Under a Siena Sun (Escape to Tuscany #1) - T.A. Williams Page 0,7
she was surprised to find she no longer saw him in a romantic light.
He was also evidently no fool. She felt sure that only the best doctors would be employed at the sort of upmarket private hospital where he was working. As their conversation proceeded, she learned more about his work and it was clear that some very important – and demanding – people passed through that establishment, although by the end she was no closer to finding out the identity of any of the famous patients. She respected his discretion and didn’t press him, but one thing was for sure: there was clearly a social and financial abyss between his patients and the ones she had treated in Mabenta.
Once again she thought with affection about some of the lovely people she had worked with and looked after over there and wondered what they would have made of the luxurious surroundings of a private hospital in Tuscany. And once again she also wondered how they were faring without her little clinic to look after them and with so many awful things happening around them. It soon became clear that this was a subject that was on Bruno’s mind, too.
‘And the place where you were working, Lucy, what’s happened to it since you had to be airlifted out?’
She had been corresponding regularly by email with Geneviève and Nicole since coming back to Europe and had heard the news only this morning. Nicole, now happily engaged to be married to her beloved François as predicted, had directed her attention to a recent internal MSF bulletin. This announced that the decision had been taken, with regret, to abandon the Mabenta clinic indefinitely as serious conflict in what was often referred to as Africa’s World War was still raging through the area. She did her best to explain.
‘It’s gone, at least for the time being. Although we don’t hear much about it here in Europe, there’s been a war going on in Africa for years now and it shows no signs of stopping. The government of the DRC – you probably know that’s the Congo – is supported by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, while the rebels are backed by Uganda and Rwanda. The Congo’s rich in all manner of natural resources from diamonds to rare metals, so there are lots of different foreign interests jockeying for position there as well – like the Chinese for example – which muddies the waters further. That whole area of North Kivu – that’s where I was working – is a war zone and it’s just too dangerous to go back there.’ She sighed. ‘So there’s nobody there to look after the local people any more. It’s tragic.’
‘And would you like to go back?’
Lucy paused for thought. ‘For the sake of the locals, yes. I met some wonderful people there – patients and staff – but I just don’t think I can stomach the thought of going back until it’s safe again. I saw some horrific injuries over there and they’re still fresh in my memory. I still get bad dreams, even now after coming over here to Tuscany. I’m sure I’ll get over it all in time, but I had a really close call.’
Bruno reached over and laid his hand on top of hers for a few moments. ‘Experiences like that are enough to give anyone bad dreams. You’re far braver than I am. Far braver than most people. Everybody must be immensely proud of you.’
She gave him a little smile. ‘I was only doing my job. I just hope things calm down soon, or an awful lot more people are going to die over there.’
‘And what sort of cases were you dealing with?’ His professional curiosity was evident in his tone.
‘I trained as a surgeon back in London, and in Africa I found myself dealing with everything from gunshot and machete wounds to childbirth. Thank God I didn’t come across any cases of Ebola – and there was an outbreak only a few hundred kilometres from us – but I’ve dealt with most everything else. I bet you don’t have to treat many cases of snakebite here in Tuscany. I had one recently where the patient’s friends helpfully brought the snake in with him so I would know which vaccine to use. Unfortunately they only stunned it and the damn thing woke up and slithered away between my feet while I had the patient on the operating table.’