Claire's looking forward to getting back to St Ag's for the new term. Working in Accident and Emergency sounds so exciting - and of course, Jan will be back too. She can't wait to be with him again... But somehow the term doesn't work out quite as she'd planned. It's tough on the ward - and so easy to make mistakes. Jan seems cold and distant... and then there's her dashing cousin Patrick. He seems keen to pay her lots of attention - but what exactly is he up to? It's only a few months since Jan was among the tanks and soldiers in his country's civil war, so training as a nurse in England ought to be a soft option. If only he could leave behind those terrible memories... But the memories keep coming back. And when he's given a new placement in the Mental Health department, Jan knows this term won't be easy. How can he help the mental health patients when he's finding it so difficult to keep himself together?

 

The lashing wind and rain of the previous night had moved away and it was a calm, quiet day outside. Claire lay for a moment looking round her room, unusually tidy, almost bare, in the dim morning light. Most of her clothes were already packed into the huge suitcase which stood, already locked, over by the door. Her hand luggage lay open on the armchair, awaiting last-minute bits and pieces. Last minute – if only it was! If only she could be safely in the plane crossing the Irish Sea to England! She opened the casement window and breathed deeply. The sharp stench of seaweed was softened by the damp, dank scent rising from the earth. Storm over – outside, at least, Claire refl ected. But no doubt there’d be a few bumpy moments indoors today. Why was it she could never get away from home without all this hassle? Leaning well out of the casement window, regardless of the dizzying drop below, she watched the sea gently heaving on to the bone-white sand which was bordered by banks of smooth green turf. Who, in their right mind, would want to leave it all? She would; she’d been ready to leave for the past three weeks. Life at the Leonmohr Hotel in high season was anything but a holiday, with Mammy nagging her into family visits and shopping trips and Da pretending he needed her to help him check the wine stocks, walk the grounds, look at the trout ponds. It was surprising how much she missed her nursing colleagues at St Ag’s, as the medical staff still called the new Brassington Royal Hospital. Although she’d known them only a few months, they seemed closer, more important to her than anyone in Donegal. Especially Student Nurse Jan Buczowski. She smiled dreamily at the thought of Jan, who had shared so much of last term with her. He was now spending his holiday with a group of fellow refugees in a camp in the wilds of Norfolk, she remembered, guiltily, whilst she was being cosseted in a luxury hotel. She sighed, partly missing Jan, mainly at the effort needed to get through one more day of hotel – and family – life. A tap on the door reminded her of both. “Come in,” she called, without turning. “Will you be wanting tea now, Claire?” asked Bridie, the chambermaid. “I was just passing with the continental breakfasts and I thought to myself, I did, that it’s the last time you’ll be getting morning tea brought to you now, isn’t it?” “Don’t bother yourself, Bridie.” Claire didn’t turn round. “I’ll be taking a shower in a moment.” “Ach, it’s no trouble at all. If you get yourself into the shower, I’ll bring up your tea. Your mammy’s down there in the kitchen pacing away, you know how she is on a day like this.” “No tea, thank you, Bridie,” Claire said fi rmly. “Tell Mammy I’ll be down right away.” She moved off into her bathroom, cutting short any further offers. But even over the hiss of the shower she could hear Bridie moving about the room, chatting away as if Claire was in there with her. That damned Blarney stone had something to answer for, she thought, scrubbing viciously. When she heard the bedroom door slam she stood still under the stinging jets, relishing the feeling of being left alone again.

 

 

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