Page 28 of Welcome to the Cornish Country Hospital

‘Yes, but I’m seventy on my next birthday.’ Richard smiled again, looking completely different to the man who’d appeared so bitter and angry when Danni had spoken to him at the farm. Maybe hearing from Connie had changed how he felt about everything. She needed to find a way of asking him about the letter, without making it obvious she knew what it said.

‘Did you get a chance to read the letter I brought you?’ The muscles around Danni’s spine felt as if they’d been pulled tighter. She was far more invested in the outcome than she ought to be, but she cared about Connie, and she couldn’t pretend that she didn’t want things to work out for Charlie too.

‘They put me in this bloody nightie for the scan.’ Richard pulled at the material of the hospital gown he was wearing. ‘I shoved the letter in the pocket of my jacket when you gave it to me in the ambulance, and I don’t know where they’ve taken my clothes.’

‘I’ll track them down for you.’ Danni bit her lip. Richard had no idea about the contents of the letter and she still couldn’t tell him.

‘Who was it from? It must be important if they sent you to hand deliver it.’ Richard frowned and a deep crease appeared above the bridge of his nose. ‘I had some blood tests at the GP’s a while back. I thought it must all be okay when I didn’t hear, but it’s bad news, isn’t it? That’s why I collapsed.’

‘I came in to tell you that your scans are all clear. We’re going to run some more tests to rule anything else out, but the chances are the collapse was down to high blood pressure and you can be given some medication to control that. You might need to look at your lifestyle, maybe try to reduce your stress levels, but I don’t think it’s anything serious, and the letter wasn’t about anything medical.’ He’d asked her straight out, so she owed him at least a partial explanation. ‘Another patient asked me to deliver it to you. An old friend of yours… Connie.’

‘Connie? My Connie? Is she here?’ Richard was already trying to get out of the bed and Danni put a hand on his shoulder. The last thing she wanted was him rushing up to find Connie, before he’d had the chance to read the letter, especially with his blood pressure as high as it was.

‘She’s on another ward, but she’s okay.’ Danni did her best to adopt a soothing tone. ‘You’ll be able to go and see her once we get your blood pressure under control, but for now you need to rest.’

‘I can’t believe she’s written to me after all these years.’ Richard looked as though he’d seen a ghost. And in a way, Danni supposed that he had. ‘What’s she even doing here? Last I heard she was in Yorkshire. I wrote to her so many times and she never replied.’

‘From what I understand she was coming down to try and see you, but then she was involved in an accident and ended up here.’ Danni’s scalp prickled. That was the problem with a partial explanation: it was so easy to get in too deep. And Richard needed to hear the truth from Connie, not from her. ‘I don’t know what the letter says, or why she wanted to see you. I’m sure it’ll explain why she’s here now, and what she wanted to say. I’ll make sure I find out where it is, and then you can go up and see Connie on the ward, if that’s what you both want.’

‘Is she really going to be okay? You promise?’ Richard’s face was etched with worry.

‘I promise.’

‘I still can’t get over the fact that she’s here, after all this time, and that she wants to see me. It’s all I’ve wanted for the best part of forty years.’ He shook his head. ‘Do you mind me telling you all this? I know you must be busy.’

‘Of course I don’t mind, but don’t feel like you have to explain anything if you don’t want to.’ Danni had lost count of the number of times a patient had revealed their innermost thoughts or shared their life story with her. Sometimes it was because they’d suddenly become aware of their own mortality, sometimes it was because of the drugs they’d been given, but more often than not it happened when the patient didn’t have anyone close to them to talk to. And she had a feeling that might be the case for Richard.

‘When I started writing to Connie after she left Cornwall, I promised that I’d stop at twenty letters and I did, but I never stopped loving her. My wife knew it too, I’m sure, so I can hardly blame her for what happened.’

‘Your wife?’ Danni knew she shouldn’t be asking more questions. It was Connie who Richard needed to open up to, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.

‘Fiona. We were engaged when I met Connie. It was what our parents wanted.’ So, he had married Fiona after all. ‘When Connie left, I told Fiona time and again that she could do better than me, but she was devoted to her parents. I think she’d have walked over hot coals if they’d asked her to. When Connie ignored all my letters, I felt as if something inside of me had died, but it made it easier to say yes to marrying Fiona.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Danni didn’t know what else to say, but she could see the pain in Richard’s eyes. So many wasted years for him, Connie and Fiona, because doing the right thing by others had seemed more important than how they felt.

‘I’m sorry too and I’m glad Fiona has found someone she really loves.’ Richard sighed. ‘She’s been married to Terry for ten years now, and I even gave her away at their wedding. Both sets of our parents were gone by then, and I think that’s why she felt free to choose what she really wanted. No one deserves what I put Fiona through and I should have had the courage to spare her that.’

‘It’s not always that easy.’ Danni shivered, despite the warmth. She hated the thought that Esther could end up like Fiona, in even the tiniest way, with a part of Lucas always loving someone else. She deserved so much more than that.

‘It’s as easy or as difficult as you make it.’ Richard gave her a level look. ‘But honesty is always the best policy in the long run. I just never thought I’d get the chance to see Connie again and to be honest the thought of it is terrifying.’

‘Maybe it’ll be easier once you’ve read the letter. Sometimes when there’s such a lot to say, it’s easier to write it down.’

‘What if she doesn’t like what she sees? I’m not in my thirties any more.’

‘Neither is she, and she won’t expect you to look exactly the same as you used to.’

‘But she will have built up an idea in her head of what seeing me again will be like. In the same way that I’ve imagined meeting her again hundreds of times. The reality is going to be different, and I don’t want to disappoint her. Do you think some things are better left to the imagination?’

‘I don’t know, but—’

‘Sorry to interrupt, Dr Carter.’ Lucas’s trick of appearing from nowhere seemed to be becoming a habit. ‘But I need to have a quick word with you about a patient I’ve just seen.’

‘Okay.’ There was an urgency to his tone, but at least she had an excuse not to answer Richard, before she really did say too much. Turning towards the older man, she smiled. ‘After I’ve had a chat with my colleague, I’ll see what I can do about tracking down your personal effects. And one of the other doctors will be along with you for a chat about the rest of the tests. I’ll make sure Connie knows you’re here too and, when you’re ready, you can go and see her on the ward.’

‘Thank you, Doctor.’ Richard reached out and touched her hand. ‘For everything.’

‘It was nothing at all.’ Breathing out, Danni followed Lucas out of the cubicle and down the corridor towards the consultant’s office.

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