'Then we will play cricket,' Ben assured him, gently ruffling the solemn little boy's hair.
This was what he'd been denied, Georgina thought, as her heart ached with tenderness. They both
had.
As if he'd read her thoughts, Ben said, 'Are you all right, Georgina? Tell me if you're feeling tired,
won't you?'
She smiled up at him, and he wanted to take her in arms and tell her how much he loved her, but it
was the children's day. He didn't want his emotions running riot to spoil it for them.
They did everything they'd come to do, and when it was time for the picnic that Georgina had set
out on a grassy slope behind the gracious house Ben told Jolyon, 'When we've had our lunch we'll
play cricket.'
'I'll be the wicket keeper, if you like,' Georgina volunteered.
'Great stuff,' Ben said approvingly. 'Jolyon, you can be one of the opening bats and I'll be the other.
Pollyanna can be the bowler.'
'She can't do over-arm throws,' Jolyon whispered in his ear. 'I'll be the bowler and Pollyanna can
bat.'
James was waiting at the gate when they arrived home. Grubby, tired and happy, the children
couldn't wait to tell their father about their day. He said, I can tell they've had a really good time.
Are you going to come in for a drink?'
'No, but thank you for the offer,' Georgina told him. 'My feet are aching, but we've had a lovely
time too.'
'It's been great,' Ben said. 'Your children are terrific. James. You are very fortunate to have them.'
'Yes, I know,' he said in a low voice as he watched them scamper towards the house after saying
their thanks and goodbyes. 'Yet I ache all the time because Julie isn't here with us.'
'Georgina and I can sympathise with you. We know all about the agony of loss, but we are at last
coming through it, and the world seems a different place.'
* * * * *
They were home, and Ben was making tea in her kitchen while Georgina sat with her feet up. When
he came in, carrying two steaming mugs, she said, 'That was lovely what you said to James. We are
coming through it, aren't we?'
Yes,' he said soberly. 'Since I came here I've been remembering only the good times we had with
Jamie.'
That is how it should be,' she told him. Remembering what James had said about his wife, she said,
'Rightly or wrongly, James has kept the faith.'
'And we didn't because our love wasn't strong enough,' he commented.
She turned away to hide the hurt that his words had caused and then, facing him again, said steadily,
'Maybe so, but we've been given a second chance, haven't we?'
She was giving him another opportunity to say what was really in his mind, but again he didn't take
it. Instead, he said, 'If you say so. But it doesn't alter the fact that I drove you away. And you let me.'
'I'm sorry we got involved in this sort of a discussion,' she told him as she rose to her feet. 'It has
spoilt the last few moments of a lovely day. I'll see you on Monday, Ben.'
'So that's it, is it?' he said dryly. 'It's only half past four and I am dismissed.'
'I'm sure you can find something to do. Why not watch the cricket again? You enjoyed it last time,
if I remember rightly.'
'I might just do that,' he replied, 'and when it's over make a day of it by dining at the Hollyhocks.'
And what was that meant to be? Georgina wondered when he'd gone. A hint about where he could
be found later?
She wasn't sure she wanted to take him up on it. He'd put the dampener on her hopes with his
disparagement of their past relationship, yet after a rest and a shower she was changing into one of
her flowing dresses and preparing to walk the short distance to the Hollyhocks as if Ben was willing
her to appear.
He was seated at a table by the window and when he heard Emma greeting her as she came in, he
rose to his feet and smiled his welcome as if they'd parted on the best of terms.
As he pulled out a chair for her he said in a low voice, 'I'm sorry about earlier. I don't deserve you.'
'No, you don't,' she agreed, and now it was her turn to smile, 'but I'm here, aren't I?'
'Yes, you are, and I hope it isn't only because you're feeding two,' he teased.
'That could be the reason, or it might be because there's nothing on television worth watching. Then
again it could be because this child of ours is kicking away inside me in protest at the behaviour of
its parents and I thought you ought to know.'
He sighed. 'Not parents.. .parent. I was the one casting the gloom.'
'So let's change the subject, shall we?' she said lightly. Are you going to accompany me the next
time I go to see Ian?'
He raised a questioning eyebrow in her direction. 'I thought we'd already agreed on that. Yes, of
course I am,' he said decisively.
* * * * *
Unlike the occasion when they'd dined at the smart new restaurant up on the tops, the night was
mild as they walked slowly back to their respective cottages.
As they turned on to the lane a badger ambled in front of them, then disappeared into the darkness.
Georgina said, 'The people at the post office feed them every night, and they never fail to turn up.'
He'd only been in the place a matter of weeks yet everything that had happened since he'd arrived
was engraved upon his mind. Even the smallest happenings, and the big ones, all about being with
Georgina again, would stay with him always, like stars in a dark sky, with the moment when he'd
discovered she was pregnant the brightest star of all.
He ached to sleep with her again, to be able to reach out in the darkness and hold the pliant warmth
of her :n his arms again. And then when daylight came to have breakfast together. Just simple
things but for those starved of them precious beyond belief.
Did she ever feel like that? he wondered. If she did, she hid it well. She'd made a point of telling
him that day at the hospital. How she was her own woman and not interested in any of the advances
of the opposite sex, and he'd known that it included himself.
It had been a blow to the heart, but even worse had been the knowledge that he was to blame for it,
and it could be that any warmth she was showing towards him was either out of pity or put on just
to get the waiting time over until the baby was born.
Georgina was observing his expression and commented, 'I thought we had banished the gloom.'
'We have,' he said firmly, and told himself to be satisfied with what they'd got, instead of wishing
for the moon.
He wasn't invited in for a nightcap this time. If he had been he would have accepted, yet it didn't
matter. He'd just told himself to think positive and that was what he was going to do. He did that in
every other aspect of his life, but what there was, or was not, between Georgina and himself was as
delicate as gossamer.
As Georgina lay looking up at the night sky through her bedroom window, the day that was past
was occupying her thoughts and they were a jumble of pleasure and pain. There'd been the happy
hours with the children that had made the longing for a family of her own so bad she could almost
taste it.
Then the fall to earth over what Ben had said about the quality of their love in time of need, and last
but not least she'd been back up in the clouds as they'd walked home together in the gloaming.
Her spirits had been up and down more times than a yo-yo and in the middle of it all was the
longing to be not just the mother of Ben's baby but the cherished wife that she'd once been.
The resident owl hooted to announce its nocturnal presence and taking comfort from that small
moment of normality, she slept.
CHAPTER EIGHT
With no problems apart from the usual discomforts of pregnancy, Georgina was counting the days
to the birth. The baby's head was down in the right position now and when she was called out to the
Quarmbys' cottage on Lord Derringham's estate one morning, Christine said on opening the door to
her, 'Dr Adams! I wasn't expecting it to be you that came. Shouldn't you be resting?'
'I'm fine, Christine,' she told her laughingly. 'Just a little out of breath and my feet are rather puffy at
the end of the day, but that is all. You are the one I am concerned about, so tell me what's wrong
today, my dear.'
'It isn't me this time,' she explained. 'It's Dennis. He would have come to the surgery as he doesn't
like a fuss, but I didn't think he should drive.'
'So what's wrong and where is he?' she asked.
'He's falling about all over the place, can't keep his balance. The moment he got up this morning it
was there. The room was spinning and he couldn't stand up straight. He's gone back to bed.'
And this is the first time it has happened?'
'Yes, to this extent. He's had a few minor dizzy spells before but they've only lasted a matter of
minutes. Today it's much worse.'
'This kind of thing can be due to low blood pressure,' Georgina said when she'd tested it and
examined the gamekeeper's eyes and ears, 'but I think not in your case, Mr Quarmby. Have you had
any headaches?'
