The Sun Sister (The Seven Sisters #6) - Lucinda Riley Page 0,242

at home in Kenya – Cecily mounted the steps. At the top, she ducked down beneath the eaves of the house as she walked along to the bedroom Lankenua and Stella were sharing.

She heard Lankenua coughing as she knocked on the door. The poor woman had had a cold since they’d boarded the steamer for New York in Southampton.

The room was bitterly cold and Cecily shivered in her thin silk blouse, which had been perfectly adequate in the heated rooms downstairs.

‘Kuyia?’ A voice from one of the narrow iron beds whispered. ‘Is that you?’

‘Yes, it’s me.’ Cecily tiptoed across the rough floorboards to reach Stella. Even though the attic window was closed, a chill draught emanated from it. ‘Are you okay?’ Cecily asked. Stella was curled up in a ball with only a thin blanket to keep her warm.

‘I’m c-c-cold.’ The little girl shivered. ‘It’s cold in this New York place, and Yeyo says she doesn’t feel so well.’

‘Here, let me give you a hug,’ Cecily said as she put her arms round the little girl.

‘Where have you been?’ Stella asked her.

‘Downstairs having dinner with my mama and papa and my sisters.’

‘Can I come and have some dinner with you tomorrow? We only got a sandwich for our supper and the bread didn’t taste half as good as the bread you make at home.’

‘Maybe,’ said Cecily, who realised that Stella was used to eating a full nursery tea with her when Bill wasn’t at home – which was most of the time.

‘And I don’t like it up here in the roof,’ Stella continued. ‘It’s scary.’

‘Don’t worry, honey, we’ll sort out everything tomorrow, I promise. But for now, how about you tiptoe downstairs with me and sleep in my bed? You’ll have to be very quiet because Mr and Mrs Huntley-Morgan are asleep and will be mad if we wake them up, okay?’

‘Okay.’

Taking Stella’s blanket, she tucked it around Lankenua for extra warmth, then led the girl by the hand back along the narrow corridor and down the stairs, holding her breath in case she bumped into her parents. Once inside her room, she breathed a sigh of relief.

‘There now, you climb in and get comfy while I get ready for bed.’

‘Okay, Kuyia. I like it much better down here,’ Stella pronounced from the centre of the big bed. ‘It’s warm and pretty.’

‘This is where I slept as a little girl,’ Cecily said as she got in next to her then switched off the light. Stella raised her arms for a hug. ‘Better?’ asked Cecily as she folded her arms around the child.

‘Better.’

‘Sleep well, my darling.’

‘Sleep well, Kuyia.’

The following morning, having set her alarm to make sure she was awake so that she could go back upstairs and dress Stella before Evelyn came in with the breakfast tray, Cecily arrived in the attic to find that Lankenua was burning up. She flew downstairs to the kitchen to find some cloths to wet and place on Lankenua’s forehead to cool her down.

‘Where on earth are you going and what are you doing with those, sweetheart?’ Dorothea asked as she passed her daughter in the hall.

‘My maid is sick, Mama – she’s had a cough since we left England and this morning she has a high fever. I need to get it down.’

‘Surely Mary or Evelyn can see to her, Cecily? It’s probably just a cold.’

‘Well, I’m hardly surprised she’s sick; it’s freezing upstairs in that attic.’

‘The other servants have never complained about it.’

‘The other servants haven’t just arrived from Africa, Mama. Please get someone to bring a bucket of coal up to the room and we’ll get a fire going in there.’

‘Will Yeyo be all right?’ Stella asked as Cecily wiped Lankenua’s sweating, shivering body with the cool cloths. Her cough was deep and rasping and she was muttering indecipherable words to herself.

‘Sure she will, honey. If she’s not better by this evening, I’ll call the doctor to come see her. Don’t worry,’ Cecily said as Stella sat on the windowsill looking out at the snow that was falling thickly outside. Cecily had wrapped the girl in one of her own woollen cardigans to keep her warm.

‘I hope so, Kuyia. I love her very much.’

‘So do I, darling. And I swear she’ll be better soon. When she is, maybe you’d like to go out shopping with me? We need to buy you some new winter clothes – oh, and of course, there’s the toyshop, and we could add in a trip in