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depression. I don’t blame you.’ She sighed and then hesitated. ‘I’ve moved on, Richard. I have a fulfilling life that doesn’t involvea husband or children. Our marriage ended years ago and now it’s time to formalise our separation.’
    He cleared his throat but couldn’t bring himself to say what he was thinking—he didn’t deserve to be forgiven and it had been fanciful to even contemplate that she would give him another chance. Even if he hadn’t gone away he had a feeling their paths would have diverged.
    Why did he feel so gut-wrenchingly disappointed?
    ‘I suppose so,’ he finally said. ‘Do you want me to get the wheels turning? I should have time to contact my lawyer some time in the next week.’
    He couldn’t go on. It all seemed so final, but Joanna was right. Why cling to the memory of something, no matter how beautiful, that could never be regained? They were different people from the young, naive nursing student and the indestructible, ambitious doctor who’d fallen in love more than a decade ago. Joanna had told him what he needed to know.
    ‘That’s fine by me. Let me know what I have to do.’ She glanced at her watch, took a hurried sip of her drink and then stood up to leave. ‘I haveto go. I’ve got less than five minutes to get back to the ward and take over from Lynne.’
    She paused a moment, as if waiting for his response, but looked anxious to leave. He needed a few moments to reprogramme his thoughts into work mode, though.
    ‘Yes, of course you must go back. I have an appointment with someone called Jodie to discuss accommodation, so I might see you later, back on the ward.’
    She nodded, then leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek, as if he was one of her charges to whom she’d had to impart particularly bad news.
    At that moment he knew the thread he’d been clinging to in the hope they might get together again was finally broken. She’d stopped loving him long ago, and she was right. He needed to get on with his life. They both did. So why did it hurt so much?

CHAPTER THREE
    R ICHARD wasn’t sure what Jodie Francis’s job description was, but he was grateful she’d contacted him the previous day to enquire if he needed assistance to find accommodation. He’d forgotten about the block of half a dozen terraces tucked away two streets from the hospital and used as temporary lodgings for ‘homeless’ employees. In the past they’d been leased to visiting, top-level professionals who had temporary appointments such as post-graduate fellowships or academic posts. At the moment he was living in a holiday apartment, about half an hour’s drive from Lady Lawler, and he hadn’t thought far enough ahead to consider more permanent housing. He was eager to find out what Jodie had to offer.
    He knocked on the door of a small office in the administration wing.
    ‘Come in,’ the owner of the youthful voice sang out.
    By the time he’d opened the door she was outof her seat and headed in his direction with her hand extended in greeting.
    ‘Hello, I’m Jodie, and you must be Dr Howell.’
    The woman, who Richard estimated to be in her late twenties, grasped his hand and beamed.
    ‘That’s right. You phoned and left a message on the ward yesterday.’
    He waited for her to sit down before settling in the austere, grey-upholstered chair opposite her desk.
    She thumbed through a folder of papers and extracted a single page, which she placed on the top of the pile. ‘I understand you’ve been back in Western Australia for less than a week and, er…’ It was the first time the confident young lady had shown any sign of hesitation and Richard second-guessed what she was trying to say.
    ‘You assumed, since I’d been away for so long, I might be looking for somewhere to stay?’
    ‘Exactly.’ She paused again. ‘And am I right to assume…um…that you’re on your own?’
    ‘Yes.’
    His heart rate quickened as a painful memory of a bleak conversation