‘There is a self-contained flat above the garage,’ Hugo told her. ‘You can use that until tomorrow if you wish.’

The generosity of the offer made Ruby want to weep. The last thing she’d been looking forward to was trudging around the village with her flowery suitcase.

‘That would be fantastic,’ she told him gratefully.

He paused in the kitchen doorway and, as if he hadn’t been dismissive enough, said, ‘Let me know when you want to go across there and I’ll take you on a short guided tour.’

‘I’m ready now,’ she said meekly, keen to hide away from his reluctant hospitality.

‘OK. So go and sort out what food you want to take with you and I’ll bring your case down. The sooner you’re settled in there the better you’ll feel—even though it will only be for the one night.’

And the happier you will be on both counts, she thought. Count one because it is only for one night, and count two because you will have your privacy back. But you will still have to endure my presence at the surgery, Dr Lawrence, and you could be in for a surprise, as my sparkle has only been dimmed, not extinguished …

Hello Dear Reader.

Once again we meet the Doctors of Swallowbrook Farm Practice in my second book of the series. In the first we had Libby and Nathan’s story, and now we meet Ruby and Hugo who find a very special kind of love amongst the lakes and fells that surround a delightful village.

I do hope that you will enjoy reading about the doctors of this country practice once more, and maybe we will meet again in books three and four.

With very best regards

Abigail Gordon

About the Author

ABIGAIL GORDON loves to write about the fascinating combination of medicine and romance from her home in a Cheshire village. She is active in local affairs, and is even called upon to write the script for the annual village pantomime! Her eldest son is a hospital manager, and helps with all her medical research. As part of a close-knit family, she treasures having two of her sons living close by, and the third one not too far away. This also gives her the added pleasure of being able to watch her delightful grandchildren growing up.

Recent titles by the same author:

SWALLOWBROOK’S WINTER BRIDE**

SUMMER SEASIDE WEDDING†

VILLIAGE NURSE’S HAPPY-EVER-AFTER†

WEDDING BELLS FOR THE VILLAGE NURSE†

CHRISTMAS IN BLUEBELL COVE†

COUNTRY MIDWIFE, CHRISTMAS BRIDE*

A SUMMER WEDDING AT WILLOWMERE*

A BABY FOR THE VILLAGE DOCTOR*

**The Doctors of Swallowbrook Farm *The Willowmere Village Stories †Bluebell Cove

These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk

SpringProposal inSwallowbrook

Abigail Gordon

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For a fellow writer,

my friend Daniel Constantinou, and his lovely family.

CHAPTER ONE

When Hugo Lawrence pulled into the drive of the house where he had lived for the last year and a half on a temporary basis it was a strange feeling to know that it was now his, and that those who had occupied it before had gone on to a new life.

The grey stone detached house, appropriately named Lakes Rise because it was in an elevated position above one of the biggest lakes in the area, had belonged to his widowed sister Patrice and her two young daughters.

Patrice had lost her husband Warren from an undiagnosed heart defect eighteen months previously and stricken with grief had been totally unable to cope, so much so that for the children’s sakes as much as anything he had moved from general practice in southern England to take up a similar position in the village of Swallowbrook where she lived, to keep a protective eye on the bereaved family.

Living with them day in day out, comforting and coping as he’d tried to lessen their insecurities and wipe away the tears that the loss of an adored husband and father had brought about had been a gruelling experience and caused him to take a long, hard look at the pain and sorrow that loving too much and too well could cause.

He and his sister had lost their parents when they were in their early teens and as the eldest Hugo had always been very protective of his young sister, often having to put his own life on hold over the years for her sake and never begrudging it.

Patrice’s happy marriage had given him five years’ respite from that crushing feeling of responsibility towards his sister, and now, with her recent move to Canada, he had begun to breathe easier once again. Not that he begrudged the time he’d spent helping her pick up the pieces, but at least now she had a fresh start to look forward to and he had his own place to start putting down some roots.

When Patrice had talked about putting the house up for sale he had said not to, that he would buy Lakes Rise. He loved the job and got on well with the other two doctors in the practice, and it was a very attractive property, but it was the lake nearby, breathtakingly beautiful beneath the towering fells, that attracted so many walkers and climbers and had him spellbound.

Now he couldn’t wait to unlock the door, go inside, and celebrate becoming a permanent resident of Swallowbrook with no strings attached.

A shower and a change of clothes, followed by a nice meal with a bottle of wine was what he had promised himself, and after that a good book or watching television. Then maybe to round off the evening a stroll down to The Mallard, the local pub, for a convivial chat with some of the friends he had made since moving here, and finally to bed in the spacious master bedroom of his new home with not a worry on his mind.

But first he wanted to unload the stuff he’d brought with him from his flat down south and stack the bulkier items in the garage for the time being. With that in mind he went round to the back of the car and was opening the boot when a woman’s voice hailed him from the bottom of the drive.

Daylight was turning into dusk but when he looked up he could see her beneath the light of a streetlamp. She was tall and slender and appeared to be quite young.

She seemed to be wearing a red cape of sorts with a hood, had black boots with incredibly high heels on her feet, and was holding onto the handle of a large flower-patterned suitcase that she must have been dragging along until she’d stopped on seeing him.

‘Could you help me, please?’ she asked in a voice so weary he was expecting her to cave in any second. ‘Would you happen to know where I can find Libby Gallagher of Lavender Cottage just along the road there? She doesn’t appear to be at home, and you are the first person I’ve seen to ask since getting off the train. Where is everyone?’

‘In the process of having their evening meal, I would imagine,’ he replied dryly. ‘The village will be lively enough later when the locals and visitors gather inside and outside the pub.’

‘Please don’t mention food,’ she groaned, without making any attempt to move closer. ‘I’m starving.’

He made his way down the drive towards her. ‘Was Libby expecting you? It isn’t like her not to be there if she knew that you were coming.’

‘She knows I’m coming back to Swallowbrook and has offered to let me stay with her and her husband until I find somewhere to live, but we hadn’t exactly arranged when I was going to arrive.’

‘In other words, she wasn’t expecting you?’

‘Not exactly, no.’