'No, but my ears have been tender and painful,' he mumbled irritably, and she thought that for once
Dennis Quarmby wasn't in control and he wasn't liking it.
She nodded. 'Vertigo, which it most likely is, comes from a disturbance of the nerves in the canals
in the ears. I'm going to prescribe some antihistamine tablets that will help to restore your balance,
and in the meantime you need rest and quiet.'
He groaned. 'And while I'm having that the poachers will be out on the estate in full force if they
know that I'm laid low.'
'You should soon be much better once you start taking the medication,' she told him, 'and don't get
stressed. If the attacks persist we'll look into it further, but for now just take the tablets and keep
calm.'
Dennis Quarmby's glance was on his wife hovering anxiously beside the bed and he said, 'I can't be
ill, Doctor. Christine needs me. This vile thing that she's got isn't getting any better and I can't bear
to see her suffer so.'
'Hush,' Christine said gently. 'We both know that it isn't going to go away, but we love each other,
Dennis, and as long as that never changes, we'll be all right.'
He reached out, took her hand in his, and said gruffly, 'Aye, Chrissie, nothing can take that away
from us.'
Driving back down to the village Georgina's thoughts were back there with the Quarmbys. Sjogren's
syndrome was an incurable autoimmune disorder related to the rheumatoid arthritis that Christine
had been diagnosed with and, as she'd said, it wasn't going to go away. In fact, it could get worse, so
the outlook was bleak.
But those two had something more precious than gold in the way they loved each other. She and
Ben had been blessed with that kind of love once. Would it blossom again in the last days of spring
when their child came into the world?
When she arrived back at the surgery, Ben said, 'You look very solemn. Is everything all right?'
With the Quarmbys still at the forefront of her mind she told him, 'Yes. I suppose so. I've just been
with two people who love each other very much.'
And?'
'It reminded me of how we used to be.'
She saw him flinch and regretted the words as soon as she'd said them.
'Maybe they've never lost a child,' he commented flatly.
Contrite, she reached out to take his hand in hers, but as if he hadn't seen the gesture Ben walked
through the main doors of the surgery towards his car. Deflated and upset, Georgina watched him
drive off on his own calls.
* * * * *
David Tremayne had been for an interview with a view to joining the practice at the end of May
when his contract at St Gabriel's was up. When he'd gone the three doctors had all expressed their
approval of the possible newcomer, having been impressed by his brisk yet friendly manner and his
unmistakable enthusiasm for his calling.
In his early thirties and unmarried, he was tall and very attractive, and Georgina thought that a
mother somewhere must be proud of her handsome son.
James had asked Ben to sit in on the interview even though he was just a temporary member of the
practice, and the more she saw them together the more Georgina was aware that the two men had
taken an instant liking to each other.
When the interview was over, she had carried on for the rest of the day with an easier mind
regarding her own arrangements and that evening when Ben arrived home from the surgery, he
came to have a chat about the day's events.
'So what do you think about David Tremayne?' he asked.
'He seemed a really nice guy,' she replied, 'but it's how good a doctor he is that matters most. I do
hope that he can join us when he's free, but first James and Elaine will have to sort out the admin
side of it.'
The next subject was her appointment with the gynaecologist the following day. 'I'll meet you at his
rooms, as I did the last time,' he said. 'Just in case I'm on the last minute getting away from surgery.
I presume you're taking the afternoon off as you did before? Have you any concerns to discuss with
him?'
'No. Not really. I keep getting a touch of indigestion, which I suppose is because the baby is
pressing on my digestive tract, but apart from that I'm all right.'
'Blood pressure still behaving itself?'
'Yes. I seem to have escaped that problem this time.'
'Good.'
She made tea for them, and he perched himself on a kitchen stool while he drank it. He'd been
cooler since she'd mentioned the Quarmbys to him, still caring but withdrawn, while she was aching
for love and tenderness.
Ben's thoughts on the matter were that what she'd said had been a veiled reproach and he'd thought
grimly that no one regretted what had happened to their marriage more than him, but at least he was
trying to make up for it.
Georgina was early for the appointment with Ian Sefton and as she sat in the empty waiting room,
leafing through a magazine while she waited for Ben, the man she was waiting to see came through
on his way back from one of his clinics at the hospital. When he saw her, he stopped for a quick
chat.
'Hi, Georgina,' he said. 'Did Ben tell you I phoned the other night to suggest we might meet up to
discuss our work? I didn't realise that you and Ben Allardyce were a couple until he joined you at
your last appointment.'
'There didn't seem any need to mention it,' she replied, playing it down. 'We've only just renewed
our acquaintance.'
'Yes, he told me. Ben said that you'd been apart, but were together again now and starting this new
family.' Moving towards his consulting room, he said good-naturedly, 'I'll be ready for you as soon
as he arrives. While I'm waiting I'm going to have a quick cuppa. Those clinics can be gruelling
places.'
So Ben had told him that they were together again, she thought. But that wasn't strictly true. So why
had he said it? To impress? She didn't think so. That wasn't his style.
As soon as Ben arrived, the receptionist smiled across at them, and said, 'Mr Sefton is ready for
you, if you'd like to go in.'
'So, any changes or problems?' Ian asked as he examined her.
'I'm experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions more often,' she told him, 'which I know is normal, so
I'm not going to mistake them for labour pains. They're too far apart, for one thing.'
'Yes, they're spaced-out contractions of the uterus and become more noticeable as pregnancy
progresses,' he replied.
And my blood pressure was up this morning. Not all that much but when I checked, it was up.'
She was aware of Ben tensing beside her but avoided his concerned expression as the gynaecologist
said, Ah, now, that is a different matter. Where the Braxton Hicks are no cause for concern,
hypertension most certainly is. So let's see what is going on with that.'
When he tested it for himself he said, 'Yes, it's up, though as you said not a lot. Nevertheless, it's
going to mean resting to get it down. At this stage we can't take any chances, Georgina, as I'm sure I
don't need to tell you.' He turned to Ben. 'Take the lady home and put her to bed for a couple of
days and we'll see how the hypertension is then.'
She groaned. 'I'm needed at the practice.'
'We'll manage without you,' Ben told her levelly. 'You and the baby come first.'
'I do know that,' she told him in chilly tones. The idea of him giving Ian Sefton the impression that
all was well with their relationship was still niggling at her.
When they left the building, Ben said, 'Why the drop in temperature?'
'There isn't one. I was just a bit taken aback when Ian Sefton said that you'd told him we were
together again.'
'What did you expect me to say? That the baby is a mistake, that we're playing cat and mouse with
each other all the time? It was easier to pretend that all was well between us. So, why didn't you
mention your blood pressure while we were at the surgery this morning?'
'Because I had the appointment this afternoon. I would have told you about it if I hadn't, but there
didn't seem any reason to alarm you at that stage.'
And at what stage would you have thought it necessary if we hadn't been coming here?'
'Look, Ben,' she said wearily. 'I'm doing what I've been told and am going home to bed, so calm
down. Nothing is going to happen to this baby.'
'And what about something happening to you?' he called after her retreating figure, but there was no
reply. Georgina was already in her car and pulling away from the forecourt of the building, leaving
him with no alternative but to return to his patients.
As she drove back to Willowmere Georgina's annoyance was draining away. How could she have
belittled Ben's consideration for her by not telling Ian Sefton the full story? She should be grateful
that he cared. He'd lost a child and he would have been living with the thought that there would
never be another. Why should he feel that he had to spell out what was happening in their lives to a
stranger? She was getting to be a bit prickly. Dared she blame it on hormones?
