her hair. ‘I’ve never wanted anyone…’ He sighed.

‘That sounds false, doesn’t it? I’ve had women before, Jess. You know that. Paige is living proof. I thought…I thought I was in love with Paige’s mother-so much so that I asked her to marry me. Thank God Karen knew better than both of us that the love wouldn’t last. It wasn’t the real thing. What I felt for Karen is a pale shadow of what I’m feeling for one lovely vet with a heart bigger than any person I’ve ever met before.’

His hands moved to her waist, caressing her body against his.

‘I need you, Jess,’ he said humbly. ‘With a heart so big, my lovely Jess, can you find a place for me in there?’

The sureness had gone from his voice. There was a tremor of uncertainty-as if, for once in his life, Niall Mountmarche was unsure.

Desperately unsure.

It moved Jess as nothing else could have done. Not the feel of his hands on her body, the sound of his voice…the steady beating of his heart…

She looked up into his face and almost unconsciously her hands went up to touch…to hold…to draw his mouth down to her lips…

How could she resist? How could she refuse this man-this man who was becoming part of her being? It was as if she was melting into his soul.

‘Niall…’

And then there was nothing else, except the soft rustle of the breeze in the frangipani and the distant murmur of the sea.

Niall’s lips met hers and Jessie’s doubts drifted off on the night wind…

Somehow…sometime and who knew when?-certainly not the lovers-they drew apart. Wilfred had finished his munching and the joey was huddled uncertainly at Jessie’s feet

Jess gave a shaken gasp and leaned down to scoop her baby into her arms.

‘He should…He should be in his bed…’ she whispered.

‘What a good idea.’ Niall’s arms linked around her waist enfolding girl and baby wallaby to him in a protective clasp. ‘I’ll take you both to bed…’

‘Niall…’

‘Are you saying you don’t want me to take you to your bed, my Jessie?’ Niall kissed her lightly on the brow.

‘I don’t…We can’t…’ Jess fought frantically for some trace of common sense. ‘Niall, I’m not…I’m not protected…’

He smiled and his smile was tenderness itself. He kissed her softly on the nose-and then again on the lips. ‘There’s no use me acting as hospital pharmacist if I can’t find what we need in a crisis,’ he smiled. He kissed her again, more deeply, like a man becoming addicted to something exquisitely sweet. Infinitely precious. ‘And if this isn’t a crisis I don’t know what is.’

‘But…’ It was all too fast. Too sudden. And yet, to send him away was unthinkable.

‘I don’t…’ she whispered and her voice wouldn’t utter the words. Jessie was drifting in a haze of unreality. Her heart was close to bursting and she could feel the pinpricks of tears behind her eyes. The long years of loneliness were over, her heart was singing. She had found her home.

‘If you don’t want me…If you don’t want me tonight then I’ll understand,’ Niall said tenderly. ‘But know, Jess, that this is the beginning of a long, long courtship. I intend to lay siege to your heart-for however long it takes. Until death do us part, if it comes to that.’

She met his eyes. They locked onto hers and the tenderness she saw behind his gaze made her heart swell.

This man…

Her heart…

Her home…

‘My little joey needs his bed,’ she whispered tremulously. ‘Please, Niall…Will you take him to his bed?’

‘I’ll do that.’ His eyes still asked a question.

Jess took a deep breath and made her lips move. ‘And then…’ she whispered. It was right. There could be no doubts in her heart when he looked at her like this. Her home.

‘And then, Niall, will you take me to mine?’

‘Jess…’

She was lifted in his arms, cradled against him, and Niall’s lips met hers in a long, slow kiss of exultation.

‘You won’t regret this, my love,’ he murmured as he carried her back over the lawn to the big French windows-and the wide bed waiting just beyond. ‘I give you my word. I give you my heart that you won’t regret this. From this night on…’

Jess woke to happiness.

Euphoria was all around her, drifting as a cloud of warmth and light and laughter. She woke with a smile on her lips and as Niall’s strong arms tightened in loving possessiveness the smile grew.

‘Where do you think you’re going?’ Niall’s voice growled as she stirred and she twisted within his arms so that she could see those wicked eyes. They devoured her naked body with transparent hunger.

