The Shy Nurse's Christmas Wish. Abigail Gordon

he agreed, ‘and you take care too. I’m expecting to be discharged in a week or so.’

      As he drove along the promenade Daniel was half expecting to see Darcey Howard, as on other occasions, somewhere along the way, but not this time, and as he ordered a meal in his chosen restaurant the memory surfaced of how his second-in-command Brendan Stokes had been trying to chat her up when they’d arrived at the children’s ward that morning and how her lack of response had made him hide a smile.

      But he was far from relaxed about the new ward sister’s seeming lack of family and friends. Was the romance she’d mentioned still off? Was that why she sometimes seemed remote? he wondered, and had to remind himself that it was absolutely nothing to do with him. He had his own life sorted and wasn’t looking for any side turnings.

      * * *

      The grip of winter was taking hold as October made way for November and Darcey was not looking forward to Christmas. Alexander had been in touch briefly to say that they were having a great time so far with no mention of being home for Christmas or the New Year.

      When he asked what plans she had made for the festive season she was vague, not wanting to tell him that she hadn’t got any and that being so had volunteered along with others to work over Christmas and the New Year to give staff with families time with their loved ones.

      * * *

      She was surprised when one Friday morning in early November, Daniel took her to one side when he had finished his rounds and said with a smile, ‘The boat is now seaworthy again. Some of the club members with me in charge are taking it for a sail down the coast some time over Christmas, and remembering your comment about your brother’s interest in that sort of thing I wondered if you would like to come with us instead as he isn’t around to join us.

      ‘Some of the young ones seem to be at a loose end on Boxing Day so I thought maybe to go sailing then if the weather is suitable. That is if you’re free, of course, as I’m aware that Christmas is a busy time for most people.’

      Darcey could feel her colour rising. The last thing she wanted was to have to explain to him that she was so lonely that she’d volunteered to work all over Christmas. So instead she told him truthfully that she would be otherwise engaged elsewhere.

      ‘Thank you for asking me,’ she said weakly. ‘It was a very kind thought, but I won’t be free any time over Christmas. I’m fully booked, I’m afraid.’

      She saw surprise in his expression and thought that she could at least have explained why she wouldn’t be available, but there was no way she wanted anyone to know how alone she was, least of all him.

      Daniel Osbourne had probably never had anyone of her sex not want to be with him, though it hadn’t exactly been for a date, she reminded herself. The other two nurses she’d been with that night had described him as a loner. There would have been a boat full of teenagers to keep them apart if she’d accepted the offer.

      ‘That’s fine, then, if you aren’t going to be alone,’ he said levelly, and went on his way.

      When he’d gone Darcey could have wept with shame at the way she’d thrown his concern back in his face, but the fact remained that she just couldn’t have admitted what a miserable thing her life was at the present time, and if Daniel Osbourne was the loner that she’d been told he was, maybe he was also going to be on his own during the festivities, which would make her refusal of his suggestion even more bizarre.

      Though having seen his sister and her children briefly, and in spite of the haste with which she herself had made her exit, she had noted the affection between them that day when they’d called to see him, so it seemed hardly likely.

      * * *

      The day, like any other when she was on duty, was demanding her time, energy and patience, and she put the unexpected conversation they’d just had to the back of her mind until such time as when she would be free to absorb it fully, which was fortunate as at that moment a ten-year-old boy was admitted to the ward in pain and fractious with the osteomyelitis, which was more common in children than adults.

      Daniel had seen Evan Roberts in his clinic and given orders for him to be admitted to the children’s ward and given a course of antibiotics to clear the inflammation, and as Darcey and her staff followed his instructions and comforted Evan, there was an ache inside her at the memory of how she’d been so quick to refuse to sail in the ex-navy whaler that his club practised in.

      Her reply to the effect that she was already going to be occupied on that occasion had been the truth and the reason for it had been understandable as far as she was concerned, having volunteered to work during the most important days of Christmas.

      But would she have made that sort of commitment if she’d known that he was going to want to take her sailing, and what would he say should she tell him that she would love to go with him on some other occasion when she was free as long as the offer wasn’t made out of pity because of her solitary state.

      Daniel had referred to the lifeboat on a few occasions, a bigger and more powerful craft than his club used, as theirs was involved more in the safety of local events, and the thought of it made her keen to know more about the man who had come into her life on a crowded passenger train.

      * * *

      As she was leaving the ward after checking on Evan and having handed his care over to the night staff, Darcey saw Daniel glance unsmilingly in her direction as he went to speak to one of them, leaving her to make her way home with the feeling that it was going to be a miserable evening and if that was what it turned out to be, she had only herself to blame. With that thought in mind she decided to eat out at one of the restaurants on the promenade to delay enduring the gloom of the evening ahead any more than she had to and went to the nearest one, only to discover that it wasn’t a good plan as just as she was about to enjoy the food put before her, Brendan Stokes appeared. Looking down at her upturned face, he said, ‘Hi, Darcey. Do you mind if I join you?’

      Before she could say yes, no or maybe, he was seated opposite and was beckoning to a nearby waitress who had eyes only for a customer who had just presented himself at a table at the other side of the restaurant but had paused to answer his phone, and as Darcey followed the woman’s gaze she stifled a groan.

      Why hadn’t it occurred to her? she thought. It was to be expected that staff from Oceans House who had been working all day would choose the nearest restaurant, as had been the case on the night she’d dined with the two nurses.

      ‘The boss just appeared,’ her unwelcome companion said. ‘He hasn’t had much to say today, but it’s clear that someone has rubbed him up the wrong way.’ As she glanced over again, she saw Daniel abruptly standing and preparing to leave. ‘Look, he’s no sooner arrived than he’s going, which I suspect will turn out to be a lifeboat alert.’

      ‘So tell me about Mr Osbourne’s connection with the lifeboat service,’ she said. ‘How does he come to be part of it?’

      ‘His father was in charge at one time, him and old Ely were the main crew members, and when he died a couple of years back Daniel agreed to fill the gap his passing had left.

      ‘He and Ely are hoping that some day new members of the lifeboat crew will come from their Young Sailors’ Club, but their antics while he’s been away haven’t exactly filled him with confidence.’

      * * *

      As he turned to leave, Daniel glanced across and saw Darcey and Brendan dining cosily together, it seemed, and his jaw tightened. Was his second-in-command the reason for Darcey’s fully booked Christmas, he thought grimly, the womaniser who never missed a trick if an attractive member of the opposite sex was anywhere near? Had the apparent lack of interest she’d shown when Brendan Stokes had eyed her up on his rounds merely been a pretence?

      He had entered the restaurant by another door, but in leaving he passed their table and with a brief nod was gone in answer to the request for his presence on the lifeboat, taking with him the thought that she was the first woman