‘Hi there,’ I said. ‘Are you okay in here on your own? I’ve come to make a drink. Can I get you anything?’
She looked up; her eyes were red. My stomach clenched in sympathy, and I went to sit beside her, putting a hand on the back of her chair. To me, she looked like a child in need of a hug, but I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable by gathering her up the way I wanted to. Sofia, however, had no such reservations. She immediately slid her arms around my waist and pressed her face into my shoulder and, as I wrapped my arms around her and muttered soothing words, I could feel her sobbing. After a few minutes, she pulled away and drew the back of her hand across her face. I dug in my pocket for a tissue and handed it to her.
‘Oh, sweetheart,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry you feel so wretched. Are you missing home?’
She nodded and gulped, then said, ‘Sort of, yes, and I miss Mummy, and I’m scared about starting school tomorrow.’
‘I would be, too,’ I said, and she looked surprised.
‘Really? Mummy said it was silly because it was just school, and I’ve been to school before.’
Raising an internal eyebrow at Mummy’s rather harsh take on the matter, I considered my next words carefully.
‘Well, people feel differently about these things. But I felt scared coming here, even though my whole job is about going to new houses and meeting new people. I’d never been tothishouse, or metthesepeople, so of course I was worried.’
‘But are you happy now?’
‘Very,’ I said firmly, if not a hundred per cent truthfully. ‘I’m much more comfortable now I’m getting used to it, and everyone has been very kind and welcoming. I’m sure school will be the same, and you know that India isn’t far away. Maybe she’ll even be able to check in on you during the day.’
I made a mental note to mention it to India, having no idea of how the school was laid out, or what their rules were about senior girls visiting younger ones.
‘I hope so,’ said Sofia, giving me a wan smile. ‘I like India. And Firefly.’
‘I’m going upstairs now to see Marilise,’ I said. ‘She often likes to play a game around this time. Would you like to join in?’
‘Yes, please!’ said the little girl, a real smile now coming to her face. ‘Do you think Marilise would like some of those ginger snaps we had yesterday?’
‘I think that’s an excellent idea.’
A few minutes later, we were going quietly into the bedroom and, before long, all sitting around the table in the window munching ginger snaps and playing Snakes and Ladders.
‘Do you like the ginger snaps?’ asked Sofia, nibbling what must have been her fifth. I wondered what her mother would think about this intake, but she seemed to have sent little in the way of instructions for her daughter’s care, so either she assumed we knew what we were doing, or she wasn’t bothered.Either way, unlimited sweets seemed like the way forward for the time being.
‘I like them very much,’ said Marilise, then groaned as she landed on a long snake and had to go back about thirty spaces. ‘But at this time of year what I used to love to do was bake Linzer cookies with my sister. Of course, the recipe was Austrian, not local to us, but we loved them so much. We would eat almost as much jam as we put in.’
She gazed out of the window, and I thought she looked rather tired. Turning to Sofia, I said, ‘Would you pop over to my room quickly? I left my thermometer on the dressing table.’
When she had left the room, I asked Marilise how she was feeling.
‘Tired,’ she said. ‘I do not like to admit it, but your nurse’s eyes see it, so what is the point in pretending?’
Sofia came back with the thermometer and sat quietly looking out of the window while I did some basic checks.
‘I don’t think it’s anything that an early night won’t solve,’ I said, and Marilise chuckled.
‘You think an early night will solve the fact that I am nearly ninety years old?’
I grinned.
‘Well, maybe not, but I think you’ll feel – ooh – at least eighty-five in the morning.’
‘Eighty-five! I’ll take that.’
‘Good. I think you should have your supper up here; I can join you.’
She hesitated.
‘Yes, yes, you could, but I wonder if you would mind seeing if Angela is able to come up for a little while if I eat now? I know she is so busy, but I miss her.’
