Poor thing. That’s no way to go, is it?
Anyway, I don’t know what that funny feeling was about this morning, Percy, but I’m not going to lie; it’s given me the heebie-jeebies. I think I’ll head home soon and have a nice cup of tea. And maybe I’ll call David tonight, just to make sure everything’s all right.
CHAPTER
23
Libby, are you all right? Libby, can you hear me?”
Libby opened her eyes and squinted into the bright sunlight. She could see the shadow of a face looming over her and felt something cold and hard under her back.
“Frank?” She tried to pull herself up, but he squeezed her hand to stop her.
“Don’t move yet. I don’t want you blacking out again. There’s an ambulance coming.”
“What happened?”
“You passed out. But don’t worry; the paramedics are nearly here.”
“I’m fine, honestly. I just need to eat something.” But as she said the words, Libby’s vision started to swim again and she closed her eyes.
“Stay where you are; you’ll be fine,” Frank said.
Libby could hear other voices and sense people standing around them, watching. “I don’t want to make a scene,” she mumbled.
“You’re not; stop worrying.”
Libby stayed lying with her eyes closed while Frank knelt next to her, gently fanning her with a newspaper. A minutelater, she heard the sound of sirens and, shortly after that, approaching footsteps. Frank started to explain what had happened and then Libby sensed someone else kneeling down next to her.
“Hi, Libby, I’m Jonathan, a paramedic. How are you feeling?”
“Just a bit dizzy.”
“Okay, let’s get you checked out, then. I’m going to start by taking your blood pressure, okay?”
Libby nodded as the paramedic attached a strap to her arm. When she glanced up, she saw a crowd of onlookers had gathered around, and someone was taking her photo.
“I’m sorry to cause such a fuss,” Libby said as the strap squeezed her arm. “I forgot to eat breakfast, that’s all.”
The paramedic didn’t reply, his eyes fixed on the blood pressure monitor. “Has this ever happened before, Libby?”
“Erm, I passed out once when I was eighteen and drank too much cider at a party.”
“Okay. What about more recently? Any dizzy spells?”
Libby was about to say no but stopped herself. “I felt a bit dizzy yesterday, but I had been running.”
“I’m going to check your blood oxygen levels now.” He attached a clip to her index finger, looked at the number, then stood up to consult with his colleague.
While he was gone, Frank leaned over Libby. “Are you all right?”
“A bit embarrassed, to be honest,” she said, although she was pleased to see the gawkers had mainly moved on now it was apparent that she wasn’t about to die. “I’m sorry, Frank. This was meant to be a lovely day at the National Gallery.”
“Don’t be so silly. We can go to the gallery anytime—what matters is making sure you’re okay.”
“Maybe this is a sign I finally need to start looking after myself a bit better.”
“And to eat breakfast. Most important meal of the day and all that.”
