She smiled and then remembered that she had something to tell him. ‘I just rang the paediatric ward to check on Molly. Libby says she’s doing really well.’

A smile touched his firm mouth. ‘That’s good news. I’ll try and see her on my way to this meeting.’

Katy gazed at him longingly and he gave a low growl and stepped closer.

‘Stop looking at me like that or I’ll forget where we are and commit an indecent act in a public place.’

She chuckled and pushed him away, glancing round quickly to check that no one had seen them.

‘I’ll be back as quickly as I can,’ he muttered huskily, his mind very clearly not on his work. ‘If there’s a crisis, call me.’

With a last lingering look at her mouth he strode off down the corridor like a man on a mission, as lithe and agile as a panther and totally back in control.

Katy forced her mind back to work, finished checking the X-rays and then returned to the patient.

‘These X-rays are fine, Mrs Maxwell,’ she said, reflecting on how much her confidence had grown since she’d started working with Jago. Because he had such high standards, knowing that he believed her to be a good doctor meant so much more.

She saw a series of minor injuries and then, about an hour into her shift, Ambulance Control called to say that they were bringing in a patient with chemical burns.

Three of the other senior doctors were already dealing with a man who’d come off his motorbike and Katy was forced to call Jago’s mobile. She was reluctant to disturb him but knew that she was going to need his help. The other doctors were already pushed to cope with the volume of emergencies that had bombarded the department all morning.

‘He works in a glass factory but I have no idea what the chemical is,’ she told him, trying to sound calm. ‘I’m guessing it could be hydrofluoric acid.’

‘You’re probably right.’ Jago’s reply broke up slightly as the signal on his mobile faltered. ‘Get him into Resus and irrigate it with lots of lukewarm water. I’ll be right down. And, for goodness’ sake wear gloves before you touch him.’

She heard the ambulance siren as she replaced the phone and dragged on a pair of gloves before hurrying to meet the paramedics as they pushed open the doors and wheeled in the stretcher.

The man was writhing on the trolley, groaning in agony from the severity of the burns inflicted by the chemical.

‘He had an accident with hydrofluoric acid. It’s over both legs. We irrigated it with copious volumes of water while we were at the factory,’ the paramedic informed them, ‘but we wanted to transfer him as fast as possible.’

As they moved him into Resus Jago appeared at Katy’s side.

‘Keep irrigating it,’ he ordered immediately, seeing just how badly the man was burned. ‘Get both legs under a tap and then rub in some 2.5 per cent calcium gluconate gel.’