‘Ah, Mrs Doherty… A lovely woman. She’s moved back home, hasn’t she?’ he said to Kathleen. Dr Cole felt deeply sorry for Peggys in his surgery, women who came to see him about problems which had little to do with their health and more to do with the circumstances they lived in, so the sight before him today was a familiar one. When help was needed he had women he could call in on, and Maura Doherty had been at the top of his list. Peggy wasn’t the only one who missed her. ‘Tell your Paddy to come and see me, Peggy, and maybe you should drop Maura a line, a nice letter back would be something to look forward to; she’s always full of good advice and wouldn’t that just make you feel better now?’

‘Oh, I did, Dr Cole. Kathleen helped me to write a letter, didn’t you, Kathleen? I just haven’t had a reply. I think Maura is busy getting on with her new life now.’ To Dr Cole, she sounded deflated. Only Peggy knew it was despair.

Dr Cole gave her an encouraging smile. ‘Listen, if you stop sleeping, or find your nerves are getting worse, come back and see me, because we can’t have you fainting again.’

‘Thank you, Brendan – I mean Dr Cole,’ said Kathleen. ‘And when you are writing to your mammy, send her my best; a kinder woman never walked this earth, Peggy, ’tis no wonder he became a doctor himself.’

Brendan Cole allowed himself a smile as the door closed and then picked up the phone to his receptionist. ‘Can you get me an outside line, Cynthia? It’s an international call. Give me ten minutes, please, and if you could just pop to the post office for me, with today’s hospital referrals, that would be grand.’ He waited for Cynthia to make contact with the exchange and then to buzz him, once the operator was on the line. He knew that the Dohertys had bought the Talk of the Town – Maura had told him on her last visit to have Harry’s chest checked and he had thought it the most ridiculous idea, but had kept his opinion to himself. He would ask his mammy to see that Maura dropped Peggy a line. She lived in Galway with his sister for half of the year and she had a telephone. He had an idea that Peggy needed a ray of sunshine in her life, something which, in his experience, could deliver better results than the little yellow tablets they might have to resort to if Peggy didn’t improve.

Chapter Thirteen