Their heated exchange of words had put their relationship on an even more shaky footing, and as
she pulled up in front of her cottage she was wondering where they went from here.
She rang James on the bedside phone once she was settled against the pillows and, as she'd known
he would be, he was totally supportive. 'We will cope all right here,' he assured her. 'Ben is a tower
of strength, and if it isn't possible for you to come back before the baby comes, we have David
Tremayne joining us towards the end of May. So you will be free to return whenever you feel ready
once you have the baby.'
When she'd put the phone down Georgina turned her head into the pillow and wept. She wanted this
baby just as much as Ben did, but its coming would be marred if she and he had separate lives.
She'd put a key through his letterbox before going into her own place so that he could let himself in
if he wanted to. Sure enough, seconds after he'd arrived home early that evening he was bounding
up the stairs and knocking on her bedroom door. That nearly brought the tears back. The only man
she'd ever slept with having to wait to be invited into her bedroom.
'Have you eaten?' were his first words when she called for him to come in, and that made her smile
the tears away. He'd obviously put their earlier crossing of swords to one side and was about to take
on the role of head nurse.
She shook her head. 'I wasn't hungry when I got home but I'm peckish now.'
'So shall I go and raid the larder?'
'Yes, if you like, though anything will do, Ben, just a slice of toast or whatever. But make
something substantial for yourself while you're there.'
Twenty minutes later he appeared with a tray on which was an omelette and a soft roll, tea in a
china cup, and a small vase with just one early rose in it. As she raised herself up off the pillows she
said softly, 'Not so long ago you said you did not deserve me. It is the other way round, I think. I'm
sorry for what I said earlier. Can you forgive me?'
He placed the tray on the bedside table and replied with a quizzical smile that gave no hint of
anything other than light-heartedness, 'Yes, if you promise to eat every crumb. Before I go back
downstairs, what about dessert? I've brought some fresh fruit in with me and some ice cream, and I
caught the Hollyhocks on the point of closing and coaxed a couple of cream cakes from Emma.'
'I'd like a cream cake. Let's save the fruit and ice cream for tomorrow. Now, will you please go and
have your meal? You must be starving.'
He was, Ben thought as he went downstairs, but it was the love they'd once had that he was hungry
for. Tarnished and neglected, it hadn't disappeared during the lonely years. It was still there if only
they could forget past hurts and walk into the light together with a new brother or sister to Jamie.
His nerves had knotted when Georgina had announced that her blood pressure was up, and once
they'd eaten, another check would be a good idea.
He was going to suggest he stay the night and was expecting her to protest that it wasn't necessary,
but he wasn't going to take no for an answer. The baby was due very soon and it was vital that he
should be there for her now.. .and afterwards.
When he went back upstairs Georgina was asleep, her dark mane splayed across the pillow and her
breathing regular enough, considering the weight she was carrying. He'd brought the cream cake
with him and placed it on the bedside table when he'd removed the empty tray.
As he kissed her gently on the brow she stirred in her sleep and murmured his name, and in that
moment he thought tenderly that she had been keen to make it clear that she was her own woman,
but as she'd said his name it had been as if once more she was his woman, and for that to be so was
all he would ever ask.
While she was sleeping he went next door to collect his things for the night ahead, and when he got
back she was awake, face flushed with sleep, eyelids drooping and about to check her blood
pressure.
'I'll do that,' he said gently, and when it was done, he was smiling. 'It's normal,' he announced. 'It
must have just been a blip, but we do need to keep a close watch on it.'
'So can I get up, Doctor?' she teased, as relief washed over her.
'No. I'm afraid not,' he replied in a similar manner. Maybe tomorrow, but for now stop where you
are. I intend to stay the night and no protests, please.'
All right,' she agreed meekly.
'How would you feel if I moved in after the baby is born?' he said, but she shook her head.
'I don't know, Ben,' she said awkwardly, 'let's wait and see.'
'I would be in the spare room—as I will be tonight,' he commented dryly.
'Yes, I know,' she said lamely. 'But if you hadn't come to Willowmere I would have had to cope
alone, and I've got used to doing that.'
All right,' he said levelly. 'Just be sure you don't put the baby at risk with your independence.' On
that word of warning, he turned and went downstairs.
He came back up again some time later, to make up the spare bed and to bring her some supper, but
that was the last she saw of him as the night closed in upon them.
The next morning she went downstairs and found Ben making the breakfast. Before he asked, she
told him that her blood pressure was normal.
'Good,' he said with a tight smile, and placed bacon and eggs in front of her.
'You're angry with me, aren't you?' she said in a low voice. 'I know I deserve it. It must seem as if
I'm throwing all your kindness back in your face, but it isn't like that, Ben. I'm confused and
apprehensive about the future, and I suppose you are the same.'
'Not at all,' he replied. 'The future will take care of itself. I have to be off, Georgina. The surgery
opens in ten minutes.'
She'd spoken to the gynaecologist in the middle of the morning and told him that her blood pressure
was back to normal and he'd warned her to take care as it could happen again and he wanted to see
her again the following week. In the meantime, if she wanted to go back to work there was no
reason why not, but to do fewer hours and not overtire herself.
So after another day of rest Georgina had presented herself at the practice once more, free of the
anxiety that the minor scare had caused, and had suggested to James that she work afternoons only
until the baby was born.
He had agreed immediately and Ben, who had now moved back into his own cottage, watched over
her from the sidelines.
Maggie Timmins had given birth to a baby girl earlier in the week, and she was doing well. Every
morning when he delivered the milk Bryan had an update on mother and baby to relate.
'What does Josh have to say about his new baby sister?' Georgina had asked when he'd first come
with the news.
'He was disappointed at first,' his father said, 'but now that he's adjusted to it he'll sit with her for
hours.'
'Have you chosen a name?' she'd enquired.
'Yes,' he replied promptly. 'Rhianna.'
'That's lovely. And Maggie, how is she?'
'Rather nervous after all this time, and we can't wait to bring her home, but doing fine otherwise.'
As Bryan had driven off, Ben's door had opened, and he'd asked, 'Was that the happy father?'
'Yes,' she'd told him. 'It will be your turn soon:
He'd nodded, for once having no reply, because he was aware that in everything else in his life he
was a positive thinker, but when it came to Georgina and the baby he was like a nervous jellyfish.
He knew the reason, of course. Ever since they'd lost Jamie he'd found it impossible to take
anything for granted, which had its advantages in his work, but not in his private life.
Georgina had managed without him for three years. She was one of Willowmere's full-time,
permanent GPs and extremely capable into the bargain. He knew that she wanted him to be near for
their child when it came, but he wasn't getting the impression that it was going to be by her side and
in her bed with his wedding ring on her finger.
In the days that followed April showers and spring sunshine were constant reminders of the time of
year, and as the calendar moved slowly towards an event that was always celebrated in Willowmere
on the first of May, Georgina found herself facing Clare, the owner of the picture gallery, at the
other side of her desk.
The two were good friends, and Georgina had been very supportive when Clare had been diagnosed
with ovarian cancer some months ago. The smart, middle-aged woman had been operated on to
remove the affected organs and was now at the end of a course of chemotherapy and back into
organising village affairs once more, something she excelled in.
When she saw her friend seated opposite, Georgina hoped that Clare's presence at the surgery didn't
mean any further complications with regard to her health.
It seemed as if that was not the case as her first words were, 'I've come to ask a favour of you,
Georgina.'
'Really?' she questioned. 'What is it?'
'The May Day committee has asked me to approach you.'
'Whatever for?'
'They want to know if you will crown the May Queen.'
