The Garnett Marriage Pact

Slowly Jessica gave the address, hearing curiosity sharpen the disembodied voice as the woman asked, ‘You mean Dr Garnett’s house?’

‘Yes. Unfortunately my husband is out on call. I can ring him, but it would take him at least half an hour to get back and then there’s the drive to the hospital.’

‘Yes, you’ve done the right thing,’ the other woman assured her. ‘You can never tell with head injuries.’

The grave note in her voice only increased Jessica’s fear, but fifteen minutes later, just as the ambulance pulled into the drive, Stuart opened his eyes.

Her breath totally suspended, Jessica waited for some reaction from him, and then to her relief his eyes cleared, his voice groggy but recognisable as he demanded shakily, ‘What happened? My head hurts.’

‘You fell out of the plum tree, my lad, that’s what happened,’ Jessica told him sternly. ‘After your father had expressly forbidden you to climb it, too.’

‘Dad!’ Apprehension crossed the pale face. ‘Is he here? Does he know?’

Before Jessica could reply she was having to move back to allow the ambulance crew to get to him.

‘There doesn’t seem to be any damage,’ one of them told her, getting up from his knees. ‘But we’ll have to take him in f

or a check-up just to be on the safe side.’

‘I’ll follow you in my car,’ Jessica suggested. ‘I just want to leave a message for my husband first.’

She knew where Lyle would be and it didn’t take her long to find the number of the farm. The farmer’s mother-in-law who lived with them had severe diabetes which had resulted in ulceration of her legs. Lyle had gone out to check on her condition. The farmer’s wife answered the phone, and when Jessica asked tersely to speak to Lyle, she went off immediately to get him.

‘Jessica?’

Lyle’s voice was sharp, with impatience, no doubt, Jessica thought tiredly, gripping the receiver with fingers that were hot and sticky. James was standing beside her, almost clinging to her, and she reached down to touch his shoulder in reassurance.

‘Lyle, there’s been an accident.’ She had to raise her voice slightly to make herself heard above the static that had developed on the line.

‘What? Are you all right?’

Amazed that he should automatically assume that she was the one who had been hurt, Jessica swallowed the painful lump in her throat. ‘I’m fine,’ she told him huskily. ‘It’s Stuart. He fell out…had a bad fall. He was unconscious for a while, but he came round just as the ambulance arrived. They’ve taken him in to hospital, Lyle, and James and I are going to follow him down there.’

She heard him say something, but the static was now so bad that she couldn’t make out what it was. Raising her voice again, she asked him if he had been able to hear her.

‘Yes.’ Miraculously the line cleared, allowing her to hear every terse nuance of his voice, but then it crackled again just as she heard him saying, ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

‘Is Dad going to the hospital too?’ James asked anxiously when she had replaced the receiver.

He wanted his father to be there, Jessica saw, and her heart warmed a little. She smoothed the tousled dark hair so like his father’s back off his forehead and said reassuringly, ‘Yes, just as soon as he can.’

‘Stuart will be all right, won’t he?’ James demanded as they drove to the hospital. ‘He will be all right?’

Jessica smiled at him without committing herself; somehow she felt as though it might be bad luck to anticipate too optimistically, and so instead of replying she concentrated on her driving. Now that the first shock was over, she felt dreadfully weak and shaky, hardly fit to be in charge of a car. It would be the very last straw if she were to have an accident now. Fortunately they reached the hospital safely, hurrying into the casualty department where she gave her name to the nurse on duty.

‘Ah yes, Stuart. He’s been taken to the ward so that Mr Jeffries can examine him. Mr Jeffries is our Senior Consultant—luckily he happened to be with us today. If you’d like to go into the waiting-room.’

Jessica almost felt like screaming. She didn’t want to go into the waiting-room at all, she wanted to go to Stuart, but before she could say so, the swing door opened violently and Lyle strode in.

‘Daddy!’ Tearing free of her James hurtled into his father’s arms. Tears stung her eyes as Jessica watched the tender way Lyle bent towards his son, reassuring him.

He came over to her. ‘Where’s Stuart?’

‘Mr Jeffries is examining him,’ the nurse explained, overhearing. ‘If you’d like to see him, Dr Garnett.’

For a moment Jessica thought she was going to be left alone while James and Lyle went to the ward, but then Lyle turned and said abruptly to her, ‘Stuart will want to see you, I know. Will you come with us?’

Eagerly she hurried to his side, braving the nurse’s frown of disapproval.