Chapter Nine

L ydia’s face looked so despondent that even Cordelia took pity on her. Well, that and the fact that Sylv had still been breathing when she got into the ambulance. This led to Cordelia thinking that actually Lydia was probably quite a good doctor, even if she was annoying.

“Come back to the surgery. I’ll make you some tea.”

“Are you sure?” asked Lydia, bag in her hand.

“Well, you’ll have to wear dirty knickers if you don’t, since your suitcase is still back there,” said Cordelia, leading the way. She sniffed as they turned the corner. “Did you seriously give her a baby aspirin for a stroke?”

“Standard care,” Lydia said. “And by the way, if you ever question my judgment in front of a patient like that again, I will get you fired.”

“Good luck with that, I think I’m the only one brave or stupid enough to put up with Doc Morris’s temper,” Cordelia said. She took a breath. “You’re right though, I shouldn’t have started to say anything. I realized as soon as I opened my mouth. Sorry about that, it won’t happen again.”

“I’m not saying I won’t accept criticism,” Lydia said earnestly.

“Oh good.” Cordelia side-eyed her. “You give out enough of it, you’d better be able to accept it as well.”

“Obviously. If you think I’m making a mistake you should absolutely say something, we all make errors. Just not in front of a patient. A patient needs to trust his or her doctor, it’s important.”

“Understood,” said Cordelia, who did understand.

“And I don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Give out a lot of criticism,” said Lydia.

Cordelia snorted. “Do you not? Could have fooled me. You’ve only been here a day and you’ve already told me to improve the filing system, improve the waiting system, and find somewhere to keep all the keys.”

“That wasn’t criticism. That was advice.”

“Huh. Thin line there, I suspect,” said Cordelia unlocking the surgery door and letting Lydia go in first. “And in the spirit of being open with one another, and this really isn’t a criticism at all, am I right in thinking that might have been your first time out there?”

“It was certainly not my first time treating stroke patients,” Lydia snapped.

“I said it wasn’t a criticism, and that’s not what I meant anyway. I meant it was your first time taking sole responsibility for an emergency.”

Lydia paused, bit her lip, then nodded briefly. “What gave it away?”

“Dunno,” said Cordelia, searching for the office key yet again. “You just seemed a bit… highly strung. Tense maybe. I don’t think anyone else noticed. Mind you, they haven’t spent the day with you. Here you’re relaxed, out there you were… on edge perhaps.”

“It was terrifying,” Lydia admitted, sitting down on one of the waiting room chairs. “Not that I didn’t know what to do, I did. It wasn’t that kind of scary. It was more… the weight of it, the responsibility of it. I wonder if I’ll get used to it.”

“Holding someone’s life in your hands?” asked Cordelia, finally locating the key. “Probably not. I mean, it’s a pretty big deal, isn’t it? Plus, you’re a GP, not a heart surgeon or anything, I suppose it’s not something you’ll have to do too much of. ”

“Good,” Lydia said and Cordelia thought that she looked tired. “Not that I don’t want to save lives, I do. I’d just rather do it in a slower and less weighty kind of way.”

Cordelia held the key up. “Come on, I’ll get the kettle on, hot sweet tea, isn’t that the prescription?”

Lydia laughed. “Yes.”

“Just as long as you don’t complain about how I make it,” added Cordelia, not at all sure that Lydia would be able to stop herself from doing so.

But a few minutes later they were both back out in the airy waiting room with tea in their hands and Lydia hadn’t spoken a word the whole time.

For the first time, Cordelia found herself feeling slightly sympathetic. It couldn’t be easy walking into a new place all the time and finding your feet. It was probably exhausting, come to think of it. Not something she’d like to do.

“You can use the surgery phone,” she said.

“For…?”

“To call the locum agency,” said Cordelia. “Maybe they’ll have a back up plan?”

“Right,” said Lydia, putting her mug down on the reception desk. “You’ll be wanting to get home to your family, I suppose. Give me a minute, let me see if I can get hold of them.”

Cordelia watched as she dialed. Her fingers were long, her nails short, she wore no rings. But then, Cordelia supposed that being a locum wasn’t exactly conducive to being married, so maybe Lydia was single.

“Answering service,” Lydia said, pulling a face as she hung up.

“Bad luck,” said Cordelia. The sun was getting lower in the sky and the waiting room was turning orange in the light. “I’m divorced.” Now why had she said that?

Lydia blinked. “Oh. Er, I’m sorry?”

