The Waiting Room by Bess Norton

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

I tried to look sympathetic. “What is it, then?”

“Well,” The man looked down at his cap, and then up at me again. “She’s been a bit sharp with some of ‘em, like. Told Mrs. Maxwell there’s nothing the matter with her, for one; and we all know what her legs are. And there was old Jim Bustard up for his usual bottle—shot him out backwards, she did. Said he was wasting public money, and that. Not right, that isn’t, Miss. Dr. Pullar never—”

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “You see, Dr. Teare isn’t used to our ways yet. You must make allowances...”

But he had made up his mind. “No, I’ll come Monday and see Dr. Pullar,” he persisted. “No hard feelings, Miss.”

I let him go.

Later I heard Dallas going upstairs, and I remembered that I had done nothing about moving her things back into the master bedroom. Freud would have had an explanation for that, I was quite sure. I find it as easy as anyone else to forget the things I resent doing. I waited for her to come hurtling down the stairs to complain, but she didn’t. And a few minutes later Nurse Green came wearily in.

She threw her coat on the settee. “Am I tired! I’ve had four deliveries today, and one of them a breech. I’m whacked.” She sat down and took a deep breath. “And what the blazes does that Teare woman think she’s up to?”

“I wouldn’t know. Why?”

“Well—don’t tell a soul, will you?—little Mrs. Bridger was talking about suicide this afternoon. After she’d called!”

I didn’t imagine Simon would mind if I gave her a glass of his sherry. I made it a large one and handed it to her. “You need a pick-me-up. I was afraid of something like that. She said she’d been down there delivering a lecture. Simon took a dim view.”

“A lecture? That what she calls it?” Green sipped her sherry and looked up wide-eyed. “She fairly bawled at the poor woman, from what I can make out. Shrieked like a fishwife, I imagine. Lord, I hold no brief for the Bridger set-up, but there is a limit!”

We heard Dallas coming downstairs and I looked at Nurse Green. “Here you are. Now you can have a go at her yourself about Mrs. Bridger.”

But she didn’t have a chance. Dallas flung the door wide open. She could see me, but Green was out of range. “Mrs. Cox has done nothing about moving my things,” she said curtly. “I’ve had to do it myself.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What a pity! It was my fault. I forgot to tell her.”

“Yes, that was the way I figured it out. You don’t want me to have that room, do you? You want it yourself, don’t you? But after all, I’m an assistant in the practice, and you are—”

“This is Nurse Green,” I interrupted. “Our local midwife and district nurse. Green, this is Dr. Teare.”

“Ah, yes. I’ve been wanting to see you, Nurse.” Dallas walked across and helped herself to Simon’s sherry.

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