Doctor Patrick Turner saw Miss Shelagh Mannion on the steps outside the London Hospital entrance. She was clearly shivering in the rain.
"Miss Mannion."
"Doctor Turner."
"You shouldn't be out in the rain."
"I am waiting for someone. It shouldn't take long."
"May I please at least loan you my umbrella. It is fairly dry, so far."
"You need not trouble yourself."
He cleared his throat. His mind needed clearing too. "You have heard the news, of course?"
"Of Doctor Mount and your brother. Yes."
"I hope it didn't shock you."
"I could say the same to you. I understood from Doctor Applebee Thornton, that... I mean, I hope that Timothy's actions didn't make you feel...bad."
Something must be said to that. He fervently wished to say something to reassure her.
"Please now, take this umbrella. No, no, I don't need it. You keep it to yourself." She liked his commanding tone. It betrayed a familiarity which had so far been lacking in their encounters.
"This is a long story." She meekly surrendered. For a moment she thought how well this agitation became Doctor Turner, the vibrancy in his face and movements made him very attractive.
"Now then. Timothy and Patsy. Both rather brazen, bold characters. I was only surprised. They seem an excellent match. A suitability of temperaments is certainly there."
"Yes?" It seemed that there were a thousand questions in that tremulous monosyllable.
"They seem to be happy. I am not perhaps a best judge of matrimonial stakes." There was a strain in his voice when he said this. "They have all the possibilities of succeeding. "
"Everyone seems to say so. I understood from Doctor Applebee Thornton that both families approve the marriage."
"Yes. There are no impediments. Yet there is one thing that I wonder. Patsy Mount is an excellent girl, with many good qualities. Some that Timothy may lack, such as resilience. I hope she will keep him on his best behavior."
"But he is always so kind and charming."
"He is capable of kindness, and he certainly is filled with charm. Even though he is my brother, I must say this. I have been told that he was very much in love with Cynthia. Now, only eight months later, he is in love again. A man does not recover from such loss so quickly. He does not. He should not."
Either from the consciousness, however, that his brother had recovered, or from some other consciousness, he went no farther. Shelagh was struck, gratified, confused, and beginning to breathe very quick, and feel an hundred things in a moment.
Finally, Doctor Turner came to his senses. "Since that day we spoke of Mrs. Sheppard, I've tried to learn my lesson. I try not to make judgments. Listen to me now, " he said disparagingly. " Anyway, Timothy is the golden boy in this family. I am the black sheep."
"Surely your sister and brother-in-law do not think so."
They both seemed to listen to the rain very intently for a while. Then the front door swung open, and Doctor Aubrey Tracy arrived in a great state. "Shelagh! I am so exceedingly sorry I am late. Let's take a cab. Oh Patrick, hello."
"It's all right, Aubrey. Doctor Turner has given me the pleasure of his company and the shelter of his umbrella. Here, you can have it back, Doctor Turner."
Aubrey. Shelagh. They were on first-name terms. Patrick felt a dreary agony rise to his mouth. He took his umbrella and vanished into the night. If he had turned around he would have seen Shelagh's lingering gaze fixed on his retreating back.
"Come now, it is so damp!" Doctor Tracy was coaxing her into a cab.
"Oh, that looks good. You have so many talents, Shelagh. I don't know which I should appreciate most: your lab work or your skill of making puddings..."
"Stop it, Aubrey. The lunch will be late again. This is just an ordinary cherry pudding, and I need to get it done."
Doctor Turner was looking at them from the threshold of the Nonnatus House kitchen. He had been ordered to fetch the milk jar, Miss Mannion "and any old fool who might be there harassing her", as Enid Musgrove had so impeccably expressed herself.
He had listened to this banter for a minute, frozen. Miss Mannion was nearly through the finishing touches of a cherry pudding. Now he saw how Doctor Tracy was feeding one cherry to her.
"These are good, aren't they? The proof of the pudding is eating it."
Shelagh suddenly realized that someone was standing at the door. "Hello, Doctor Turner."
"Sorry, would you please say to Mrs. Musgrove that I had to leave. I have forgotten an appointment."
"On a Sunday, Patrick? Surely not," Doctor Tracy sneered.
But Patrick was already going. Shelagh ran after him. He stopped, turned around and looked at her directly in the eyes.
"Do you not think this pudding is worth staying for?" she asked, a little breathlessly.
Doctor Turner turned his back at her. "No. There is nothing here worth my staying for." He hurried to the entrance hall of the clinic and left.
Doctor Tracy met Shelagh's inscrutable face at the kitchen.
"What's the matter with the old boy?"
Shelagh said nothing. For a moment her gratification was exquisite.
"Patrick...I have heard a rumour at the hospital. Concerning Aubrey and Miss Mannion. It is said that they're soon to be engaged." Doctor Applebee Thornton was looking at his elder brother-in-law in an earnest manner.
Patrick felt his heart sink.
"And that they would be married as soon as possible, if they only found an apartment. You know that our apartment was in fact reserved for the head of the Lab, but Aubrey kindly let go of his right to stay there. He preferred West London lodgings instead."
"What are you saying, James?"
"I'd like you to convey to Miss Mannion, in the nicest possible manner—you know how—that we are perfectly content to move out before the lease finishes. We are going to find a house anyway, and we could easily move out earlier than was intended. So, would you do this for me, Patrick?"
James was an affable soul and if he had known what a burden he placed on his brother-in-law, he would have cried in pain. There was no choice for Patrick but accept this task.
"Miss Mannion. My brother-in-law...has asked me to say something to you. I hope you will not be offended by what I say."
"Yes?"
It was somewhat frightening to look at her, diffident, innocent, in a white coat, sitting there at the lab desk.
"It has come to his knowledge...that you might be on the verge of getting engaged. To Doctor Tracy. And that you might wish to marry soon."
Shelagh was watching him, blandly at first, but then her eyebrows started to frown. Then she went scarlet and she gave her full attention to the microscope again in an angry manner.
"Heavens," she murmured under her breath.
"Please do not be disturbed by this. James...Doctor Applebee wants to kindly offer you and Doctor Tracy his apartment to lease. If you wish to live there. James and Jane have already been seeking for a house for themselves and are quite ready to move. In the case that you are...to be married."
Shelagh raised her head slowly and watched him. Her gaze was clear and even, the flush had faded away.
"Please, tell Doctor Applebee that there is no need for that. There is no truth in the rumours. " Then she slapped her hand at the table. "The people...always talking. Sorry Doctor Turner, please excuse me." She left the room in a hurried manner.
Patrick was left there staring after her. There was no truth in the rumours. He felt as if he was on the brink of something enormous.