The Surgeon's Convenient Fiancée (Medical Romance) Read Online Free PDF

roused.
    ‘You do that, if it pleases you,’ she said. ‘I was hired by Mrs McGregor, so I don’t think you are actually in a position to fire me. I’ve also decided to seek work as a nurse in a hospital, which is what I’m trained for. I’ll still be a mother to the children, as I am now, but not with all the other work thrown in. It’s time for me to go back to my real profession.’
    It was as though she were still split into two people and the protective half was speaking for her, sounding firm, as though her mind had really been made up. It was amazing how her spirits lifted then, bringing such a rush of relief that she could almost have laughed aloud at the comic expression of fury on Jerry’s face.
    ‘Come on, kids,’ she said to Mungo and Fleur. ‘Please, help me to put the groceries away.’ The three of them marched into the kitchen, with the children’s stepfathercoming after them. Quickly, they began to put things away.
    Jerry moved close to Deirdre and with two fingers extended used them to push her shoulder, push her back against a wall.
    ‘You little bitch,’ he said. ‘You’ve got a good job here and a home, and you can’t do a bit of cooking for me.’
    ‘I have a home of my own,’ she said, referring to her parents’ modest bungalow, which was also her permanent home, that she was taking care of while they were out of the country. Not for the first time she was overwhelmingly grateful that she had it. ‘I also have a profession that I can return to. I’ve no intention of giving up the children. I’m sure that Mrs McGregor and I can come to some arrangement that is to our mutual benefit.’ It was as though her mind had made itself up, without any obvious conscious input. What a relief that all this was coming out, even though her heart was beating fast in the knowledge that she might have to take flight. ‘And don’t touch me, don’t threaten me.’
    Mungo and Fleur moved closer to her, as though both to seek protection and to offer it.
    ‘Don’t talk to me like that,’ he shouted at her, ‘as though I don’t figure in the equation. I have a say about who comes into this house. I can get another nanny, maybe someone who would be only too happy to marry me, have this house as a home, be more grateful than you are.’
    ‘That was never part of the arrangement where I was concerned,’ Deirdre said calmly, through the familiar sick fear. It was possible that if he married, he could fight the grandmother for custody of the children. After all, she was elderly, did not have the energy to take on the children herself, to move them into her own home, which was why she had hired a nanny in the first place. Deirdre did not doubt that Fiona McGregor would do so if the threat became real. First thing in the morning she would call her and ask to talk with her about her desire to return to nursing.
    Again, Jerry stabbed at her with his fingers, to emphasize each word. ‘Don’t think that you’re indispensable, Miss High-and-Mighty. People like you are two a penny.’
    ‘I think not,’ she said, with admirable dignity. ‘In fact, it’s the other way round. Peoplelike me are rare. It’s not trendy to do what I’m doing, not cool, far from the limelight.’
    ‘No, they’re not!’ Fleur chipped in, her thin face pale. ‘She’s special. We want Dee with us.’
    ‘And don’t you threaten her,’ Mungo said, gaining courage from his sister. ‘I’ll talk to the social worker at school and tell her that you’ve been verbally abusive, that you pushed Dee. That won’t go down very well with the authorities. We’re old enough to have a say about who we live with, who our legal guardians are.’
    ‘You two get upstairs and get on with your homework!’ Jerry shouted at them, pointing out to the staircase in the hall.
    ‘We’re not going anywhere until we know that Dee’s all right,’ Mungo said, his voice quavering a little, and Deirdre felt a rush of love for both the