‘I’ve had better days,’ Miles muttered, clutching his chest.

‘I’ll bet you have.’ Harry quickly rolled up his friend’s shirtsleeve and swabbed his arm then slid the needle into his vein. ‘There. That should ease the pain in a moment or two so let’s take a look at you.’

He took hold of Miles’s wrist and checked his pulse. It was a little fast but strong enough, and he smiled encouragingly at him. ‘Well, the old ticker’s still working away, you’ll be pleased to hear.’

‘Nice to know I’m not dead yet,’ Miles replied with a brave stab at humour.

‘Oh, there’s plenty of life in the old dog yet,’ Harry said airily, hoping he wasn’t tempting fate.

He carried on with his examination, looking for all the usual signs he would expect to find in a case of myocardial infarction, things like shortness of breath, sweating and an absence of colour in the skin. Miles was exhibiting all of those symptoms, worryingly enough, so Harry was relieved when Grace appeared to tell him the ambulance was on its way.

‘Good. Hospital’s the best place for you,’ he declared as Grace knelt down beside them. She lent forward to loosen the collar of Miles’s shirt and Harry sucked in his breath when he felt a stab of awareness hit him squarely in the gut as her shoulder brushed against his chest.

He hastily stood up. The last thing he needed was for his mind to start playing those tricks again. He didn’t fancy Grace any more than she fancied him. The pattern of their relationship had been set years ago and this definitely wasn’t the time to start altering it. He adopted a deliberately neutral expression when she glanced up because he didn’t intend to make the mistake of handing her any ammunition to use against him in the future.

‘The ambulance should be here soon but I’m worried they might not be able to find us,’ she explained anxiously. ‘It’s really dark at this end of the village and I’d hate them to miss the turning and drive straight past.’

‘I’ll go and wait by the gates so I can flag them down,’ Harry offered, relieved to have something to do. ‘You stay here and look after Miles.’

‘Thanks, Harry. That would be a real help. I appreciate it.’

It was the first time Harry could remember her ever speaking to him with any warmth in her voice. As he left the kitchen, he found himself marvelling at the effect it’d had. He wanted to leap up and punch the air as though he’d scored a major victory, although he had no idea why. Grace had merely treated him on a par with everyone else. She’d spoken to him as a normal human being instead of as her worst enemy. Why that should be a cause for celebration, he couldn’t imagine.

He left the surgery and headed down the drive. It was a bitterly cold night and his overcoat was still hanging on the back of the consulting-room door, but he never noticed the discomfort. His head seemed to be whirling, thoughts spinning around inside it like the bits of coloured glass whizzing about inside that kaleidoscope he’d had as a kid. One thought suddenly caught and took shape.

Sparring with Grace had been a lot of fun, but what would it be like if they could talk to each other and discover all the things they had in common?

The idea dissolved before he could attempt to deal with it and another took its place.

And if they did achieve a degree of harmony, then wouldn’t it be a shame to stop there? After all, Grace was a beautiful woman and he’d never denied that, so wouldn’t it be great if they could establish a more intimate relationship…

The wail of a siren came as a blessing in more ways than one. As he flagged down the ambulance, Harry felt like a condemned man must feel on receiving a last-minute pardon. He had no idea what was prompting all these crazy thoughts but one thing was certain: he and Grace would never have that kind of a relationship.

‘WHY doesn’t someone come and tell us what’s happening?’

‘These things take time, Penny, so try not to worry. They’ll let us know how Miles is just as soon as they can.’

Grace put a comforting arm around Penny’s shoulders but the long wait was taking its toll on her, too. She glanced at her watch and sighed when she realised that over an hour had passed since Miles had been admitted to the emergency department of their local hospital. She’d travelled in the ambulance with him while Harry had gone to fetch Penny. He’d seemed to take it for granted that he would stay with them, and Grace had to admit that she’d been glad of his support. Harry seemed to have the knack of knowing the right thing to say to calm Penny down so now she glanced at him and raised her brows.

‘Grace is right, sweetheart. You must try not to worry.’ Harry obviously took the hint because he got up and came over to them. ‘You know how long it takes to get a heart tracing and do all the bloods and everything else.’

‘I know, and I’m sorry, but it’s just so hard to sit here when I don’t even know if Miles…If he’s…he’s….’ Penny stopped and gulped, unable to give voice to her very worst fears.

‘If anything awful had happened to Miles, they’d have come and told you.’ Harry crouched down and took hold of Penny’s hands. ‘You remember the drill, don’t you? You should do because you were an A and E nurse for long enough. You inform the relatives immediately if it’s bad news. It’s one of the unwritten rules.’