Island Doctor to Royal Bride?

Philippe stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans. It was the most relaxed he’d looked since he’d got there. They strolled down next to the rippling ocean. There were a few other couples quietly walking on the beach.

‘What happens when you go back?’ asked Philippe. ‘Do you have someone else lined up to work here?’

She nodded as she kicked at the sand with her bare toes. ‘I have a colleague who is a surgeon in Texas. He’ll cover the two weeks after I leave.’

‘And he’ll pick up the research study?’

She bit her bottom lip. ‘Yes, well, he should. He’s the lead researcher. When the study gets published it will be under his name.’

Philippe stopped walking and turned to face her. ‘Why would the study be under his name? I’ve seen all the files on the computer. This is your study. You made the discovery. You applied for the research ethics and grant. You arranged the protocols. Why on earth wouldn’t you publish as the lead researcher?’

She sighed and looked out across the dark ocean. The night sky was littered with sparkling stars, reflecting on the midnight-blue rippling water. She ran her fingers through her hair. She was stalling. She knew that. She wasn’t exactly sure how to put this into words.

‘This study is going well. It’s going better than well. I didn’t discover this ointment. It’s made from natural products found on Temur Sapora. This ointment was something my grandmother used when I was a child, and her grandmother before her. I just decided to do official research to see how well it actually works.’

‘You decided,’ he emphasised.

She reached up and released her curls from their band, allowing them to fall around her shoulders. ‘I just pulled things together. That’s all.’

He folded his arms across his chest and moved in front of her, blocking her view of the ocean. The ocean breeze sent his aftershave drifting around her like some sort of protective cloak. His voice was low. ‘That’s not really an answer. Why don’t you want to lead the paper?’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘I just...’

‘Just?’ Now he was smiling, his eyebrows raised. It didn’t matter how much she hedged, he wasn’t going to let her off with this one.

She sighed again and pointed to the sand. ‘Let’s sit for a minute.’

He tilted his head to the side and gave her a curious glance then nodded his head. ‘Hmm, okay. Let’s sit.’

She waited a few seconds until he settled down next to her. She pushed her hand against the cooling sand. It was pressed down hard from the people who’d walked on the beach all day, so she dug her fingers into the sand and pulled some up to run through her fingers.

‘So, Dr Arissa Cotter,’ he said, ‘why on earth wouldn’t you want your name on a research paper that’s probably going to be widely read, have great acclaim and maybe lead to some money-making opportunities?’

‘I don’t care about the money,’ she said quickly.

He turned his head to face her. ‘I might have guessed that already.’

She kept playing with the sand, pressing it between her fingers and letting it grind together. ‘The truth is, there’s been a whole host of doctors working on this research. The project has lasted around a year. You know that the healing of an ulcer is always a slow process.’

‘But not the ulcers you’ve treated with the ointment,’ he said swiftly.

She gave a short laugh. ‘Ahh, you’ve been paying attention. But ulcers we’ve treated with the placebo—some of them haven’t healed at all, so to make a fair comparison I wanted to wait almost a year. I don’t want our research to be criticised for short-changing the alternatives.’

‘So, the findings are good. Isn’t it time to tell the world?’

She nodded her head slowly. ‘Yes, it is. But this ointment? It’s good. It’s really good.’

He shook his head again. ‘I don’t get it. If it was about the money, I could understand you wanting to hold off and get a product licence or patent on the product. But, if it’s not about the money, why the delay?’

She pulled a face. ‘I don’t think this ointment will just do well. I think it will do brilliantly. Just how long has the world waited for something that is more or less guaranteed to heal the biggest chronic leg condition in the world?’