Sarah was like a frightened rabbit.

The nurse sobbed as she worked and Jess came close to strangling her. Finally, as Sarah dropped a bag of saline, Jess paused.

‘Sarah, pull yourself together,’ she told her. ‘Immediately.’

The nurse gulped on a sob. ‘I c-can’t. I’m so scared.’

‘Why?’ Jessie lifted the saline bag and hooked it to the stand, then fitted it to the needle in the back of Frank’s hand. She gave Frank’s arm a reassuring squeeze as she did so.

‘You’ll be OK now, Frank,’ she said gently, with more assurance than she was feeling. The elderly farmer seemed beyond hearing but she could hope…‘The insulin’s going in. Just try and relax and let it take over.’

Relax…

She looked across at Sarah. Sarah was a crumpled mess.

‘I should have insisted,’ Sarah said harshly, self-blame starting to show through her fear. ‘I should have stood my ground and insisted Dr Hurd come back. I knew something was wrong-but Dr Hurd made me feel like a fool. I should have…’

‘Trusted your own judgement?’ Jessie bit back irritation, trying to imagine how she’d feel coming back to veterinary medicine after a twenty-year absence. She crossed to take the woman’s hands and gave them a swift squeeze. It was either that or give in to anger-and anger here would help no one.

‘Sarah, you’ve been a fine nurse in the past and you’re a sensible woman,’ she said roundly. ‘Coming back after an absence of twenty years must make you nervous-but technology hasn’t changed so much that you can’t tell when a man’s sick. You have to trust what your common sense tells you.’

‘But Dr Hurd wouldn’t come and I didn’t think past that,’ Sarah gulped. ‘I hardly thought about the diabetes. I just knew Frank’s leg was infected and maybe the poison had spread.’ She took a deep breath.

‘Well, maybe it was my own insecurity working there, too. If I was sure of myself I would have thought things through-thought of the diabetes-instead of blindly waiting for orders.’ She looked doubtfully down at the bed. ‘Oh, Jess, do you think we’re in time?’

‘I certainly hope so.’

The awful heaving had stopped for the moment. Frank was lying back on the pillows, grey with exhaustion, and Jessie’s heart stirred in pity. The fluid was already dripping steadily into his veins-but had they moved fast enough?

She crossed to the bed and lifted Frank’s hand.

‘I have some good news, Frank,’ she gently told the sick man, perching beside him on the bed. She didn’t know whether he could hear her but she could at least try. ‘We’ve found Harry. He’s tired and hungry but he’s asleep in my kitchen right at this minute and as soon as you’re well enough for visitors he’ll be the first one through the door.’

Lionel Hurd would have a pink fit if he could hear her make such a promise, Jessie knew. Dogs in Lionel’s hospital? Never!

That fight was for tomorrow. Jess would cross that bridge when she came to it.

It had been the right thing to say now, though. The old man’s eyes flickered open, bodily ills put aside for an instant. There was relief in the exhausted eyes.

‘He’s…Harry’s safe?’ he whispered.

‘Quite safe,’ Jessie promised in a voice that wasn’t steady. If only she could say the same for Frank.

‘Then I’d best hold on,’ Frank managed, and Jess had to lean down to hear his thready whisper. ‘For Harry…’

‘You do that, Frank,’ Jess whispered back. ‘Please…You do that.’

There was nothing more that Jess could do. It was just a matter of waiting now-and hoping that the insulin would stabilise him and the fluids would save Frank’s life. And hope that not too much damage had been done…

‘I’ll look after him now,’ Sarah whispered, smoothing her apron with grim determination. ‘I’m right. Oh, Jess…What if Dr Hurd says to take the drip out?’

‘He’ll do no such thing,’ Jessie promised, but she wasn’t all that sure. Lionel Hurd had an ego the size of a house…and Niall Mountmarche had just marched straight over it.

And Niall didn’t appear the sort of man to wave peace flags either.

Jessie walked out into the corridor and carefully closed the door behind her-to find the two men still there.

Lionel Hurd was rigid with anger. His florid complexion was almost beet-red and the hands by his side were clenched into fists. As Jess emerged he wheeled to face her and directed his anger straight at her.

‘How dare you, girl?’ he snapped. ‘How dare you…?’

‘How dare I what?’ Jess asked, her eyes moving past him to Niall.

Niall didn’t comment. He stood, a dark, enigmatic stranger. His hands were in the pockets of his riding jodhpurs as he waited.

As if he was waiting with benign interest to see what would happen.

He’d lit a fuse. Now he was waiting for an explosion.

