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ng to be here.’
The arrival of the twins in the waiting room virtually at the same time as one another provoked a new round of sibling greetings and hugs followed by a fresh spate of anxious questions.
‘Drogo has gone to telephone the consultant’s secretary,’ was all Emerald could tell them. ‘We won’t know anything more really until he has seen Jay.’
‘Can we see Daddy, and where’s Mummy?’ Cathy, the elder of the pair, demanded.
‘No, and she is with your father,’ Emerald answered. When she saw that the twins were about to start protesting she reminded them both firmly, ‘Don’t forget that your father is in intensive care, and will probably be sedated.’
‘Emerald’s right,’ Janey supported her, looking up as Drogo walked back into the waiting room.
‘The consultant was delayed,’ he told them, ‘an emergency that required his immediate attention, but he should be here shortly. Amber is still with Jay and is refusing point-blank to leave, as one would expect.’
‘Poor Mummy,’ said Cathy. ‘She and Daddy have always been so devoted to one another.’ In her voice was the fear that none of them wished to put into words–that Jay might not survive.
Thanks to Drogo fresh tea and coffee had appeared, along with bottled water for Emerald, and some surprisingly good sandwiches, according to Robbie, who was the only one so far who had eaten any of them.
‘There’s no point in us coming all this way to be here if we aren’t even going to be allowed to see Daddy,’ Cathy fretted.
Emerald exhaled and then said coolly, ‘Yes there is. It’s an excellent opportunity for us to deal with certain important issues, although I’d have preferred to wait until Rose gets here.’
‘You think she will come then?’ Janey queried.
Emerald didn’t know, but she did know that the problem she wanted to discuss could not be properly discussed or resolved without Rose.
‘She certainly owes it to Mummy to be here.’ Cathy’s voice was sharp, and loud enough to carry past the slightly open door to where Rose was hesitating outside in the corridor. ‘Especially when you think of all that Mummy did for her.’
‘No more was done for Rose than for any of the rest of us—’ Emerald started to point out, coming to an abrupt halt as Rose pushed open the door and stepped into the waiting room.
‘Except that you are all either her own or Jay’s daughters–and in the twins’ case both–whilst I am not,’ she said quietly.
‘Oh, Rose, Cathy didn’t mean anything,’ Janey was quick to say, and just as quick to get up and give Rose a fierce hug. ‘We’re all on edge because we’re so worried.’
Cathy, who was now looking self-conscious and guilty, confirmed, ‘Janey’s right. I’m sorry, Rose, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.’
‘No? Then what did you mean? Perhaps that since my father was disinherited by our mutual great-grandmother I should not, like everyone else, have had a trust fund? Or maybe perhaps that since I am what I so obviously am, that I should, as that same great-grandmother was so fond of saying, been sent back to the slums of Hong Kong and left to die there?’
Rose could see that she had shocked them all. That hadn’t been her intention but the conversation she had overheard had somehow not just touched a nerve but pressed a spring that had released a jack-in-the-box of destructive self-defence.
‘Now it’s my turn to apologise.’ She gave a tired shrug and pushed her hand through her hair.
‘Behaving as though we’re still in the nursery isn’t going to help anyone,’ Emerald told them all. ‘Now that Rose is here I think we should talk about what will need to be done, whilst we have the chance. We’ve got a lot of things to sort out whilst we’re here together,’ Emerald reminded her siblings.
Janey paled and looked close to tears whilst Robbie tried to look grown up as he stood by her side.
‘I don’t think that this is an appropriate time to be talking about this kind of thing. Don’t you think we should wait and see what the consultant has to say before we start making any plans?’ Cathy challenged Emerald sharply. ‘After all, the parents may have made their own arrangements for if anything should happen.’
‘On the contrary,’ Emerald told Cathy sturdily, ‘I can’t think of a more appropriate time. The discussion I want to have applies whatever the future might hold, and in my opinion is best discussed now whilst we have the time to do so. We need to talk about the business. We all know how much the business means to Mummy.’
When no one made any comment Emerald continued, ‘You may all have been too busy with your own lives to notice what’s been going on with the London end of things, and of course it’s only natural that I should have seen more and been more aware of it because I live there.’
‘What do you mean?’ Polly demanded. ‘The factory is doing very well. I know that Angelli puts a lot of business its way.’
‘The factory may be doing well but I am talking about the Walton Street shop,’ Emerald clarified. ‘Mummy hasn’t been coming down to London as often as she once did, and I rather expect that she won’t want to come down at all in future, no matter what happens.’
‘Well, the shop can be closed down, can’t it?’ Janey asked, after a long pause whilst they all digested what Emerald was saying.
‘It can, yes,’ Emerald agreed.
