Kitty Neale 3 Book Bundle. Kitty Neale

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СКАЧАТЬ was appalled and made an excuse. ‘I’m afraid I can’t do that. It would upset the numbers, and the dining table only seats six.’

      ‘But …’

      ‘Thomas,’ Celia interrupted, doing her best to look upset, ‘I’m really looking forward to this dinner party, so please don’t ruin it for me.’

      ‘Oh, all right. I suppose I can see Amy on Sunday.’

      ‘Thank you, darling. Now, what would you like for breakfast?’

      ‘A boiled egg would be nice.’

      Celia went through to the kitchen, smiling that she had got her own way.

      At eleven o’clock, Phyllis at last took her turn to see the doctor. There had been quite a lot of people in front of her when she’d arrived, and at first she’d been tempted to leave, but the walk to the surgery had worn her out so she’d sunk gratefully onto an empty seat.

      ‘How are you, Mrs Miller?’ the doctor asked, indicating a chair to the side of his desk while taking out her scant notes.

      Phyllis wasn’t surprised that there was little for him to read. She was rarely ill and couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Dr Trent. ‘I’m not feeling too well. I fainted recently, and I feel tired all the time.’

      ‘Have you any other symptoms, shortness of breath, chest pains?’

      ‘No, nothing like that.’

      He leaned forward to pull down her lower eyelid and then said, ‘You may be anaemic. Take off your coat and top please. I’ll examine your chest.’

      Phyllis felt embarrassed, but did as Dr Trent asked. When she was ready he turned to look at her and frowned. ‘You look severely underweight. Have you got a cough and if so, have you coughed up any blood?’

      Startled, Phyllis wondered if he thought she had tuberculosis. Her voice trembled as she replied, ‘I haven’t got a cough, so no.’

      Nevertheless he put his stethoscope to his ears and moved round to her back, telling her to breathe in and out naturally. He did the same at the front, removed the stethoscope and then pinched the skin on her forearm between his finger and thumb. ‘Get dressed and sit down again, Mrs Miller.’

      Phyllis found her hands shaking so much that she had difficulty fastening her buttons. Tuberculosis, no please, not that, she inwardly prayed.

      At last she was dressed and as she sat down again Dr Trent said, ‘Your chest is clear, but you’re anaemic and from what I can see, severely undernourished.’

      ‘I … I haven’t got TB?’

      ‘No, Mrs Miller, we can rule that out. However, I’m concerned about your weight. Have you got a problem with your digestion, pain when you eat?’

      ‘No, I haven’t.’

      ‘Any vomiting or diarrhoea?’

      Once again Phyllis said no, and Dr Trent leaned back in his chair, studying her for a moment, before saying, ‘Mrs Miller, are you actually eating anything?’

      ‘Yes, yes, of course.’

      ‘Well, clearly not enough,’ he said. ‘You look like you’ve been deliberately starving yourself. That isn’t the case is it?’

      ‘Of course it isn’t,’ she said indignantly.

      ‘Is it that you can’t afford to eat properly?’

      ‘Well, I must admit I’ve been a bit short lately, but things have changed and I’ll have a bit more money now.’

      ‘I’m glad to hear it, because continued undernourishment can lead to serious problems,’ he said, before scribbling out a prescription. ‘Take these pills for your anaemia and come back in a month. By which time I want to see that you’ve put on weight. ’

      ‘Yes, doctor,’ Phyllis said, feeling a huge sense of relief as she left the surgery to walk home. Deep down she’d been worried about her tiredness, had thought she had something seriously wrong with her, but it was just lack of proper food and anaemia. She would only tell Stan and Amy about the anaemia and say that the pills would soon put her right. Her daughter could stop worrying, and tonight she’d try to be the peacemaker between Amy and her father.

      ‘Amy, cheer up,’ Carol said at work during a quick break mid-morning. ‘All right, you fell out with your dad, and your mum had a go at you, but it’s not the end of the world. They dote on you so all you’ve got to do is apologise when you get home and it’ll be over and done with.’

      ‘I hope so,’ Amy said.

      ‘Is your mum in a state about Winnie Morrison?’ Carol asked. ‘Come to that, are you?’

      ‘It was awful to see her like that, and I was at first, but I’m all right now. She was a nice old lady, but I didn’t really have that much to do with her. Mum was really upset though and now I’ve gone and made things worse.’

      Fed up of hearing about Amy’s fall out with her parents, Carol changed the subject. ‘The week has dragged, but it’s Friday at last and tonight I’m going out to dinner with Roy.’

      ‘And I’m seeing Tommy,’ Amy said, at last smiling.

      ‘Where is he taking you?’ Carol asked.

      ‘I don’t know, probably just for another walk but it won’t be a long one. Tommy’s a lot better, but he tires quickly.’

      Carol thought it sounded boring. A walk, no thanks, it wasn’t for her. She’d rather go dancing or to the pictures, but tonight was something different again. They were going out to dinner, and not only that, Roy had a car!

      ‘Carol, Amy, you’ve had a fifteen-minute break, and we have customers.’

      ‘Coming, Miss Winters,’ Carol called, reluctantly going back into the shop to assist a woman who was waiting to be served.

      ‘Have you got those in a size six?’ the woman asked, pointing to a flat, brown shoe on display.

      ‘I’ll have a look for you,’ she said politely, while glancing outside to see if she could see Roy on the other side of the road. There was no sign of him, but it didn’t matter. She’d be seeing him tonight and she had the perfect dress to wear, one that made her look older and sophisticated.

      Carol smiled as she went to the stock room, hoping that this date with Roy would be the first of many, unaware then that Roy had something entirely different on his mind.

       Chapter Nine

      Amy was ready with her apology when she arrived home from work, and as soon as she saw her father, tears welled in her eyes. ‘Dad, I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I was wrong, and I’m sorry.’

      He looked at her for a moment and СКАЧАТЬ