He held back a groan. Libby and Nathan were at their house on the island in the middle of the lake. Since their Christmas wedding the two doctors had gone there every weekend with Toby, Nathan’s adopted son.

The three of them loved the place, so he wasn’t going to break into their weekend solitude on behalf of this stranger who hadn’t bothered to tell them she was coming to join them. She would have to find somewhere to stay for the next two nights … as far away from him as possible!

‘I know where they are,’ he told her stiffly, ‘and they won’t be back until early Monday morning as they don’t like to cut short their weekends for any reason, which means that you are going to have to find somewhere to stay. They have a couple of rooms to let to bed and breakfast visitors at the pub, so I should try there. And now if you’ll excuse me …’

As he started to unload the boot it was clear that she wasn’t taking the hint. Instead she said, ‘It seems as if you know them well, but that’s what this place is like, isn’t it? Almost everyone is acquainted, or so Libby tells me.’

Hugo sighed. He wasn’t in the mood for small talk, but at least he could be polite and in answer to her first comment. He said, ‘Yes, I know Libby and Nathan very well. My name is Hugo Lawrence. I’m a GP too and work with them both at the practice.’

‘Oh, well, then, you might have heard them mention me,’ she said slowly. ‘I’m Ruby Hollister, shortly to join you all there as a trainee GP.’

Hugo looked her over once more and frowned. Surely this couldn’t possibly be the girl that Libby and Nathan had been so keen to have as part of the medical team at the surgery, who had got a first at one of the top medical colleges in the country.

There had been a few practice meetings of late about taking on another doctor as Libby was pregnant and intending doing fewer hours at the practice in the near future, prior to becoming a stay-at-home wife and mother to Toby and the baby, when it came.

Apparently Ruby Hollister had lived in the village with her parents until her teens and then they’d moved away, but like Libby she had always had leanings towards practising medicine amongst the lakes and fells.

‘Ah, now I understand,’ he said, gathering his wits fast. ‘I knew that you were about to join us, but was away all last week and wasn’t aware that it was to be so soon.’

She was leaning on the case. He could see weariness in the droop of her shoulders and knowing that he couldn’t just send her off to the pub to find accommodation now that he knew who she was, he pointed to the house and said reluctantly, ‘I think you had better come inside while we sort out where you are going to stay until Libby and Nathan come home from their weekend away.’

‘You’re very kind,’ she said meekly, and removing the case from her grasp he took charge of it with one hand, unlocked the door with the other, and ushered her into the sitting room where at his invitation she perched on the edge of a nearby sofa and looked around her listlessly.

Why she was so weary he had no idea, but he knew complete exhaustion when he saw it and he was seeing it now. Waving goodbye to his evening of joyful relaxation, he asked, ‘Which would you prefer, a brandy or a cup of hot, sweet tea?’

‘Tea would be lovely, thanks,’ she replied, fixing him with huge brown eyes, ‘and I could really go for a slice of toast if you have any bread in the house after being away.’

‘I think I could just about manage that,’ he said dryly, far from thrilled at the prospect of entertaining his newest colleague all evening.

But when he appeared with the tea and toast it was to find her asleep, huddled against the cushions still in the red cape, and with the high-heeled boots placed neatly on the carpet beside her.

He went upstairs and taking a blanket out of the linen cupboard on the landing covered her with it from head to toe, then went to make the meal he had promised himself, with an extra portion for his unexpected guest when she woke up. When he’d finished eating he went to sit across from her with a book.

Why had she arrived so unexpectedly like this? he wondered as he watched her sleeping soundly beneath the blanket. Obviously she had made some arrangement with Libby and not kept to it, because as head of the practice Libby would not have gone away for the weekend if she’d known that Ruby was arriving today.

The minutes ticked by and she still slept. As ten o’clock drew near Hugo thought there was still time to check if they had a room vacant for a couple of nights at The Mallard. He would willingly cover the cost if they had in order to retrieve the privacy that he’d been so looking forward to. But there was no way he could rouse this girl into wakefulness and bundle her out of his house into strange surroundings for the night.

As ten o’clock came and went he picked her up into his arms, carried her upstairs, and laid her gently on the top of his bed still wrapped in the blanket, with the thought uppermost that at least she would be safe there with him dozing downstairs and everywhere locked and bolted.

He awoke with a crick in his neck and a dry mouth in a pale winter dawn and his first thought was about the woman upstairs. Was she still sleeping or had he dreamt that she had descended upon him from out of nowhere and ruined his first night of peaceful living?

The clatter of dishes in the kitchen told him he hadn’t been dreaming and when he went to investigate she was brewing a pot of tea and making toast.

As he stood framed in the doorway she swung round to face him. ‘I am so sorry for being such a nuisance last night, Dr Lawrence. I’d had a really dreadful day and was foolish enough to take it for granted that Libby and Nathan would be here when I arrived.’

Slumping down onto a kitchen chair, she explained. ‘I’d given up the flat that I’d been renting while at college in readiness for moving to Swallowbrook and had been staying with a friend. Early yesterday morning I had a hospital appointment and had a long wait to see the consultant. As I was driving back to where I was staying my car broke down. Breakdown services had to come out to it and they towed it away, all of which was stressful enough, but that wasn’t all.

‘When I returned to the place where I was staying I discovered that my so-called friend had let someone else take my place in the flat and I had no choice but to gather my belongings together and face the fact that I was homeless.

‘The solution seemed to be to come straight here instead of in two weeks’ time as had been arranged, but having no car I had to seek out a train and had to wait hours for one to bring me to Swallowbrook, and by then I was wilting badly. I know it was crazy not to check that Libby and Nathan would be here, but in my semi-deranged state I took it for granted that they would be. So now you know why I was wandering about like a lost soul when I saw you pull up here.

‘So if you will bear with me for a little longer while I have a drink and a bite,’ she was saying, ‘I will look around for somewhere to stay for the rest of the weekend and leave you in peace in your beautiful house. How long have you lived here?’

‘Almost two years as a visitor and just the one week since it became legally mine. It was my sister’s house and I bought it off her when she went to live abroad.

