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‘Episode?’ she echoes. ‘But I feel perfectly fine!’
‘You just blacked out for a few seconds, Grandmother,’ I offer. ‘But you’ll be fine.’
She stares at me with those huge turquoise eyes. ‘Iamfine.’
‘Take her home, Calvin,’ Dr Miller instructs. ‘Keep her warm and feed her lots of liquids. In her emotional state and with her frail health, she’ll need all the care she can get.’
‘Nettie’s leaving to visit family in Ireland tomorrow,’ Calvin says, his eyes swinging to mine in hope.
‘Oh, I’ll stay!’ Nettie assures us. ‘I’m not leaving the lady on her own like this.’
Lady Heatherton waves a weak hand to dismiss her. ‘I gave you some time off. I can’t expect you to cater to my every need all the time.’
‘I’ll take care of her,’ I offer.
‘I don’t need any taking care of,’ she snaps.
Calvin, on the other hand, is so relieved he literally sags, losing about half a foot off his towering height.
‘Thank you, miss.’
‘Not a problem,’ I assure.
After Lady Heatherton is brought upstairs and settled in and fussed over by a clinging Nettie, Dr Miller and I literally have to drag Nettie downstairs so that Calvin can take her to the train station.
‘Her regime is written down by her bedside,’ Dr Miller informs me as Nettie opens her mouth to restart her fretting. ‘Any problems at all, you call me, not Nettie.’
I clear my throat, somewhat daunted by the task.
‘Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate it.’
How long am I expected to do this? Plus, am I not here for my own health problems?
‘Now don’t you worry, Emmie,’ Nettie says. ‘Calvin is very competent. You ask him for anything you need.’
‘Thank you,’ I reply.
I wonder if he’s got an extra dose of kindness and humility to lend the lady of the manor.
*
After a night spent in Heatherton Hall, the next day I’m preparing breakfast in the huge kitchen for my grandmother – two slices of buttered toast and one egg boiled for precisely four minutes, no more and no less – when Calvin appears at the kitchen door, clearing his throat politely.
‘Miss? May I retrieve your belongings from the inn and put them in the guest room for you?’
I look up to see he seems relieved that he won’t have to stay with the Beast of Heatherton Hall on his own. I know that she certainly doesn’t want me here. What was I expecting – the beginning of the end of the permafrost era? In any case, he needs me and I can’t say no.
‘Absolutely, Calvin, please do.’
After all, how hard can taking care of her be?
