Healing in the Hills

by Ruth Clemence

  Lewis went across and sitting down on the edge of the bed, gave her a gentle hug and then kissed her on the cheek. ‘Hello, chick. How are you? Not too bumpy for you coming home in the ambulance?’

  Anne smiled and shook her head. ‘No, and the men were absolutely super, telling me jokes all the way home. And it was so nice to get here and come up to our very own room and find Clare here,’ and she held out her hand to the silent girl sitting on the side of the second bed.

  They were very similar in appearance, Ismay noted, but where Anne Kynoch’s eyes held a glint of laughter and amusement, the younger girl had rather an impassive expression on her face, and beside her on the coverlet lay a small hearing appliance. As Lewis turned his head to look at her he frowned and gestured to her to put it into her ear. Slowly and patently with some reluctance Clare Kynoch picked up the hearing aid and inserted it into her left ear.

  As soon as she had done so Lewis Kynoch said, ‘I wish you’d wear it all the time. How many times have you been told?’

  Clare did not answer, but stared down at her feet. ‘Don’t be cross with her, please,’ Anne pleaded. ‘Not my first day home—you know how she hates to wear it. And when the two of us are alone together it’s so easy for me to talk to her without her having to use the beastly thing,’ and she reached out a hand to her sister, took Clare’s fingers and gave them a squeeze.

  Lewis got off the bed and pulled Ismay forward. ‘Well, here’s your new companion. I’ve just picked her up at the station. This is Ismay. Ismay, meet Anne,’ he gestured to the girl lying in the bed, ‘and Clare.’

  Ismay said, ‘Hello, Anne,’ and then on her fingers swiftly signalled to Clare, ‘Hello! If it helps I can speak the sign language too.’

  Immediately Clare’s face lit up and she walked round to where Ismay was standing beside Lewis and shook hands solemnly, smiling shyly.

  ‘I don’t know what you said to her,’ Lewis remarked approvingly, ‘but whatever it was you appear to have made an instant conquest. I congratulate you. Now,’ and he glanced towards the window, ‘if I’m to get an hour with the fish, I’d better be off. I’ll leave you three to get acquainted.’ And to Anne as he walked towards the door, ‘I’ll see you later before you’re tucked down for the night.’

  He was gone with the words and Ismay was left alone with her two charges. Instantly she saw the door was firmly shut, Clare unhooked the hearing aid and putting it down on the bed said in a low husky voice, ‘If he ever had to wear one of these he’d know how hateful they are!’

  Ismay walked forward towards Anne’s bed and almost automatically began to straighten and tuck in the sheets and plump up the pillows. Anne looked up at her. ‘You don’t mind Clare not wearing her aid, do you, Ismay?’ she asked appealingly. ‘She can lip-read perfectly, and as I saw you tell her, you too can talk on your fingers, so there won’t be any difficulty in communicating.’

  Ismay hesitated for a moment before she replied. ‘Well, for my own part,’ she said at last, ‘I don’t mind at all, but if he,’ she hesitated before saying ‘your father,’ and it seemed silly to refer to Lewis as Mr. Kynoch, ‘if he wants Clare to wear it...’

  ‘Oh, Lewis won’t find out,’ Anne urged beseechingly, and she laid a hand on Ismay’s arm. ‘Please, Ismay. Just between the three of us.’

  Clare, who had been watching their faces, broke in at this point. ‘I don’t want to get you two into trouble,’ she began.

  ‘Stupid!’ Anne said instantly. ‘No one will know if we keep quiet about it and you’re careful, Clare. Please, Ismay,’ she pleaded for Ismay’s co-operation.

  Beads of perspiration were beginning to appear on the girl’s forehead and Ismay knew that this was no time to argue. ‘All right, Anne. Now relax. It’s not going to do any good to get worked up, you know. You’re supposed to be resting after your journey. Now what time do you have supper? I take it you’ve already had tea.’

  ‘Oh yes. Gran gave me tea and cakes and things as soon as I got home, so I’m not really hungry,’ Anne replied. ‘They have supper downstairs between half past seven and eight, but I expect I shall be having something on a tray.’

  ‘Me too,’ Clare broke in. ‘I don’t want to go downstairs and eat with the others if Anne can’t come too.’