‘I’m sorry that yesterday turned out to be so dreadful for you. I do hope that nothing connected with your hospital visit combined to make it even more traumatic.’ Before she could reply to that he went on, ‘With regard to your car being out of action we do have a spare vehicle at the surgery that you will be able to use until it has been repaired.’

With the feeling that he’d said enough in a conciliatory manner he poured himself a cup of tea, buttered a slice of toast, and as silence fell between them seated himself opposite.

How could he be so cool, calm and collected? wondered Ruby. It was clear that one of the most attractive men she’d met in years was anxious to see her gone and could she blame him? She’d slept in her clothes and looked a mess. Had flaked out on his sofa and let him carry her upstairs without even being aware of it, and she squirmed every time she thought about the look on his face when he’d realised that she was going to be the new doctor at the surgery.

His house was gorgeous and so was he. It seemed as if he lived there alone, which could mean anything. That he was divorced, was too choosy, or maybe played the field. Whatever was going on in his life he wasn’t exactly a bundle of laughs, that was for sure, but, then, who would be after giving up his bed for the night to some strange woman?

He was tall. She was no midget, but he towered above her and he was trim with it. His eyes were blue as a summer sky, his hair a much darker thatch than her chestnut mane, and he had the most kissable mouth.

It would seem that she was going to be seeing a lot of him in days to come, which was almost enough to make up for the traumas of yesterday, but not quite. Medicine was the love of her life, it had to be. As well as being good at it, she needed it to fill the gap that a fluke of nature was to blame for.

She’d come top out of all the students on her course, but wasn’t going to be bandying that item of news around the Swallowbrook surgery. Anyone hearing it would be sure to want to know why, if that was the case, she was prepared to vegetate in a Lakeland village practice.

There was a reason, a sentimental one. In her early teens she and her family had been on the point of leaving Swallowbrook to move up north because of her father’s job when her baby brother had been taken seriously ill, and it had been the prompt action of the head of the practice at that time that had saved his life.

In her conversations with Libby Gallagher regarding the job Ruby had learned that Libby’s father-in-law, John Gallagher, who had been there for Robbie in their time of need, was now retired, and that she and her husband had taken over his father’s practice.

Her family’s move away had been urgent, her father’s job had depended on it, and no sooner had her young brother’s illness been stabilised than they’d been on their way, but she had never forgotten what the Swallowbrook practice had done for Robbie. On leaving the village she’d told Dr Gallagher that one day she was going to come back to be one of them and now her dream was about to come true.

Nathan had remembered her vaguely from long ago, the teenage kid who’d wanted to be one of them some day, and when she’d got in touch with the news that she’d got a first she’d been offered her heart’s desire, a position in the practice, and now here she was, ready to burst upon the Swallowbrook medical scene, in a strange man’s house and looking an absolute mess.

He couldn’t just throw her out in the hope that the pub might have a spare room for tonight, thought Hugo. It was barely half past eight on a Sunday morning. Apart from the bellringers in the church tower reminding those who would listen that it was the Sabbath, all was still, nothing moved.

How was Ruby going to pass the time on a chilly spring day with nowhere to stay, and Libby and Nathan unaware that their protégé had arrived unexpectedly?

There was the apartment above the double garage, of course. If she hadn’t fallen into such a deep sleep the night before he might have mentioned it then. He could offer her the use of it until tomorrow and it would serve a dual purpose from his point of view. Ease his conscience with regard to wanting her out of his space and give him peace of mind knowing that he hadn’t turned her out without accommodation.

Before it had been turned into an apartment the area above the garage had been a study and sitting room that his late brother-in-law had used, and when she had lost him one of the few decisive things that Patrice had done was to have the accommodation made into a small apartment for letting to help out financially. It was usually occupied by visitors to the lakes from Easter onwards but as it was out of season it was currently empty.

Ruby was observing his expression and wondering what was coming next. The feeling that she was ruining his weekend was heavy in the air and she certainly was not expecting a suggestion as welcome as the one he was about to make.

‘There is a self-contained apartment above the garage.’ he told her. ‘You can use that until tomorrow if you wish. No need to go looking for somewhere to stay. There’s plenty of food in my fridge and freezer so just help yourself to what you want if you would like to make use of the accommodation.’

The generosity of the offer made her want to weep. The last thing she’d been looking forward to was trudging around the village with her flowery suitcase.

‘That would be fantastic,’ she told him gratefully. ‘If there is a bath I can have a nice long soak to take away the stresses of yesterday.’

‘Yes, of course there is a bathroom,’ he said dryly, ‘and now, if you will excuse me, I heard the Sunday papers drop through the letter box a few moments ago and am going to bring myself up to date with what is going on in the world.’

He paused in the kitchen doorway and as if he hadn’t been dismissive enough said, ‘Let me know when you want to go across there and I’ll take you on a short guided tour.’

‘I’m ready now,’ she said meekly, eager to take advantage of his reluctant hospitality.

‘OK. So go and sort out what food you want to take with you and I’ll bring your case down. The sooner you’re settled in there the better you’ll feel, even though it will only be for the one night.’

And the happier you will be on both counts she thought. Count one because it is only for one night, and count two because you will have your privacy back, but you will still have to endure my presence at the surgery Dr Lawrence, and you could be in for a surprise as my sparkle has only been dimmed, not extinguished.

‘Oh! This is lovely,’ she said, looking around her at the pristine open-plan dining room and kitchen. Her glance went to the window. ‘I can see the lake through the trees!’

Hugo was checking that the lighting and central heating were switched on at the mains and didn’t reply. He just nodded his agreement and pointed towards the apartment’s one bedroom and en suite arrangements for her to inspect.

‘I hope I’ll be able to find somewhere like this when I start looking for accommodation next week,’ she said wistfully, and waited to see if he would rise to the implied suggestion, but it fell on stony ground and once he had satisfied himself that she was au fait with the workings of everything he said, ‘Libby and Nathan usually get back from their weekends away around half past seven on a Monday morning, so you should be able to get in touch with them tomorrow any time after that.

‘If you should leave here after I’ve gone to the surgery just drop the keys through my letter box.’ And off he went … to read the Sunday papers while she did some unpacking and had that long soak that she had promised herself.

