.
I?’ He lounged back in his chair, his ice-blue gaze disturbingly direct. ‘So why am I sitting in an empty consulting room?’
‘Because this is Glenmore and it takes folks a while to get used to change. The last time they saw you, you were stirring up trouble all over the island. I don’t suppose anyone imagined you’d become a doctor. So will you see Harry Gregg?’
Conner’s eyes narrowed. ‘Diane’s son?’
‘Yes. He’s eight years old and a really nice little boy. Very lively usually, but not today. Diane is frightened.’
‘She always did have a tendency to overreact. I remember she slapped my face once.’
‘You probably deserved it.’
He smiled. ‘I probably did. So what do you think, Flora? Paranoid mother?’
Flora shook her head. ‘I think it’s something that needs looking at. The child is poorly, there’s no doubt about that. And he has a really weird rash. I’ve never seen anything like it before.’
Conner rose to his feet. ‘Is she going to slap my face again or run away screaming in horror if I walk into the room?’
‘I’ve no idea.’ Flora gave a weary smile. ‘Let’s try it, shall we? Harry needs to see a doctor and I’d rather it was sooner than later.’
Diane looked up as they walked into the room. ‘Dr MacNeil.’
‘Diane.’ Conner’s greeting was cursory, his eyes focused on the boy, who was now sitting on his mother’s lap, his head on her chest. ‘Hey, sport.’ He hunkered down so that he was on the same level. ‘What’s going on with you?’
Harry opened his eyes but didn’t move his head. ‘Feel bad.’
‘His temperature is thirty-nine degrees.’ Flora gently lifted Harry’s arm so that Conner could see. ‘He’s had this rash for three days.’
‘Feel horrible,’ the boy muttered, and Conner nodded.
‘Well, we need to see what we can do about that.’ He studied the rash in silence, his blue eyes narrowed slightly. ‘Circular rash.’
Diane watched his face. ‘You’re going to tell me that it’s just a virus and that I shouldn’t have bothered you.’
Conner lifted his gaze to hers. ‘You were right to bring him. Harry? Do you mind undressing down to your underpants? I want to take a proper look at this rash.’
Flora helped the child undress and Conner examined his skin carefully and questioned Diane in detail.
‘It started under his arm when we were on holiday,’ she told him. ‘Just a red spot. And then it grew bigger and it turned into that weird thing he has now.’
‘Where did you go on holiday?’
Flora glanced at him in surprise. She wouldn’t have expected Conner to be interested in small talk.
‘Mainland.’
‘Highlands?’ Conner ran a finger over the rash, his expression thoughtful. ‘Were you walking?’
‘Yes.’ Diane looked at him. ‘How do you know?’
Conner straightened and reached for Harry’s T-shirt. ‘It fits with what I’m seeing. You can get dressed now. I’ve seen all I need to see.’ He gently pulled the T-shirt over the boy’s head. ‘Were you camping?’
‘Yes. We spent a few nights in a forest. It was lovely.’
‘Lots of deer around?’
‘Actually, yes.’ Diane frowned. ‘How do you know that?’
‘Because Harry has Lyme disease.’ Conner washed his hands. ‘He was almost certainly bitten by a tick, which is why he started off with one red spot. Did you see an insect?’
‘No.’ Bemused, Diane shook her head. ‘No, I didn’t. But we’ve been camping every year since he was born and we’ve never had a problem. Lyme disease? What is that? I’ve never even heard of it.’
‘It’s not that common in this country, although the number of cases is increasing. Ticks are tiny insects and they feed by sucking blood from animals such as deer. Some ticks get infected with the bacterium that causes Lyme disease and if they bite a human then they pass the disease on.’
Diane looked at him in a mixture of horror and amazement. ‘And you’re sure Harry has it? How do you know?’
‘Because his symptoms fit the history.’
Flora felt the tension leave her. Clearly Conner hadn’t been making small talk about holidays, he’d been verifying the cause of the symptoms he was seeing. Logan was right. Conner was a good doctor. A clever doctor. And Diane appeared to have forgotten that she’d ever had reservations about seeing him.
‘You’ve seen this Lyme disease before?’
‘When I was stationed overseas.’ Without waiting for an invitation, he sat down at Flora’s computer and hit a few keys, bringing up a list of antibiotics. ‘The rash that Harry has is fairly typical.’ He scrolled down, searching for the one he wanted. ‘It starts as a single circular red mark and it gradually spreads. It isn’t always painful or itchy and some people don’t even notice it, depending on where they were bitten.’
‘Is there any treatment?’
‘Yes.’ Conner’s eyes were fixed on the screen. ‘I’m going to give Harry some antibiotics.’
‘And will they work?’
‘They should do because we’ve caught it early. You did the right thing, bringing him in.’
‘The doctor on the mainland thought it was a virus.’ Diane’s mouth tightened with disapproval. ‘Virus is a word doctors use when they haven’t got a clue what’s going on.’
‘You might be right. I usually say “I don’t know” but that phrase doesn’t win you many friends either. In fairness to your guy on the mainland, Lyme disease is not a condition every doctor will have seen.’ Conner printed off the prescription and handed it to Diane. ‘Make sure Harry finishes the course.’
‘I’ll do that.’ She slipped the prescription into her bag and hesitated. ‘Thank you.’ She looked Conner in the eye. ‘I wasn’t sure about seeing you …’
‘I don’t blame you for that.’ As cool as ever, Conner rose to his feet. ‘Make an appointment to see Logan in a few days. Harry needs to be followed up. We need to be sure that the antibiotics are working.’
Diane took Harry’s hand in hers. ‘Why should I see Logan? Are you going to be busy?’
Conner gave a faint smile. ‘On current form? Probably not. But it’s important that the patients have faith in the doctor they see.’
‘I agree.’ Diane walked towards the door. ‘Which is why we’ll be making that appointment when you’re doing surgery. Thank you, Dr MacNeil. I knew I could rely on a Glenmore doctor to get the diagnosis right.’ The door closed behind her and Flora smiled happily at Conner.
‘I think you’re a hit. That was pretty impressive. I predict that once word spreads, your surgery will be crammed with patients.’
‘And I’m supposed to rejoice about that?’
‘Maybe not. But Logan will. So, tell me about Lyme disease because I’m feeling horribly ignorant.’
‘What else do you want to know? You get bitten by a tick that clings on once it bites. Then it sucks your blood—’
‘Don’t!’ Flora pulled a face. ‘You’re telling it like a horror story. If you carry on like that I’ll never set foot outside again.’
It