That idea hadn’t occurred to Emmy. ‘Hm, you could be right. I shall have to write to her today and tell her what’s happened anyway and we’ll take it from there. It could take her months to arrive, however, she wrote this very week to say that poor dear Hetty has broken her ankle. For now, I just need to see that she’s going to recover.’ She brushed a stray tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. ‘I don’t think I’d realised just how much I’d come to care for her until now. But anyway, you get to work. I’m sure we’ve made you late already. I’m just so relieved you happened by when you did.’ And with a sad smile she turned to go back to her aunt as Jake took a deep breath and left.
Imogen’s doctor confirmed Jake’s diagnosis when he arrived shortly after. Her aunt was still semi-conscious and seemed unaware of anything or anyone so Emmy sat holding her hand and quietly talking to her for the rest of the day as Aggie nipped in and out checking to see if there was anything she needed.
That night Emmy sat in the chair at the side of her aunt’s bed, refusing to go to her own room, but in the early hours of the morning exhaustion finally claimed her and she dozed on and off with her head laid on the side of the bed. She woke with a start as the light started to seep into the room early the next morning and as she glanced up her face broke into a smile as she found her aunt awake and staring at her.
‘Thank goodness,’ she cried, planting a kiss on her cheek. ‘You had us worried for a while back there.’
‘Ugh .?.?. ugh .?.?.’ Her aunt tried to answer her but the only sounds she could manage were grunts. Still, Emmy knew it was very early days and she was just relieved that she was properly conscious again.
‘You’ve had a nasty turn,’ she explained as she gently lifted the woman higher on her pillows. ‘But don’t worry. We’ll get you well again. But first would you like something to drink?’
Her aunt shook her head as a single tear slid down her cheek and knowing how independent she was Emmy realised how much she would hate being like this. ‘Very well. The doctor is coming back in to see you first thing so let’s get you washed and into a clean nightgown, eh?’ She bustled away to fetch a bowl of warm water from the kitchen.
She and Aggie managed her aunt’s wash between them and once she was propped against her pillows with her long hair neatly brushed and plaited, Emmy gave her an affectionate smile, although her heart was breaking. One side of her aunt’s face was pulled down and she dribbled continuously but Emmy kept up a cheerful chatter. ‘Right, now you’re all clean, it’s time we got something inside you.’
‘Uh! Uh!’ Her aunt’s head wagged from side to side but Emmy was insistent as she gently held the cup of lukewarm tea to her lips.
‘Sorry, but it’s important you have your fluids,’ she told her bossily and somehow after a lot of spilling down her aunt’s chin she managed to get about half a cup inside her.
‘And now I reckonyoushould have a lie-down, miss. You’ve only catnapped an’ yer must be tired,’ Aggie told her. ‘Go on, go an’ have a rest. I’m more than capable o’ copin’ wi’ the missus an’ I’ll call yer when the doctor comes.’
And so somewhat reluctantly after taking the letter she had written to her mother the night before downstairs to be posted, Emmy wearily made her way to her room and lay on the bed. She was sure she wouldn’t sleep as she sank back against the pillows, but what with worrying about her sister and now her aunt, she was utterly exhausted and was fast asleep in seconds.
Jake called in that evening to see how Imogen was and was pleased to see that she was awake, although very frustrated. It appeared that the stroke had affected the whole of her left side and her hand lay limply on the bed at the side of her.
‘Will she ever get back to being how she was?’ Emmy asked him when she took him downstairs for a cup of tea. He had come straight from work and looked tired.
He sighed. ‘To be honest there’s no way of knowing,’ he told her truthfully. ‘Some people get all their mobility back, others don’t. But I have to tell you it’s extremely unlikely she’ll ever be completely back to normal.’
‘I see, then it looks like I’m going to have to take on the role of nurse as well as companion,’ Emmy commented.
The next week passed in a blur for Emmy as she saw to Imogen’s needs and tried her best to keep the woman’s spirits up. She was not proving to be a good patient but Emmy wouldn’t have expected her to be and she was endlessly patient with her even when Imogen got frustrated because she was having to be spoon-fed and knocked the spoon out of Emmy’s hand. And all the while the niggling worry about Abi was in the back of Emmy’s mind until finally one morning, she asked Aggie, ‘Do you think you could sit with my aunt for a while so that I can go and find out if Abi is back from her trip to France?’ Imogen still had no control over her left side and was still unable to speak apart from making unintelligible sounds, but the doctor was pleased with her progress and so Emmy felt she was well enough to leave for a short time now.
‘O’ course I can,’ Aggie answered obligingly.
Soon after Emmy set off, shivering in the cold October morning air. It was still early and hoar frost was sparkling on the grass in the park as she passed it but she was so intent on getting news of her sister that she didn’t even notice it. Once on the main road she flagged down a cab and as soon as it dropped her outside the club she hurried through the alley and rapped on the back door of the girl’s living quarters.
‘I’ve come to see if my sister has returned yet,’ Emmy said urgently when Winnie answered the door.
The girl bit her lip as she solemnly shook her head. ‘No, we ain’t had sight nor sound of ’er, miss, an’ Lilly ain’t none too pleased about it, I don’t mind tellin’ yer.’
Emmy stepped past her into the long narrow hallway just as Lilly appeared in a flounced dress and reeking of expensive perfume. Spotting Emmy she narrowed her eyes.
‘Come to collect yer sister’s things, ’ave yer?’ she asked bluntly.
Emmy blinked. ‘Well .?.?. er, no, I hadn’t.’
‘Hm, seein’ as yer ’ere yer might as well go up to ’er room an’ collect ’em then,’ Lilly said brusquely, clearly disgruntled. ‘Girls who just swan off an’ come an’ go as they please for weeks at a time ain’t no good to me,’ Lilly said vehemently. ‘I’ve already got another girl to take ’er place so the sooner ’er stuff is shifted the better. Winnie, show ’er up to Abi’s room.’
Winnie bobbed her knee and shot off up the stairs and, too shocked to do any other, Emmy quietly followed her.
Much as her room at home had always been, Abi’s room was in disarray with discarded clothes strewn about the floor and thrown across the bed and the chair.
‘Thank you, Winnie. I’ll see to it,’ Emmy said as she retrieved some bags from the bottom of the wardrobe and began to pack Abi’s things. There would be far too many for her to carry, she realised, so once the packing was done, she’d have to flag down a cab to take her back to her aunt’s.
As well as the extravagant gowns that Abi had purchased, there was a number of gifts that Emmy assumed different men had bestowed on her, including expensive perfumes and items of jewellery, and she packed it all safely away. She had almost finished when there was a tap at the door and Maria’s head peeped round it.
‘You ain’t ’eard nothing from her then?’ she queried, looking concerned.
