The Stonecutter Read Free Page B

she would find out what it was.
    She pushed aside the troubling thoughts and shifted Maja from one breast to the other, which made the baby fuss a bit. Listlessly she picked up the remote and changed the channel. Glamour was about to start. After that, the only thing she had to look forward to was this afternoon’s coffee break with Charlotte.
    Lilian stirred the soup with brisk strokes. She had to do everything in this house. Cook, clean, and take care of the kids. At least Albin had finally gone to sleep. Her expression softened at the thought of her grandson. He was a little angel. Hardly made a peep. Not at all like the other one. She frowned and stirred faster, sending little drops of soup splashing over the edge where they sizzled and stuck to the surface of the stove.
    She carefully carried the pot over to the tray she had prepared on the countertop and poured the hot soup into the bowl. The warm aroma rising with the steam made her smile. Chicken soup, Stig’s favorite. She hoped he would feel like eating today.
    She cautiously picked up the tray and, using her elbow, pushed open the door to the stairs. Always this dashing up and down stairs, she thought peevishly. Some day she’d end up lying at the bottom with a broken leg, and then they’d see how hard it was to get along without her. She did everything for them, like a house slave. Right now Charlotte was downstairs in the basement loafing in bed, pretending to have a migraine. What bloody rubbish. If there was anyone with a migraine around here it was Lilian herself. She didn’t see how Niclas could stand it. All day long he worked hard at the clinic, doing his best to support the family, and then came home to the basement where it looked like a bomb had gone off. Just because they were living there only temporarily didn’t mean they couldn’t keep the place tidy. And Charlotte had the nerve to insist that her husband help her take care of the kids when he came home in the evening. What she ought to do instead was let him rest after a hard day’s work, let him sit in peace in front of the TV and keep the kids away as best she could. No wonder little Sara was so impossible. No doubt she could see how little respect her mother showed her father. That could lead to only one thing.
    Lilian climbed the last steps to the top floor, taking the tray to the guest room, where she installed Stig when he was sick. It wouldn’t do to have him moaning and groaning in the bedroom. If she was to take care of him properly, she had to get a good night’s sleep.
    ‘Dear?’ She cautiously pushed open the door. ‘Wake up now, I’m bringing you a little something. It’s your favorite: chicken soup.’
    Stig weakly returned her smile. ‘I’m not hungry, maybe later,’ he said.
    ‘Nonsense, you’ll never get well if you don’t eat properly. Come on, sit up a little and I’ll feed you.’
    She helped him up to a half-sitting position and then sank down on the edge of the bed. As if he were a child, she fed him soup and wiped off what ran out of the corners of his mouth.
    ‘See, that wasn’t so bad, was it? I know exactly what my darling needs, and if you just eat properly you’ll be back on your feet in no time, you’ll see.’
    Once again the same wan smile in reply. Lilian helped him lie back down and pulled the blanket over his legs.
    ‘The doctor?’
    ‘But sweetie, have you entirely forgotten? We have our very own doctor right here in the house now. I’m sure Niclas will look in on you this evening. He just had to go over his diagnosis again, he said, and consult with a colleague in Uddevalla. It will all work out very soon, you’ll see.’
    Lilian fussily tucked in her patient one last time and took the tray with the empty soup bowl. She headed for the stairs, shaking her head. Now she had to be a nurse as well, on top of everything else that needed her attention.
    She heard a knock at the front door and hurried down the stairs.
    Patrik’s hand struck