Unknown by Unknown Page A

There was a fresh pack of underwear, still in the Cellophane wrapper, and she guessed his cousin must have left this behind, too, after her shopping spree. She would buy replacements for her.
    Mark was in the kitchen when she went back downstairs. It was a large, square room, with every modern appliance you could wish for and an array of fitted cupboards and work surfaces. It was all smooth lines and tiled surfaces, with lovely touches in the decorative corner units and ornately carved shelving nooks.
    He looked at her and smiled. 'Do you feel better for that?' He checked her over. 'The jeans aren't a bad fit, are they? My shirt might be a bit oversized, but it looks great on you.'
    She made a wry face. 'I feel much more human now, thanks.' He didn't look bad himself. He had changed into chinos and a casual shirt, and he looked fresh and clean and full of energy once more. How did he manage it when these were the early hours of the morning? She was a wreck. She might look all right on the outside, but her nerves had been shattered after what she had gone through.
    She put her wet clothes down on a corner of the work surface. 'Do you have a plastic bag that I could put these in? I think I'll be throwing them away, but a bag will keep them from making more of a mess till I get them home.'
    'Of course.' He reached for a bag from a cupboard and said, 'I've made you some hot soup. Come and sit down and drink it. It will help to keep the warmth in.' He waved a hand to the table and pushed a mug forward.
    'Thanks.'
    He placed the clothes in a bag while she seated herself at the island bar in the middle of the kitchen and sipped at the hot liquid. 'It was a shame about your lovely dress,' he commented, 'but I can't help thinking that it was worth it.' He smiled, looking into her eyes. 'I'm glad that we went to the bridge. I don't like to think what would have happened if we'd gone another way.'
    She nodded. 'So am I.' She was sad about her beautiful dress, but there was no doubt that it was beyond redemption.
    He came over to her. 'You were very brave out there. You must have been terrified but you didn't give up and you went on trying to find the little girl. You saved her. Doesn't that make you feel good about yourself?'
    She made a face. 'I'm glad that she's safe, but I'm not sure that I feel any different about myself. I wasn't able to help my sister, or save Ryan. He's showing no signs of recovery. He's helpless. If anything, though, it's made me realise that I need to be back at work. At least when I'm busy there are moments when I'm not thinking about what happened to them.'
    'The child is alive because of you. You should think about that.'
    She put her mug down on the table and he came and stood behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders. It was a warm, comforting feeling to have him close by, and she savoured the moment, appreciating the gentle touch of his hands.
    She said quietly, 'Maybe. I'm glad that I was there for her at the right time, but really my efforts weren't any greater than yours. After all, you saved her mother, didn't you?'
    He studied her for a moment. 'Why is it so difficult for you to feel positive about what you do? You're the same at work. You have absolutely no confidence in yourself, have you?'
    She frowned. How did he know that? All this time she had believed she had managed to hide her doubts from him and put on a reasonably good front, and yet he must have known she had misgivings all along.
    She said slowly, 'I've never been sure that I was cut out for emergency medicine. I do my best, but I'm always afraid that I'll make a mistake. In our job, we can't afford to make errors of judgement, can we?'
    'What makes you think that you're any different from anyone else? We all make mistakes at some time or other. It's human nature to be fallible.'
    His hands caressed her shoulders, gently massaging them as though he would ease the tension from her, and she wondered if he knew what effect he was having