either; the linen cupboard held only a pair of clean sheets, a couple of towels, a table-cloth or two, and a few table-napkins.
The shadows began to close in upon Jennifer as she stood in theempty bedrooms with the flickering candle in her hand. It seemed incredible, but the old lady must have sold her furniture. And there was no food in the house. The darkness crept around her; could it be that Granny had no money? But she had a pension, Jennifer knew that, and she had always been well off. More likely that she was going a bit mental with old age, and that she had deluded herself into the belief that she was poor.
She went downstairs and found a piece of writing paper in her grandmother’s desk, and wrote a note to leave on the hall table with the candle; then she put on her raincoat and went out to get a meal. She found a café open in the main street and had a sort of vegetable pie. It was dull and insipid with no meat, but she had two helpings of it and followed it up with stewed plums and coffee. Then she bought a couple of rolls filled with a thin smear of potted meat for her breakfast, and went back to the house in Ladysmith Avenue.
In the house everything was as she had left it; her note lay beneath the candle unread. She took the candle and went up to her grandmother’s room, but the old lady was still sleeping deeply; she had not moved at all. The girl came out of the bedroom, and as she did so she heard movement in the hall, and saw the light from an electric torch. She came downstairs with the candle, and in its light she saw a middle-aged woman standing there in a wet raincoat, torch in hand.
The woman said, “Are you one of Mrs. Trehearn’s relations?”
Jennifer said, “I’m her granddaughter.”
“Oh. Well, I’m the district nurse. You know she had an accident?”
“I don’t know very much, except that my mother got a telephone call asking somebody to come here. She rang me.”
The nurse nodded. “I rang your mother at Leicester as soon as I could get the number out of the old dear. I’d better tell you what it’s all about, and then you can take over.”
Jennifer moved towards the door. “We’d better go in here—in case she wakes up.”
“She
won’t wake up tonight—not after what the doctor gave her.” However, they went into the drawing-room and stood together in the light of the one candle. “She had a fall in the street this morning, just the other side of the bridge, between here and the Broadway. She didn’t seem able to get up, so the police got an ambulance and took her to the hospital. Well, they hadn’t got a bed, and anyway there didn’t seem to be much wrong with her except debility, you know. So as she was conscious and not injured by her fall they rang me up and sent her home here in the ambulance. I put her to bed and got in Dr. Thompson. He saw her about five o’clock.”
“What did he say?”
The nurse glanced at her. “When did you see her last?”
“About a month ago.”
“How was she then?”
“Very much as usual. She doesn’t do much, but she’s seventy-nine, I think.”
“Was she eating normally?”
“She gave me a very good meal, roast duck and mince pie.”
“She ate that, did she?”
“Of course. Why?”
“She doesn’t look as if she’s eaten anything since,” the nurse said shortly. “She’s very emaciated, and there’s not a scrap of food here in the house except some dried fruits. She vomited at the hospital, and what came up was raisins and sultanas. She couldn’t be expected to digest those, at her age.”
Jennifer said, “I simply can’t understand it. She’s got plenty of money.”
The nurse glanced at her. “You’re sure of that?”
“Well—I think so.”
“I rang up the electricity,” the nurse said, “and told them that the power had failed and they must send a man to put it right because I’d got a patient in the house. They said they’d disconnected the supply because the bill hadn’t been
The shadows began to close in upon Jennifer as she stood in theempty bedrooms with the flickering candle in her hand. It seemed incredible, but the old lady must have sold her furniture. And there was no food in the house. The darkness crept around her; could it be that Granny had no money? But she had a pension, Jennifer knew that, and she had always been well off. More likely that she was going a bit mental with old age, and that she had deluded herself into the belief that she was poor.
She went downstairs and found a piece of writing paper in her grandmother’s desk, and wrote a note to leave on the hall table with the candle; then she put on her raincoat and went out to get a meal. She found a café open in the main street and had a sort of vegetable pie. It was dull and insipid with no meat, but she had two helpings of it and followed it up with stewed plums and coffee. Then she bought a couple of rolls filled with a thin smear of potted meat for her breakfast, and went back to the house in Ladysmith Avenue.
In the house everything was as she had left it; her note lay beneath the candle unread. She took the candle and went up to her grandmother’s room, but the old lady was still sleeping deeply; she had not moved at all. The girl came out of the bedroom, and as she did so she heard movement in the hall, and saw the light from an electric torch. She came downstairs with the candle, and in its light she saw a middle-aged woman standing there in a wet raincoat, torch in hand.
The woman said, “Are you one of Mrs. Trehearn’s relations?”
Jennifer said, “I’m her granddaughter.”
“Oh. Well, I’m the district nurse. You know she had an accident?”
“I don’t know very much, except that my mother got a telephone call asking somebody to come here. She rang me.”
The nurse nodded. “I rang your mother at Leicester as soon as I could get the number out of the old dear. I’d better tell you what it’s all about, and then you can take over.”
Jennifer moved towards the door. “We’d better go in here—in case she wakes up.”
“She
won’t wake up tonight—not after what the doctor gave her.” However, they went into the drawing-room and stood together in the light of the one candle. “She had a fall in the street this morning, just the other side of the bridge, between here and the Broadway. She didn’t seem able to get up, so the police got an ambulance and took her to the hospital. Well, they hadn’t got a bed, and anyway there didn’t seem to be much wrong with her except debility, you know. So as she was conscious and not injured by her fall they rang me up and sent her home here in the ambulance. I put her to bed and got in Dr. Thompson. He saw her about five o’clock.”
“What did he say?”
The nurse glanced at her. “When did you see her last?”
“About a month ago.”
“How was she then?”
“Very much as usual. She doesn’t do much, but she’s seventy-nine, I think.”
“Was she eating normally?”
“She gave me a very good meal, roast duck and mince pie.”
“She ate that, did she?”
“Of course. Why?”
“She doesn’t look as if she’s eaten anything since,” the nurse said shortly. “She’s very emaciated, and there’s not a scrap of food here in the house except some dried fruits. She vomited at the hospital, and what came up was raisins and sultanas. She couldn’t be expected to digest those, at her age.”
Jennifer said, “I simply can’t understand it. She’s got plenty of money.”
The nurse glanced at her. “You’re sure of that?”
“Well—I think so.”
“I rang up the electricity,” the nurse said, “and told them that the power had failed and they must send a man to put it right because I’d got a patient in the house. They said they’d disconnected the supply because the bill hadn’t been
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