The Nightingale Girls - By Donna Douglas Page 0,152

all. She didn’t summon me, but I’m sure she knew I would hardly stay away.’

‘I do wish she wouldn’t meddle.’

‘Grandmothers are made to meddle. Mine is the most atrocious meddler, as I’m sure you know.’ He sent her a sidelong look. ‘Why? Would you rather I weren’t here?’

She turned her head to look at him. ‘No,’ she admitted with a smile. ‘I’m glad you’re here, Seb.’

Chapter Forty-Nine

THEY SAT TOGETHER at her father’s bedside all evening. Millie would have stayed there all night too, if Seb hadn’t gently persuaded her to go home and rest. ‘You’ll do your father no good at all if you’re exhausted,’ he reasoned. ‘Do you think he wants to wake up and see you looking like death?’

All through the following day he was there by her side. And the day after that.

‘You don’t have to stay, you know,’ she said, over and over again. But the answer was always the same.

‘I know I don’t have to. But I want to.’

As they sat there together, Millie opened her heart and confided in him her fears for the estate.

‘Granny’s right,’ she sighed. ‘Jackson is a good man, but someone needs to take charge there. There’s so much to be done. The hops will be ready for picking soon, and then there’s the fruit and all the other crops . . .’

‘Let me help,’ Seb said.

‘You?’

‘Don’t sound so surprised,’ he laughed. ‘I know I might seem like a bumbling fool, but I do know something about running an estate. Who do you think has been looking after Lyford while my brother’s been in the army and my father’s been – well, doing whatever he does? I would like to help,’ he said earnestly. ‘I could help keep an eye on everything until your father is well enough to take over the reins again.’

The way he said it touched Millie. It gave her hope that one day everything would be back to normal, even though in the back of her mind she knew it wouldn’t.

‘Would you?’ she said hopefully. ‘It would be such a relief to know Billinghurst was in good hands.’

‘Of course. You know I’d do anything to help you.’ He took her hand and for a moment they stared into each other’s eyes. ‘Millie—’ Seb started to say, but she cut him off.

‘I’d better read to Daddy.’ She withdrew her hand from his and picked up the folded copy of The Times she had brought from home. ‘He needs to know what’s happening in the world.’

Seb rose to his feet. ‘I’ll take a stroll, if you don’t mind? I need some fresh air.’

Millie watched him out of the window, walking briskly down towards the stream that ran through the hospital grounds. Dear Seb. He was the kindest, most wonderful friend she could ever wish for. But she knew he wanted more than that.

Could she offer him anything other than friendship? She knew she loved being with him, that she needed his strength and his unshakable good humour. He was the only one she could really talk to, and she missed him when he wasn’t by her side.

But was that the same as love? He didn’t make her heart flutter, or her head spin. But perhaps those kinds of feelings didn’t really count? She pushed her troubled thoughts aside, opened up the newspaper and scanned through the stories.

‘“Parliament has finally passed the new Government of India Act,”’ she read aloud. ‘“It gives all provinces full representative and elective governments.” Just think, thirty million Indians will finally have the vote. I think that’s a good thing, don’t you, Daddy? Although it says the Viceroy and his governors retain veto powers. I hope they don’t use them. That wouldn’t be very fair, would it?’ She laughed to herself. ‘Listen to me! A week ago I wouldn’t have given a fig about politics, and now I’m quite au fait with it all. You always said I should take more interest in current affairs, didn’t you?’

She stared at her father’s waxy, lifeless face, willing him to respond, to be proud of her. But there was only silence.

Choking back tears, she turned hurriedly to the crossword, rustling the pages. As usual, she could only manage a few of the clues before she was completely stumped.

‘Twelve across. “Left in the dark”. Eight letters. Now what could that be?’ She chewed the end of her pencil thoughtfully. ‘Electric? That’s to do with the dark, isn’t it? Although I suppose it’s more light than dark. Abandon? No,