And she wanted to be devoured. And to devour in turn…

‘My babies…’ she whispered.

‘You fed those pesky orphans at four o’clock and again at six,’ Niall murmured into her hair. ‘According to my watch it is just after seven. Therefore…Therefore, my Jess…you are my own private property for fifty more precious minutes. Agreed?’

She ran her finger lightly down his face, feeling the sheer strength of him. Glorying in the fact that he needed a shave-and he would every morning. From this day forth. This was how he would feel…All the wonderful maleness of him.

‘What will you do with me if I say yes?’ she asked him wickedly.

‘Do you have any suggestions?’ Niall nibbled one ear, her nose, her lips-and then his mouth moved downward with an intent that made her gasp.

‘N-no…’

‘Then we’ll just have to think of something,’ he murmured, sinking lower and lower and Jess opened her mouth to reply.

And couldn’t.

She was all his.

He was her man.

The day intruded all too soon.

The phone rang just on eight.

It was Niall’s mobile phone, tucked beneath the pillow.

Tucked beneath two heads.

Geraldine.

Jess heard the nurse’s voice come down the line and imagined how the nurse’s eyebrows would rise if she knew where Niall was lying as he talked to her.

Heaven forbid the introduction of video phones.

Jess lay cradled in Niall’s arms as he talked She could hear both sides of the conversation with ridiculous ease.

‘Dr Mountmarche, I’m sorry to bother you but Ethel’s started vomiting,’ Geraldine was saying. ‘I was wondering whether I could give maxolon with the next pethidine injection.’

‘I’ll be right with you,’ Niall told her. ‘I’d like to examine her before the next injection.’

‘Oh…’ There was a short silence. ‘Are you out at the farm?’

‘No.’

‘But I knocked on your flat door,’ Geraldine said. ‘There wasn’t an answer. I thought…Well, Sarah’s due to take over and I wanted to give Ethel the injection before going off duty. If it’s going to take you fifteen minutes to get here…’

‘I’m closer than you think,’ Niall told her and leaned over to kiss Jessie lightly on the nose. ‘Almost…’ He kissed again, this time aiming for Jessie’s lips ‘…almost under your nose. Two minutes, Geraldine.’

‘So what’s she going to make of that?’

Jess lay and watched Niall dress, torn between anxiety and laughter.

‘If I know our Geraldine she’ll have two and two added up before I reach the ward,’ Niall smiled. He buttoned his shirt, then stood and looked down at Jessie’s nakedness. She didn’t cover herself. She should, she guessed-but not while Niall was looking at her like that. He was glorying in her body and she wanted nothing more. ‘Do you mind, my lovely Jess…?’

‘I…I guess…’

‘You’d better not,’ he warned her…’because I’m not good at being kept in a cupboard. For one thing, I’m too damned big. For another…’ He touched her face with a finger. ‘For another, every second I’m away from you is too darned long. Will you have breakfast with me, my Jess?’

‘Breakfast?’ Jessie’s eyes widened in startled enquiry. Her body was languorously sated. She felt like staying exactly where she was-for a very long time.

‘Today’s Saturday,’ Niall smiled. ‘No clinic. And I need to go home to Paige. Feed your orphans, arrange to have them cared for for the rest of the day and come to the vineyard. OK?’

Jess smiled tremulously up at him.

‘O-OK.’

‘My Jess.’ He paused. ‘You’d best stop looking at me like that because…’

‘Because?’

‘Because you have the power to distract me like no other. Come to the farm fast, my love. I’ll be waiting.’

‘There’s a few things I have to do.’ Jessie’s voice sounded strange-not her own. It was as if she’d changed in the night. ‘I…I have to see to Ethel’s dog. Maybe after breakfast…’

‘Come when you can,’ he told her. ‘I’ll be waiting.’

Jess fed her animals, showered and dressed in the same lazy euphoria. She couldn’t make her body move fast for the life of her.

Niall was waiting.

Even that incentive wasn’t enough to shift the haze of blissful languor.