It came.

Lionel Hurd had obviously not been able to berate Niall as he would have liked. Someone claiming to be another doctor…One he didn’t know…

He’d be unsure of his ground.

Jess, though…An insignificant girl vet…

‘How dare you drag someone in to see my patient without my permission?’ he remonstrated. ‘You have no right. How many times do I have to tell you your place is on the other side of the building, Jessica Harvey, and neither you nor the animals you treat are to step over the boundary? The island board of management will hear of this. I’ll have you evicted from this building.’

‘It’s a privately owned building,’ Jess said mildly. ‘You can’t.’

‘Not even with the Health Commission behind me?’ Lionel glared at her with something akin to hatred. ‘If they hear…’

‘If they hear anything about Dr Harvey’s interference then they’ll hear you’ve treated one of the locals with what amounts to criminal negligence,’ Niall interceded. Niall’s voice was carefully controlled but Jess had the impression of disgust, well contained.

‘I have not…’

‘You’ve treated a diabetic suffering from cellulitis with oral antibiotic for over a week with no noticeable improvement and without changing the antibiotic to an intravenous line. One.’ Niall touched a finger on one hand. He lifted the next finger.

‘Two, as far as I’ve seen you’ve done no blood-sugar tests in the entire time he’s been in hospital. No check for ketones in his urine or electrolytes done. Three and four. And he’s been vomiting for six hours with you refusing to see him. Five. Nail in the coffin, Dr Hurd. Wouldn’t you say? If I were you I’d keep my tail nicely between my legs and not make any complaints to anyone.’

‘Who the hell are you?’ Lionel blustered. ‘Who the hell are you to question my treatment?’

‘I’m a qualified medico, believe it or not,’ Niall said wearily. ‘And I don’t want to be involved. Not one bit. You left me with no choice.’

‘Qualified…?’ Lionel stared at him belligerently. ‘From where?’

Niall’s eyes suddenly narrowed. ‘London University,’ he said slowly. ‘And you?’

‘I don’t have to tell you…’

‘And you?’ Niall snapped the demand in the tone of someone who was brooking no argument and Lionel’s colour rose even further.

‘Melbourne,’ he spat. ‘Not that it makes any difference. Whoever you are, I want you to get the hell out of my hospital. Now. You’re not welcome here. Wherever you trained you should know it’s unethical to interfere with a patient without their own doctor’s consent. So clear off. And take your girlfriend with you.’ He cast such a look of sneering dislike at Jessie that she flushed.

‘I’m going,’ Niall said evenly. He held out a peremptory hand to Jess, signalling her to silence. ‘But there’s two things you should know, Dr Hurd. One is that I intend to take a look at your credentials. A long look. The second is that if Frank Reid dies then I’ll personally make every effort to have you struck off every medical registry in the known world. And I’ll take personal pleasure doing it.

‘So if I were you I wouldn’t interfere with the treatment I’ve instigated. If I were you I’d be very sure my instructions are followed to the letter.’

And Niall turned and walked out of the hospital entrance, pulling Jessie along with him.

They didn’t talk until they were outside and even then there was a good two minutes’ silence before Niall spoke. He stood in the sun, taking long deep breaths and staring out at the distant sea.

In the end it was Jess who broke the silence.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said tentatively, ‘to drag you into that…It wasn’t fair.’

‘It wasn’t,’ Niall agreed and the anger that Jess hadn’t heard when he’d been talking to Lionel was all there in his voice. ‘How on earth did the island board ever employ such an incompetent oaf?’

‘I told you,’ Jess said, trying to keep her voice light. ‘We were desperate.’

‘You realise he’ll kill someone?’

‘Maybe he won’t,’ Jess said unhappily. ‘Maybe this will give him a fright. If it’s just laziness…’

‘I wish I could think this is just laziness,’ Niall growled. ‘But it should be instinct to order blood sugars on diabetic patients.’ He glanced at his watch and swore. ‘Jess, I have to go.’

Strangely, there was a note of reluctance in his voice as if he understood the pressures building up on her and really didn’t want to leave.

And Jess didn’t want him to leave, either. To go across to her half of the building and try to block out what Lionel Hurd was doing to her friend…

To just have to hope that the man really was competent…

‘Paige is waiting,’ Niall said roughly. He looked from Jess to the sea beyond and then back again. His gaze almost seemed to be magnetised to the slim young vet.

Something was growing between them. Something intangible that Jess didn’t want to explore.

The Ogre of Barega…

It would be better if he went right back to being an ogre. Easier for everyone…

Safer…