Kitty Neale 3 Book Bundle. Kitty Neale

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СКАЧАТЬ Mum!’ she yelled. ‘Help me!’

      Her bedroom door flew open, but it was her father who turned on the light as he dashed into the room. ‘What is it! What’s wrong?’

      ‘Mum! I want Mum!’

      ‘She isn’t here.’

      Agony again came tearing through her and Carol screamed, barely aware of her father rushing to her side as she felt something slithering from her body. She flung back the rumpled sheet, looked down, but saw only blood, soaking the sheets, unable to do anything but stare, transfixed, as the stain spread.

      Her vision dimmed and she felt strange, her head swimming, but then Carol knew no more as darkness enclosed her.

      Frank was barely able to comprehend what his eyes saw, but acting on impulse he bunched up the top sheet, frantically trying to stem the blood that was flowing from his daughter’s body.

      Carol was unconscious, her face ashen and, sure that he could see her lips turning blue, Frank knew he had to get help. He fled the room and headed for the nearest telephone box, his hands shaking so much he could only just manage to dial the emergency service.

      ‘Ambulance,’ he cried when the call was answered.

      He then gave the address, begged that they hurry, before he ran home again, relieved to find that though Carol was still unconscious, she was breathing.

      Though almost overwhelmed with anxiety, Frank was no fool and could see what had happened. He just couldn’t believe it – couldn’t comprehend that Carol had just had a miscarriage.

      Every minute felt like an hour as Frank waited in Carol’s bedroom for the ambulance to arrive, his mind reeling. He needed Daphne, his daughter needed her mother, but she wasn’t there and somehow he had to deal with this alone.

      Frank went to the window over and over again until at last he saw an ambulance turning onto Lark Rise. In the early hours of the morning the bell was silent as it pulled up outside. He ran downstairs to let them in, urging the men to Carol’s bedroom where he watched their every move until his daughter was being carried to the ambulance. After a momentary hesitation, he climbed in too.

      The ambulance sped off, and when they reached the hospital Carol was unloaded, still unconscious and deathly pale, her skin almost translucent. Frank looked up at the night sky and felt like howling his distress to the full moon, but instead he followed behind as they entered the hospital, his shoulders slumped like those of an old, broken man.

      When Amy’s father had come home from the pub, he’d said that Rose hadn’t turned up for work. She had seen the look that passed between her parents and at last realised what would happen when Celia Frost found out that her husband had run off with Rose, a member of their family.

      Amy had gone to bed, not only fearing Celia’s reaction, but Tommy’s too. She had lain awake for ages, finally drifting off to sleep after midnight, and woke to the sound of her father’s voice.

      ‘Come on, Amy, it’s time to get up.’

      ‘Wh … what?’ she murmured.

      ‘Amy, I’ll have to leave for work soon and you haven’t made my breakfast.’

      Amy blinked her eyes, and at last her mind cleared. Not long after that she was downstairs and working as quickly as possible, finally putting her father’s breakfast in front of him. ‘Sorry, Dad, I had a bad night.’

      ‘Yeah, something disturbed me too. I heard what sounded like a car, doors banging, voices, but I managed to go back to sleep.’

      ‘I didn’t hear any of that,’ Amy said as her father quickly demolished his food.

      He then gulped down his tea and rose to his feet. ‘Right, I’m off. See you later,’ he said, grabbing his coat before hurrying out.

      Unusually, her mother hadn’t come home from her cleaning job by the time Amy was ready to leave, and she wondered what was holding her up. She hurried out to find her mother outside Mrs Povis’s house, the two of them deep in conversation. Was her mother telling her about Tommy’s dad and Rose? Amy hoped not, because once Mabel got to hear about it the gossip would spread like wildfire.

      ‘Amy,’ her mother said as she approached, ‘there’s no point in waiting for Carol. She isn’t in, nor is anyone else. We don’t know what’s going on, or who has been taken ill, but Mabel was disturbed in the early hours of this morning and got up just in time to see an ambulance pulling away. She knocked on the door fifteen minutes ago to see if they needed anything, but there was no answer.’

      Amy’s heart skipped a beat as she recalled that Carol’s dad had been looking for her, and then he’d asked if Carol was with her mother. It had seemed a bit of an odd question, but with other things on her mind, Amy hadn’t given it much thought. It still didn’t make much sense, nor did it help to work out who had been taken so ill that an ambulance had been called. Amy didn’t know what to do. She’d be late for work if she didn’t get a move on, yet she couldn’t leave without knowing what had happened. ‘Mum, I think I’ll run to the telephone box. If I ring our local hospitals, one of them will be able to tell me if they admitted Carol or her parents, and if they’re all right.’

      ‘You haven’t got time to do that, and anyway, as you aren’t a relative I doubt they’d tell you anything. Go to work, love, and if there’s any news I promise I’ll ring the shop.’

      Amy was about to protest, but then saw Frank Cole walking down the hill. All three of them went to meet him, and seeing that he looked dreadful Amy asked anxiously, ‘Mr Cole, what happened? Who was taken ill?’

      ‘Carol, but she’s going to be all right,’ he said.

      ‘What’s wrong with her?’ Mabel asked.

      ‘I’ve been up all night and I’m in no mood for questions,’ he said tersely, brushing past them.

      ‘Well, that’s nice ain’t it,’ Mabel complained. ‘I only asked out of concern for Carol.’

      Amy doubted that, but kept her opinion to herself, only saying, ‘Carol’s mum must still be at the hospital, and maybe I’ll be allowed to visit her this evening.’

      ‘Yes, I’m sure you will, love, but you’d best get a move on now or you’re going to be very late for work.’

      ‘All right, see you later,’ Amy called as she hurried up the hill thinking about her friend. If Carol had been suffering an underlying illness for some time, it explained why she hadn’t been herself lately. Poor Carol, but at least her dad said she was going to be all right.

      She passed Tommy’s house, tensing as she imagined his mother flying out to confront her about Rose like a dragon breathing fire. Nothing happened, but for how long? How long before both Tommy and his mother found out the truth?

       Chapter Thirteen

      At first, Carol had barely been aware that she’d undergone emergency surgery to stop the bleeding, nor did she know that her father had refused to leave the hospital until he knew that she was going to be all right.

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