Then, after making a meal of sorts from the food that Hugo had insisted she take with her, she changed into jeans and a thick sweater and went to renew her acquaintance with the stretch of water that was as familiar to her as her own face, taking care not to pass his windows on the way as the feeling that the dishy though unwelcoming Dr Lawrence had seen enough of her to be going on with was getting stronger by the minute.

But the moment she reached the lakeside he was forgotten in the pleasure of watching a launch go by on its calm waters and the sight of the sails of yachts gleaming whitely against the rugged sweep of the fells, the ageless guardians of the valley.

It felt so right to be back where she had made her promise to the Swallowbrook practice. The only blot on the horizon was the taciturn Dr Lawrence, who hadn’t been able to get her out of his orbit quickly enough. If she’d had any grandiose ideas about herself they would have disappeared completely at the thought of having to compete with the Sunday papers for his attention.

She went to The Mallard for her evening meal as several hours of her own company was beginning to pall and once she was installed in the dining room amongst the friendly chatter of its patrons the feeling of loneliness that was tugging at her began to disappear.

Until during the last hour before the place was due to close her reluctant host appeared and his eyes widened at the vision of her seated beside the big log fire that was one of the main features of the place.

The sight of him brought Ruby to her feet. She was ready to leave immediately as if caught doing something he wouldn’t approve of. As she wished him a meek goodnight and tried to pass him in the crowded room Hugo said, ‘If you’re going back to the apartment I’ll walk along with you.’ When she was about to protest at being singled out in front of everyone, he added, ‘Please don’t object. It isn’t good that you should be out alone at such a late hour.’

She didn’t reply, just continued making her way towards the door, and as he followed he was remembering how flat his evening had been until now. After shunting Ruby out to the apartment above the garage he had expected his joy at his longed-for return to normality to clock in, but instead of that he hadn’t been able to settle.

And now, instead of livening himself up with a last drink of the day with friends and acquaintances, he was fussing once again over this young woman who probably thought nothing of being out all night on her own, let alone walking just the short distance to where she’d been accommodated for the night.

They walked the first few yards along the road in silence and then, ashamed of her irritation at his concern for her, Ruby said, ‘I walked by the lake this afternoon and it was so lovely to be back. Do you go down there much?’

It sounded trite, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say and he was actually smiling when he replied, ‘It is the lake that has made me want to stay in Swallowbrook instead of going back down south to practice. Did you remember the house on the island from when you once lived here?

‘That is where Libby, Nathan, and their son spend their weekends. Here in the village they have cottages next to each other and now they are married are having the two made into one big one for weekdays. Otherwise I suppose you could have stayed in the empty one.’

‘I’ll find somewhere, even if it means sleeping on a park bench or in an empty boat house,’ she assured him breezily as another reminder had come her way to the effect that where she was going to live was only his problem for a few more hours.

With Lakes Rise and the apartment only feet away, she said in a more restrained manner, ‘Thank you for your company once more Dr Lawrence. You are very kind. What will you do now? Go back to The Mallard for what is left of the evening?’

‘Possibly,’ he told her, keen to let her know subtly that he wasn’t always going to be at her beck and call.

CHAPTER TWO

Making his way back to the light and noise of The Mallard, Hugo was feeling uncomfortable about the way Ruby had risen to her feet and prepared to leave the moment he’d appeared, as if keen to avoid any further contact.

He’d noticed immediately that the red cape had been discarded for the time being and that dressed in dark blue jeans, a short white jacket and wearing flat walking shoes she looked smaller than when she’d been wobbling on high heels the day before.

She was attractive in a pale, ethereal sort of way, he’d decided as she’d been making her way through the crowded room towards the exit, and the thought had crossed his mind that the life of the GP was not always easy—would a person as vulnerable looking as Ruby be up to it?

With his determination still in place to stay aloof, he hadn’t lingered when they’d arrived back at the house and now that was also niggling at him. Ruby hadn’t put a foot wrong since interrupting the free time that he’d been so looking forward to, yet he was treating her as if she had the plague.

The thought of going back to have a drink with friends was losing its appeal so, turning, he retraced his steps and when Lakes Rise appeared once more he noted that the apartment was in darkness. After checking that it was secure from all angles, he opened his own front door and went inside.

Lying wide awake up above, Ruby had heard him try the door and thought that with any other man she might have wondered as to his motive, but not Hugo Lawrence. He wouldn’t have any plans to join her, like some predatory types might think of doing.

The dishy doctor would be satisfying himself that she wasn’t intending seeking him out again before morning, as he’d made it clear that in spite of looking after the basics of her wellbeing he wanted his privacy back as soon as possible.

Perhaps at some time in the future when she’d got to know him better, and that would have to happen no matter what, with them both working at the practice, she would suggest that The Hermitage would be a better name than Lakes Rise for his beautiful house and see if Hugo thought that as hilarious as she did.

But there were other things on her mind, much more important than her reluctant host. During the trauma of yesterday and her subsequent extreme weariness she’d put to the back of her mind what the haematology department had said during her check-up at the hospital in the town where she’d been based all the time she’d been studying for her degree.

It had been nothing new, she’d had the same discussion with similar departments of the NHS that were geared to her potential problem and nothing had happened to make her change her decision.

But it was still nonetheless heartbreaking because she had to face up to it and accept it for the rest of her life. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she didn’t. But one day the test would come and what would she do then?

Putting aside memories of the punishing past, she reminded herself that tomorrow she would be starting an exciting new life as a doctor in the Swallowbrook Farm Medical Practice, something she had promised herself she was going to do long ago, and maybe the pains and hurts of that other time would seem less if she could make her mark in the medical centre that had served her family so well in their time of need, and with that thought the painful memories came crowding back.

Robbie had been just a toddler and she’d been fourteen when the nightmare had begun and changed their lives for ever. The family had been on the point of leaving Swallowbrook to move to Tyneside, where her father’s job was taking them, when Robbie had had his first bleed and it had been action stations on Dr John Gallagher’s part without a moment to spare when it had happened. She’d crouched in fear and trembling by his hospital bed, wondering what it was all about, while her frantic parents had tried to cope with the mention of haemophilia, the hereditary bleeding disease, being present in the family.

