Chapter 78

Louisa stayed at the theatre and saw out the rest of the show. Once it had finished, she retraced her steps back to the flat, letting herself in and went to the bathroom. On returning to the kitchen she decided to make herself a cup of tea.

She sat at the table and thought about the crisis which had once again dragged Martin away from an enjoyable night. She hoped that he wouldn't be too long and that the hospital staff would be up to the job of coping with an influx of very ill patients.

She finished her drink and made sure the doors were locked before retiring to bed.

When Martin hadn't joined her in the middle of the night, she knew that it had been a large incident, and that he would probably not return until much closer to dinner time. A thought which she'd mulled over became a definite plan in her mind. She roused herself, took a quick shower and went to have some cereal for breakfast.

Grasping her handbag she let herself out of the flat and went into town to the pawnbrokers they'd visited the previous day. "Had it really only been 24 hours?" She checked the window display and saw that the item was still for sale. She went inside and approached the counter.

"Good morning, madam. What can I do for you today?" The pawnbroker stood smiling at her. He looked like her idea of a cuddly grandfather. Somewhat rotund, white hair and with a twinkle in his eye.

"I'm interested in the clock you have in the window. The black one which is more to the rear." Louisa described the clock as best she could.

The man took out his keys and unlocked the shutter on the window. Reaching down he pulled out the clock and after re-locking the shutter, walked back to the counter to show it to Louisa.

"Is this the one you are interested in?" he enquired

Louisa nodded. "Yes, what can you tell me about it?"

"You've a good eye, madam. This is a French ebonised clock of the late 1890's. I've had it a while now, but unfortunately it is broken and will require the services of an expert horologist to get it back working again."

He turned the clock face down and opened the back to show her the movement. "I'm not sure exactly what is wrong with it, but I do know it doesn't work at all."

Louisa looked inside at the mechanism, but she had no real idea of what she was looking at, either. "It's a pity that it is not working. I thought it might be just the thing to go in my husband's study," she told the proprietor. "What price do you have on it?"

"At the moment, madam £250, but given the length of time I've had it and the fact that no-one else has shown any interest whatsoever, I'm prepared to offer it for £180."

"Oh," said Louisa, trying to look deflated. Or as near deflated as she could look, given she was 6 months pregnant. "I'd hoped it would be less than that. Say £150?"

The man stood back and appeared to think about it. "What about £160, is that good enough for you? As I say, I've had it a while, but really that is very close to what I paid for it."

"That seems reasonable. Thank you." Louisa looked pleased to have made the agreement. "We came in by plane, and as you will know the luggage allowance isn't great. Could you pack this up for me and send it via courier to the mainland? I'd pay the postage."

"Yes, I can do that. Let me just weigh it and then wrap it for you." He did that and then looked at the post office chart to calculate the postage to Joan's farm in Cornwall.

"That will be £180, altogether.

Louisa drew out her credit card and paid him the money. "Thank you very much," she said. With a cheery wave she went back outside and made her way to the café. She ordered tea and a cherry scone. It came with some butter and a small jam pack. Deciding to live dangerously without Martin's knowledge of such decadence she sat back and watched the passing parade of people.

She visited the Co-op and bought monkfish, Martin's favourite. She could use up the salad which was still in the fridge and it wouldn't take long to prepare. She added milk to the shopping but decided not to get any bread.

Going back to the flat she put away her groceries and then opted to read in the sunshine. As she took her seat, she looked at her phone, but there was still no message from Martin. After half an hour she went back inside and set about doing some washing. There wasn't much, but every little helps, she thought.

She limited herself to an apple with some cheese slices for lunch and went back to her book. Time ticked by slowly as she waited for Martin to return. In the end she decided she might as well go for her nap so as to be refreshed for when he did come back.

Usually she had no difficulty in getting off to sleep. Today however, she was restless and couldn't quite relax enough to drift off. After half an hour of tossing back and forth she got up and went to make herself a drink.

She was pouring out a cup of tea when she heard a key in the lock. Walking to the front door she was in time to see a weary-looking Martin coming back in.

Louisa's eyes travelled swiftly over him, noting his pallor and downbeat expression. "Are you alright? You look shattered. Do you want a drink of tea, I've just made some?"

"Hmm. It's been a very long day and was every bit as awful as I thought it would be. I'll just have water and then I'm going for a nap. Are you feeling fine?"

"Other than missing you, I'm OK," she answered. "I tried to nap earlier, but I couldn't drift off. May I join you?" Louisa was wary of crowding him after what she was sure had been an ordeal for him.

He looked past her; at scenes she was rather glad she couldn't visualise. "What? Er, yes. That would be good. Hm." His somewhat rambling acceptance was atypical of his normally precise speech. Standing up, he finished his water and put the glass in the sink. He went along to the bedroom and began to undress.

Louisa checked that the doors were secured and then went to join him. He'd taken his jacket off and was staring in a bemused fashion at his feet, as though he couldn't work out what to do next. He looked up at her as she steered him back to a seat on the bed. Kneeling down she took his shoes and socks off, before helping him out of his shirt. "Are you going to use the bathroom?"

He nodded and went through. Louisa took off her dressing gown and climbed into bed. Martin had stripped down to his boxers and was soon under the covers with her. He sighed as he lay down, an arm going up and over his face.