She needed time to adjust. To savour. To convince herself that this was right. She’d committed herself body and soul and this time…this time Jessica Harvey was being no fool. She was entrusting herself to a man who was absolutely to be trusted. Who accepted his responsibilities with all due care…

Someone she could give her heart to and know it would be cherished…

She needed to see Ethel. Sarah was in the corridor when Jess emerged. She smiled at Jess and Jess knew by her smile that Geraldine had been talking.

By tonight the whole darned island would be talking.

‘Is Ethel fit to see me?’ she asked a trifle breathlessly.

‘She’s fit to see you, I reckon,’ Sarah told her, her smile broadening at Jessie’s obvious discomfiture. ‘No policemen, though. I’m under strict orders to say she’s sedated if Sergeant Russell wants to interview her.’

‘Is she sedated?’

‘Yes,’ Sarah admitted. ‘But she’s awake-just-and I know she’s worrying about her animals. It must only do her good to see you.’

‘Is…is Dr Mountmarche still with her?’

Sarah almost chuckled and Jess grimaced. The start of things to come…

‘He is,’ Sarah managed blandly. ‘Not for long, though. He was held up to begin with. There was a kiddy with a pea up his nose for the doctor to see as soon as he started work…’ She cast another covert grin at Jess.

‘And now Chris Hayes has rung to say his old father had a fall in the woodshed last night and reckoned he lost consciousness for a while. Old Mr Hayes is in his own bed now and swears he doesn’t need a doctor but Chris asked if Dr Mountmarche would go.’

So Dr Mountmarche would go. A man who faced his responsibilities…

‘I hope Paige isn’t fretting…’

‘I can tell you that, too,’ Sarah smiled. ‘She rang in person and asked for her daddy. Quite the young lady she’s getting. I heard the doctor explaining how long he’ll be so she can’t be worried.’

All bases covered…

OK…

So Niall was with Ethel now.

Jess smiled, not as broadly as Sarah but a smile for all that, and went to see Ethel.

Ethel was so ill…

The woman was propped up on pillows, her damaged hand swathed in white bandages and cradled on pillows in front of her. Niall was holding her good wrist, his face grim.

Ethel turned to Jess as the young vet entered and her eyes were wide with anxiety.

When she saw who it was she relaxed-but only a fraction.

‘Barry’s still in the lock-up,’ Jess told her swiftly and watched some of the tension lift from Ethel’s face. ‘And will be for at least two days, if Dr Mountmarche has anything to do with it.’

‘Two days or longer,’ Niall growled. ‘Jess, Ethel says she won’t lay charges.’ His eyes gave her an urgent message. You know this lady, his eyes were telling her. See if you can do some good.

Ethel’s face was blank and lifeless. All the fight had been knocked out of her. ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t…I don’t…Jess, what am I going to do?’

‘Leave him,’ Jess said bluntly. ‘You know you must. The only question is how-and where will you go? Ethel, what happened last night?’

‘He hit me,’ Ethel whispered. ‘Well, that’s not so unusual. He does it all the time-when his dinner’s late or if he’s had a bad day or sometimes if I look at him wrong…I don’t know…

‘Only last night Kiro, my Rottweiler-well, he’s Barry’s dog, really; Barry bought him because he fancied a savage dog but I feed him and Kiro reckons he belongs to me now-Well, last night Kiro got frightened and tried to bite Barry. Not really. I mean he just snarled and snapped when Barry hit me. But Barry said the dog had to be killed.

‘He said…He said I had to do it and if the dog wasn’t dead when he got back from the pub he’d kill the dog and break my other arm-and kill my horse as well. He said we weren’t keeping any more animals.

‘So…so I didn’t know what to do. Kiro…Well, I couldn’t bear it. I just locked the house and…Only then Barry came home and got the chainsaw and I didn’t realise how drunk he was…I heard the noise and went over to the wall and told him not to be a fool and the next thing the saw just came through…’

Her eyes fell to her hand and she closed her eyes.

‘I wish it had killed me,’ she whispered.

Niall Mountmarche’s face was as grim as death. He opened his mouth to say something-and then closed it again in a tight, fierce line.

‘Sergeant Russell will want to lay charges against Barry,’ Jess said gently, glancing up at Niall. ‘Will you do it, Ethel?’