'Clare, I would love to,' she said regretfully, 'but the baby will be due any day then and I wouldn't
want to let them down.'
'We appreciate that, but if you couldn't be there, I would act as stand-in for you. You've only been
resident n the village a short time compared to some of us, but you are liked and respected, so
please say you will.'
'Yes, of course I will,' she said immediately. Pollyanna, James's daughter, has been telling me that
she's one of the attendants, and I believe that the Quarmbys' teenage daughter is to be the May
Queen, which is good. Christine needs some brightness in her life, but she isn't well enough to be
involved actively with her daughter's dress and such.'
'That's under control,' Clare assured her. 'You'll never guess who's offered to make the dress and
train.. .my mother. She's been a gem since I've been ill. I was dreading what she would be like, as
Mum can be a tartar over little things, but she's supported me all the time and it's made the cancer
problem a lot easier to cope with.'
'That's wonderful,' Georgina said softly. 'When Ben and I lost our son almost four years ago, we had
no parents to turn to. Mine died within a short time of each other just before he and I were married,
and his were killed in a pile-up on the motorway. So, "tartar" or not, you must cherish her.'
The crowning of the May Queen was an ancient tradition still practised in many English country
villages and rural areas to celebrate the coming of summer, a teenage girl being selected to be the
Queen and younger ones chosen to be her attendants.
A maypole decked with flowers and with ribbons hanging from it would be erected in the centre of
the village green where the crowning ceremony would take place, and once it was over children
would dance around the maypole each holding a ribbon.
It was always a special occasion in Willowmere and Georgina thought that Ben would want to
watch the proceedings. He was becoming more attracted to village life with each passing day, and
whatever they ended up doing in the future he would want their baby to be brought up in the fresh
air and friendliness of the countryside.
What he would say when he discovered she'd accepted the honour that the folks of Willowmere
were anxious to bestow upon her she didn't know, but if she was mobile and not in the labour ward
at St Gabriel's, she would perform it with the greatest of pleasure.
When she told him he smiled and said, 'It is a nice thought but—'
'I know,' she interrupted. 'You were going to say I might be occupied elsewhere. I've cleared that
with Clare. She will perform the crowning ceremony if I can't be there.' She paused and smiled. 'I'm
glad this child of ours will be a spring baby.'
'Why especially?'
'It was spring when you came back into my life, when daffodils were nodding in cottage gardens
and there were newborn lambs in the fields.'
Surely he would understand the message in what she'd just said, Georgina thought, and take her up
on it, but he just smiled a wry smile and carried on trimming the hedge around his garden.
So much for that, she thought. Was Ben still of the opinion that in spite of the closeness of their
lives in recent weeks, it still wasn't working? Had he actually been into the estate agent's to see what
properties were for sale in the village? She hoped not.
There was one house that had been for sale in recent weeks that she'd always longed to live in. It
was a large, detached property, built out of local limestone, and it stood among the green fields of
Cheshire.
She'd always thought what an attractive house it was, though not the kind of residence for a single
mother, and she wouldn't have been able to afford it in any case if it had ever come up for sale, but
it was on the market now and no doubt would soon be snatched up by someone with an eye for
solid elegance.
When she'd seen the photograph of it in the estate agent's window, she'd gazed at it enviously and
hoped mat it wouldn't be bought by someone who would start pulling it apart. Obviously it wasn't
going to appeal to Ben. He'd lived alone in the house in London for three years and that was a
delightful place, but from what he'd said it may as well have been a stable for all the pleasure he'd
derived from living there without his wife and son.
So she couldn't see him getting an urge to buy The Meadows, as the house was called, while he had
the upkeep of a large property in London to contend with. And it was like he'd said, they needed
somewhere close by when they went to visit the grave so that Jamie would never feel they had
deserted him, and the London house would always be somewhere for his brother, Nicholas, to stay
if he had business in the capital when he came to the U.K.
It was early morning. As he handed the solicitor next door to the estate agent's a cheque for the
deposit on the purchase of the only house that had caught his imagination in Willowmere, Ben was
telling himself that he was crazy to be thinking of buying a house as big as The Meadows.
If Georgina didn't want to stand beside him in front of the altar in the village church and repeat the
vows they'd once made in the uncomplicated life that had been wrenched out of their grasp, he was
going to find himself rattling around the place like a lost soul.
But the moment the estate agent had shown him a photograph of The Meadows he'd asked to view
it, and after that he hadn't been able to get it out of his mind. Incredibly it was standing empty and
there was no chain involved in the sale so it would soon be his, or theirs if he should be so lucky.
Sometimes he thought Georgina still loved him, but on other occasions, he wasn't at all sure. Maybe
when he told her he'd bought The Meadows, he would have a clearer picture of her feelings. If she
expressed concern about them still having the London house, he would tell her the good news
regarding that.
The last time he'd spoken to Nicholas he'd said that he was considering buying a property in the
capital as in the future he would be spending six months in every year there. When he'd suggested
that he buy theirs,
Nicholas had jumped at the chance, delighted to become the new owner of the house in the tree-
lined square.
It would mean that the loving bonds they still had with their son would remain unbroken because
his favourite uncle, who was someone else that Jamie had loved and who had loved him, would be
close by for him and for them when either together or apart they brought the white roses of
remembrance.
CHAPTER NINE
To Ben's relief Georgina was still asleep when he arrived back at the cottage. He didn't want her to
know anything about the house until the baby was born. That way she wouldn't feel that he was
forcing the issue of their future relationship in any way.
He didn't know if she was aware that The Meadows was for sale, or even if she knew there was
such a place. But she would one day soon and he would be able to tell from her reaction whether
he'd made a big mistake in buying one of the most attractive houses in the neighbourhood.
He'd asked the estate agent not to reveal any details of his purchase to anyone, especially his ex-
wife, and so far it was all going to plan. Surveys had been satisfactory and he'd got a completion
date for the first of May.
He wasn't to know that she hadn't been asleep all the time he'd been absent. She'd heard his door
close down below when he was setting off, and had gone to the window and watched him walk
down the lane with his familiar purposeful stride, thinking how much she loved him still.
She'd presumed he'd gone to buy a morning paper, so had gone back to bed and dozed off again, but
when eventually she surfaced he was puttering around the garden. When she'd showered and
dressed, she went down and asked Ben where he'd been. For a moment he looked taken aback. Then
he rallied and said he'd been for a walk, which was easy enough to believe on a bright April
morning.
Once a month there was a farmers' market in the village hall that was always well attended by local
people and others from outlying areas, eager to buy fresh free-range eggs, farmhouse cheeses, and
bacon and hams from the pig farms, to name just a few of the wholesome foods on display.
There was also a cafe at the back of the hall where the husband-and-wife team from the Hollyhocks
served snack meals. Altogether it was an occasion not to be missed.
As she was finishing a leisurely breakfast, Ben appeared and suggested that they walk to Willow
Lake for exercise, which Georgina thought was odd as he'd already been out doing that same thing.
But the suggestion was appealing and when they arrived, they found that the trees from which it had
got its name were now bedecked with the new growth that spring brought as they hung over its still
waters.
As she looked around her Georgina was remembering Anna and Glenn, now far away in Africa, and
how he had proposed to her at this very spot. Would there be a second time round for her and Ben?
she wondered. And if there was, would it be for the right reasons?
He was observing her questioningly and, putting to one side wistful thoughts, she said, 'How about
we go to do a big shop? There is a farmers' market in the village hall today, the first one since you
arrived in Willowmere. When you see what is on sale you'll understand what I mean by a "big
shop".'
He was smiling, 'Lead on, then, and surprise me still further with your country customs.'
