‘Poor old Archie. He’s not going to have his name changed, is he?’
‘I don’t think so. It would probably confuse him. Cats are all instinct and not much brain.’ He took another sip of coffee. ‘So I’ve put a call in to the Head of Neurology. Is there anything else I should know? I’m wondering whether there’s any connection between the seizures that Mercy’s been having and the burst eardrum?’
‘I don’t think so. We mainly just talked, but Mercy said that after her parents died she lived with an uncle. I think that was when she was beaten, because she said that her aunt made her deaf.’
Edward shook his head, staring at his coffee. ‘Someone would have had to hit her pretty hard.’
‘Yes. But she was having the seizures before then. So hopefully the two things are unconnected and the seizures aren’t a result of brain damage.’
She looked up at Edward and he blinked quickly. Took a swig of his coffee, and then wiped his eye.
‘Something in your eye?’
‘No. Yes, probably.’ Whatever it was it seemed to be a source of embarrassment.
‘Want me to take a look?’
‘I think I’ll manage.’ He took another mouthful of coffee. ‘These kids... We have to do something...’
Charlotte laid her hand on his arm. Tried not to think about the way the hard muscle flexed at her touch and to convince herself that this was simple reassurance. ‘You are doing something. You’ve given her back the use of her arm. She knows that, and she says that she’s going to exercise every day.’
‘It’s not enough.’
‘It’s what we can do.’
If the other nurses at the clinic could see them now. Edward, impassioned and almost weeping over a patient. Charlotte, resorting to reason and logic. It was so unexpected as to be almost bizarre.
‘I know.’ He drained his cup and dropped it into hers, scrunching the two together to make a ball, which he lobbed into the nearest recycling bin. ‘I want you there when Mercy has the EEG, to reassure her that no bad spirits are out to get her. I’ll clear it with Leo.’
‘Thanks. And thanks for listening.’
‘You were right. You’ve done a really good job here today.’
His praise meant a lot. More than a lot. Everyone at the clinic knew that Edward’s praise had to be earned. Charlotte felt her cheeks flush with pleasure. ‘Thanks. I’d like to just pop in and say goodbye to her before we go. Tell her that I’ll be back soon.’
He grinned. ‘Do that. Then I’d better be getting you back to the clinic, or Lizzie will have my hide for kidnapping you.’
CHAPTER NINE
IT WAS CLEAR when Leo Hunter telephoned to check whether Edward had anything he’d like to raise at this afternoon’s review meeting that he was not expecting him to attend. Leo knew him well enough to understand that Edward’s pledge to support the new charity arm of the Hunter Clinic was on the level of research, operating procedures and maintaining clinical excellence. It didn’t involve attending meetings which didn’t deal with those goals.
The usual procedure was that Leo informed him that a meeting was taking place, more as a gesture of courtesy than anything else, and Edward tendered his apologies and read the minutes when they were circulated. That had always worked perfectly.
‘You mean you’re considering some research?’ Leo’s voice sounded perplexed.
‘No, not really. Well, maybe if something presents itself. I’m just interested in how we can help these kids outside of simply giving them the medical treatment they need.’
There was a pause and Edward shook the handset of his phone, wondering if the line had suddenly gone dead, before realising that Leo was just taking his time in getting his head around the proposition. Edward’s forte had always been in the operating theatre, making clinical decisions and implementing them. That was his skillset. He usually left community issues to someone else.
‘I’ll see you later, then.’ Leo still sounded a bit suspicious. ‘We’ve had to move the time from four o’clock to six, in
order to fit in with the operating schedules.’
Edward’s heart sank. Six o’clock. He’d been to his share of these meetings, and they were renowned for going on until late into the night. Usually he’d be the last to object, but tonight... Actually, he wasn’t doing anything tonight. But he’d been rather looking forward to doing nothing with Charlotte and Isaac.
All the same, he’d just asked for this and it seemed grudging to turn it down now. ‘I’m free at six. I’ll see you then.’
* * *