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'So as I have to go to the hospital,' Josh repeated, 'I'll take Prue in with me and kill two birds with one stone,'
'Can I come?' Lynsey Killane said from the stairs, making them all jump because they hadn't heard her coming back.
Her brother frowned blackly at her. 'I'm not taking you anywhere!'
'I want to see Jack! I'm fond of him!' She didn't actually stamp her foot, but Prue got the impression' she almost did, her lovely face petulant.
'That's a good idea!' Mrs Killane said hurriedly. 'Jack's always been fond of Lynsey, Josh, you know he has . . . why not take her?'
'After the little exhibition she just put on? I didn't hear any apology, either!'
'I'm sorry I lost my temper,' Lynsey said. 'There . . . I've apologised, will you take me tomorrow?'
'I'd love to have company on the drive, ' Prue said, and everyone looked at her—Josh furiously, his mother and her father gratefully, Lynsey with the first sign of interest, smiling her little, curling, rather feline smile.
'That's settled, then,' she said.
CHAPTER FOUR
WHEN Prue came down to breakfast next day, her father had already started work, but there was a tall, raw-boned woman in the hall, polishing furniture and leaving a delicious scent of lavender on the air.
She looked round as Prue appeared, nodding. 'Morning. You must be his daughter. He's off out long since.'
Prue detected a note of disapproval in that. Her father had warned her that Betty Cain was blunt and Yorkshire to her fingertips, and this had to be Betty Cain. A woman in her forties, with dark brown hair and a clear, weathered skin, Betty Cain was busy, energetic and not inclined to gossip.
'I've done the kitchen, if you want to get yourself breakfast, but I must get on!' she said, going back to her polishing, and Prue hardly got a word out of her after that.
Josh drove up punctually; Prue got into the back seat, since Lynsey was in the front passenger seat, and they drove most of the way without saying much. When they reached the hospital, they discovered that David was in the same ward as Jack Armsden, although David was in a bed by a window at the end of the room, and the old man was in a bed by the door, where a nurse could keep a constant eye on him. Prue watched Josh and Lynsey stand by the bed; the old man's face was waxy white on the pillow and he had his eyes shut, his lids blue-veined. He looked very old and ill, and she felt a wave of pity for him.
It was a relief to see that David looked better than ( that! In fact, he waved as she came towards him. Propped up by banked pillows, his head bandaged and his pyjama jacket buttoned over bandages which strapped up his ribs, he looked quite pale, too, but his eyes were cheerful enough.
'Hello, darling! he said, grinning at her.
'I've been so worried about you, but you look great,' she said, bending to kiss him.
'All the better for seeing you, my dear!' he said in a comic wolf's growl, and she laughed, pulling up a chair so that she could sit beside his bed.
'I can see you're feeling better than you did last time I saw you, anyway!'
'You should have seen me yesterday! Strewth, I never thought I'd make it. I'd have made my will if I could have held the pen to sign it.'
'Poor David!' she said, holding his hand and smiling at him. 'I'm very glad you weren't seriously hurt. I was dreading ringing your Mum and Dad if I had to tell them bad news.'
'They know I crashed?' David looked rueful.
'Not yet. I was waiting to find out how badly you were hurt. I didn't want to panic them unnecessarily.'
'Good thinking,' he agreed fervently. 'In fact, don't bother to ring at all. When I'm out of here, I'll send Mum and Dad the odd postcard from Europe, and I'll tell them about the crash when I get back home.'
'David, you can't do that!' Prue was horrified, and he looked sullen.
'Prue, if we tell them they'll make a terrible fuss—you know that!'
$he wasn't convinced, her face anxious. 'But when they do find out, they'll be furious.'
'I'll talk them round!' he dismissed, which was typical of David, who was always sure of himself and his ability to twist both his friends and his family round his little finger. 'Now, tell me about your Dad and the farm'.'
Prue let him change the subject for the moment, because she didn't want to upset him so soon after the accident. He still looked ill.