With a sudden drop in spirits Georgina thought that they were on each other's wavelength in all but
one thing.. .they didn't sleep in the same bed.
There were so many times in the night when the child inside her moved and she longed for Ben to
be there to share the special moment of tenderness and joy, but she thought sombrely it would be
breaking the rules that they seemed to be living by. He seemed contented enough in his role of
onlooker, which made her think all the more that he'd given up on them making their wedding vows
for a second time.
As they moved from stall to stall, with Ben carrying their purchases in a large hessian bag that
Georgina had brought with her, they were stopped frequently by patients and friends that she'd
made during her years in Willowmere. All of them were ready to welcome Ben into their midst, in
spite of the curiosity of some who would have liked to know where Dr Adams had been hiding the
man by her side.
As they were turning into Partridge Lane on the way home, a luxurious car passed them with a
chauffeur at the wheel, and the man on the backseat smiled and waved.
'Who was that?' Ben exclaimed.
'Lord Derringham,' she told him laughingly. 'He owns an estate up on the tops. Dennis Quarmby is
his gamekeeper.'
'I wouldn't expect that you see him at the surgery very often,' he commented dryly.
'No. He has private medical care, but I was called out to his wife a few times last year when she was
pregnant and was having some problems. He's a decent sort and well liked amongst those who live
in the area. Needless to say, he has a very impressive residence that puts every other house for miles
around in the shade.'
The comment brought The Meadows to mind and he wondered what she would think when she saw
it. There had been a tricky moment earlier when one of the stallholders had asked Georgina if she
was aware that it had been sold and she'd enquired without much show of interest if the farmer's
wife knew who'd bought it.
'No, I don't,' had been the reply, 'but there's a rumour going around that it isn't anyone local, and
everyone thinks it's a shame.'
On Monday evening Ben came knocking on her door. I answered the phone to David Tremayne this
morning. He wanted to speak to James, and he and I had a brief conversation. He's still keen to join
the practice and is hoping that there will be some definite news on his appointment soon.'
'James and Elaine were discussing it this morning,' she told him. 'It would seem that it's all going
ahead satisfactorily, but I can understand that he's anxious to get things sorted.'
'Which makes two of us,' he commented with an edge to his voice.
'What do you mean?' she asked, startled by his tone.
'I would have thought it was obvious. His coming means you can take as long as you want away
from the surgery after the birth, but so far your plans, if you have any, seem to be a closely guarded
secret.'
'You make it sound so simple,' she said heatedly. 'But it isn't and well you know it!' Before she
could say anything she might regret, she grabbed a jacket off the hall stand and marched off down
the drive.
He groaned as he watched her go. It was unforgivable to take out his irritations on Georgina, but he
was keen to know what direction their relationship was going in. So far a blissful reconciliation
seemed as remote as the silver moon that had appeared on the heels of a glorious sunset.
Until tonight he'd been determined that there would be no persuasion from him. Georgina had to be
sure that she really wanted him if they ever got back together, that it wasn't because of the baby but
because she still loved him. And so what had he done? Tackled her about it in a manner that had
sounded more like bullying than concern.
The only thing to do was to go and find her, bring her home and apologise, even though what she'd
said before she'd rushed off had made him feel that he was still not forgiven.
When he went out into the lane, there was no sign of her, and he hesitated. The lake wasn't far
away, had she gone there to calm down? He hoped not. It could be unsafe out there in the dark, and
suppose she started labour while she was alone?
He was moving in that direction with a fast stride even as he thought it, but there was no one there
when he arrived, just the lake and the trees bowing over it.
The village centre was just the opposite when he got there, with the Pheasant as the focal point. It
was a mild night and the tables outside were fully occupied. From the buzz of noise issuing from
inside it seemed as if it was the same in both parts, but Georgina wasn't amongst the throng.
Gillian Jarvis, the new nurse at the practice, was there with her husband, and when she saw him in
the doorway, she came across and asked if he was looking for Georgina. 'We saw her going into the
surgery as we drove past,' she said.
With a brief word of thanks, Ben turned on his heel and set off in the direction of the limestone
building beside the village green and, sure enough, the lights were on inside when he got there.
He called out as he went in so as not to alarm her and found her sitting in the swivel chair behind
her desk, staring into space. She turned at his approach and observed him unsmilingly. Reaching
out, he took her hand and lifted her carefully to her feet. When they were facing each other he said
gently, 'I'm sorry I took my bad temper out on you, of all people, Georgina.'
The dark hazel eyes looking into his were mirroring the pain inside her as she told him, 'I behaved
no better, Ben. I'm sorry, too. Let's go home.'
'Yes, let's,' he agreed, wanting to hold her close and tell her how much he loved her, yet wary of
doing so in case it pushed their relationship further back than it was already.
As they walked the short distance home Georgina said regretfully, 'Have you eaten since you came
home from the surgery?'
He shrugged. 'You know me—first things first. I had something on the stove but left it to tell you
about David Tremayne. I was keen to see your reaction.'
'You turned the hotplate off, I hope?' she said, as she thought that he'd certainly got her reaction,
and it hadn't gone down too well. Her face softened. It hadn't stopped him from coming to look for
her, though.
They separated at her door. Ben returned to his cooking and Georgina sat gazing into space as the
future that was so hazy didn't become any cleaner.
It was there again, the feeling deep down inside her that, though Ben was thoughtful and caring, it
was the baby who held his heartstrings, and could she blame him if that was the case after what
they'd lost that day in the park?
She went upstairs to bed as the light was fading and willed herself to blot out everything except the
child that was moving inside her. Soon her doubts and dilemmas were submerged in sleep.
Next door, Ben was also deep in thought and he wished they were happier issues that crowded his
mind. These should be joyful days for them both, he told himself. Full of excitement and
anticipation. If they had a normal relationship, they would be, but neither of them were prepared to
make the first move because they didn't want to be hurt again.
It was Friday evening at the end of a week that had passed slowly and uneventfully for the two
doctors. They'd each had their evening meal and were seated in the small gardens at the back of the
cottages, watching the sun set. When Ben looked across at her, Georgina was staring straight ahead
as if she was seeing something that he couldn't see, and out of the blue she said, 'It could be some
time before we're able to visit the grave once the baby arrives. Let's go tomorrow.'
Ben was frowning. 'I don't think so. It's a long drive for you in your present state. Why don't I go on
my own?'
She was shaking her head emphatically. 'No, I have to go. Something is telling me that I must.'
'What do you mean?' he said slowly. 'Do you feel that the baby might be early so you don't want to
leave it any later? If that's the case, it could be risky. I'm quite capable of delivering my own child,
but I'm not too keen on having to do it on the motorway or in some other most unsuitable
surroundings.'
'I have to go,' she insisted.
He sighed. 'What has brought this on? If it means so much, yes, we'll go. We can pick up the
flowers on the way. But I don't understand the sudden urgency.'
She was calming down now that he'd agreed and said in a placatory manner, 'The next time we go
Jamie will have a new sister or brother. On this occasion I want it to be just the two of us.. .and
him.'
'Fair enough, but I insist we go to the house while we're there so that you can have a rest before we
set off back.'
She didn't reply and he knew she was remembering the last time they'd both been there. How it had
set off an incredible chain of events that would soon be bearing fruit in the gift of another child, and
he still didn't know if that would be the limit of it.
A far as he was concerned, her suggestion had come out of nowhere. He'd been taking it for granted
that they would be staying close to base during the last days before the birth and suddenly they were
embarking upon a long and tiring journey. It was a fact that pregnant women sometimes behaved
out of character due to hormone changes and he supposed that today's sudden urgency fell into that
category.
