Under a Siena Sun (Escape to Tuscany #1) - T.A. Williams Page 0,33
for the growing attraction she felt for this man. Whatever it was, she told herself it was just as well he was an out-patient so she wouldn’t see him too often. Apart from being far too rich and privileged, he was a patient and she a doctor and that was that. Nevertheless, as his attitude towards her showed signs of mellowing, she had to accept that she rather liked this troubled man.
Chapter 10
The next weeks passed quickly and she found herself dealing with a fascinating mix of cases and, refreshingly, not a single one of them involved snakebites, parasites, or bullet or machete wounds.
She did her best to readjust to the luxurious surroundings, the magnificent state-of-the-art equipment and the many wealthy patients, but it still felt surreal to her. The fact that her whole operating theatre back in Mabenta, where she had carried out often life-saving surgery, would have fitted inside just one of the guest bedrooms was hard to believe and she often found herself reflecting upon the injustice of a world where money was in the hands of the very few.
She was relieved to find that most of her patients were, as her former boss at MSF had said, just normal people who needed her help, and she found herself warming to most of them, irrespective of the fact that they chose to pay for private treatment. From time to time she came across less salubrious characters who ranged from a South American dictator to a disgraced financier, but they were the exception to the rule. Apart from the patients, she enjoyed bonding with other members of staff, from the world-renowned Egyptian head of orthopaedic surgery – who it transpired had also spent several years working in Africa – to Ahmed, the Syrian night porter that she often met at the end of his shift as she arrived to start work in the early morning. So, all in all she began to settle in and did her best to reassure her conscience that she was doing the right thing.
Her personal life also settled down. She quickly formed a happy working relationship with Bruno, though Virginia herself was maybe a bit on the cool side. Lucy soon worked out that she was a bit snappy and a bit distant towards everybody for some reason. As for Charles, she saw him regularly and even had coffee with him on a few occasions. She still wasn’t even close to forgiving him, but he behaved impeccably as far as she was concerned and she felt sure they would be able to carry on as work colleagues without it feeling too weird. Certainly, her desire to strangle him had diminished by now and she slowly began to settle into a routine, increasingly confident that he wasn’t going to make her position here awkward.
As the days went by, she got to know many of the patients well. Some were only in for a day or two, while others were there long-term and some were regular outpatients like David Lorenzo. As far as the tennis player was concerned, she settled down one afternoon to review his notes and check out the results of his numerous scans. Sadly, she found that she had to concur with the orthopaedic surgeon’s verdict that recovery – at least to the sort of stress levels of a professional athlete – was highly unlikely. Not having any good news to give him and wary that her feelings towards him might risk straying towards the unprofessional, she decided it might be better to steer clear of him, but she hoped his regular physio sessions would gradually manage to bring a smile back to his face. She noted that he was also receiving counselling from Franz and felt sure that would help.
Dr Franz Berlin, the resident psychiatrist, wasn’t your stereotypical psychiatrist. He looked as different from Sigmund Freud as a person could get. He was probably little older than Lucy herself; tall, athletic and good-looking, with piercing blue eyes and blond hair. In spite of his name, it turned out he was Italian. He told her he came from the far north-east of the country, high up in the Alps, where people still spoke German as a first language alongside Italian. He smiled a lot and was very approachable, and Lucy often sat down and chatted with him when she saw him. Also, unlike many psychiatrists she had known, he was remarkably sane.