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overbearing as he dealt with her query. One good thing though, if he was going to London tonight—a two-hour drive by her calculations—he wouldn’t want to hang around after five. Though how he could go on about her father disapproving of the way she was living, she had no idea. It was obvious to her from his telephone conversation that he wasn’t making the two-hour drive in order to play Ludo when he got to whoever was at the other end.
    He made short work of her query and handed the sheet of paper back to her. ‘If you have any other queries, leave them until tomorrow—I don’t want to be disturbed for the next hour,’ he told her bluntly, without so much as looking at her. He didn’t wait for her to answer, but reached for the papers in front of him, the gesture dismissal in itself.
    Gerry needed all her control to get out of his office without hitting him. She didn’t know why she should feel so violent towards him, but put it down to wounded pride that he could so summarily dismiss her as if she was of no account.
    She checked the clock on the wall when she reached her desk. Four-fifteen. He said he didn’t want to be disturbed for the next hour. Well, he wouldn’t be. She had promised Teddy she would be home by five-fifteen and she fully intended to keep her promise.
    At five minutes to five she was presented with a problem. The letters she had typed for him were of a very confidential nature. Whatever her personal feelings for him were, she couldn’t possibly leave the letters lying waiting on her desk for him to sign, anybody could come in and see them. Her mind made up, she tidied her desk, then at one minute to five, with her handbag hanging over her arm, she collected the letters she had typed neatly together and without knocking entered his room.
    He was deeply immersed in some figures before him and didn’t look up. That suited her very well. Without again looking at him, she saw a cleared patch on his desk and placed the letters there to await his attention. Then as quietly as she had come in, she went out.
    She was driving her car away from its parking space before she wondered how long it would be before he lifted his head and saw the correspondence she had left—she had a feeling he had been so deep in his work he didn’t even know she had been in.
    Both the babies were crying when she reached home. It was no uncommon happening for one to cry in sympathy with the other and Gerry entered the cottage wondering which one was the wounded soldier. Teddy too didn’t seem very far from tears.
    ‘Told you I’d make it for five-fifteen, didn’t I?’ Gerry said, forcing a note of calm into the pandemonium that reigned and taking one of the twins from Teddy so they had one each. She knew Teddy was struggling against tears and knew, heartless though it might seem to her, she couldn’t show her the sympathy she was feeling or else there would be the four of them in tears.
    ‘Another day like today and I'm sure I’ll go bonkers,’ Teddy said woefully. ‘I’m not sure I’m not half way there already.’
    ‘Now, Theodora,’ Gerry used Teddy’s given name, and tried a scoffing laugh at the same time, ‘you’re no more bonkers than I am,’ she said bracingly while shushing the baby in her arms. 'You’re just a wee bit run down, I expect.’ Now seemed just the right moment to mention a visit to the doctor. ‘We’ve got time—why don’t we nip down and see Dr Bidley? He’ll probably prescribe a tonic and you’ll feel better in no time.’
    It gave her some indication of how Teddy was feeling to hear her say, ‘Do you think that’s all I need?’
    ‘I’m positive.’ Gerry held her breath. Teddy had always shunned having a doctor take a look at her—this was a delicate moment. She couldn't force her sister to see a doctor, but in her view it was important she see Dr Bidley. ‘It wouldn’t take us five minutes in the car and we could ask him to check on Sarah’s teething—I