Nurse Hilary by Peggy Gaddis Read Free Book Online Page A

good weather; on a night like this the danger was doubled.
    She had dinner in the big dining room, watching and listening to the “ guests ” and gradually sorting them out in her mind so that she could attach names to their faces.
    There was one man whom she did not remember having met. He sat not far from her, alone at a small table: an erect, rather gaunt man with a lean, intelligent face and bushy white brows above eyes that were shrewd and knowing. His hair was thick and only slightly sprinkled with gray, and he was immaculately tailored and groomed. And yet Hilary had the feeling that he was not at ease here. He looked oddly forlorn and alone, and when the waitress brought her dessert, she asked about him.
    “ That ’ s Mr. Hodding, Mr. Jason Hodding, ” answered the waitress softly. “ He ’ s a mighty fine man. But he don ’ t mingle with the others much. Stays in his room most of the time. Annie—that ’ s the ward maid that cleans his room—says she has to ask him sometimes will he go sit in the club room so ’ s she can get her work done. ”
    Hilary smiled her thanks, and the waitress went away. Suddenly, on an impulse, Hilary rose and crossed to the table where the man sat alone, above his coffee, savoring an expensive cigar. He looked at her, startled out of his thoughts as she spoke, and stood up, looking puzzled.
    “ Mr. Hodding, I don ’ t think we ’ ve met, ” she said pleasantly. “ I ’ m the new nurse, Hilary Westbrook. ”
    “ I ’ m very happy to meet you, Miss Westbrook, ” said Jason, bowing with old-fashioned gallantry. “ Won ’ t you join me? Perhaps more coffee? ”
    “ You ’ re sure I ’ m not disturbing you? ”
    “ My dear young lady, how could any man be disturbed by the presence of such a charming companion? ” The words were gracious, but they came with something of an effort. Hilary accepted the chair he offered. “ I hope you won ’ t find my cigar objectionable? ”
    “ Of course not, ” Hilary assured him. “ And if it were, I ’ d have only myself to blame. You were lighting it when I suddenly decided to come over and talk to you. I hope you don ’ t mind? ”
    “ I ’ m delighted, my dear, delighted, ” said Jason, and sounded as though he meant it.
    “ Have you been here long, Mr. Hodding? ” asked Hilary.
    “ A few months, ” he answered. “ Hotels can be very dreary places when one has reached my age. And there is, of course, always the Nightmare. ”
    His tone capitalized the word.
    “ Nightmare? ” Hilary repeated, puzzled.
    His smile was faint, his eyes grave.
    “ Oh, I imagine it ’ s one I share with all elderly people who have no family, ” he told her quietly. “ Becoming ill alone in the night, with no one to turn to. I find the Club a very nice substitute for a hotel. ”
    “ I should think it would be, ” Hilary assured him gently.
    “ You didn ’ t laugh, ” he said so softly that at first she couldn ’ t be quite sure she had actually heard him say that.
    “ But why should I laugh, Mr. Hodding? ”
    He made a little deprecating gesture with the hand that held the cigar.
    “ Oh, I suppose the vagaries of the old do seem amusing to young people. ” He seemed abashed.
    “ Mr. Hodding, I ’ m a nurse, ” she told him quietly. “ And we sometimes have nightmares, too. ”
    He looked vaguely surprised.
    “ Do you really? About what, I wonder? ”
    “ Oh, so many things—that we may not live up to all the responsibilities we ’ ve acquired, that we may not be adequate to the needs of a patient, that we may say, or do, the wrong thing. ”
    His smile was comforting.
    “ I ’ m sure if you did, Miss Westbrook, it would be a mistake of the head, never of the heart, ” he told her quietly. “ And I feel that a heart is always the surest guide, don ’ t you? Instinct seems to lead us to the right thing—I ’ m talking like a fool, I ’ m sorry. Old people are so garrulous, don ’ t you think? ”
    “ I don