Their move had been imminent yet she hadn’t wanted to move away from Swallowbrook, she’d felt safe there, but the arrangements had still had to go ahead or her father might have lost his job, so even while they had been waiting for the results from Robbie’s tests they had left the village with arrangements in place that the findings would be transferred to the haematology department at a hospital near their new home.

The results had been positive. The lack of a clotting agent in Robbie’s blood had caused the serious bleed. He had inherited the problem from their mother who unknown to her was a carrier of the faulty gene that caused the condition.

The hospital had explained that hereditary illnesses had to start somewhere and the reason their mother hadn’t known about it was because she was the first one in her family who had ever been a known carrier of the haemophilia gene.

Now Robbie was twelve, and medically much better cared for, due to new treatments, than past sufferers, but the anxiety was always there for his parents and big sister, who had been left with anxieties of her own to cope with.

She fell asleep at last, too tired to think anymore about the ups and downs in her life, and awoke the next morning to a room filled with pale sunshine and the sound of the engines of one of the large launches that crossed the lake at regular intervals chugging its way across its smooth surface.

It has arrived, she thought excitedly, hugging herself with delight. She was back in her dream village, about to start her dream job.

Hugo’s thoughts were running along very different lines when he surfaced in the big bedroom that he’d carried Ruby up to the night before last. Thoughts of her consumed him now, how could they not whilst she was his temporary tenant and soon-to-be colleague? It seemed she was sorted for work, but just what did she plan to do for accommodation?

So far he’d had no bookings for the apartment over the garage, as requests for accommodation around the lakes didn’t usually commence until nearer Easter. So why shouldn’t he offer to rent it to her long term if she was interested?

She’d certainly seemed impressed on her first viewing of it, which was not surprising as it was a delightful small let, and for someone like her who was probably having to carry the burden of repaying a student loan, he could afford to be generous in what he asked for rental, just as long as she stayed on her side of their living arrangements, and left him to enjoy his well-earned rest with an easy conscience after having helped her to settle back into the village to some small degree.

He’d known that a medical graduate was joining them in a couple of weeks. That she’d lived in the village when she was young and even then had wanted to be part of the practice when she grew up.

Along with his two partners he had been in favour of taking a talented young newcomer into the practice to help cope with their growing number of patients as new lakeside properties were being built all the time, and had agreed that she would help to fill the gap that would be coming soon when Libby wanted to point herself towards full-time motherhood.

He was pretty sure that she and Nathan would be surprised when they discovered that the newcomer had arrived earlier than expected, but would be better equipped to deal with it than he’d been.

It wasn’t so much her sudden appearance as the way he’d coped with it that was making him feel uncomfortable, but the offer of the accommodation above the garage should hopefully redeem him!

When he got up from the breakfast table Hugo glanced down the road as he often did to where the lake could be seen a short distance away with the fells towering above it, and the feeling of rightness that it always gave him was there, until he saw a slender figure wearing a red cape over a neat grey dress striding briskly towards the house with pale cheeks rosy from the winter morning’s chill and hair fastened back off her face into a neat twist.

She was moving straight towards the apartment without a glance in his direction but when he opened his front door and called across to her she came slowly towards him.

‘You’re up bright and early,’ he commented when they came face to face. ‘The surgery won’t be open for another hour.’

‘Yes, I know,’ she told him, ‘I’ve been down by the lake again and stopped for a coffee at the only café that was open at this time.’

‘I wanted a word,’ he said, stepping back to let her into the hallway. She entered hesitantly. ‘I’ve been having a think about your accommodation problem.’

He saw surprise in the big brown eyes observing him for a second and then it was replaced by wariness. She didn’t speak, just waited to hear what he had to say, and as she listened she was filled with delighted amazement.

‘If you should feel that you would like to rent the apartment I would be willing to discuss it with you,’ he was saying. ‘On thinking about it I feel that it would be easier from my point of view to have just one regular tenant in there, rather than having to deal with different ones all the time on a holiday let basis.

‘So think about it, and if you are interested let me know, but before you do I feel that I must tell you that at this time of year there are always lots of places to rent before the holiday season clocks in. So feel free to use the apartment for the time being until you’ve had time to sort out your priorities with Libby and Nathan, as they might already have somewhere in mind for you.’

She was dumbstruck. Of course she would want to stay in the lovely apartment where she’d spent the night, but what had changed? Only yesterday she’d felt that Hugo Lawrence was irritated by her presence, keen to see the back of her, and now …?

Concealing her pleasure at the thought of accepting his offer, she answered gravely, ‘I will do as you say, Dr Lawrence, and give your suggestion some thought. Thank you for allowing me to stay until I have had the chance to do that, and now if you will excuse me I’m going to have some breakfast before presenting myself at the surgery.’

‘Sure,’ he agreed easily. ‘I’ll see you there later. I hope that your first day will be a good one.’

Once inside the apartment Ruby’s gravity was cast aside and she danced around the place delightedly. Of course she was going to take up Hugo Lawrence’s offer, but after the way she’d butted into his well-organised life and been received with what could only be described as reluctance, a more staid approach was called for when she was in his company.

As for the rest of it, she was in a state of bliss at his suggestion because the surgery and the lake were so close. She would be able to explore all her old haunts again. Life was as good as it was likely to get, just as long as the precarious path to good health that her young brother had to travel along didn’t have any life-threatening side turnings.

Hugo was smiling when she’d gone. Not so docile this morning, was she? It would be interesting to see how she came over at the practice with Libby, Nathan, the rest of the staff and the patients. Maybe he should have offered to drive her down there instead of leaving her to make a solo appearance, but he wanted to call on one of his patients who was causing grave concern on his way to the surgery, and in any case the newcomer needed to stand on her own two feet from the start.

‘Ruby! Is it really you?’ Libby exclaimed as she was opening up the surgery at eight o’clock and saw the new junior doctor approaching.

‘We were not expecting you just yet.’

‘I know,’ Ruby told her apologetically. ‘But I suddenly found myself homeless on Saturday and decided that the only thing to do was come straight here and hope you wouldn’t mind me descending upon you without notice.’

