The Children's Hour Read Free Page B

attentions. Of course, there was Rosie to consider. Lyddie had hoped that she and Rosie might become more intimate but, although she was friendly, Rosie had a touchy disposition, and a searching, calculating gaze that held Lyddie at arm’s length. There might be several reasons for this: perhaps Rosie felt less secure in her relationship with Joe because of Lyddie’s married status; maybe she slightly resented the special treatment that Joe, Liam and the other members of staff accorded Lyddie. At The Place, Rosie was one of the waitresses and that was all. Lyddie was careful never to respond too flirtatiously to Joe when Rosie was around but it was often hard, when Liam was chatting up an attractive female punter, not to restore her own self-esteem by behaving in a similar manner with Joe.
    Lyddie turned away from the gate, called to the Bosun – who gazed reproachfully at her, as he always did, amazed and aggrieved that his fun should be cut short – and headed back towards the town, thinking about the Aunts. It seemed rather unfair of Helena to ask Aunt Mina to cope with her older sister for so long.
    â€˜Two months?’ she’d repeated anxiously. ‘It’s an awfully long time, Aunt Mina, especially if she’s being a bit dotty. I wish I could help but I’m booked up for the next six weeks . . .’
    She could hear that Aunt Mina was battling with several emotions and so she’d tried to be practical, pointing out the obvious problems of dealing with an elderly and strong-minded woman – who was probably in the grips of dementia or Alzheimer’s – with no help except limited assistance from another sister who was confined to a wheelchair. At the same time, Lyddie was able to identify with Aunt Mina’s need to help Georgie.
    â€˜She is our sister,’ she’d said – and once again, Lyddie had remembered how, ten years before, Mina had had the strength to bear the horror not only of Nest’s injuries but also of the death of their sister Henrietta.
    Lyddie had swallowed down an onrush of sadness.
    â€˜You must do what you think is right,’ she’d said, ‘but do tell me if it gets tricky. Perhaps we could all club together for you to have some help if Helena and Rupert don’t suggest it themselves. Or I could work at Ottercombe if necessary, you know.’
    â€˜I’m sure you could, my darling,’ Mina had answered warmly, ‘but we’ll probably manage and it will be a change for us. Now, tell me about you. Is everything all right . . .?’
    â€˜I’m fine,’ she’d answered, ‘absolutely fine. And Liam too . . .’
    By the time they’d finished talking she’d had the feeling that Aunt Mina had already made up her mind about Georgie, and suspected that the telephone call had actually been to make certain that all was well with her niece in Truro rather than to seek advice. Lyddie was filled with a warm affection for her aunts; there was a toughness, an invincibility about them both. Nevertheless, a trip to Exmoor would put her mind at rest. Lyddie put the Bosun on his lead as they made their way back through the narrow streets, thinking now of the evening ahead, her spirits rising at the contemplation of supper at The Place with Liam and Joe.
    Later, in the scullery at Ottercombe, Mina was clearing up after supper. The routine was generally the same each evening: Mina prepared to wash up whilst Nest, sitting beside the draining-board, would wait, cloth in hand. Once dried, each item would be placed on the trolley next to her chair and, when it was all done, Mina would push the trolley into the kitchen whilst Nest went away to prepare for the remainder of the evening’s entertainment: a game of Scrabble or backgammon at the gate-legged table, a favourite television programme, or a video of one of Mina’s much-loved musicals. She had never lost her talent for reading