Leo wasn’t sure what to make of his sudden appearance. He pulled up a chair from one of the other tables and sat down.
‘I happened to be passing, and remembered you saying you were meeting Leo. I thought it would be nice to buy you both a cup of coffee. What have you been chatting about?’
‘Nothing that would interest you,’ Fiona responded. ‘That’s why girls have lunch together, so that we don’t have to discuss the bloody economy.’
‘Ah, all clothes and make-up is it. Well, carry on. Don’t mind me.’
Fiona cast him an irritated glance, and Leo knew that Charles had effectively brought an end to their conversation. But the more she thought about the nuggets of information that Fiona had revealed, the more convinced she was that whatever Charles was up to, he wasn’t the only one with something to hide.
29
Ellie was covering a shift for one of the other nurses that afternoon, and the ICU was busy when she arrived at the hospital. An accident on the motorway had resulted in the admission of a couple of other patients, but none of their injuries were quite so bad as Abbie’s, and Ellie was pleased to be told that she would be nursing the young girl again today. As she walked through the unit she could see Kath Campbell in her usual spot, her chair drawn as close to Abbie as she could get, with one hand gently stroking her daughter’s arm. But today she seemed to have lost all control and tears were flowing freely down her cheeks.
‘Kath?’ Ellie said quietly. She crouched down by the side of Kath’s chair. ‘What is it? I’ve checked with the other nurses, and they say Abbie’s no worse - what’s upsetting you so much?’ She took Kath’s other hand between her two.
‘It’s my fault she’s like this. It’s all my fault,’ Kath sobbed. She was clearly finding it difficult to speak, and Ellie stroked her hand.
‘Of course it’s not. Listen, I’m going to get you a glass of water, then you can tell me all about it. Okay?’
Asking the nurse on the next bed to keep an eye open for Abbie, Ellie made her way towards the nurses’ station. She could understand why Abbie’s mum felt the way she did; she knew that if anything happened to the twins, she would inevitably feel that it was all her fault - whether it was or not.
As she was getting a plastic cup of water from the cooler, one of the student nurses grabbed her.
‘Come with me, Ellie. I’ve got something to show you.’
Ellie looked at her wide grin and couldn’t help reciprocating as she was dragged into the office.
‘Ta da!’ she exclaimed, pointing her hand theatrically to a huge arrangement of flowers on the desk. ‘Look what’s just arrived. Aren’t they gorgeous?’
Every single flower was a rose, in every shade of yellow and apricot imaginable.
Ellie felt the blood draining from her face, but the student nurse was chattering on.
‘The note is so thoughtful - do want me to tell you what it says?’
Totally missing the point that Ellie hadn’t said a word, she began to read.
‘“For Abbie. Wishing her a speedy recovery and offering special and sincere love to those wonderful nurses who care for her.” It doesn’t say who it’s from, but how nice is that?’ she said, turning her beaming face to Ellie. ‘I know we can’t have them on the ward, but you should take them home with you. They’re completely fabulous, aren’t they?’
Ellie forced herself to smile. The student was so enraptured by the truly magnificent flowers that she failed to notice Ellie’s shock.
‘Do you know what?’ Ellie said. ‘I think we should give them to Kath to take home. Take the card off, and say they came for Abbie. Thanks for showing me, but I need to get back.’
She knew that her less than enthusiastic response had been noted, but she didn’t care. She had to pull herself together and get on with her work. What was he thinking?
By the time she returned to the bedside, Kath was calmer and Ellie handed her the water and sat down in the spare chair, mentally telling herself to focus, focus, focus.
‘Okay, Kath, tell me what’s happened since I was here last. Something’s obviously made you feel worse, so talk to me. Maybe I can help.’
‘I’ve been a fool. I gave in to pressure, even though I wasn’t happy about it. I only let her use Facebook because everybody else