‘And we weren’t here, were we? What a shame! So where have you stayed for the last two days?’ Libby asked, and taking her arm, ‘Come inside out of the cold and we’ll have a cup of tea and a chat before everyone arrives. Nathan is at the cottage, getting Toby ready for school, and will be here about half past nine when he’s seen him safely inside.’

‘I hope you don’t mind me arriving too soon,’ Ruby said as Libby brewed a pot of tea in a pleasant kitchen at the far end of the building.

‘Not at all,’ she assured her. ‘We are very busy and badly need your input in the practice, but I haven’t yet sorted out anywhere for you to live, so we must see to that before anything else.’

The young newcomer was smiling. ‘I’m already fixed up with accommodation. When I arrived on Saturday in a pretty distressed state I asked the first person I saw if he knew where you might be and it turned out that I was speaking to Dr Lawrence.’

She wasn’t going to mention sleeping in his room on top of his bed! ‘He let me use the apartment over his garage until now, and has said if I want to rent it I can.’

‘You’ve already met Hugo, then!’ Libby exclaimed, ‘and he’s willing to let you rent that delightful apartment! Wow! You must have made a good impression.’

‘I doubt it,’ she said whimsically, ‘but I think he feels that a regular tenant is the lesser of two evils rather than one let after another. He’s told me to think about it, not to rush into anything I might regret, but I don’t need to, the place is gorgeous so I’m going to agree to his suggestion before he changes his mind.’

The rest of the staff was arriving in ones and twos and as she was introduced to each in turn Ruby’s dream was being realised. When at last she and Libby were alone in the small consulting room that would be hers she said, ‘I’m so grateful for this opportunity to be part of the Swallowbrook practice, Dr Gallagher.’

‘And we are delighted to have you with us,’ Libby told her. ‘If there is anything that you’re not sure of don’t be afraid to ask.’ As Nathan appeared at that moment to offer his words of welcome, she said to him, ‘Ruby has already met Hugo. He took her in for the weekend when we weren’t around and has offered her the apartment above his garage to rent.’

‘Really!’ he exclaimed laughingly. ‘That doesn’t exactly fit in with his expressed desire for no visitors and time to himself when away from this place. You are to be congratulated, Ruby.’

She smiled. It was hardly the moment to explain that he had accommodated her on sufferance … and where was he? Hugo Lawrence didn’t strike her as someone who would be a poor timekeeper.

The two doctors had left her to settle into her room and gone to deal with their patients, when there was a knock on the door. She crossed to open it and there he was, in the passage outside, observing her questioningly.

‘Is everything all right?’ he asked before she had the chance to greet him. ‘You’ve met Libby and Nathan and the rest of the staff?’

‘Yes, everything is fine,’ she said brightly. ‘Libby was concerned because she hadn’t had time to find me somewhere to stay with me arriving earlier than expected, but I told her that I’d already had a very good offer of your apartment that I will be delighted to accept if it is still open.’

He was frowning. ‘When you get to know me better, Ruby, you will discover that I usually mean what I say. So, yes, the apartment is yours for a nominal rent for as long as you want. If you will come across to the house this evening, we’ll sort out the details.

‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must ring the hospital to have a patient admitted who is far from well with what appears to be septicaemia. Last week it was a mild infection that could have gone either way, but I’ve just called at the house and his condition has worsened over the weekend into something quite serious.’

‘Will you have time to tell me about it when you’ve made the call?’ she asked.

‘Er, maybe not at the moment as I have patients waiting, but if you’re still keen to know I’ll tell you about it tonight when you come round to discuss your renting of the apartment.’ he replied. ‘So, what have Libby and Nathan got planned for you on your first day here?’

He could have suggested that Ruby sit in with him during his consultations for today, but wasn’t going to as he felt he’d made enough concessions already towards welcoming her into the fold, and maybe she would be better sitting in with Libby on her first morning at the practice.

As if on cue Libby appeared and said, ‘I thought you might like to join me during my consultations today, Ruby. It will give you the feel of things and an insight as to how and what we have to deal with, don’t you agree, Hugo?’

‘Yes, I do,’ he told her, ‘and I have an urgent phone call to make so I’ll leave you both to it.’ And with a smile that embraced them both he strode off to his own particular part of the busy surgery, while Libby did likewise in the direction of hers with Ruby close behind.

It had been a fantastic day, reflected Ruby as she ate her solitary meal that evening. Even Dr Lawrence had had a smile for her and soon she would be seeing him again when she went to discuss the rental procedures, and he satisfied her eagerness to hear about the infection that he’d been dealing with.

But first she was going to ring home. She’d spoken to Robbie and her parents yesterday, so they were aware that she had arrived in Swallowbrook earlier than expected, and would now be waiting to hear how her first day at the practice had gone.

They were a close-knit family and had been a very happy one until Robbie’s illness had shown itself and her mother had been faced with the dreadful impact of her part in it.

Before she’d discovered that she had the faulty gene she’d always been happy and carefree, singing around the house, hugging them all close at every opportunity, but ever since Robbie had been stricken with that first bleed all that time ago and had had others since, she had become quiet and withdrawn, not loving or caring for them any less, more if that were possible but joyless in the process.

As Ruby had grown older and begun her medical career she had understood more than anyone the feeling of being flawed that was with her mother constantly and once when she’d asked her what she would have done if she’d known she carried the gene, she’d replied sadly, ‘I don’t know, Ruby. Because I didn’t know I was a carrier of the haemophilia gene I was never faced with having to make a choice with regard to having children.

‘Your dad is loving and supportive, tells me to stop fretting, that I am not to blame for what is happening to Robbie, that it is not because of any known fault of mine, genetics have made me what I am, but I still have to live with it, don’t I? Live with the knowledge that Robbie’s illness isn’t the only blight I’ve put upon my family. There is also what I’ve done to you, Ruby.’

On that occasion with a wisdom beyond her years she had held her mother close and told her, ‘All you’ve ever done to me is to be the best mother in the world and Robbie, when he is older, will feel the same, so don’t weep for what you didn’t know about, Mum. What Dad says is right.’

But tonight when her mother’s voice came over the line there was only happiness in it as they chatted about Ruby’s return to Swallowbrook and her first day at the practice, until she told her about her attractive landlord-cum-colleague-cum–recluse neighbour.

