A Very Special Marriage. Jennifer Taylor
Читать онлайн книгу.
a day pass without making sure she’d known how much he’d loved her.
The memory still had the power to hurt so Sophie hastily put it from her mind as Yuri summoned a steward and told him to take her to the hospital bay.
He turned to her as the man picked up her case.
‘Perhaps you would do me the honour of joining me for dinner tonight, Sophie? I shall add your name to my table if you don’t think I am being too presumptuous?’
‘Thank you. I would like that very much,’ she declared, throwing caution to the winds. She managed to hold her smile when Yuri took her hand and raised it to his lips, but she couldn’t ignore the soulful way he was looking at her.
‘This promises to be a wonderful trip,’ he murmured.
Sophie quickly withdrew her hand and hurried after the steward, relieved to make her escape before the situation developed. It did make her see how long it had been since she’d played the dating game, however. She’d met Liam when she’d been just nineteen and they had married a year later. She’d had little experience of men before her marriage and none since. One of the first changes she would have to make would be to bring her ideas in line with more modern thinking. The days of one man, one woman and happy ever after had long since gone out of fashion!
‘This is the hospital bay, Miss Patterson. I may as well give you a tour while we’re here.’
The steward, whose name badge identified him as Charlie Henshaw, elbowed his way through the swing doors. He nodded towards a door on their right. ‘Through there is the clinic where you and the doc will see your patients each morning and over there is the operating theatre.’
‘I didn’t realise there was a theatre on board!’ Sophie exclaimed, peering through the glass pane set in the door. She took rapid stock of the state-of-the-art facilities and sighed. ‘It’s far better equipped than some of the NHS hospitals where I’ve worked.’
‘The ship’s owners had the hospital bay refurbished last winter and decided to install a theatre while they were at it,’ Charlie explained. ‘Doc Hampson wasn’t keen on the idea but they thought it would be a big selling point. A lot of passengers feel happier knowing there are proper medical facilities on board if the worst happens. It’s certainly increased trade because we’re fully booked all season.’
‘I see. Why wasn’t Dr Hampson keen on the idea, though?’ Sophie asked curiously, following the steward along the corridor. She glanced into a small sick-bay furnished with all the usual equipment she would have expected to see in any modern hospital ward. The difference was that the room was beautifully decorated in a soothing sea green and there were tasteful water-colours on the walls.
‘The doc’s a nice old chap but he just isn’t up to operating nowadays.’ Charlie stopped as they came to the end of the passage. ‘It’s high time he retired, in my opinion. He might have reached that conclusion himself because I just heard that he’s not joining us this trip. They’ve had to hire a last-minute replacement for him.’
‘Oh, dear! I had no idea,’ Sophie exclaimed. The elderly doctor had sat in on her interview and had seemed very pleasant. It was rather daunting to discover that she would be working with a complete stranger for the next few months.
‘This is your cabin, miss. It’s not exactly luxurious—none of the crew’s quarters are—but there’s everything here that you’ll need. The doc’s cabin is just across the passage.’
Sophie tried to shrug off her concerns as she looked around the cabin. It was very compact but, as Charlie had said, there was everything there that she would need during her stay. A single bunk bed and combined vanity and wardrobe unit would solve her sleeping and storage problems whilst the tiny ensuite bathroom with its shower cubicle, basin and lavatory would fulfil her other needs.
‘It’s fine,’ she said, turning to smile at the middle-aged steward. ‘I’ve lived in nurses’ quarters in the past so I’m used to not having a lot of room to spread myself around.’
‘You’ll only really need it for sleeping,’ Charlie advised her, lifting her case onto the bed. ‘You and the doc are regarded as officers whilst you’re on board so you’ll have free run of the ship. You’ll be able to use the lounges and other facilities—that’s if you can cope with folk coming up to you all the time and asking about their ailments!’
‘I shall bear that in mind!’ She quickly hunted in her bag for some change as the steward turned to leave, but he stopped her with a shake of his head.
‘No need for that, miss. We’re all here to work so none of us expect tips. If you need anything, just use the bell and give me a buzz. The passengers won’t arrive until late afternoon so we’re not too busy at the moment, although it will be bedlam later.’
‘Thanks, Charlie.’
Sophie decided to unpack after the steward left then explore the ship and get her bearings. She unlocked her case, then hung her clothes in the wardrobe, smiling to herself when she saw how colourful they looked.
Buying herself some new clothes had been another step on the way to remodelling her life and an enjoyable one, too. She’d gone a bit mad, in fact, choosing the bright cotton outfits which she planned to wear in her off-duty time. While she was working she would wear a smart new uniform but the colourful clothes had been chosen in a fit of defiance. The old Sophie Patterson no longer existed and in her place was a woman who intended to make the most of her life instead of wasting it.
All of a sudden Sophie felt her doubts disappear beneath a renewed surge of excitement. She had been right to do this. Three months spent cruising the Mediterranean and then the world would be her oyster!
Dinner on the first night, she’d been told, was always an informal affair and casual clothes were the order of the day. She showered and changed into white cotton jeans and a vivid blue T-shirt then ran her fingers through her short blonde hair until she’d achieved the spiky look which the hairdresser had told her suited her so much. She’d had her hair cut only the previous week and she still wasn’t used to the new style, although it was certainly easier than the shoulder-length bob she’d had before. A quick wash and her hair was done!
Stepping in front of the mirror, she studied herself critically. She had to admit that the end result was rather pleasing. The vivid blue of the T-shirt was the perfect foil for her colouring although she experienced a momentary qualm when she read the logo that was printed in sequins across its front.
Telling herself that it was just a bit of fun, she let her gaze move on and nodded in satisfaction when she saw what a difference the new make-up she’d purchased had made. Her eyes looked enormous thanks to the mascara and shadow whilst the lipgloss made her mouth look seductively full. The only flaw she could spot was the tiny mole at the corner of her mouth but there was nothing she could do about that. Anyway, Liam had always said that it made him want to kiss her…
Sophie blanked out that thought. She’d promised herself that she wouldn’t look back but focus on the future and at the present moment that meant dinner. She left her cabin then paused when she saw that the door to the cabin opposite hers was open. She hadn’t heard the doctor arriving but she could have been in the shower at the time. It was a shame that she’d missed him because she would have liked to have broken the ice by introducing herself.
She glanced at her watch but there were still ten minutes to spare before she needed to be in the dining room. She tapped on the door and grimaced when she heard a muffled voice calling from the bathroom to come in. She hadn’t realised he was getting ready for dinner but she could hardly walk away now that she’d knocked on the door.
She looked curiously around as she went inside but the cabin was an exact replica of her own, apart from the fact that it was nowhere near as tidy. It looked as though the doctor must have unpacked in rather a hurry because there was a heap of clothes tossed onto the bed and a stack of books piled haphazardly on the bedside cabinet.
She wandered over to look at them, grinning when she saw the eclectic