She didn't start talking as she could see he was very tired. Inching across she put her arm around his chest and just snuggled in. After a very short space of time his even breathing told her he'd gone straight to sleep. With him to cuddle into, it wasn't long before she too was asleep.

An hour or so later she was jerked awake by Martin tossing and turning. "The smell, I don' like it. I can't see the fragments. Why won't the blood stop?" his questions seemed slurred. She began stroking his chest to try and calm him.

"Martin, love, you're dreaming. You're at home now. Go back to sleep."

He rambled on about whatever it was he could see and then he said "Louissa.." before quieting down and relaxing again.

When he remained properly asleep, Louisa stayed next to him for another half an hour and then went to the bathroom to wash and dress.

She knew Martin didn't like eating later than 6:00pm and so she quietly assembled a salad before preparing the fish to be cooked when he woke up again.

At 5:30 she put the fish into the hot oven and went to wake him so that he too could wash and re-dress. Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder she shook him to rouse him from his sleep. "Martin, wake up. It will soon be tea time. Come on, wake up there, Martin."

He was in a very deep sleep and she regretted trying to wake him. Perhaps she should have let him sleep it off, she thought. He awoke with a start and looked agitatedly around. "Whassamatter?" he asked.

"Martin, I've made some tea. I thought you wouldn't want to sleep too long because then you wouldn't sleep tonight, OK?"

"Ohh," he groaned. His thought processes were very slow compared to his normal activity. At last he absorbed what Louisa was trying to tell him. "That's fine. I'll get ready and come through shortly."

She looked at him and decided that if he hadn't rallied in 15 minutes or so, she would leave him to sleep it off.

However, he surprised her when he appeared within his culinary-curfew time. Sitting down he took in the meal preparation, noting that it was his favourite, monkfish. "Ah, thank you. This looks very appetising."

She began to tell him about her day as he slowly began eating. She did not tell him about the clock, deciding it would be a nice surprise when they got home. "I didn't get any bread because we have some in the fridge and we'll be gone before we can eat another loaf," she explained.

He nodded but let her chatter wash over him. He thought about the victims he'd seen and the operations he'd performed. The fact that he'd still been sick was a blow. He'd hoped that as he got used to marriage and being with Louisa, he would have been able to overcome his phobia.

He looked across at her, "I was going to be sick during one of the procedures, but I thought of you and managed to contain it until the op was over."

Louisa looked bemused. When she'd sorted through what he'd said she decided that it had been a good thing for him. She reached across and squeezed his hand. "I'm glad." Was all she said.

"Were there many casualties?" she enquired.

"About 15, or so. Cotterell had managed to round up some more doctors, nurses and porters. Then early this morning Chris came with a team of burns specialists from Truro."

"How did he do that so quickly?" Louisa asked him.

"There's a unit at the Royal Cornwall. Chris got the air-ambulance to ferry them all out here, together with more medical supplies. When they've decided who is the worst, they will take some back to the mainland and then return for others." Martin explained.

Louisa nodded at the explanation. "Will you go back in, tomorrow? Or can you leave it for them to sort through?"

"Well, I would usually, but Max Laverick returned from his break and I had an impression he'd rather I didn't go in. I'll phone in the morning and speak to Cotterell, if he's back on duty. If there's anything to be concerned about, I'm sure he'll let me know."

They finished their meal and Louisa washed the pots, ushering Martin to the couch while she made their drinks.

He leaned back and let the quiet sounds roll over him. There were still some sights which tore at his composure, but as with all incidents, he felt sure that he would be able to reconcile them into their proper proportions, in time. Martin had never been able to compartmentalise and then forget his patients. Many of his colleagues he knew, moved on to their next case seemingly with no more thoughts of their last one.

Louisa set the drinks down on the coffee table before moving to snuggle in against his shoulder. "Any thoughts as to what we can do tomorrow? Would you prefer a quiet day or to go out again?"

"Either, really. We didn't go to see Puffin Island or the seal island. I'm not sure if we'd be able to land, because it's breeding season, but we should get fairly close. You could try your hand at aerial photography as the birds fly around!" He smiled at her. "Depends upon what the sea will be like, as I don't want you being ill."

"Perhaps we could do that in the morning and then come back for a quiet afternoon? I didn't think it was that far to get to those islands." Louisa seemed interested in his suggestions.

Martin took his phone out and began to look at the internet to see distances and times. He found that there was a boat going out in the morning, returning just after lunch. "What do you think about this, Louisa?"

She nodded in agreement. "I'm up for that. It will be good to see such a wide range of animal life."

"When we were looking at places to go, last week, I spotted the Star Castle Dining Room. Apparently, it has the best reputation for good cooking on the island. Shall I reserve a table for tomorrow night?"

Louisa's eyes lit up. "What could be better? A fancy dinner with a Handsome Prince as company. I'll be able to put my good dress on at last."

Martin tucked his chin down at her compliment. He found the number and requested a table for two at seven p.m. He listened as the man told him about music and dancing beginning at about 8:30. Saying thanks, he hung up and turned to Louisa.

"Did you bring any fancy shoes with you?"

Louisa looked at him astonished. "Yes, but just the one pair, why?"

"Well the restaurant chap said there would be music and dancing after our meal, so if you would like to, we can wait and do some dancing."

"Oh Martin. That sounds lovely." Then she remembered their reception dance. "Aren't you worried I'll step on your toes?"

"Forewarned is forearmed," he smilingly told her.