He wasn't to know that for Georgina there were no such misgivings. There had just been an
overwhelming urge in her to do what she'd been doing for all the years she'd been apart from Ben.
Yet she didn't blame him if he was upset at the way she was making light of his anxieties on behalf
of the baby and herself.
They were up early the next morning and while Ben was at the local garage, filling up the tank with
petrol, Georgina checked her blood pressure. It was steady, with no increase to concern herself
about, and she breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that if it had been up, Ben would have dug his
heels in and refused to go, and it would have been common sense to agree.
As if he'd read her mind his first words when he came back were concerning it, and when she'd
reassured him, he looked happier about what they were doing, though still unsure of the wisdom of
it.
The miles were speeding past and all the time Georgina sat quietly in the passenger seat, speaking
only rarely, but each time he looked at her she had a smile for him, and Ben thought that it was
going to be the first time they'd visited the grave together, except for the day when he'd found her
there and both their lives had changed for ever. Maybe her tranquillity was a way of telling him that
it was going to all come right for them?
They'd stopped off in the town to buy the white roses before going onto the motorway and had
recently stopped again for an early lunch before they hit the London traffic. As the capital city drew
nearer Georgina could feel a strange kind of peace stealing over her. As if all the anxieties and
frustrations of past weeks and years were leaving her. She'd seen it in the sunset, the promise of
happiness, yet didn't understand how the sad thing they had come all this way for could bring that
about.
They'd held hands as they'd placed the flowers on the white marble, united for the first time in a
bond of love for their son from which grief had been wiped away, and when they'd said their
goodbyes to him and walked back to the car they'd still been holding hands as if neither of them
wanted to let go.
When Ben had suggested that they go to the house so that she might rest for a while, Georgina had
agreed without hesitation, and this time she hadn't slumped into his arms, caught up in the in the
trauma of a painful return to the place that had once been her home.
Instead, she'd walked around the familiar rooms before letting Ben tuck her up on the sofa for an
hour, and as he'd watched over her his thoughts had gone to Nicholas who would soon be living
there with maybe children of his own one day.
Whether he and Georgina would ever live together in The Meadows was another matter, but for the
moment he was going to put those thoughts to one side.
When it was time to leave, he asked, 'Are you content now that you've been to the cemetery?'
'Yes,' she told him gravely. 'Today it was how it should be for him, the two of us together. The
longing to be here came over me suddenly and everything else seemed far away. The birth being so
near, the thought of visiting the house again, the long drive, all seemed blurred. All I wanted was
come to where we were once so happy.'
'And do you think we will ever be that happy again?' he asked as he helped her into the car.
'Maybe not,' she said softly, still with peace upon her. 'How it was before could be a hard act to
follow, but today we've made a move in the right direction, haven't we?'And as the car pulled out of
the square she closed her eyes and slept.
She woke up when Ben pulled in at a service stop on the motorway not far from home, and as she
observed him questioningly he said. 'I think I might have a flat tyre. Do you want to stretch your
legs and have a wander around inside? I'll come and join you as soon as I've changed it.'
Georgina nodded. 'Yes, I'm stiff all over. I'll wait for you outside the restaurant. We may as well eat
here to save cooking when we get back.' And left him to sort out the tyre.
It was a big place. There were shops of various kinds along the passage that led to the restaurant on
the first floor and, considering the time of day, there weren't many people about.
After pottering around for a while she lowered herself onto the seating outside a toy shop next to
the restaurant and positioned herself where she could see Ben when he came in at the main entrance
below.
As she glanced around her she saw a young family approaching. Mother, father, with a small boy of
a similar age and colouring to how Jamie had been and just as fast in his movements. He was
running on in front, watched dotingly by his parents, and as she smiled at him he stopped abruptly
beside her.
When Georgina glanced to see what had caught his attention, she saw that it was the wooden
display case next to where she was sitting. Inside it were some of the toys sold in the shop.
It was glass fronted and locked and after hesitating for a moment, the boy reached out and pulled at
the handle to get to the toys. As he did so, the whole thing began to topple towards him.
She heard his mother scream and his father's footsteps pounding on the tiled floor as she heaved
herself towards him and dragged him out of the way. And then there was nothing but pain and
darkness.
Ben was smiling as he came through the main door. They would be home safe and sound in
minutes. There had been no need for him to fuss like he had. It had been a wonderful day with those
special tranquil moments with their son followed by that quiet time in the home they'd once shared,
and all the time he'd been able to feel Georgina's contentment around him in unspoken promises.
When they were back home, he was going to ask her to marry him again. He should have done it
before, instead of being so set on waiting until he saw how things were when the baby came. That
was how it ought to be, making their vows to each other once more as a separate thing that wasn't
tied in with anything else except their love for each other. And if he was taking too much for
granted after this wonderful day together, at least Georgina would know how much he still adored
her.
As he stepped onto the escalator he heard a crash and someone screamed above, then a voice
bellowed, 'Phone for an ambulance and tell them the lady's pregnant, due any time by the looks of
it!' As his happy bubble burst around him Ben was leaping up the moving staircase in sick dismay,
praying that it wasn't Georgina who was being described, yet knowing it would be too big a
coincidence if it wasn't.
At the worst he was expecting to find that she'd gone into premature labour, but it was worse than
that, much worse. She was lying very still on her side, curled up in a foetal position with her arms
folded protectively across her stomach. Two security men were frantically removing the large
wooden display case that she was lying under.
He was by her side in a flash, telling them in a voice as cold as steel, 'I'm her husband and I'm a
doctor. Tell me what happened.'
There was a woman weeping silently just a foot away and she said chokingly, 'Your wife saved our
little boy. He'd seen the toys inside and was pulling at the handle. She saw what was about to
happen and dragged him away as it started to fall, but didn't have time to protect herself. We are so
sorry.'
Not as much as I am, he thought grimly as he registered a faint pulse and shallow breathing. He was
shuddering to think what might have happened to the baby. But for the moment she was his main
concern. He could see a deep gash on the side of her head and her legs were bleeding from cuts that
the glass in the doors of the display unit had made when they had shattered. Any other injuries
would not be immediately visible until she was examined in Accident and Emergency at St
Gabriel's, which was the nearest hospital as they were so close to home.
The ambulance had been mercifully quick and after they'd taken Georgina down in the lift on a
stretcher they were soon away with sirens blaring.
Ben had caught a glimpse of the child who'd innocently been the cause of the accident clinging to
his mother's hand, and with a pang thought how much like Jamie he was. Had this been another
reason why Georgina had felt impelled to leave the safety of Willowmere? he'd thought
incredulously. And now that they'd made peace at their son's grave was he going to lose her?
Ian Sefton was waiting for them when the stretcher was wheeled into A and E with Ben granite-
faced beside it, and he said, 'We've got a team standing by for Georgina but first I'm going to check
the baby's heartbeat on the foetal monitor to make sure it's OK.' It was with great relief he
announced, 'We have a heartbeat. That's the good news. But it's not quite as strong as I would like it
to be.'
Ben nodded with hope hard to come by as he gazed at Georgina still and bloodstained on the bed.
'I'll be standing by in case I have to do a Caesarean section,' the gynaecologist said, and Ben thought
that was how he would be if it was someone else's wife and child, but on this occasion he was on
the receiving end and was numb with the horror of what was happening to their hopes and dreams.
He'd had high blood pressure on his mind while Georgina had been carrying the baby because it had
happened once before, or had thought that some other medical problem might put her and the baby
at risk, but from out of nowhere had come a different kind of danger, horrifying and unexpected.
A child in danger had been something that she hadn't been able to ignore and she was paying the
price. Why, oh, why, hadn't he told her how much he loved her before this?
