She delved into her bag and pulled out the box containing the engagement ring he had given her.

Noah flinched at the sight of it. ‘Keep it,’ he said gruffly.

‘No, I couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right.’ Grace dropped it into his pocket. ‘You must save it for when the right woman comes along.’

‘If she comes along.’

‘Oh, she will. I’m sure of it.’

Noah sent her a sidelong look. ‘You’re a good girl, Gracie.’

Grace folded her arms around herself and stared out over the fields. She didn’t feel like a good person. If this was what breaking someone’s heart felt like, she never wanted to do it again. She couldn’t understand why the other girls bragged about it so much, as if it was something to be proud about.

Not that Noah Wells seemed too heartbroken. He whistled a little tune between his teeth as he jingled the reins.

‘So have you got your sights set on someone else?’ he asked.

Grace thought of Dr Logan again. She was too late there, she decided. By tomorrow he would well and truly belong to Dulcie.

‘No,’ she said. ‘Not anymore.’

At the station, Noah came round to help her down from the cart. ‘Well, take care of yourself,’ he said.

‘You too.’

On impulse, Grace reached up and planted a kiss on his cheek. Noah touched the spot, rubbing his hand over his bristled jaw.

‘What was that for?’

‘For being so kind.’ She looked up at him. ‘You’re a good man, Mr Wells. I hope you find someone who deserves you.’

He smiled, a warm, rare smile. ‘You too, Gracie,’ he said.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Having hurried back from Devon the previous evening so as not to miss Sylvia’s wedding, Grace woke up the following morning to the news that Celia Padgett, the nurse who had been brought in to cover on Wilson ward, had been struck down by a summer cold. No other nurses could be spared, so Miss Parker had insisted that either Grace or Dulcie had to cancel their day off.

Naturally, Dulcie wasn’t having any of it.

‘You can’t ask me to do it, Duffield,’ she had wailed in their room that morning. ‘You know how important today is for me. Besides, I’m a bridesmaid,’ she added as an afterthought. ‘Go on, please. No one would miss you.’

For a moment, Grace was sorely tempted to refuse. But then she realised Dulcie had a point. Poor Sylvia could hardly walk down the aisle without one of her bridesmaids. And at least this way Grace would be spared the misery of watching Dulcie work her magic on Dr Logan.

‘All right, I’ll do it,’ she sighed. ‘I’ll go and tell Miss Parker before breakfast.’

‘Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ve already told her you’d do it.’ Dulcie had turned away to inspect her bridesmaid’s dress hanging on the wardrobe door. ‘I do wish she’d chosen a different colour,’ she complained. ‘Eau de nil always makes me look so washed out …’