Hello again :D Another chapter that leads us finally somewhere else... Richie and Isobel are arriving to London where nobody knows them. They are finally free to do whatever they want...There will be several chapters concerning the medical conferrence, each one day, as so many things happen! I hope you will enjoy this as well, even though it might look little bit boring...
P.S.: thank you for your reviews! It is wonderful feeling to have feedback, knowing what the others think about my story :D
Doctor Chester finally arrived and parked the car, Richard bought just three days before, in front of his house. – May I take your suitcase?- he asked after ringing the doorbell and greeting his older collegue. Richard nodded and put on his coat. He grabbed his hat and then something hit him. He had forgotten something, as he realized just in that particular moment. Hurrying himself, he reached his bedroom and opening the drawer of his bedtable, he pulled out of it small black box. He sighed with relief, took it putting the box into the coat pocket and locked the house.
Isobel dressed herself into comfortable travel suit with bluish accent and looked into the wardrobe one more time. Her look was captured by greyish-blue long robe, she almost forgot to have owned. She pulled it out of the wardrobe and sighed looking once at it and then at the packed suitcase next to her bed. Quick decision had been made and right after she reorganised everything inside her suitcase, ringing of the doorbell reminded her of the time. – Oh no.- she realised with surprise that Richard finnally arrived. She hastled down the stairs and opened the door with blush in her cheeks.
- Ready?- he asked after greeting her little bit unsure when hearing her fastened breathing.
- Ready. But I am afraid that the suitcase is still upstairs.- she answered inviting him to the house.
- Don´t tell me that you wanted to carry it down all by yourself, Isobel?- he frowned a little. Isobel only shrugged her shoulders answering:
- I did.- He shook his head.
- May I take care of it now?- Isobel smiled with relief and nodded leading him to her bedroom, even though he knew the way as well. He lifted the suicase that wasn´t the smallest or lightest one at all and eyed her with hint of question in his eyes.
- Gowns and dresses take more space than suits or smokings.- she explained when seeing his look and wanted to take her hand luggage, but Richard frowned again.
- Isobel!- he shook his head. – What would I look like in doctor Chester´s eyes if I let you carry this!- he reached out his hand and smiled amused when seeing her face expression.
- May I take at least my handbag?- she asked with hint of irony but then smiled as well.
- Of course.- Richard nodded and stepped into the corridor carrying her heavy luggage into the car. Isobel followed soon afterwards, locked the front door and headed towards Richard´s new car. She greeted doctor Chester and got in the car.
- Do you have everything?- Richard asked her when seated himself next to her. Isobel nodded.
- And you?-
- I do. Fortunatelly.- he answered and gave sign to doctor Chester to finally leave.
- When was the last time you attended the medival confference?- she asked him, thinking about this particular question for longer time, when sitting in the train few minutes before its departure.
- Before the war, in 1913. – he answered. – There was no time afterwards.- Isobel nodded realizing that she occupied him with all the crazy projects she started in their hospital and thus probably being the reason of his absence of free time. She sighed and looked into the window just in the moment the train started to move forward. Richard suspected what ideas and thoughts caused that sigh and took her hand into his whispering: - I don´t regret it. Not a single minute.- he reasurred her and she glanced him again with smile and gentle squeeze.
Isobel adjusted her hair and used her favourite parfume. Dressed in violet suit, she reached the big window of her room and spred out the heavy curtains looking at the streets of London in early night. They were lightened by many electrical lamps and glancing windows of fashion boutiques. After so many years of living in Downton, she almost forgot what does such city look like in evening hours. She watched the small figures of people walking too fast almost paying no attention to the rest of the world and huge amount of black taxi cars that stopped every now and then in front of the hotel. Well dressed gentlemen and ladies stepped out of them and she wondered how many of them were doctors arriving because of the following confference. She speculated how many of them were Richard´s aquitances even though he couldn´t say if his old collegues and friends from Edinburgh would arrive as well. She knew only one thing for sure. Her brother wasn´t coming at all as he explained her the last time she telephoned him, not mentioning him that the young man defeating him those many years ago was her Richard. She had to smile again when picturing young Richard in her mind with perfect strike and firm buttocks. This thought caused her cheeks to blush again and she bit her bottom lip. She startled little bit when she heard the knock on the door. – Ready?- he asked with smile as soon as she opened the door. Isobel nodded. – Ready.- she answered and closed the door behind. He wasn´t able to stop stare at her. When she opened the door, he noticed slight blush in her cheeks, even though he wasn´t sure if not only imagining it. In any case, the color of her cheeks made her look much healthier than a month before. Her big, hazel-brown eyes were glamourized again with sparkle of joy and he had the feeling, that she shined anew thanks to them. – You look stunningly, Isobel.- he told her amazed when they stopped in front of the elevator. The dress suited her well, slightly liningher figure emphasizing her hips when walking and slim arms which were covered only by short sleeves.
- Thank you.- she said blushing again and stepped into the elevator followed closely by him.
- Are you recognizing any familiar faces?- she asked him with interest as they passed the reception full of people waiting to book in.
- I don´t know. Maybe, but I am not sure.- he responded, but in fact didn´t pay his attention to the faces of strangers in the hotel hall. Not in that evening.