‘You aren’t going to fall in love, are you?’ her mother asked, trying not to sound anxious.

They’d gone through this scenario a few times, the worry that relationships with the opposite sex brought about, and understanding only too well her mother’s thought process Ruby told her gently, ‘Not with this one. He is dubious about my suitability from all angles.’

When she’d finished speaking to her mother Ruby rang Hugo to ask what time he would like her to go across to the house to discuss the tenancy.

‘Come now if you want and let’s get it over with,’ was the brisk reply, without any hint of welcome. ‘It won’t take long. Just a matter of fixing a rental, the two of us signing the appropriate forms, and me giving you a copy of rules and regulations, along with details of the user instructions for everything.’

So ‘Mr Nice Guy’ from the surgery had changed back into ‘Sir Keep Your Distance’, Ruby thought as she replaced the receiver. What did he think she was going to do, take her knitting with her? She would be in and out like a flash and would not be asking him to tell her about the patient that he’d called to see on his way to the surgery that morning.

She wasn’t to know that he’d been expecting a call from his sister, and as always when he spoke to Patrice there was the dread in him that the new life she’d gone to without a second thought might turn out to be a mistake.

When she’d gone it had been as if he’d been given his life back. Opportunities to do his own thing for a change had presented themselves and he was out to guard them like precious gold.

Patrice always rang him on a Monday evening and until she did he was always on edge in case she was having second thoughts about her impulsive move abroad and wanted to come home. So far there had been no mention of any such thing, she and the children sounded happy enough in their new surroundings, but so stressful had been the eighteen months when he’d given up every spare moment to them he still couldn’t believe that it was actually over and she had found some degree of happiness at last.

He’d thought it was going to be her when Ruby had phoned. Had let his tension loose on her and was now regretting it, so when he opened the door to her he was smiling. Stepping back to let her in, he said, ‘My sister usually rings from Canada at this time on a Monday evening, so I hope you will excuse me if I have to break into our discussion to answer the call. I am always on edge until I know that all is well with her—you know how it can be, a new life in a new land.’

‘Yes, of course,’ she replied, and thought she would bear in mind that Monday evenings were not a good time to ring her prospective landlord.

He was leading her through to the sitting room and pointing to the sofa for her to be seated and the memory of Saturday night came back, with her drooping like a rag doll against its soft cushions after a dreadful day.

Hugo had been right when he’d said that the rental arrangements wouldn’t take long. In no time at all they had completed the paperwork needed for Ruby to rent the apartment for the next six months, to begin with at a very reasonable figure.

When she expressed her gratitude he said with none of the abruptness of earlier, ‘I thought you might have to pay off a student loan, and it is worth it to me that someone I already know will be living there, instead of an array of strangers.’

‘I do have a loan to pay off,’ she told him. ‘My parents are helping me with it, yet it is still my responsibility, so thanks for the thought, Dr Lawrence.’

He nodded and asked with casual curiosity, ‘Where is your family situated?’

‘In Tyneside. We used to live here in Swallowbrook but had to move because of my father’s job, yet I have always wanted to come back.’

‘Are you their only child?’

‘No, I have a young brother, Robbie, in his early teens.’

‘So your parents have the same as mine had, a son and a daughter, though in our family it is the other way round—my sister, Patrice, is the younger of the two of us.’

At that moment the phone rang and he said, ‘This will be her now.’

As she got up to go he said, ‘You don’t have to rush off. I thought you wanted to hear about the patient I called on before morning surgery.’

She was smiling, her earlier dismay at his abrupt manner having disappeared as she said, ‘It will keep for another time,’ and letting herself out she returned to the apartment and once again danced a little jig at the thought of being its new tenant.

CHAPTER THREE

The curtains were not drawn in the apartment and as Hugo chatted to Patrice he was smiling as he watched Ruby dancing around the place.

She was incredibly graceful, he thought as she pirouetted in the small lounge beneath the chandelier that had been one of his sister’s extravagances when she’d been furnishing the elegant apartment.

Now Patrice was gone. It belonged to him, and it remained to be seen what kind of a person the young graduate that he had rented it to would turn out to be. So far she hadn’t put a foot wrong, but he had, and there had been no reason for it except that the timing of her arrival in his life had been all wrong.

Looking after Patrice had become a way of life over the years and since it had come to an end, every time they spoke on the phone he rejoiced to hear the lift in her voice as she chatted about the children’s schools, and the attractive house they’d moved into not far away from that of her friend.

When they’d finished their weekly chat he saw that Ruby had closed the curtains across the way and settling himself in a chair by the fire with a book he thought that he wouldn’t be doing this tomorrow night as Libby and Nathan had invited him to supper, along with Ruby and John Gallagher, who was now enjoying his retirement in a pine lodge by the side of a nearby river.

Ruby hadn’t mentioned the invitation when she’d come across, but she hadn’t had much opportunity with him wanting to know about her family and anything else that would give him a clearer picture of the newcomer to the practice, and then there had been Patrice’s phone call.

It was a nice idea on the part of the other two doctors. Ruby’s early arrival had taken them all by surprise. It would be one way of welcoming her into their midst, and an opportunity for her to meet up again with John, who had been her family’s doctor when she’d lived in Swallowbrook before.

Not having been resident here for long himself, he knew nothing of the trauma of illness and heartache that Ruby’s family had taken with them to their new home. What he did know was that she had been very keen to come back to Swallowbrook to be part of the village medical centre, which was rather strange as with her degree results he would have thought she would want to aim higher than a country practice.

The book he was holding was in his hand without a word having been read and deciding that solitude was all right in small doses he reached for a jacket and going out into the night pointed himself in the direction of The Mallard, and this time there was no Ruby rising hastily from her seat by the fire to make a quick exit.

Having calmed down after her earlier glee at the thought of securing the apartment, Ruby was towelling herself dry in front of a large mirror in the bathroom after her nightly luxurious bath when catching sight of herself she paused in contemplation.

There was nothing wrong with her figure, she thought wistfully, slender curves, smooth skin, and long legs that made up for any raving beauty that was missing elsewhere. But it wasn’t anything that was missing that frequently made her feel sad, just the opposite. It was something she had that she didn’t want, that might one day turn light into darkness.