“Don’t be. He was an arse. My ex. No kids. No family to get back to is what I meant.”

“Oh,” Lydia said again. “Me too.” She flushed, a pretty pink glow on her cheeks. “Not divorced. Never married. Not really um, well, I’ve been busy and things.”

“Right,” Cordelia said, only now remembering that Lydia had said she was gay.

“No family. Except my sister and brother in law and niece and nephew.”

“Sounds like family to me,” Cordelia said. So she guessed there was no girlfriend in the mix. Well, she could get on board with that. The single life had plenty to offer.

“Yeah, they’re great. I’m sort of staying with them on and off, but coming here was meant to be a break for all of us. I think Leah and Rowan could use a little private time, if you know what I mean. Well, that and the fact that the drive here this morning took over an hour.”

“Rough commute,” Cordelia said.

“Right.” Lydia blew out a breath. “I guess I could stay in a hotel or an inn or something. Anything like that in town?”

Cordelia laughed. “Are you kidding? Not even close. Though there is the Banks House. Some company brought that, a big place on the outskirts of town. I think they use it for corporate events or something, not like a real hotel though.”

“Ha, the pleasures of small town life.”

“Right.”

“Someone should open something, a bed and breakfast maybe.”

Cordelia took a sip of tea. “You use that word should a lot.”

“It’s a perfectly serviceable word,” Lydia said.

“Ever thought it might be the reason that you’re single?” blurted out Cordelia without really thinking about it.

Lydia turned to her and blinked owlishly. “Meaning?”

“Meaning you should maybe stop telling people what they should do. It’s bossy. And… and irritating.”

“Mmm.” Lydia didn’t look convinced. She did, however, look pale and tired.

“Did you eat lunch?”

Lydia shook her head. “No time. I had charting to do and more referrals to write. ”

“Well, in terms of should, you should eat lunch. Or at least have a protein bar handy or something. You look like you’re about to drop, and given that you’re the doctor here I’m not entirely sure who I’d call if you did.”

Lydia smiled weakly. “I’ll do better tomorrow. In the meantime, I suppose I’d better get going. It’s a long drive home. Though I suppose I could look for a hotel somewhere between here and my sister’s. The agency is paying for it.”

“Really?” asked Cordelia, more out of nosiness than anything else. She wondered how much Sylv would have been paid. “How much do they give you then?”

Lydia told her and Cordelia’s eyebrows rose. The amount per week would cover her electric bill and half the gas as well. It was alright for some.

“By the way,” Lydia said. “I called the hospital and had them fast track Magda’s appointment. They got her in at the end of the week, so she shouldn’t have to wait long.”

“Wait long to find out what exactly?” Cordelia said. It was worth trying again.

“Still can’t tell you,” said Lydia, actually looking penitent. “I’m sorry, really, I am. But it’s not worth my license. I know she’s your friend, and I know you care for her. If you like, I can give you the time off to go to the appointment with her?”

A nice gesture actually. Cordelia wrinkled her nose. She hated it when people she thought she’d already judged went and did something she considered uncharacteristic. “Thanks,” she said gruffly. “But Oliver will want to go with her.”

“Then the best that I can tell you is that the results should be pretty immediate, there shouldn’t be too much waiting involved, if that helps at all.”

And Cordelia could see that actually, she really was trying to help. That as interfering and critical as she could be, the woman had gone out of her way to help Magda. To help Sylv, for that matter. And, like it or not, the town needed a doctor.

“You definitely don’t know what happened to Doc Morris?” Cordelia said .

Lydia turned big, dark eyes on her. “Not a clue, sorry.” She drank down the rest of her tea. “I’ll rinse this out and then get out of here. It’s probably best if I drive back to my sister’s for tonight.”

She disappeared back off to the kitchen and Cordelia had time to think.

The money would be useful, money always was, wasn’t it? And people were used to having a doctor in the village. Look at what happened to Sylv. What would have happened if she’d been ill after business hours, with a doctor all the way in wherever the hell Lydia’s sister lived?

As much as Cordelia might hate other people doing uncharacteristic things, she wasn’t past doing them herself.

When Lydia came back, Cordelia was standing at the front door, Lydia’s suitcase in her hand. “Come on then,” she said.

“Come on?” asked Lydia, puzzled.

“You might as well come home with me, I suppose.” Cordelia stared at her, daring her to laugh or complain or say anything involving the word ‘should’. But Lydia just stared back. Cordelia narrowed her eyes and just in case Lydia was getting the wrong idea she added, “There’s a spare room.”