‘Neither of you seem to be too much the worse for wear, but you’d better go upstairs and have a shower, as Fenice suggested. And Fenice, please put the kettle on, I think the girls need something hot to drink. Grandpa Owen’s miner’s tea, that’ll do the trick.’
‘No sooner said than done, Mrs V.’ Fenice went to get the kettle, filled it with water at the sink and put it on the stove.
‘Come on, Claire,’ Laura said, shepherding her friend out of the kitchen.
Megan followed the two young girls, still pondering Claire’s demeanour. No wonder she seems frightened, Megan thought, she’s had a terrible scare. Falling into the river must have terrified her, since she can’t swim. It struck Megan that Claire might well be suffering from shock, and she wondered whether to call the doctor. Perhaps Claire ought to be taken over there to see him. Laura also looked pale, and she was shivering, but otherwise there didn’t seem to be too much wrong with her granddaughter.
Climbing the stairs behind them, Megan remarked, ‘I see you lost a sneaker, Claire.’
‘It’s in the river, Gran,’ Laura said, glancing over her shoulder.
‘I see. Never mind, we’ll drive over to Kent later and buy you another pair, Claire.’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Claire answered rapidly. ‘I have my sandals with me.’
‘Sneakers are useful in the country, comfortable, and they’ll be a gift from me,’ Megan told her as they reached the landing at the top of the stairs. ‘Now, girls, into the shower both of you.’
Claire hurried off to the blue-and-white bedroom where she always stayed, and Laura went into hers.
Megan followed her granddaughter, and once she had closed the door behind them she said, ‘Out of those wet clothes at once and into the shower, Laura. Later you can tell me exactly what happened.’
‘But I have told you, Gran.’
‘Claire could be suffering from shock,’ Megan said. ‘I think I ought to drive you both over to Dr Tomkins.’
‘We’re both okay, Gran,’ Laura protested.
‘I’m going to pop along to Claire’s room, I want to see how she’s feeling.’
‘Yes, Gran,’ Laura said and went into the bathroom.
Megan knocked on the door of Claire’s room and when there was no answer she went in. From the bathroom she could hear the sound of water running in the shower. Turning, she caught sight of herself in the mirror hanging on the wall above the antique French chest.
Pausing for a moment, Megan smoothed her hand over her dark chestnut hair and then straightened the collar of her pale blue shirt. Leaning closer, she stared at herself. How white her face was. But that was no surprise. Claire’s misadventure had upset her greatly, even though she had not let the girls see this. Laura had not yet given her the details of the accident, but obviously they had been in a precarious situation. And Laura had put herself at risk because she had run to Claire’s rescue. The wide part of the river was dangerous, and the outcome might have been very different. Megan shivered and goose bumps flew up her arms as she realized how terrible the consequences might have been. Little Mervyn…he hadn’t been so lucky when he had fallen into the lake…
She walked across the floor, stood gazing out of the window for a moment, waiting for Claire to emerge. At sixty-seven, Megan Morgan Valiant was a beautiful woman. Tall and slender, she held herself erect, and in her carriage and deportment she was very much the great Broadway musical star. Although the colour of her rich chestnut hair needed help from her hairdresser these days, it was, nevertheless, thick and luxuriant; her face was relatively free of wrinkles and had remained youthful. Her eyes were her most arresting feature. They were a deep vivid blue, large and set wide apart. Her granddaughter had inherited them, as well as her height and colouring. Lithe and full of energy, Megan was a woman who had remained young in spirit. Her career in the theatre was somewhat curtailed these days, through choice, but her popularity as a star had never waned.
‘Oh, it’s you, Grandma Megan,’ Claire said, sounding surprised as she stepped into the bedroom wrapped in a towel. ‘I’m feeling better after my shower. And warmer.’
Megan nodded. ‘But perhaps we should go and see the doctor in Kent –’
‘No, no, I don’t need a doctor,’ Claire interrupted. ‘I’m fine, honestly I am.’
‘What happened? Why did you venture into the river when you can’t swim, Claire dear?’
‘I didn’t. I fell in. I was picking flowers and slipped. I rolled down the bank. And I somehow got swept into the middle, into the deep part of the river.’
‘There’s some sort of strange current there,’ Megan explained. ‘And it is very dangerous. We’ve been aware of it for years. You’re very lucky Laura was with you.’
‘Oh but she wasn’t! I was alone. She must’ve heard me shouting for help. She dived in, but at first she couldn’t get me out of the water. My foot was caught in a roll of wire netting. She had to cut my sneaker off.’
‘My God, it’s worse than I thought! You were very lucky indeed!’
‘Yes, I was. I’d better go and dry my hair.’ Swinging around, Claire headed back into the bathroom. As she did the towel slipped down at one side, revealing part of her body.
‘Claire, whatever happened to your back?’ Megan exclaimed, staring at the yellow bruises under her shoulder blade.
‘I must have hurt myself when I fell into the river,’ Claire muttered, pulling the towel around herself swiftly.
‘Claire, those are old bruises,’ Megan answered, her voice gentle but concerned.
‘I fell off my bicycle in Central Park,’ Claire replied, and disappeared into the bathroom.
A few minutes later Megan found her husband in the dining room, where he was breakfasting on boiled eggs, thin buttered toast and his famous miner’s tea, which was very strong and sweet.
‘I heard all about it,’ Owen said as Megan hurried into the room. ‘Fenice told me, and from what she said they’re both all right, aren’t they, Megan?’
She nodded. ‘They are, but it could have been fatal for Claire,’ she replied, and then went on to explain what had happened to her.
‘Laura’s a plucky one, and strong for her age,’ Owen exclaimed. ‘And thank God she had the presence of mind to jump in and help Claire, rather than running back here for me or Tom. You say Claire’s foot got caught in a roll of wire netting. God knows how that came to be in the river. I’ll talk to Tom later, and he can lift it out.’ Owen gave Megan a pointed look and added, ‘But I’m afraid I’m going to insist Claire learns to swim. Laura and I will give her lessons in the swimming pool.’
‘That’s a good idea…’ Megan paused, leaned back in her chair and looked off into the distance.
Owen, watching her closely, said slowly, ‘I know, I know, my darling, this mishap has brought back bad memories for you…you’ve been thinking of poor little Mervyn.’
‘Yes,