* * * * *
Severe concussion, broken ribs and deep cuts, especially to the head and legs, were the total of
Georgina's injuries, and one of the doctors commented to another that if she hadn't been carrying so
much extra weight, it might have been a lot worse.
She still hadn't regained consciousness when she started to haemorrhage, and then it was panic
stations with the theatre on standby for the Caesarean section that Ian Sefton had anticipated.
At just past midnight Arran Allardyce came into the world, and Ben wept at the nature of his
coming, even though from all appearances he was a lusty infant. His mother, on the other hand, still
hadn't surfaced from the accident and the anaesthetic she'd been given during the operation, and was
not aware of his arrival. As Ben kept a vigil by her bedside, with the baby sleeping peacefully
beside them, he was willing Georgina to come back to them so that he could tell her how much he
loved her.
As dawn brightened the night sky Georgina opened her eyes, removed the hand that he'd been
holding out of his clasp and passed it slowly over her stomach. Ben saw that her eyes were awash
with tears,
'I'm so sorry, Ben,' she said weakly, 'but I had to save the boy. Did you see how much he looked
like Jamie?' Tears were rolling down her cheeks now as she begged, 'Can you forgive me for losing
another of our children?'
'I can forgive you anything,' he said softly, 'because I love you more than life itself. And what's this
about losing the baby? If you turn your head sideways, you will see young Arran Allardyce, strong
and healthy despite a slightly early entrance into the world, sleeping peacefully beside you,
Georgina, unharmed and totally beautiful, just like his mother.'
Her smile was brighter than the sun that would soon be in the sky as she cried joyfully, 'So Jamie
has a brother! How absolutely perfect, and how wonderful that you still love me as much as I love
you.
'That day when we were having the picnic and you said that the second chance we'd been given
wasn't working, it made me realise just how much I wanted it to, and ever since then I've been
afraid to plan a future in which we were together in every sense of the word in case you were right.'
'Will you marry me when you've recovered from all the dreadful things that have happened to you
during the last twenty-four hours?' he asked softly.
'Those will be forgotten when I hold our baby in my arms,' she told him, 'and, yes, of course I'll
marry you, Ben. I've always felt as if I was still your wife in any case, but now we can start living
again, waking up each morning in the same bed, you and I together like it used to be, with Arran
close by in the nursery.'
Ian Sefton was approaching and when he reached the bedside, he said whimsically, 'You had us all
worried for a while, Georgina. I'd almost decided I would have to emigrate if I let anything happen
to you and the baby. This husband of yours was all scrubbed up ready to take over if I put a foot
wrong.'
'Were you really?' she asked Ben.
'Yes, I'm afraid so,' he replied. 'There was too much at stake.'
'So, do I get an invitation to the wedding for a job well done?' the gynaecologist asked.
Ben was smiling. 'You do indeed,' he told him, and then added in a more serious manner, 'You were
the best, Ian. We can't thank you enough.'
When he'd gone, Ben lifted little Arran carefully out of his crib and placed him in his mother's arms,
and as he gazed at them in that special moment it seemed as if it had been a good idea after all to
buy The Meadows. There would be no more confusion in their minds regarding the future. They
were a family again.
That same evening they were visited by another family, one that might not have been so complete if
it hadn't been for Georgina's instinctive reaction at the motorway services.
When the parents and their small son stood beside her bed the young one's father said, 'So what do
you say to the lady for saving you from being hurt by the display case, Dominic?'
'Thank you for saving me,' he told her in a voice that indicated he'd been rehearsing the little
speech.
'And?' his mother prompted, placing a gift-wrapped parcel in his hands.
'This is for your baby,' he said shyly. 'What are you going to call him?'
'We're going to call him Arran,' she told him gently, 'and I'm sure he will love what is inside this
present when he is a bit older.' Then she turned to his parents.
'You didn't have to do this. I'm just so pleased that Dominic wasn't hurt. We lost our first child in an
accident and I wouldn't wish that sort of grief on anyone.'
When they'd gone, she asked Ben, 'Were you angry when you knew what I'd done?'
'Horrified, yes, but not angry.' he told her softly. 'It would have been amazing if you hadn't stepped
in, being the nearest to him. In those kind of moments there is no time for thinking, do I, or don't I?
One just goes ahead and does it.'
CHAPTER TEN
It was an occasion they would long remember when Ben brought Georgina and baby Arran home to
the cottage in Partridge Lane and in the hours that followed it was as if the whole village was
sharing their happiness.
And there was more to come. Ben still had a couple of pleasant surprises for her but felt they could
wait for a day or two. The injuries she'd received from the broken glass were healing satisfactorily
and the hospital, as was usually the case, was leaving the fractured ribs to heal of their own accord.
But she was still a little weak from the trauma that had followed when Ian Sefton had been forced to
do a Caesarean baby to save its life and hers.
Arran was fine. Every time they observed him they rejoiced. Ben was taking time off from work to
be there during the first important days of his son's life and so that Georgina could rest as she
recovered from the accident and her delivery.
It was an irksome situation when she was raring to be back to her usual fitness but, acknowledging
that it was a necessary procedure, she had to be content with welcoming a constant stream of
wellwishers from the comfort of the sofa while Ben took charge of everything else.
On the second afternoon of her return Clare was one of the callers and after she'd held the baby
reverently and then handed him back to his watchful father she said, 'I know it's pushing it,
Georgina, you've only been home a couple of days, but it's the May Queen crowning on Saturday.
Would you feel up to doing the ceremony?'
'I'd love to,' she told her. 'I'm feeling stronger all the time and as long as Ben and Arran are there
beside me I'll be fine. How are the preparations going?'
'All right so far,' was the reply, 'and now that you're prepared to do the crowning, my last worry is
sorted. My mum has finished the dresses, the music is organised and refreshments are in the capable
hands of our Hollyhocks friends.'
And how are you amongst all this activity?' Georgina asked, not overlooking that the woman sitting
opposite was coping with a very worrying health problem, as well as the May Queen arrangements.
'Not so bad,' she replied. 'The chemo took it out of me but, as I've said before, my mother gives me
lots of support. It has taken something like this to bring us together. I've always been very self-
sufficient and capable, and now that I'm sick and apprehensive of what lies ahead, it's bringing out
the best in her.'
'We have something to ask of you, Clare, haven't we, Ben?' Georgina said, and he nodded.
'Will you be Arran's godmother?'
She watched Clare's eyes fill with tears and knew what was coming next.
'I can't think of anything I would love more,' she choked, 'but a godmother needs to be someone
there for him long term and I can't promise that, can I, in my present state?'
'I know how much Georgina values you as a friend,' Ben told her, 'and with your courage and spirit,
you'll be an inspiration to our son. So do please say yes.'
She was smiling now. 'How can I say anything else after that? Thanks for being so kind. You can
count me in.'
The godfather slot had always belonged to Nicholas, and when Ben had rung him from the hospital
to say that the baby had arrived and that Georgina was doing as well as could be expected, he'd said,
'Don't give me that hospital jargon, Ben. What do you mean?'
He'd been appalled when Ben had told him the full story, but had perked up when he'd discovered
that there was a second role they wanted him to play in their lives, that of best man, and the
knowledge that the two people he cared for most were going to remarry had left him on cloud nine.
It was drizzling out of a grey sky when the villagers awoke on Saturday morning and as Georgina
gave Arran his first feed of the day, with Ben propped up against the pillows beside her, she wailed,
'I don't believe it. We've had nothing but sunshine for days and just look out there!'
