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And with that, he turned and strode down the corridor.
*~*~**~*~*
I didn’t take the doctor’s suggestion. Ella was the praying type. I, on the other hand, had always taken a more practical approach. So, instead of appealing to the almighty, I force-fed my little sister chicken soup and held her head while she threw most of it
up again. I made her drink warm tea and washed the sweat from her face with damp linens. The hours dragged on and on.
A knock came from the door.
‘Yes?’
Karim stuck his turban through the door. His head followed a moment later.
‘The kitchen staff tells me they’re about to serve lunch. Do you wish to come down and—’
‘No.’
‘I would watch over her while you ate and—’
‘No.’
Karim looked distinctly uncomfortable. ‘I, um…was instructed to ensure that you ate and rested sufficiently.’
‘I see. And did the person who instructed you perchance wear a ten-year-old mint-condition tailcoat?’
‘They did.’
I considered for a moment—then smiled. ‘But he also instructed you to follow all my orders, didn’t he?’
‘Yes…?’
‘Very well then. I order you to disregard his orders. All of them. Past, present and future.’
This left the poor man looking distinctly discombobulated. If I hadn’t been so hellishly scared for Ella, the constipated expression on his face might have made me laugh. When he looked as if steam was about to come from under his turban, I finally took pity on him.
‘If you have one of the maids bring me something up, will that satisfy our mutual acquaintance? I just…’ I glanced over at Ella. ‘I can’t leave her. Not now.’
Mine and Karim’s eyes met and there was a rare moment of understanding between the two of us. He nodded.
‘Family comes first. I shall have them bring something up immediately.’
Ten minutes later, I had a lavish meal in front of me, that had probably taken ten people to prepare and would take another ten to eat. A faint smile played around the corner of my mouth. The hotel manager apparently was taking his instructions to take care of me very seriously. Not surprising, considering from whom those instructions had come.
You’re not alone Lilly. He’s here. He cares.
The thought was almost enough to give me hope. Plus – so far, Ella hadn’t shown a single symptom of diarrhoea. Her vomiting had even gone down a little, and she’d been able to eat some more broth. If things just stayed like that, if nothing went wrong—
‘Lill!’
My head snapped up, away from the food. Ella had a panicked expression on her face and was trying to get out of bed. Just the effort to stand made her tremble.
‘What are you doing? Lie back down!’
‘I can’t! I’ve got to—’
Her eyes strayed towards the toilette. Eyes in which fear shone bright.
No. No, please no.
