A Nurse's Duty by Maggie Hope Page A

happy for things to go on as they were with no complications and deluded herself into thinking this state of affairs could go on indefinitely.
    When she saw Robert standing on the corner she went up to him happily and slipped her arm through his.
    ‘I’m not late, am I?’
    ‘No, not at all,’ he answered gravely and led her into the Chapel. It was afterwards, after he had walked the few steps back to the hospital gate with her, that she realized she had been fooling herself for he drew her into the shadow of a beech tree which stood close by and gently pulled her to him.
    ‘Karen,’ he whispered, ‘you know how I feel about you, don’t you? And I think I am right in thinking you feel the same way about me?’
    Karen stared up at him and found she had been wrong about this too, she hadn’t the slightest idea how to handle it. He was bending his head towards her, gazing at her lips, and when his kiss came it was soft and sweet and his lips remained together. For a moment she closed her eyes and swayed towards him but only for a moment. Her head jerked back and she pulled herself from his arms.
    ‘Robert!’
    ‘Oh, I know, I should not kiss you in the street but I couldn’t help myself, Karen. I’m sorry.’
    ‘No, it was my fault,’ she said breathlessly, and rushed away through the hospital gates and round to the Nurses Home, leaving Robert staring after her. She had been a fool, she told herself angrily. Robert was a man, wasn’t he? Why should he be content with walking her to Chapel or meeting her supposedly by chance in the hospital gardens or in their work on Outpatients? She undressed and got ready for bed, knowing she would have to tell him the truth as soon as she possibly could. But as she slipped into bed, she felt restless and unhappy. Married yet not married, but she was a woman, wasn’t she? With a woman’s normal feelings. Not that she missed the intimate side of marriage one little bit, but it had been so nice having a man courting her again. And she admitted to herself now that Robert
had been
courting her. It was her own fault it had come to this, she should never have gone out with him. Tomorrow, the first time she saw him alone, she would tell him about Dave.
    ‘I have something to ask you, Karen,’ he said the following afternoon. There had not been any time to talk until then for the clinic had been a busy one and Sister particularly vigilant. Karen feared Sister was beginning to suspect them.
    ‘Yes, Robert?’ Karen was clearing up after the afternoon session and Outpatients was empty even of Sister, who was in her office, writing up the patients’ notes. Karen didn’t look up as she spoke, trying to think of a way to tell Robert about Dave.
    ‘Will you have dinner with me this evening?’
    ‘Oh, Robert, you know I shouldn’t. Suppose someone from the hospital saw us? It’s not allowed.’ Karen bit her lip for he had taken her by surprise and driven the half-formulated words of explanation from her mind.
    ‘But you’ve almost finished your training. Once you have your certificate …’ Robert paused as Sister came bustling by.
    ‘Aren’t you finished in there, Nurse?’ she snapped, glowering at him. Doctors were not welcome in her department after hours and she made a point of making any lingerer aware of the fact.
    ‘Eight o’clock,’ he muttered to Karen and sauntered out of the room, giving Sister a happy grin as he did so, most unlike his usual expression. Sister’s expression became more severe than ever. She glared at Karen.
    ‘I hope you are not encouraging Doctor Richardson?’ she said coldly.
    Karen mumbled a disclaimer and hurried out of the treatment room into the nurses’ cloakroom, her face red with embarrassment. Nevertheless, despite her guilty feelings, she thought how pleasant it would be to go out to dinner with him. She wanted to go to evening dinner, having never done such a thing in her life. In the world of Morton Main, dinner was at midday