Katie looked at her sister with big, big eyes and whispered, 'It's great to see her sleeping naturally. Before, it was awful; we thought she'd never regain consciousness.'
Emma Farr, given time, was going to be fine, so the young doctor in charge of her case had affirmed. After getting this expert prognosis Finn had delivered her to the door of Emma's private room and had left without a word, not even saying goodbye, striding away as fast as his long legs would carry him.
And goodbye to you, too, Caro had muttered darkly inside her head, swallowing tears and anger in equal measure. So much for his suggestion that they discuss Katie's accusations at a more convenient time. If he'd had any intention of doing that he would have made some mention of it, told her he'd be in touch.
He'd done nothing of the sort. Simply made himself scarce. If she ever heard from him again she'd turn into a monkey's uncle!
Which meant he had to be the louse she'd believed him to be right at the start, before his charisma and her suddenly over-active hormones had made her doubt.
'Maybe we should leave now she's asleep?' she suggested, noting Katie's pallor, the droop of her shoulders.
She felt deeply ashamed of herself. How could she have allowed that creep to influence her to the extent of being on the point of believing he could do no wrong, and that Katie, her own dearly loved kid sister, had made the whole thing up?
'You've had a long and worrying day. And there's nothing either of us can do here now. Sleep is the best medicine Mum can get at the moment and we'll come in again in the morning.'
Tears stung her eyes. Her mother looked so small and frail hooked up to that drip. But she was going to be all right, and that was what counted.
'Did Gran make it to the hospital?' she asked as they tiptoed quietly from the room, and Katie shook her head.
'No. I don't think she felt she could face it. You know—the journey, the waiting around. David was here with me for most of the time—until Mum regained consciousness, that is. Otherwise I don't think I could have faced it, either. Not on my own. He went back when we knew Mum was going to be OK—he's got his dogs to feed and let out for a run. He kept Gran informed by phone, and she phoned you. Have you got your car?'
Caro shook her head. David Parker, her grandmother's head gardener, certainly had a happy knack of coming to the rescue, she thought approvingly, her mouth twitching when Katie went decidedly pink and offered, 'You can come back with us, then.' She looked at her watch. 'Dave said he'd come and collect me at eight. It's nearly that now. We'll wait in the car park, shall we?'
'That young man deserves a rise,' Caro said drily as they walked out of the hospital together. 'You should learn to drive, Katie.'
'I know. Dave's promised to teach me.'
'You get on well with him.'
'Very.' Katie bit her lip. 'I—I work with him in the gardens now. Old George finally retired and I suggested I took his place; I've always loved plants and flowers, you know that.'
Caro stood back for Katie to precede her through the door to the visitors' car park, her golden eyes thoughtful. Finn had mentioned something about a floral decorator's business, hadn't he? She let it go. For now.
'Don't tell me Gran pays you a wage?'
'She does so!' Katie grinned. 'She refused to think of my working in the gardens at first. Said I was just playing around. But Dave insisted, and not even Gran dares to go against him—she relies on him for much more than keeping the grounds beautiful now that the Fairchilds are getting so long in the tooth.
'So she pays me what she's graciously pleased to call "apprenticeship wages"—just means roughly half of what Old George was getting—just to let everyone know she still calls the shots! Oh, look.' She had been scanning the arrivals and now her face lit up. 'There he is!'
Dave Parker drove an elderly Volvo estate and he was just as attractive and reliable-looking as ever. And Caro breathed a silent sigh of relief as his eyes lit up when he saw Katie waiting.
At least whatever her sister obviously felt for her grandmother's gardener wasn't one-sided, a fact confirmed by events when, half an hour later, he dropped them off at the lodge.
Caro, dumping her bags in the porch and turning, waiting for Katie who had the doorkey, noted the lingering lover-like kiss with satisfaction.
'It's serious, is it?' she asked when a few minutes later the Volvo's tail-lights disappeared down the lane.
'We plan to marry in the autumn,' Katie confided. 'Gran might not like it, but she'll have to lump it. You know what she's like, the rage she'll get into when she hears a member of the exalted Fair family is actually going to marry a servant!
'Do you think one of us should go over and see if she's all right? I know she has the Fairchilds and Polly to dance attendance and bow to her every whim but you know how miffed she gets if she thinks one of us is neglecting her.'
'I'll phone through and let her know we're back from the hospital later,' Caro offered. She needed to talk to her sister. They had gravitated to the kitchen, flicking lights on as they went. Caro gave silent thanks to the absent Dave because his relationship with her sister appeared to have given her the confidence to stand up for herself for the first time in her life. She could actually talk about the possibility of displeasing her grandmother without going pale and shaking in her shoes.
However, there was something she had to know, something that might shake all that new-found confidence. 'As far as I know, Finn Helliar's still up at the big house with Gran.'
'Finn? Helliar? Why should he be here?'
Katie's face had gone scarlet. 'Something to do with those trust funds,' Caro said, and picked up the kettle. 'Tea?'