Ragged Rose. Dilly Court

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СКАЧАТЬ Papa was an only child. As far as I am aware, he has no living relatives.’

      ‘What about William? I believe he is at Oxford; would it be possible for your mother to stay with him for a few weeks?’

      Rose hesitated, caught unawares by the mention of Billy’s name. ‘I’m afraid that’s out of the question. My brother is staying with friends in Cornwall until the beginning of the next term. He has rooms in college.’

      Dr Grantley shook his head. ‘A great pity. However, I will come again tomorrow. We can only do so much and the rest is in God’s hands.’

      Rose returned to the bedside and measured out two drops of laudanum into a glass, topping it up with water. She helped her mother to a semi-recumbent position and held the glass to her lips. Eleanor drank thirstily and fell back on the pillows, exhausted by the effort.

      ‘I’m sorry to be such a nuisance to you all,’ she murmured.

      Rose replaced the glass. ‘Don’t talk like that, Mama. You know that’s not true. We’d do anything to make you better, anything at all.’

      ‘I feel so useless,’ Eleanor whispered. ‘I spend more time confined to my bed than I do looking after my family, or helping to care for the poor of the parish.’

      ‘You do more than enough, and that’s partly why you keep falling ill. You wear yourself to the bone looking after the sick and aged, but you mustn’t worry. Cora and I will do more to help Papa, and you must concentrate on getting well.’ Rose leaned over to kiss her mother’s pale cheek. ‘I promise you that we’ll take care of everything.’

      ‘You’re such a comfort to me, Rose.’ Eleanor’s eyelids fluttered and closed and within minutes she was sound asleep.

      Rose went straight to her father’s study. Her mother’s fragile condition could no longer be put aside as being a temporary indisposition. She knocked and entered the room without waiting for a response. ‘Pa, I need to talk to you.’

      Seymour put his cup back on its saucer, eyeing her with a worried frown. ‘What is it, Rose? Has your mama taken a sudden turn for the worse?’

      She sank down on the chair in front of his desk. ‘Mama is asleep. The laudanum has done its work, but it isn’t a cure. Dr Grantley said that she needs rest and country air. You must get her away from London before it’s too late, Pa.’

      Seymour peered at her over the top of his steel-rimmed spectacles. ‘Don’t you think I would have done that months ago had it been possible, Rose?’

      ‘I don’t think there is a choice now. There must be something we can do.’

      ‘I can’t abandon my duties as parish priest.’

      ‘Joshua is in his fourth year as curate, Papa. Surely he could take over for as long as need be? If you could take Mama to the seaside it would be beneficial to her health.’

      ‘I can’t afford it, Rose. It’s as simple as that.’

      Rose was not going to give up easily. ‘There must be a way.’

      ‘I have to trust in the Lord, my dear.’ A tired smile lit Seymour’s grey eyes. ‘Wearing yourself out with worry isn’t going to help, Rose. You’re a good daughter and I’m proud of the work you do, but you must take care of yourself or you might fall ill and then what would we do?’

      She glanced at the clock on the mantelshelf and rose to her feet. ‘I didn’t realise it was so late. I’ll say good night, Papa, but we’ll talk about this again in the morning. I’m not giving up so easily.’

      Rose barely slept that night and was up early next morning. She washed in cold water and dressed in her Sunday best. She left the house without disturbing the rest of the family and made her way to the church. As she had hoped, Joshua Hart was in the vestry preparing for the services that would begin with Holy Communion. He turned with a start and a slow smile spread across his plain but pleasant features, making it impossible to respond in any other way. Rose had taken to Joshua from the moment they first met when he had come to St Matthew’s as a newly ordained cleric. He was one of the few people she knew who was unfailingly cheerful and courteous, with a kindly nature and a genuine desire to help those less fortunate than himself. His quiet sense of humour saved him from becoming over-serious, but early on Rose had discovered his one weakness; Joshua Hart was hopelessly in love with Cora, who barely acknowledged his existence.

      ‘You are up and about early, Rose.’ Joshua replaced the chalice he had been polishing in readiness for communion. His smile faded. ‘Is anything wrong?’

      ‘I need your help, Joshua.’

      ‘You know that I’m always ready to do anything I can. What is it?’

      ‘I’m worried about my parents. Mama is very unwell and the doctor says she needs rest and fresh air. I think Papa is wearing himself out with work as well as worry.’

      ‘Just tell me how I can help. You know I’ll do anything for you and your family.’

      ‘I want you to persuade Papa that you are ready and willing to take over the parish so that he can take Mama somewhere to recuperate.’

      ‘Of course I’ll try to convince him that I’m capable of filling his shoes, but I’m not sure he’ll believe me.’

      ‘If I can find somewhere for them to stay that doesn’t cost too much, and if you can persuade him that the world won’t come to an end because he isn’t here for a while, we might make him see sense.’

      ‘I won’t put it quite like that, but I’ll have a word with him and see what I can do.’

      ‘You are a good friend, Joshua. I have every faith in you,’ Rose said, smiling.

      ‘Will you go with them? Your father might not think it proper for you to remain in the house on your own.’

      ‘Cora and I can look after ourselves, and we’ll still have Mrs Blunt. We’ll stay at home and carry out Mama’s parish duties to the best of our ability, so there’s no need to worry on that score.’

      ‘Leave it to me, Rose. I’ll do my very best.’

      She thanked him again and left him to finish his task, safe in the knowledge that Joshua could be trusted to keep his word, but finding somewhere for her parents to stay might prove an insurmountable problem. She decided not to mention anything to Cora until she had a definite plan in mind.

      Later that morning, Rose left on her own for Old Street and it was Maisie who answered her knock on the door.

      ‘You’re early, miss.’ Maisie eyed her curiously. ‘Is something up?’

      Rose stepped inside. ‘You’re just the person I wanted to see. I need your help.’

      ‘I’ll do anything, miss. You know that.’

      ‘You know the situation,’ Rose said carefully. ‘I don’t have to explain everything, but Cora and I have to work this evening, and it’s our housekeeper’s night off.’

      ‘And you need some help in the kitchen,’ Maisie said, grinning. ‘That’s СКАЧАТЬ