Back At Their Side (completed)

Part Nineteen - Hospital

POV Philip
I watched as they rushed Tara into the emergency room a nurse preventing me coming any further as they attached wires and monitors and intubated her.
"Sir I need to take some details from you, please your wife is in good hands"
I look down at the nurse in front of me "what?"
"Sir, your wife's details"
"Phil!" I Spin round at Matts voice as he rushes towards me. Joe coming up behind him and I notice another of his men look round then take a seat by the door.
"Where is she, how is she?" He asks
I gesture to the emergency room "they're working on her"
"Sir" the nurse again interrupts.
Matt puts his hand on my shoulder and moves forward "he's in shock at the moment, what can we help you with" he asks he smiling and I watch her whole attitude change.
"We need some details, please can you complete this form with as much information as possible, I understand it was poison, do you know what type?"
Matt takes the clipboard from her and pushes me into a chair before pulling a clear bag out of his pocket the packet of poison clearly visible inside. He hands it to her, "this is what she ingested, unfortunately our housekeeper poured some juice into a glass that had been used to mix this, an accident and he is beside himself with worry"
She took the package and told us she would be back once she had spoken to the attending doctor.
Matt slumped into the seat next to me.
"Who" I demanded
"Tim, we have him secure but I've not questioned him yet, he can wait, but we need this to be seen as an accident or the police will become involved, we need to keep this quiet, if it gets out she is here then Caroline and Brian can find her"
I nod taking the clipboard from him and starting to put in Tara's details, completing it just as the nurse returns.
"Thank you sir, the doctor will be out shortly to update you" she muttered before leaving.
I looked after her in frustration at her attitude, "Matt, lets find out who's on the board here that we know, I want her prioritised and in a private area as soon as possible"
Matt starts working on his phone as we wait for news "Sir Jeffrey Lyntot, he's a club member, into DDLG but married with a 'little' mistress on the side, he's the current chairman of the board here, I'll call him" Matt gets up and moves outside to make the call returning 10 minutes later with a tight smile on his face.
"How did it go?"
"Sir Jeffrey is making some calls now and I expect our situation to change very soon"
"That easy." I asked
"No, he said he couldn't do anything, I explained it would be a shame for his wife to meet his Wendy, suddenly he was very helpful" he explained.
"Good, but if he screws up at all, do it"
We look up at the nurses approach.
"Lord Sutton, Lord Hamilton?" She queries looking at Matt and I "my apologies Sir's, if you would please follow me, we have a set of private rooms available for you and Lady Hamilton is being moved now" she tells us leading us through the emergency room doors, Looking at Joe questioningly "he's with us" I tell her as he follows behind, the other security staying put.
We follow her to a set of lifts and go to the fifth floor, the change between the areas was drastic, gone were the drab pea soup walls replaced by cream with artfully placed pictures, she handed us over to a uniformed receptionist who guided us into the suite. Joe took up position just inside the door as she showed us where the bathroom and refreshments were and how to access the TVs wifi and phone.
"My wife?"
"Lady Hamilton is on her way up, Dr Carlisle is escorting her and will be able to update you on her condition" she replied leaving the room.
I turned to Joe "are we secure?"
"Yes sir, I have men covering the accesses and will remain on this floor"
"And the house."
"John has remained and is monitoring, Tim is secure in the cellar, we removed his clothing and the room he is in has no access bar the main door which is locked, we took his mobile phone which I have with me"
"Give the phone to Matt and Joe we need to keep this as quiet as we can, once I've had a chat with Tara's doctor we'll know how long we will need to be here"
"Yes sir" Joe said passing Matt the phone.
Matt scrolled through the phone logs, "he's been texting wth Janet and there's a group conversation with Caroline and Janet"
"They used him, played his loyalty to the family to Caroline who has been trying to save us from...well you don't need to hear what they called Tara, Caroline is saying Tara stole me from her, what utter crap, I've never liked you sister and have told her so frequently" Matt fumes.
"So they know where we are?"
"Yes, they know we are at the farmhouse, there are hints that it would be good if Tara died but no direct instruction to Tim, however Janet's next comment about poison being best to put down rats is as good as an admission to me"
The door opening stopped our conversation and two orderlies brought in a hospital bed followed by a doctor and two nurses.
They bustled around setting up equipment and getting Tara settled as we watched, fists clenching at the sight of Tara's unconscious body.
Once the orderlies and the nurses had left the doctor approached.
"gentlemen, I am Dr Carlisle, please do sit and I can update you on Lady Hamilton's condition. We have pumped her stomach and given her a course of medication designed to flush out and neutralise the poison, it's a good job you reacted quickly and we're able to identify the poison, it helped us give her the correct treatment, at the moment I have given her a sedative to help her sleep and let the drip do it's work and I will review this again in the morning, if she is distressed when she wakes then another sedative may be best until her body has recovered more" he explains
"But she will recover fully" Matt asks him
"Yes, I see no reason for her not to make a full recovery, its these early stages where rest is key that we really need to watch and then her diet and fluids for a few weeks afterwards, her throat is a little burned and will be raw and uncomfortable for a while but will improve"
"Thank you doctor" I say shaking his hand as we all rise and he re-checks her monitors before heading towards the door.
"Doctor, would you direct us to the hospital administrator, there are some points I would like to discuss with them" I request.
The doctor looks back at Matt and I before responding "security issues?"
"Possibly" I agree
"I page him and get him to come to you, would it be in my patients interest to not be listed on the admissions board" he asks showing understanding.
"Yes" I agree
"I will be by later to check on her before my rounds end but don't expect any change till tomorrow morning, if you need anything sooner, get reception to page me" he says leaving the room.

POV Matt
Once the doctor has gone we both move towards Tara, each taking a hand. "She'll be okay" I murmur looking at Phil. "She will" he replies.
I smile slightly, his words implying that she has no choice but to get better.
Twenty minutes later we hear a knock and the hospital administrator opens the door, Joe quickly blocks the way until he introduces himself.
"You asked to see me Lord Hamilton?" He greets Philip almost bowing. I roll my eyes, keeping hold of Tara's hand as Philip spins his story.
The little man wrings his hands together when Philip finishes "oh my" he mutters "oh my"
Phil looks at the fidgeting man "Mr Jones, you do understand what I have told you, my wife is being stalked and it is essential her presence here is kept secret, her safety is my primary concern and if anyone in this hospital releases this information I will do everything in my power to make them pay"  he barks
The man shakes at Philips voice "yes Lord Hamilton"
"I have security here " Phil points at Joe "and a team around the hospital for the duration of our stay here"
"but but b" he starts looking between us all.
I watch Philip persona turn cold "Is there a problem, do I need to ask Sir Jeffrey to come and speak to me"
Mr Jones head drops "no sir, I will let our security know and will make sure the staff know not to talk"
Phil smiles coldly "that will be all, get out"
He flees.
"Sir?"
"Yes Joe" I reply
"I'm going to step out, do a walk round and update my team, if your staying in this room?"
"We're not going anywhere, go ahead, may also be worth stopping by security and checking in with them, any issues get Jones paged"
"Yes sir"

We each move closer to Tara's bed watching her, Phil pulls her collar out of his pocket and runs it through his fingers distractedly, he had removed it just as the paramedics had arrived at the house.
My phone pings in my pocket and I pull it free to see a text from Joe.
"Brian's team have just reported he is on a plane heading home" I tell Phil "one of the team managed to get on the same flight and will keep us updated"
"So he'll be back in the country before she's released"
"Yes"
We contemplated what that meant for Tara's safety.