A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 54

        She looked as fragile as bone-china and was undoubtedly even more precious! Wisely he maintained a carefully cultivated demeanor and brushed off her thanks with a slight shrug. He was saved from commenting on her statement by the arrival of the dessert. He watched as her eyes lit up on seeing the butterscotch ice-cream liberally covered with nuts and raisins. She was just like a cute doll.

        Now he knew the reason for her being plump! She was obviously a woman who adored her food and had a healthy appetite, unlike all those anorexic ladies who starved themselves in the name of fashion. He had quite a few of those types visiting his clinic with severe body-image issues and extremely low self-worth. Martha was blessed to have a normal appetite and healthy outlook towards her life. He admired her for being so comfortable with her appearance. In fact, it made her stand out in the crowd. She had poise and elegance, both of which, he admired in a lady. She was an acclaimed writer too. She could have had the world at her feet, if it wasn’t for her current ailment. The thought made him slightly uneasy. But that was his responsibility now. He had to ensure that she became well soon. He would do everything in his power to do just that!

         They talked about things in general, even as Martha had a vague feeling that he was deliberately keeping the conversation light. She played along and said finally that she had had a wonderful time. “Thank you so much Doctor. The treat will be on me the next time,” she said as he paid the bill. He surprised her by softly saying, “Now that we aren’t in the clinic, could you please call me Benedict?” Seeing her look of disbelief, he added, “I’ll soon forget my name if everyone addresses me only as Doctor, for the rest of my life!” “But,” she protested. He stopped her by requesting, “Please Martha. I’ll feel better.” She didn’t say anything but he felt as if she was making up her mind to do as he requested.

        Hesitantly she asked, “Benedict is too long a name. Can I call you Benny?” Astonished, yet pleased, he immediately agreed. Though he wouldn’t have allowed anyone in the world to call him Benny that was dangerously close to Bunny, he made an exception for Martha. This woman never failed to surprise him. He made her promise to call him Benny only outside the clinic. He couldn’t risk all his patients referring to him so familiarly. He always kept a distance between his patients and himself. But Martha was a special one!

        They both went to his house. The apartment was a spacious one on the fourth floor of the building. The floor was cool white marble and the walls were decorated with expensive paintings of renowned painters. She recognized a Dali and a Rembrandt, even one by an Indian painter, M.F.Hussain! She was charmed by the manner in which the curios were placed around the house, without making the house look cluttered, as he proudly led her on a house-tour. He was obviously proud of his house. He informed her that he had decorated the entire house himself, after a lot of planning and research. Well, she wasn’t surprised. He had an eye for detail. He was meticulous and tidy. His methodical nature had stood him in good stead here.

       She could almost imagine him picking up artifacts and placing them at vantage points in the rooms after careful deliberation. Not a thing looked out of place or over the top! She was ridiculously pleased as she compared his tidiness with her own. She had yet to come across such an orderly male abode. Not that she had seen many! She couldn’t remember Norman’s house where she had reportedly stayed with him for a while. As she felt unsettling thoughts crowding in her mind, she firmly pushed them away.

      Benny led her to her room for the night, the guest-room. She was pleased as she had mentally noted its pleasant décor on her house visit and secretly hoped that it would be hers for that night. As he turned to go, she realized with horror that she didn’t have anything to change into, for the night. She didn’t want to sleep in her tightly fitting skirt and she couldn’t bring herself to ask the Doctor for night-clothes. She decided to undress and sleep in her inner wear after she closed the door. She hadn’t ever done that but everything had a first time in life, didn’t it?

     As they said “Good night” to each other, she felt strange that she should feel so comfortable in an alien house. She almost didn’t miss her cottage!

        Dr. Hussey jumped from his sleep when he heard moans coming from the next room where his guest was sleeping. He didn’t want to disturb her as he realized that she was having nightmares, but when the soft moans turned into louder ones he decided to get up and investigate. He tapped on her door lightly then urgently, as he got no response. He wondered what to do. He had the keys to the room but considered it inappropriate to barge into a lady’s room. He hovered near her door for a long time and then went back after silence prevailed in the room. His patient had evidently drifted off to sleep. He realized that the word ‘patient’ had replaced the word ‘guest’ in his mind and realized the reason. All was not well with Martha.

      He kept pacing his room for a long time as sleep eluded him. He was racking his brains for a solution to Martha’s dilemma. Towards dawn, he hit upon a plausible one and decided to try it as soon as he could. He was desperate for his patient to get well soon. Only then could he think about his next course of action. He didn’t want to admit even to himself that that would be proposing to her! He was hopelessly in love with her. He had succeeded in doing the unthinkable! He had fallen head over heels in love with a patient. That had been absolutely taboo for all his professional life. Why then, was he making an exception now?

To be continued.... 

The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.