‘How can I? He’ll kill me.’

‘Not if you’re off the island,’ Jess said staunchly. ‘Ethel, where does your daughter live?’

‘In Sydney. Near my sister.’ Ethel’s face softened. ‘I’ve a little granddaughter now but I’ve never seen her. Barry won’t…’ Her voice faded to nothing.

‘You need to go to Sydney anyway to have your hand rebuilt.’ Niall somehow had his face under control again. ‘Could you stay with your daughter or your sister when you come home from hospital?’

Ethel’s eyes stayed closed. She was so close to exhaustion. This needed to be sorted though or she’d get no peace. There had to be some light at the end of her troubled path.

‘There’s no room,’ Ethel said bleakly. ‘Christine’s in a flat with her husband and the baby and my sister has four of her own kids. There’s Mum’s house…but Barry would just come…’

‘Mum’s house?’

‘My mother died six months ago,’ Ethel said drearily. ‘She always hated Barry-so she left the house to me. It’s just a simple two-bedroom weatherboard but it’s close to Christine and my sister. I tried to persuade Barry to move-I’d so like to be close to them-but then…He said I had to sell the house. I know what he’d do with the money. It’s on the market but it hasn’t sold…’

Jessie’s face cleared. ‘Well, then…’

‘It doesn’t solve anything,’ Ethel said drearily. ‘Barry would just come. He’d make it awful…’

‘Not after what he’s done.’ Niall’s grim voice was laced with iron determination. ‘Ethel, if you’re prepared to lay charges against him, we can organise an intervention order. Barry won’t be allowed anywhere near you. If the house is in your name…’

‘It is.’

‘Then there’s no problem…’

‘But…’ Ethel’s eyes opened. She looked dazed. This woman had been bullied for so many years that she lacked the capacity to see any hope at all. ‘My animals…’

‘Kiro could go with you,’ Jess told her staunchly. ‘I’ll look after him until you’re out of hospital in Sydney and then we’ll fly him over to join you. No problem.’ Her face clouded. ‘I’m not sure about your horse.’

‘She’ll have to be put down,’ Ethel said sadly. ‘I can’t keep her in Sydney.’ She looked up at Jess, a trace of strength returning to her eyes. ‘She’s in awful condition. Barry wouldn’t let me feed her. Only the knackers will want her now. It’s been cruel of me to keep her for so long, anyway. I kept hoping…I kept hoping Barry would change his mind. Will you…will you organise it for me, Jess?’

‘I’ll do that.’

‘And you…You’ll look after Kiro?’

‘Absolutely.’

‘And I don’t have to see Barry?’

‘We’ll put a police guard on the door if necessary,’ Niall said strongly. He loaded his syringe with a vial of pethidine. ‘OK, now, Ethel. Enough organisation. We’ll fix you an airlift to Sydney but meanwhile I’ll give you something to let you sleep.’

‘I’d like that,’ Ethel whispered. ‘I’d like to sleep…I feel like I could sleep for a very long time…’

‘Bastard…’

Niall had barely got out of the room before the word erupted. His hands clenched into fists. ‘Hell, Jess, how can she have put up with it for so long?’

‘Victim syndrome,’ Jess said sadly. ‘She’s so used to being abused and bullied she sees it almost as normal. To organise herself away from Barry without help would be beyond her.’ She sighed. ‘I’ll ring her daughter in Sydney and explain what’s happened. Hopefully she’ll be safe…’

‘Give me names and I’ll ring,’ Niall said roughly. ‘I’m her treating doctor.’

‘I’m treating vet.’

‘So you are-bless you,’ Niall smiled. He took her shoulders and gave her a swift kiss. ‘But I’ll do the phoning. You seem to have enough on your hands. You now have a Rottweiler among your orphans, Dr Harvey. And a derelict horse. You take on the world, my lovely Jess…’

‘I don’t…’ To have a man look at her like that…To have this man…

‘Just leave room for me in that big heart of yours,’ he told her and his smile deepened. Finally he shook his head. ‘Damn. I have to go. See you at the vineyard later-barring emergencies?’

‘I’ll be there.’