Part 15 (1/2)
”Please will you give Loveday my love--and the baby and Adam, of course.
I'll telephone her tomorrow.”
He said easily.
”Why not?” He had come a little way into the room, to stand beside her.
”Frightened, Esmeralda?”
”Yes,” she said baldly.
”Don't be--I'm not, and I'm the one who should be frightened, aren't I? ”.
She smiled, suddenly more cheerful.
”But you believe in miracles.”
”Oh, yes.” He bent and kissed her without haste. She was still savouring the comfort of it as he walked out without another word, shutting the door behind him.
He wasn't in the plaster room when she entered it the following morning, so she disposed herself on the table, well propped up so that she would be able to see what was going on, said her good mornings to Monique and Octavius, exchanged lighthearted badinage with Syja, and ignored the disappointment she felt; orthopaedic surgeons had better things to do with their time than saw off plasters.
Octavius actually had the saw in his hand, when the object of her thoughts walked in, allowed himself to be helped out of his jacket as he wished everyone good morning, rolled up his s.h.i.+rtsleeves, and tied in a large plastic ap.r.o.n, took the instrument from his registrar's hands.
”I thought you weren't coming,” exclaimed Esmeralda, never a girl to keep her thoughts to herself.
”You've a huge list this morning.”
He had the saw poised.
”You can say that again,” he remarked cheerfully.
”This is by way of a little light relief.”
She kept as still as a mouse while he worked and when she felt the plaster loosen and open under his hand, she shut her eyes, s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g them tight. She felt her foot lifted and the plaster taken away before it was laid gently beside its fellow.
”Open your eyes, Esmeralda,” commanded Mr. Bamstra.
Her foot looked white and somehow withered, and the scars still showed pinkly, but over and above these things, it was a perfect foot, nicely arched, narrow, the toes straight. She wriggled them cautiously and saw their movement with something like awe, then said softly: Thimo, oh, Thimo!
” and looked up at him with a tremulous smile, to find his eyes on her, regarding her steadily.
”Thank you--I'll never be able to thank you enough--I simply can't believe it!”
He smiled then.
”Get off there and stand on both feet, then you can believe it.”
She did as she was told, a little nervous of her foot in case the moment it touched the ground it would revert to its poor flattened former self. But it didn't, and she took two cautious steps forward to bring her to him.
”It's your foot as well as mine, if you know what I mean,” she told him seriously.
”It's like being given (he most wonderful present.”
Her eyes searched his impa.s.sive, kindly face; it seemed a long way away, but then she was on her bare feet and he stood six feet four inches at least; all the same, she managed to reach up and kiss him.
”I don't suppose that's at all the right thing for me to do,” she told him, 'but I wanted to. ” She looked round her and saw the smiling faces and was kissed and hugged in her turn until Mr. Bamstra said quietly: ”I think there's just time for a quick look before we have to be in theatre,”
and she got back on the table once more while he and Octavius prodded and poked and peered.
”An X-ray as soon as possible, I think,” suggested Mr. Bamstra, 'and keep off it until we've taken a look at it, if you please--if everything is as it should be, you'll go down to Physio directly after lunch. ”
He nodded in a general sort of way and hurried away, closely followed by Octavius, leaving Esmeralda to be taken back to her room, on crutches once more and not minding a bit, for she would throw them away quite soon now and walk on her beautiful new foot.
She waited until Octavius came to tell her that the X-ray was quite satisfactory before she telephoned her mother to tell her the news and listen happily to her delight and relief.
”And here's Nanny,” said Mrs. Jones.
”She hates the telephone, you know that, just for once she's glad of it.”
Nanny was crying, which touched Esmeralda very much, for she had always been a solid rock they had all leaned on, and she hadn't realized just how much she had minded about her foot.
”And is that nice young man there?” Nanny wanted to know in the fierce voice she always used when she wanted to hide her deeper feelings.
”He's in theatre. Nanny--it's operating day.”
”Well, Miss Esmeralda, I hope you thanked him properly, and when you see him, you just tell him that I hope he gets everything he wants in life, for he deserves it. There's not much he wants: he's rich and clever and handsome, but what he needs is to wed with the girl of his choice.”
She said ”Yes, Nanny,” listened dutifully to a short lecture on doing exactly as she was told, exchanged a few more words with her mother, and rang off.
Nanny, she reflected, was a dear old thing and had a funny way of putting things, and yet somehow, the way she had said it made one realize that Thimo deserved just that to wed the girl of his choice.
Physio was rather painful; her foot, its bones whole once more, was nonetheless unused, and as such creaked and groaned at every movement.
Quite convinced that no one knew what they were doing and that her foot would fall apart at any moment, she did her exercises, had a little heat to loosen up the joints and then went back upstairs, glad for once of her crutches and secretly relieved that she was to spend the night in the hospital. She met Syja in the corridor, who gave her a wide smile, said heartily: ”All goes well, is it not? I bring tea in one moment,” and sailed away down the corridor.
Tea would be wonderful, thought Esmeralda as she opened her door to find Jonkvrouw Bamstra sitting in the chair by the window, a great bouquet of flowers in her lap. She got up as Esmeralda went in, put the flowers on the bed and went to meet her.
”You do not mind if I come to tea?” she asked.
”Your own mother is not here to listen to your wonderful news and I hoped that I might take her place. Thimo is also so happy it is a great success, I hear, and I wish very much to see the foot.”
Esmeralda cast down her crutches and put her arms round her visitor.
”Oh, you are a darling!” she cried.
”You see, I'm so happy and excited and I'm dying to talk about it, and here you are...” She smiled mistily.
”I'll never be able to thank Thimo properly.”
”Oh, yes, you will,” said his mother in a voice which held no doubts on the matter.