- Possibly your collegues.- she remarked shrugging her shoulders not taking notice of the reception hall anymore. – We are lucky to accomodate sooner.-
- We are.- he admitted. - If I only imagine to postpone the dinner several minutes later.- he shook his head with look explaining everything else. Isobel smiled with nodd and remarked likewise.
– I hope as well that the hotel restaurant won´t be so overpopulated like the reception. I don´t want to wait any longer as well.- Since the late lunch, she didn´t eat anything and had suspicion that Richard hadn´t eat properly at all. She glanced him anew, as if she could find out if she was right or no, and catched his waggish smile, that was appearing on his face more frequently in the recent time.
- I reserved a table to insure it.- he explained and asked the waitress at the pult to show them their table.
- You never let anything on coincidence, do you?-
They continued to talk while eating grilled salmon Richard ordered, but this time, it was his turn. He spoke about his first months and years at Downton cottage hospital and conflicts with the dowager countess that followed soon after.
- You wouldn´t believe how hard it was to explain her the importance and need of two separate storage rooms for drugs, anaesthetics and disinfection as well as a storage place for all the tools, mainly surgical, of non-chemical nature.- he smiled with nostalgy in his ocean-blue eyes. - She followed the advices of superintendants of other similar institutions and you shoould have seen her face as I insisted on the pre-surgical room.- Isobel watched him with amused smile, vividly imagining Violet´s sharp look. - She almsot threw me out of the room. She couldn´t understand why should our newly-build hospital have something that was lacking in hospitals in Thirsk or Edenbask.-
- And how did you manage to persuade her finally?- she asked with interest because their hospital posessed all the rooms, Richard was speaking about. Another waggish sparkle appeared in his eyes.
- I got around her and informed directly the architect about all the changes that needed to be done on the original building plan. We divided one bigger room, serving for patient´s accomodation at first, into 2 storage rooms and the original repository was and still is used as the pre-surgical room.-
- Did she later find it out ?- she wanted to know still shocked that he risked so much his position when disobeying orders of Lady Violet. Richard shrugged his shoulders and answered innocently.
- Lets say she didn´t. Not in the first ten years, to be more concrete.-
- And then?- the curiosity on her face was so obvious.
- She was proud that our hospital had something that the hospitals of Thirsk and Edenbask lacked and had to add by rebuilding later on.- that was something she could imagine easily. A proud picture of cousin Violet appeared in her mind.
- I don´t suppose that she admitted her mistake afterwards.- she commented and smiled again, but surprisingly Richard shook his head a little.
- Well, she didn´t completely admit it, but instead, she gave the hospital new microscopes and it was simpler to persuade her about something important in the following years.- that evening discovered Isobel many new details of his life in Downton before her arrival. They talked about the hospital and his work mostly, but some stories concerned the family as well. After eating the dessert they movedto the lounge room, where Richard recognized several familiar faces of his collegues and old friends. He greeted them and introduced Isobel as his friend and collegue. Nobody leddifficult conversations that evening. Not all the members of medical society were present thereand majority of the present men only grouped by 3 or 4 and enjoyed little talks.
- Is it like this always?- she asked suddendly when they found an empty table in the corner of the room.
- What exactly.- Richard wanted to know little bit confused. – Do you mean similar session before the official start of confference, or?- Isobel shook her head and specified:
- I meant the missing presence of women.-
- Mostly.- Richard admitted. – The lectures and discussion are attended only by the doctors according to whose statements,their wives enjoy shopping or come only to the ball.-
- That´s a pity.- Isobel remarked. – They miss the most interesting part.-
- Not every woman is interested in the science and medicine just like you, which is the real loss.- that was logical as she realised.
- So it is possible that there won´t be many of us, women.- she commented with sigh.
- Honestly,- he nodded, - I wouldn´t be surprised if you were the only one there.-
- The only one?- she frowned but then smiled provocatively. – That might be an advantage.-
- What for advantage?- he played placing stern expression on his place which caused outbreak of laugh that caught attention of some of the men. – You know what I mean. You always do.- she denied to answer giggling. Richard´s brow quirked in amusement and pouting his lips slightly, he noted with all esteem: - I can´t take amiss anybody if paying attention to you instead of the lecturer.-Isobel giggled blushing slightly and finally shook her head.
- Lets hope that the lectures will be interesting and I will remain unnoticed.- she sighed a little, feeling the first signs of exhaustion. That didn´t remain unnoticed and Richard feeling the same said at last:
- We should go, shouldn´t we?- Isobel nodded with relief and they left the company of older men that greeted them once more. – Returning back to our talk,- Richard continued when they passed through the hotel hall again to the elevator, - such beautiful woman like you, Isobel, cannot simply remain unseen.- he said with admiration looking directly into her eyes. Isobel blushed again, but didn´t mind this time. She simply smiled and caressed the back of his hand. Elevator door opened and they stepped in together, followed by younger couple. Silently, with smiles on their faces, they glanced each other every now and then until they reached the 3rd floor. A moment later, they stopped before the door of her hotel room.
- Thank you for remarkable evening, Richard.- she almost whispered looking into his blue eyes.
- It was a pleasure.- Richard answered and took her hand into his larger one, grasping it gently by the fingers and placed gentle kiss on the back. She felt mild, but pleasant tickle as his moustache touched her skin.
- Good night, Isobel.- he said squezing her hand tenderly once more.
- Good night, Richard.- she answered slowly opening the door fighting back the lust to kiss him. Richard smiled and left her door after it closed.
