Kit Cavendish-Private Nurse Read Online Free Page B

let him down. “Well?” Mr. Baylis asked at last. “Are you satisfied?”
    “So far, yes,” Jason told him unhesitatingly. “But you have a long way to go yet, Mr. Baylis, before I’ll be completely satisfied.”
    “Oh dear!” Mr. Baylis grimaced expressively.
    “I know,” Jason said sympathetically. “To a man like yourself whose work is of absorbing interest it must be a grueling experience to have to stand aside from it all for a time...”
    “For a time?” Mr. Baylis seized eagerly on that.
    “So I most sincerely hope,” Jason answered gravely. “But though modern medical science can do a great deal, it will be of no service to you if you don’t cooperate.”
    “I hate being coddled and pampered,” Mr. Baylis growled. “Of course you do. But that’s not what I mean. You have to accept discipline, Mr. Baylis, but it must be self-discipline. No one else can do it for you.”
    “For how long?”
    “In some degree, for the rest of your life. For instance, you have to lose weight. That means you will have to go on a strict diet immediately, and when the desired target is achieved, you will have to exercise more self-control than ever, since it’s easy to imagine that the odd little indulgence doesn’t matter. But it does. One thing leads to another. Do you understand?”
    “I suppose so. Well, I’m not that greedy about my food, but a lot of business tends to get done over, the lunch table, you know. Oh, all right,” he said in response to Jason’s shrug. “If I don’t do as you say, I won’t be there to do any business! That it?”
    “It is, Mr. Baylis,” Jason said dryly. “Well?”
    “All right, I’ll play,” Mr. Baylis said grimly. “Anything else?”
    “Quite a lot. No excess of any sort—no telling yourself that it’s essential you finish a job, whether physical or mental, when you know that you’re too tired to do so. There’s no heroism in that sort of behavior. Do I make myself clear?”
    “You certainly do,” Mr. Baylis told him, clearly struggling against the resentment he felt at having to take orders from a man so much younger.
    “Right,” Jason said cheerfully. “Now for the credit side. Dr. Grainger and I will work out as palatable a diet as possible. We will also arrange for a physiotherapist to give you treatment at home. This will include exercise. And, of course, you will do a certain amount of walking every day.”
    “That’s better!” Mr. Baylis sounded almost cheerful. “Only mind you make it clear to my wife that I’m only doing what I’m told. She’s afraid a puff of wind will blow me away.”
    “Natural enough,” Jason commented. “But I’ll set Mrs. Baylis’s mind at rest on that point.” He paused, considering. “Oh yes, one other thing. At the beginning of next week and at intervals after that, I’ll want you at the hospital.”
    “What for?” Mr. Baylis asked suspiciously.
    “For tests that can’t be done here.”
    “Why not?” Mr. Baylis asked belligerently. “I can pay for what I want.”
    “No doubt,” Jason agreed imperturbably. “But the apparatus used for obtaining X-ray and electrocardiograph records is too big to be transported. So you must come to the hospital.”
    “Hm, got an answer for everything, haven’t you?” Mr. Baylis grunted with reluctant admiration.
    Jason laughed outright, and Kit’s heart turned over. Jason had never been a man who laughed easily or frequently, but when he did, there was an incredible infectious quality about it. Just for a second, she had a glimpse of the old Jason, and she found herself smiling quite spontaneously as he said dryly, “That’s what you’re paying me for, isn’t it?”
    That afternoon, during her time off, Kit went for a walk. She told herself that it was to buy stamps, although in a well-run house like Moneyhill she could probably have had them for the asking. In fact, the real reason for the outing was twofold. She wanted to see just what was left of the old