Don’t let it spoil the pleasure of being back here, she told herself.

Soon it would be spring and everywhere would come alive as it always had before. The lake would be filled with launches and small boats and the fells would be beckoning the climbers and walkers who couldn’t resist them onto their rugged slopes. But best of all there would be the practice and knowing that she was back in the place that had wrapped itself around her and held her close when her world had fallen apart.

When she came out of the apartment the next morning Hugo was about to pull out of the drive and he wound the car window down to ask if she wanted a lift to the surgery.

She flashed him a smile but shook her head, ‘No. I’m fine, thank you, Dr Lawrence. I’m still in a state of delight to be back here and will enjoy the short walk.’

It was true she would, but the main reason she’d refused the lift was because she didn’t want Hugo Lawrence to feel that his reluctant overseeing of her welfare had to continue.

She was up and running, ready for any challenge that came her way in the new life she had chosen for herself, just as long as she could put on hold the interest he had awakened in her from the moment of their meeting.

About to drive off, he said as a parting comment, ‘We’ll have to sort out you taking over the spare car at the surgery that I mentioned. Can’t have you without transport, even though you do enjoy walking everywhere.’

‘Yes, when you’re ready,’ she agreed obediently, and off he went.

Hugo’s face was set in solemn lines as he pulled up on the forecourt of the practice. What was the matter with him, he was thinking, fussing over this young doctor to such a degree? Had the time he’d spent looking after the needs of his sister and her children turned him into a control freak? The void he’d lived in for the last eighteen months was opening up and life was going to be good again, if he would let it.

If Ruby Hollister had turned up smartly dressed and brimming with confidence on Saturday he wouldn’t have given her a second thought, but it was as if she’d appeared in his life for a reason, and of one thing he was sure, it was not going to be as someone to fill the gap.

She could sort herself out in future. He would keep his distance, and no sooner had that determination been born than he remembered the supper party at Libby and Nathan’s that evening.

Unaware of his thought processes, Ruby sought him out before the morning got under way and said, ‘I’m on my own today with instructions to ask any of the three of you if I have any problems, but as I’m sure that you must feel you’ve already seen enough of me and my problems I’ll avoid troubling you further and will consult either Libby or Nathan.’

‘Sure,’ he said easily. ‘Whatever you’re happy with, Ruby, and by the way, do you still want to know about the patient with septicaemia?’

‘Yes, of course,’ she said promptly. ‘I want to know about everything and everyone in this place.’ And into the silence that followed came the thought, You in particular.

‘Right, then,’ he said briskly. ‘Jeremy Jones is the village postman and I have never seen an infection develop more quickly than the one he’s got. He was sawing up wood for the open fire in his cottage with a rusty saw and it slipped and gashed his leg quite badly.

‘Instead of getting it seen to in a proper manner to prevent any complications, he has been bathing it with all sorts of old remedies, typical of an elderly bachelor who thought he knew best, and didn’t.

‘He called me out last Friday and I put him on antibiotics immediately with instructions to call out the emergency services over the weekend if it worsened before the medication had a chance to kick in and the dreaded red line of septicaemia appeared.

‘Jeremy decided to wait until Monday morning when one of us was available, but before he could get in touch I called to see him on my way here, if you remember, and from then on it was all systems go to get him into hospital. I’m afraid that he might lose the leg through nothing more than his own negligence as he hadn’t taken the medication I’d prescribed.’

‘How could he have been so foolish with all the facilities of the NHS at his disposal?’ she exclaimed.

‘Yes, exactly,’ he agreed, and as the big hand of the surgery clock swung on to half past eight Ruby went into her own small room and picking up a patient’s notes from the top of a small pile on the desk went to find him.

There were a few surprised glances when she appeared in the doorway of the waiting room and as she smiled upon them she wondered how many of them would shy away from consulting a doctor of her obvious youthfulness.

But the spotty teenage youth who got to his feet in answer to his name didn’t care who he was being seen by as long as they could do something to put an end to the misery that a face covered in pimples was causing him.

‘I’ve come about these zits,’ he said awkwardly. ‘I can’t face going anywhere with my skin like this and I don’t know what to do about it.’

Ruby flashed him a friendly smile. ‘Maybe you don’t, Dominic, but I do. You’ve come to the right place. It is acne that you’ve got, the teenage blight.

‘It will have started by blackheads appearing, am I right?’ He nodded sombrely. ‘Then the blackheads became zits, and if those zits aren’t treated they will become cysts that are infected with bacteria made up of dead skin and white blood cells, known as cystic acne, which can leave permanent scars. So we need to sort this out quickly as your problem is moving in that direction.’

He had gone very pale. What he was suffering from was every teenager’s nightmare. The embarrassment of it would be unbearable.

‘I’m going to put you on an antibiotic capsule that is very good for this sort of skin infection. It should attack the bacteria, reduce the inflammation, and prevent it from progressing into what I’ve just described.’

He was smiling for the first time. ‘That’s great! You’ve no idea how much it’s been affecting me.’

‘Yes, well, you’ll have to be patient, you know.’ she told him sympathetically. ‘The problem isn’t going to disappear overnight, but you should soon see an improvement. Come and see me again in a couple of weeks.’

When he’d gone with less of the attitude of the ‘leper’ in his manner Ruby thought that no matter what age group there was always some health problem that could arise. She knew that only too well from what Robbie had to endure and his was for always, just the same as hers was.

With regard to her first patient of the day his problem should clear up with the right medication and when his body had adjusted to the changes of adolescence.

When the doctors stopped for a brief coffee break in the middle of the morning Libby appeared to say that it was the antenatal clinic in the afternoon that she was usually in charge of, but not today as she had an appointment of that nature herself at the hospital on the lakeside. So Hugo would be taking it instead and she, Ruby, along with one of the practice nurses, would be assisting him.

‘Have you done anything like that before?’ she asked with a smile for the young doctor who was now part of the practice.

‘I haven’t done antenatal as such,’ Ruby said slowly at the thought of being enclosed with Hugo for a full afternoon, ‘but I spent a month on a maternity ward during my hospital training.’

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