Page 33 of A Sense of Fate
Mr Trench held up his hands to ward off the slew of questions. ‘She arrived in a dogcart from the station and stopped to ask for your direction at the tavern. Then she collapsed. I saw the family resemblance, so thought I should bring her here myself. Did I do right?’
‘You did. She is my youngest sister but goodness knows what she’s doing here alone, and in such weather. Thank you for ensuring her safety, Mr Trench. I will look after her now.’
The big landlord nodded just once, took a final mouthful of tea and trudged off back into the snow with a tale to tell the curious denizens of his taproom. Flora returned to the sitting room as Polly arrived with a blanket. Together they removed Melanie’s sodden outer garments. The thick wool gown that she wore beneath was relatively dry, so they made do with wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. Melanie sat as still as a statue. The only sound that came from her was the chattering of her teeth, and she appeared oblivious to her surroundings. Worryingly, she didn’t utter a word, clearly suffering from delayed shock.
But shock from what?
Flora and Polly unlaced Melanie’s half-boots and eased them from her frozen feet. The boots had leaked where the soles had worn through and her feet were soaked and cold as ice. Flora rolled her garters down and removed her stockings.
‘Fetch a warm pair of my stockings please, Polly. Her feet are much smaller than mine so my slippers will be of no use to her.’
Beatrice bustled into the room while Polly was gone, bearing a tray with soup and bread for Melanie.
‘The poor lamb,’ Beatrice muttered. ‘Whatever can have happened to her?’
‘That is what I intend to find out, just as soon as she is warm enough to speak to me.’
‘Right. I’ll leave you to it then.’ She threw another log into the fire and prodded it into place with the poker. ‘Call if I can help.’
‘Thank you, Beatrice. I shall.’
Flora sat beside Melanie and coaxed her into drinking a little of the soup. She was worryingly unreceptive at first, but gradually revived as the soup warmed her from the inside. Before long she took the spoon in a trembling hand and managed to feed herself after a fashion. As she finished the soup, ignoring the bread, Flora rubbed her cold feet with a towel and then pulled on clean stockings. Polly, seeing that her services were no longer required, picked up the tray and left the room.
‘Now then, my love. What adventures have you got yourself into?’
‘Oh, Flora! What am I to do?’
Melanie collapsed into Flora’s arms and sobbed her heart out. Flora, growing more worried by the moment, felt impotent. All she could do was hold her sister and smooth her back with reassuring sweeps of her hands. It hardly seemed enough.
‘Here,’ Flora said, releasing Melanie when her tears finally subsided and she was reduced to the odd hiccup. ‘Take my handkerchief, dry your eyes and tell me what’s happened. I am sure it can’t bethatbad.’
Flora passed the handkerchief into Melanie’s right hand and her sister winced, snatching her hand away again.
‘What is it? What have you done?’ Ignoring Melanie’s protests, she gently peeled her glove off and gasped when she saw the blistered skin on her palm. ‘You’ve burned yourself badly. How did that happen? No, never mind that for now, let’s fix it first.’
Flora rang for Polly and asked her to bring the distilled alder water she had prepared a month previously to help a child who had scalded his arm.
‘This will sting, darling,’ she told Melanie, ‘but I promise that you will feel almost immediate relief.’
Melanie cried out but withstood Flora’s ministrations bravely. By the time her palm had been tightly bandaged she had revived a little, and some colour had returned to her previously wan cheeks.
‘Draw a bath for my sister please, Polly. Find her one of my nightgowns and prepare the spare room next to mine.’
Polly acknowledged her orders and scampered off to carry them out.
‘Now, what other injuries have you incurred?’ Flora asked, anger coursing through her when she suspected how she must have come by the burnt hand.
‘I don’t…I can’t…’ Melanie shifted on the couch and tried to stand.
‘Your buttocks?’
Melanie’s eyes widened. ‘How did you know?’
Flora grit her teeth. ‘Papa regularly took his belt to me as well.’
‘You? I didn’t think you would have…’
‘I wouldn’t now, but I was your age once, and somehow I always managed to get on Papa’s wrong side. Let me see.’
