Kit Cavendish-Private Nurse by Margaret Malcolm

Author:Margaret Malcolm [Malcolm, Margaret]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

Shortly after Kit’s unexpected meeting with Jason on Flack Hill, Mr. Baylis paid two visits to the hospital, first for an X ray of his leg, and a little later, for the removal of the plaster cast.

“And that’s a step forward in more ways than one,” he remarked to Kit afterward with satisfaction. “Oh yes, I know the muscles of that leg have to get into working order again before I can get around much, but at least we can get on with it. It’s doing nothing that I’ve found so irksome.”

“You’ve been very patient,” Kit told him appreciatively. “If I’d been in your position, I’d have thrown things at everybody who came near me on two sound legs!”

“Well, I tried that once, didn’t I?” Mr. Baylis remarked wryly, “And look where it got me!” He paused momentarily. “You know, Nurse, I’ve been thinking about that—oh, not the incident itself, but the fact that I lost my temper.”

“Yes?” Kit encouraged.

“Yes. You know, when I was a child, I used to lose my temper if I didn’t get my own way. I suppose most children are like that. But you soon learn, if you have sensible parents, as I had, that it doesn’t get you anywhere. And the sooner you learn that, the better it is for everybody concerned, including yourself.”

“I know,” Kit agreed. “I remember my mother telling us—my brothers and sister and myself—that whether we liked it or not, there’s only one world for. everybody to share, and the sooner we realized that we had no right to expect a bigger or better share than other people, the more we’d enjoy what we had.”

“A very sensible woman,” Mr. Baylis approved. “But the trouble comes when you do get a bigger share. Oh, I’ve worked hard for it and I think I can honestly say I’ve never taken advantage of anyone in a deal. But...” He paused, marshaling his thoughts. “You know, Nurse, when you’re on the way up, you have to mind your P’s and Q’s. For example, no matter how good a man may be at his job, he isn’t likely to be made a foreman if he has a hair-trigger temper or a chip on his shoulder. No, he must be a chap who gets on with his fellow men and whom they trust. And that almost certainly means he has himself well in hand.”

“Yes, I see,” Kit said softly so that she should not disturb the trend of his thoughts.

“But far trickier than the ability to get on with your fellow workers is the gift of being able to keep a fair balance between their interests and those of the boss. I was lucky. I had my training in a small company where the boss knew everybody personally. There was precious little he didn’t know about any troubles they might have at home, and I know that more than likely, he’d do his best to put things right. I certainly know that he helped me once, when things were tight.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.