THE October afternoon was drawing to a misty close and the last rays of the sun, shining through the latticed window, highlighted the russet hair of the young woman sitting by it. It shone upon her lovely face too and gave her green eyes an added sparkle as she stared out at the garden beyond, the knitting in her lap forgotten for the moment.
It was quiet in the room save for the faint ticking of the clock on the mantelpiece and the sighing breaths of the old lady in the bed as she dozed. It was a pleasant room, low-ceilinged, its walls papered in an old-fashioned pattern of flowers, the furniture for the most part ponderous Victorian; the small person in the bed was dwarfed by her surroundings, perched up against her pillows. She stirred presently and the girl got up and went to the bedside.
âYouâve had a nice nap, Granny. If youâre quite comfortable Iâll go and get the tea-tray.â She had a charming voice and she spoke cheerfully. âIâll light a lamp, shall I?â And when the old lady nodded, she added, âItâs a beautiful eveningâI do love this time of year.â
The old lady smiled and nodded again and the girl went away, down to the kitchen of the rambling old house where Bessy the housekeeper was making the tea. She looked up as the girl went in.
âAd a nap, âas she? The dear soulâwore out, she must be.â She put a plate of wafer-thin bread and butter on the tray. âAnd time you âas a bit of fresh air, Miss Jane. Iâll sit with âer while you take a turn round the garden when youâve had your tea.â
Jane leaned across the table and cut a slice of bread, buttered it lavishly and said thickly through a mouthful, âThank you, Bessy. Iâll take Bruno and Percy and Simpkin with meâjust for ten minutes or so.â
She gobbled up the rest of her bread and butter and picked up the tray. She was a tall girl with a splendid shape, dressed rather carelessly in a cotton blouse, a well-worn cardigan and a long wide skirt.
The housekeeper eyed her as she went to the door. âYou didnât ought ter look so shabby.â She spoke with the freedom of an old and faithful servant. âSuppose some nice young man should call?â
Jane gave a gurgle of laughter and Bessy said severely, âWell, you may laugh, Miss Jane, but thereâs Dr Willoughby coming regular to see your granny.â
âHe is an engaged man, Bessy, and several inches shorter than I am.â
She went back upstairs to heave the old lady gently up against her pillows and give her her tea. She would eat nothing, though, and Jane thought that she looked paler than usual.
âFeel all right, Granny?â she asked casually.
âA little tired, dear. Have you seen to Bruno and the cats?â
âIâm going to take them into the garden presently and give them their supper. Theyâre all splendid.â She added in what she hoped sounded like an afterthought, âDr Willoughby might be coming this evening instead of tomorrow â¦â
âA nice young man. A pity heâs going to marry. He would have done very well for you, Jane. Youâre twenty-seven and youâve given up a good nursing career to look after me here, buried in the country.â
âI like being here,â protested her granddaughter. âI like the country and I havenât met a man I want to marry yet.â
âThough youâve had your chances â¦?â
âWell, yes, I dare say Iâm fussy.â She rearranged the pillows as Bessy came into the room. âThere nowâIâm off to see to the animals.â
Only when she got downstairs she went to the phone first and dialled Dr Willoughby and asked him to come and see her grandmother. âI donât think sheâs any worse, but Iâm uneasy â¦â
She saw to the cats and Bruno next. Bruno was a corgi and the cats were both ginger, one middle-aged and dignified and the other much younger, with eyes as green as Janeâs and a thick ruff of fur under his chin. They all paced round the large garden in the gloom and presently went indoors to settle before the fire in the small sitting-room Jane used now that her grandmother was no longer able to come downstairs and use the big drawing-room. She had just settled them, piled companionably into one basket, when the doctor arrived and she took him upstairs.
He was a youngish man with a large country practice and he had been looking after Mrs Wesley since she first became ill. He greeted her easily and, previously prompted by Jane, observed that he had a busy day on the morrow, and, since he was passing, he had decided to pay her a visit.
He didnât stay long but checked her pulse and examined her chest as he always did, bade her a cheerful goodnight and asked Jane to go down with him. âI have some pills which will help your breathing,â he explained.
âYou were quite right,â he told Jane as she ushered him into the sitting-room. âMrs Wesley isnât so well and I suspect a small pulmonary embolism. Will you allow me to call in a specialist? Nowadays it is possible to operate and remove the clotâI know itâs a grave risk because of your grandmotherâs age, but at least we shall have taken the best advice possible.â