a cursory glance I’d say that was pretty good too.’
Charlie frowned and turned to look down at his greying head, bent over the report sheet which he was writing.
‘I don’t understand,’ she said stiffly.
‘Oh, I think you do,’ Max said equably, not looking up from his writing, his hand never stopping its steady movement of pen over paper. ‘You asked me to see your patient to assess his psychiatric condition, following a florid and, I am now certain, manipulative gesture. And I am happy to report that you need have no fear for his mental health. He is, in all the usual senses of the term, a sane man. Selfish, perhaps. Greedy and thoughtless of any needs other than his own, undoubtedly. But ill he is not -’
Charlie took a sharp little breath in through her nose, hearing the faint hiss even in this rather noisy little room, filled as it was with the rattle of trolleys from the ward and the voices of the nurses bustling about out there and the whine of the distant lifts.
‘That’s a very facile judgement, surely, on the basis of a mere twenty minutes of discussion with the man?’
‘Ah, but there is more to my report than the mere twenty minutes spent with him, Miss Lucas.’ Max reached for the blotting paper and carefully pressed it down on his report sheet. ‘I am able to write here, as I have, NAD - nil abnormaldiscovered - because I have spent over a quarter of a century now in my speciality, and I rather think I know more than most people about it.’
He lifted his eyes to her face and his lips quirked a little sardonically. ‘More, I’d venture to suggest, than a young registrar, however gifted, who has only been a member of our profession for a handful of years and is still, in a very real sense, learning her business.’
The words were harsh, but his voice was gentle enough, but that made no difference to Charlie. She shot to her feet to stand, legs apart and knees braced, with her hands shoved deeply into her white coat pockets to glare at him.
‘And I venture to suggest that you approached this case with some prejudice.’ Her jaw tightened as she saw the look of amazement that spread over his face; a registrar to speak so to a consultant? It was unheard of: but she was too angry to care. ‘Sir,’ she added very deliberately, and stood her ground, staring at him as directly as he was looking at her.
It was Max who broke first. He had clearly been about to lose his temper but now he bent his head and with thumb and forefinger massaged both his closed eyes. There was a little silence between them, enhanced by the sounds from outside, and Charlie found herself thinking absurdly - now I know it’s Friday! I can smell the patients’ lunch - fish - poor Brin. He does dislike it so - and then Max looked up.
‘I can see I must be careful,’ he said. ‘Come and sit down, Miss Lucas. No, don’t glare at me in that fashion. It won’t help either of us to understand each other better, and certainly won’t do anything for your patient. And I’m assuming it is his welfare that concerns you above all else.’
She stood her ground for a moment or two longer and then nodded unwillingly. ‘Yes,’ she said, and her voice was a little gruff. And obediently she sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk and he leaned forwards, folding his arms on the cluttered surface to look at her.
‘Now, my dear, hear me out, and do please
listen
. I’ve been dealing with emotional illnesses and psychiatric health in general for a very long time. And I have to tell you that the study of personality is something in which I am very well grounded. Your patient is a man with a particularly distinctive type of personality which I have met several times. Suchpeople are always of enormous charm. They are frequently, incidentally, good-looking as well, but that may not be relevant. The important thing about them is the way they beguile people. And the next important thing is the fact that they are very
Charlie frowned and turned to look down at his greying head, bent over the report sheet which he was writing.
‘I don’t understand,’ she said stiffly.
‘Oh, I think you do,’ Max said equably, not looking up from his writing, his hand never stopping its steady movement of pen over paper. ‘You asked me to see your patient to assess his psychiatric condition, following a florid and, I am now certain, manipulative gesture. And I am happy to report that you need have no fear for his mental health. He is, in all the usual senses of the term, a sane man. Selfish, perhaps. Greedy and thoughtless of any needs other than his own, undoubtedly. But ill he is not -’
Charlie took a sharp little breath in through her nose, hearing the faint hiss even in this rather noisy little room, filled as it was with the rattle of trolleys from the ward and the voices of the nurses bustling about out there and the whine of the distant lifts.
‘That’s a very facile judgement, surely, on the basis of a mere twenty minutes of discussion with the man?’
‘Ah, but there is more to my report than the mere twenty minutes spent with him, Miss Lucas.’ Max reached for the blotting paper and carefully pressed it down on his report sheet. ‘I am able to write here, as I have, NAD - nil abnormaldiscovered - because I have spent over a quarter of a century now in my speciality, and I rather think I know more than most people about it.’
He lifted his eyes to her face and his lips quirked a little sardonically. ‘More, I’d venture to suggest, than a young registrar, however gifted, who has only been a member of our profession for a handful of years and is still, in a very real sense, learning her business.’
The words were harsh, but his voice was gentle enough, but that made no difference to Charlie. She shot to her feet to stand, legs apart and knees braced, with her hands shoved deeply into her white coat pockets to glare at him.
‘And I venture to suggest that you approached this case with some prejudice.’ Her jaw tightened as she saw the look of amazement that spread over his face; a registrar to speak so to a consultant? It was unheard of: but she was too angry to care. ‘Sir,’ she added very deliberately, and stood her ground, staring at him as directly as he was looking at her.
It was Max who broke first. He had clearly been about to lose his temper but now he bent his head and with thumb and forefinger massaged both his closed eyes. There was a little silence between them, enhanced by the sounds from outside, and Charlie found herself thinking absurdly - now I know it’s Friday! I can smell the patients’ lunch - fish - poor Brin. He does dislike it so - and then Max looked up.
‘I can see I must be careful,’ he said. ‘Come and sit down, Miss Lucas. No, don’t glare at me in that fashion. It won’t help either of us to understand each other better, and certainly won’t do anything for your patient. And I’m assuming it is his welfare that concerns you above all else.’
She stood her ground for a moment or two longer and then nodded unwillingly. ‘Yes,’ she said, and her voice was a little gruff. And obediently she sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk and he leaned forwards, folding his arms on the cluttered surface to look at her.
‘Now, my dear, hear me out, and do please
listen
. I’ve been dealing with emotional illnesses and psychiatric health in general for a very long time. And I have to tell you that the study of personality is something in which I am very well grounded. Your patient is a man with a particularly distinctive type of personality which I have met several times. Suchpeople are always of enormous charm. They are frequently, incidentally, good-looking as well, but that may not be relevant. The important thing about them is the way they beguile people. And the next important thing is the fact that they are very
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