‘Talk to her,’ she says, her professional mask completely back in place. ‘Then maybe talk to Dr Milne and find out what he’s up to. Whatever her motives, I think your sister has sown a seed of doubt in your mind where he is concerned, and you won’t rest easy until you know whether she’s right or not. Does that help?’

I nod. She’s right, I realise. I am going to have to do something, even if just to prove Tash wrong. I’m not sure I’m ready to speak to her yet, but it’s nice to know my anger is hitting the target.

‘Good.’ She starts to get to her feet. ‘Now, we’re flat out as usual, so can we get back to work and put a happy face on for the moronic punters?’

‘Actually, I do have one question before we go, if that’s all right?’

‘Fire away.’

‘Tell me it’s none of my business if you want, but you don’t seem to like the patients we treat here very much. Why did you apply for A & E?’

To my surprise, she laughs. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Dr Patel laugh before; it’s a rich sound that seems to come from the very core of her, and it’s deeply disturbing.

‘Oh, Tilly,’ she breathes when she stops laughing. ‘It’s because I don’t like them that I can survive in this place. It enables me to stay detached. If I was working somewhere like oncology, where you’re dealing with people who are often really sick through no fault of their own, I think it would drain me within a few days. In here, the ratio of cretinous injuries to true disasters allows me to maintain a sense of perspective and leave it all behind when I finish my shift. Does that make sense?’

I look at her for a moment and, weirdly, it does. She does the smiling thing again and an extraordinary thought comes to me. Quite without intending to, I’ve formed a tentative friendship with the most terrifying consultant in the department.

‘Shall we go and treat some dickheads?’ she asks.

I smile back at her. ‘Let’s.’

11

I haven’t said anything to Luke. Of course I haven’t. I’ve rehearsed thousands of scenarios in my head and none of them get round the fact that I’d have to own up to effectively stalking him in his previous life. Somehow, I don’t see him taking that news well. Plus, he’s obviously feeling penitent about how things ended last time he came over, because a massive bunch of flowers pitched up a couple of days later. I haven’t spoken to Tash either. My initial rage may have subsided, but her interference has definitely thrown things between Luke and me off balance, so I’m still cross with her about that.