But by the middle of the morning the rain had gone and blue skies had appeared, with the sun
shining extra brightly as if to compensate for its earlier absence, and all was hustle and bustle
around the village green.
A wooden platform had been erected at one end, with steps leading up to it for the crowning
ceremony, and in the middle of the green was the maypole with its bright ribbons wrapped tightly
around it until such time as they were needed.
On the dot of twelve Willowmere's own brass band began to lead the May Day procession around
the village with the vicar at the front and the Queen and her attendants walking sedately behind in
their pretty long dresses.
They arrived at the village green at exactly twelve o'clock and the first people Georgina saw when
she and Ben took their positions on the platform, with Arran cradled safely in his father's arms,
were the Quarmbys, with Dennis puffed out with pride as he saw his daughter approach the rostrum
and Christine, pale but very happy by his side.
When Georgina looked away from them, Pollyanna was waving from her place in the Queen's
retinue, and James, another proud father, wasn't far away from her with Jolyon by his side. But she
thought contentedly that the proudest father of all was standing beside her with his son in his arms
and all was well with her world.
The crowning of the May Queen and the festivities that had followed it were over and in the early
evening Georgina and Ben were pushing the pram homewards when he said, 'That was a great day,
but I've got something that could top that or, on the other hand, maybe it won't.'
'What is it?' she asked, eyes bright with curiosity as they walked the last hundred yards to the
cottage.
'You'll find out tomorrow, not before,' he said teasingly, with his dark eyes adoring her, and she
pulled a face but didn't pursue it.
The sale of The Meadows had been completed a couple of days ago.
He was in possession of the keys to the lovely old house and was eager to see Georgina's reaction,
all the time wondering if he should have let her have a say in where they were going to bring up
Arran. But at that time he hadn't known what direction they were going in and had faced the fact
that he might have to resell it or live there alone.
It was Nicholas offering to buy the London house that had made up his mind for him and he had yet
to find out what Georgina would think of that.
'So do you want us to walk or drive to where we're going?' he questioned the next morning when
they'd finished breakfast and Arran had been fed.
'It depends how far,' she replied.
'It's a mile or so.'
'Then we'll walk. May I ask in what direction?'
'Towards the Timmins farm. Baby Rhianna is home now and thriving.'
She was smiling. 'We're not going on a comparing-babies outing, are we?'
'We can call on them if you like but, no, that isn't where we're going. You'll just have to wait and
see.'
The house was aptly named, Ben thought as they walked past fields where sheep and cattle grazed
on the greenest grass he'd ever seen, and as they turned a bend on the lane on which it stood it was
there, silent and empty, waiting for them.
'I wonder who's bought The Meadows,' Georgina said regretfully. 'Maggie Timmins has heard that
it's a townie.'
'She's heard right.'
'What do you mean?'
'Well, you can hardly call me a country boy, can you?'
'You!' she cried. 'You, Ben! You've bought The Meadows for us.'
He held out his hand and on the flat of his palm were the keys.
'I hope you're going to like it.'
'Like it!' she whooped, throwing her arms around him. 'I've always loved this house. When, though?
How? What made you...?' she gasped excitedly.
'It was when I knew that I couldn't live without you any more.'
Her excitement was lessening. 'But can we afford two houses? What about our house in the square?'
'It's sold.'
'And you never consulted me!'
'I didn't need to. Someone you love is going to live there and we'll be able to visit whenever we
want.' She was bewildered. 'Who?'.
'Who is your favourite man.. .next to me?'
Light was dawning. 'Nicholas?'
'Yes. My young brother wants a house in London and is only too pleased to buy ours, so Jamie
won't be all alone there while we're up here. He'll have his uncle Nick close by.'
Her radiance was back as she held him close and told him. 'I can live with that, Ben.'
He jangled the keys in front of her again. 'So now can we go inside?'
'Just try and stop me,' she told him as she picked Arran up out of the pram and cradled him in her
arms.
As they walked around the spacious rooms and took in the views from every window Ben was
jubilant. They were going to be so happy in this place, he thought. Their son was going to grow up
in the beautiful Cheshire countryside in one of the nicest family homes around.
Just a few weeks ago it would have been a dream, now it was a reality, a reality where Georgina
still loved him, they had a son, and they were going to live in this gorgeous house.
James had been round to the cottage to see Arran and to discuss Georgina's future role at the
surgery and they had come to a decision that she was going to take the full maternity leave and then
would return part time if a suitable arrangement could be made regarding Arran's care during those
hours.
In the meantime, it would leave James and David Tremayne as full-time doctors, and Ben would be
able to go back to paediatrics.
* * * * *
When Edwina Crabtree, bellringer in chief, heard that there was to be a wedding in the village very
soon and that the two participants were Dr Adams and the ex-husband she'd produced from
nowhere, she nodded approvingly. They now had a child and if there was one thing that Edwina
liked to see it was all loose ends tied up neatly.
In her own staid way she liked Georgina Adams— soon to be Allardyce once more. Dr Adams was
always kind and tactful when she was forced to consult her and in honour of the occasion, she was
going to see that the bells pealed out across Willowmere on her wedding day more joyously than
they'd ever done before.
An invitation to the wedding reception at The Meadows had mellowed Edwina even more until she
discovered that she wasn't the only one to receive such a thing, that half the village had been
invited.
Unaware of the prim campanologist's good feelings towards them, Georgina and Ben were making
their preparations for a second taking of their marriage vows..
Pollyanna was to be the only bridesmaid and was being quite blase about the occasion, saying that
she didn't want pink again as it was what she'd worn as a bridesmaid not so long ago to her aunt
Anna, now far away in Africa. So a pretty dress of pale green had been produced and she was
delighted.
Nicholas was due any time from Texas to do the double act of best man and godfather at Arran's
christening, which was to take place shortly before the wed
ding, and when she heard about that arrangement, Edwina was positively beaming.
For Georgina and Ben the days were filled with tenderness and contentment and it was all going to
come together in the village church, the two ceremonies that would set the seal on the future that
they'd thought they would never have.
The christening was in the morning and the wedding was in the afternoon. Those present were just
Clare and Nicholas, as godparents, and Georgina and Ben in the church that was decked out with
flowers for the wedding later.
As they each made their vows with regard to the tiny child in his godmother's arms there was a
feeling of timelessness around them in the old stone church, of baptisms, weddings and funerals,
some recent, others long gone.
When the vicar took the baby from Clare, dipped his fingers into the baptismal font and christened
him Arran Benjamin, there were tears on his mother's lashes.
On seeing them, his father took her hand in his and held it tightly because he knew from where they
came. They had another son, absent but cherished beyond belief, and one day they would tell Arran
about his brother.
The moment had passed. The baptism was over and Arran was back in his mother's arms as they
made their way outside and proceeded to Georgina's cottage where the four of them would remain
until it was time to get dressed for the wedding.
As they ate a snack lunch the church bells were pealing triumphantly across Willowmere and Ben
said, 'Surely that can't be for us!'
'I believe it is,' Clare told him. 'Edwina and her friends are in fine fettle today.'
They were going to use the same ring as before, which had never been off Georgina's finger since
the occasion when Ben had placed it there. Today it was safely in Nicholas's pocket but would soon
be back where it belonged.
When Georgina came slowly down the stairs some time later, beautiful in a calf-length dress of
oyster silk that emphasised her dark eyes and hair, she was carrying beautiful flowers from the
garden of the house that would soon be their home.
Ben was waiting for her at the bottom step in his own wedding finery and when he opened his arms,
she went into them like a ship into harbour... And the wedding bells continued to swing high in the
bell tower as they pealed out for two people who had once lost their way and were about to be
united in the love that had been mislaid rather than lost.
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