‘Would you mind if I asked Sister if you can be allocated to this patient for his end-of-life care, as you were so good with Dr Marcus?’

Dana looked stunned. ‘Do I mind? Not at all. It’s an honour to be asked.’ She looked out of the window and down the ward. ‘He looks a lot older than Dr Marcus was though.’

‘Yes, he is, by thirty years.’ Dr Gaskell sat back in the chair and thrust his hands into the pockets of his white coat. The brown rubber tubes of his stethoscope quivered about his neck. ‘I often think about him,’ he said, and then, looking up, ‘Have you seen the girl – Mary Kate? You know her, don’t you?’

‘Oh, I don’t know her, not really, she just comes from a village not far from mine back home in Ireland. Did you go to the funeral, Dr Gaskell? I wanted to go, but it wasn’t in Liverpool, so Dr William told me when he came by the hospital the other day. That was a bit of a surprise.’

‘It wasn’t a surprise to me, I’m afraid. That was Mrs Marcus’s doing.’ Dr Gaskell flicked distractedly through the papers in front of him. ‘I tell you what, I know where Mary Kate is staying, at Mrs O’Keefe’s, Dr Marcus’s neighbour. I have the address, so I think I’ll call in later tonight and see how she is. It’s only five minutes out of my way as it is. I did promise Nicholas I’d keep an eye out for her and make sure that wicked wife of his didn’t make any trouble.’

Dana dropped the case notes she was carrying onto the desk. ‘Oh, Dr Gaskell, was Mary Kate not his wife?’

Dr Gaskell flushed. ‘Er, no, I’m afraid, my dear, that she wasn’t. It was a very complicated story. Love in the most adverse of circumstances.’ He patted his white coat nervously. ‘I, ah, trust you will keep that to yourself.’

Dana swallowed hard and thought about the letter she had already sent home to her mammy. No one knew the villages better than Dana. Her letter could change Mary Kate’s life. If her own family didn’t know the truth, Dana’s news would be explosive. ‘I think that’s a really good idea,’ she stammered. ‘Will you let me know how she is? I, er, might go to see her myself.’

‘That’s very kind of you.’ Dr Gaskell looked up at her with admiration in his eyes. ‘I will call into Mrs O’Keefe’s this evening. You know, I often laugh at Matron’s mantra that St Angelus is just one big family, but you, Nurse Brogan, you have just proved Matron right. You are a huge addition to this family.’

Dana looked down the ward to her new patient, who was sitting with his head in his hands. ‘Does he know?’ she asked.

‘I’m afraid he does, yes. I’ve left him to be on his own for ten minutes, but I’ll go back and see him now before I head off to outpatients.’