“Not really.” She took a step away.
“Is everything all right?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” It came out snappier than she meant it. Why was he still here; couldn’t he see she didn’t want to speak to him? “If you could email me the photographs you took of the festival and anything else you think relevant, I can start compiling the article. I really don’t want to upset him and, as you saw, he’s not well. Besides, I don’t want to lose my job because I’m standing here chatting.”
He didn’t give up. The man had a stubborn streak of his own to rival Lord M.
“Why is no one taking charge of the situation? He’s clearly too sick and needs treatment. Why doesn’t Adam insist on this MRI?”
Good question. “Because Adam is new and probably doesn’t know who to appeal to. Without George here, there’s a bit of leadership vacuum. No one knows what to do.”
“Ann or Liam then?” There was no mistaking the concern in his face. Clearly, he didn’t understand how this house and this family worked. “Do you think perhaps we could talk to them?”
“About what?”
“I don’t know. I’m not a doctor, but something needs to be done.”
“Then let’s wait for Adam. He’s out delivering a baby somewhere.”
“Okay, you go to your office, I’ll keep an eye out for him and we can ask him.”
Sixteen
In the end it was all six of them. When she came down for lunch, Adam and Gabriel were chatting, but Nurse Ann, Liam, and Mrs B also sat round the table, looking like ministers at a government meeting.
“Is it likely to be serious?” Nurse Ann asked for all of them as Cook dished up the food.
Adam shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ve taken blood tests, but that’s not enough. He needs a proper x-ray and MRI scan. I have asked him every day. He won’t budge.”
“What doyouthink?” Mrs B prompted.
“My guess,” Adam answered, “is that he needs treatment which cannot be given here. He’ll need to go to Jersey or Guernsey.”
“Well, there’s your answer.” Mrs B cut into her fish pie, but then left her fork and knife on the plate. “He won’t want to go because the wedding is in less than two weeks. It’ll have to be after the wedding.”
Mrs B knew better than anyone how stubborn Lord M could be; she’d worked here for thirty years.
Gabriel met Pierre’s eyes across the table. She could read the unspoken thought.
“Adam?” she asked the question on Gabriel’s mind. “If he doesn’t receive treatment, will he be okay to attend the wedding?”
Adam looked unhappy. “Probably, but I cannot answer this question without more information. It’s like playing poker in the dark with a dealer who won’t give you any cards.” He put down his fork with a clatter and pushed his plate away. He’d not eaten much. It was a rare display of temper from Adam.
“So, he needs to have those tests,” Pierre summed up.
“Which means taking him off the island.” Mrs B shook her head.
They were back to the same dilemma. They exchanged glances around the table. Someone had to say it. So, Pierre did. “We have to tell George.”
Adam’s shoulders relaxed and his face cleared. “I think so.”
“He and Millie should be in London tonight.” Pierre checked her phone. “They’re booked on a flight from Cape Town, then they fly to Jersey tomorrow and take the ferry here.”
“Don’t talk to George,” Nurse Ann interrupted.
“He has to be told; it’s his father.” Adam insisted.
“He’ll go charging in there like a bulldozer,” she argued back. “Do you want World War Three on your hands?”