  ‘Well, what do you say to all three of us having supper upstairs together?’ Ismay suggested. ‘I’m sure your grandmother won’t mind, especially if I go down and collect everything we’ll need and then take our dirty dishes down and wash up.’

  The two girls’ eyes were shining and their agreement to this scheme was wholehearted.

  By this time Ismay had got Anne comfortably settled in bed and she had had time to examine the room. It was a very pleasant room and larger than she had realized when she had first entered it. The windows on the right-hand side formed a small bay and there was a big cushioned window seat with a round formica-covered table in front of it. Towards the other end of the room was a big fitted wardrobe, and a door which must lead, Ismay supposed, into a bathroom.

  The girls saw the direction of her gaze and at once Anne said, ‘Yes, that’s the bathroom, Ismay, you’ll have to share it with us—you won’t mind, will you?’

  ‘I shan’t mind at all. I’m next door, aren’t I? I haven’t seen my own room yet.’

  ‘Why don’t you go and look at it now and have a wash and change your shoes or something?’ Anne urged, ‘then it will almost be suppertime and you can go downstairs and ask Gran if we may have it up here together. Mrs. Fletcher always stays to serve the evening meal, so if you can find the kitchen all you need do is ask her.’

  Ismay thought Anne’s suggestion a good one and saying, ‘I’ll see you both in about fifteen minutes,’ she went along the corridor to where Lewis Kynoch had put down her two suitcases. They were still standing outside the door, and tentatively she opened it and looked in. The room had obviously been prepared for a visitor. The bed was made up and fresh flowers stood in a bowl on the dressing table. Pleasingly decorated in shades of primrose and white, the room looked through a big window over the garden towards the drive. Ismay put her suitcase on the bed, walked over to the window and looked out. By craning her neck she could just see the glint of water over the tops of the trees and she gave a sigh of sheer pleasure. But there was no time just now to stand admiring the scenery. Taking off her coat, she washed, did her hair and changing into a more comfortable pair of low-heeled shoes, went downstairs to try and find the kitchen.

  It did not take long to locate. As she turned out of the hall into the first corridor on her left Ismay heard the sound of voices and the clatter of pots and pans, and coming to an open doorway she stood hesitating as she saw Mrs. Kynoch and a fat middle-aged woman both at the big rectangular table, obviously busy preparing a meal.

  They glanced up at Ismay standing motionless in the doorway and Mrs. Kynoch smiled. ‘Have you come for Anne’s tray?’ she asked. ‘Mrs. Fletcher and I were just doing her a small portion of steamed fish. I don’t suppose her appetite is up to her usual standard yet.’

  Ismay walked forward into the warm kitchen full of appetizing odours and Mrs. Kynoch introduced her to the plump countrywoman standing at her side. Ismay held out her hand and Mrs. Fletcher wiped floury fingers down the side of her apron before grasping the outstretched hand and saying, ‘Pleased to meet you,’ in rather a gruff voice.

  ‘Do you mind my asking a favour?’ Ismay began tentatively. ‘Clare wants to eat with Anne and I wondered if you’d mind my taking up supper for all three of us. It won’t cause any extra trouble, I promise you. I’ll bring the things down after Anne is settled for the night and Clare and I will wash up.’

  Mrs. Fletcher immediately broke into a low chuckle. ‘No need for that, ducky,’ she said in broad north-country tones. And as Ismay began to look puzzled at this remark Mrs. Kynoch broke in, ‘The fact is, to Mrs. Fletcher’s delight, I got a dishwasher from my sons last Christmas. Apparently they thought at my age I’d done enough washing u
p, and Felicity, my daughter-in-law, is no help in the kitchen at all. Not only is it a great boon to the household, but it’s Mrs. Fletcher’s particular pride and joy, and she takes great pleasure in filling it up to full capacity and switching it on before she leaves each evening. It’s a very special kind—even does saucepans and cooking utensils.’

  ‘That’s right.’ Mrs. Fletcher was still smiling broadly. ‘The thought of that old thing doing all my work sends me home fairly chortling every night,’ and her ample person heaved as she continued to laugh. ‘Talk about hands as smooth as your face,’ she went on, ‘I tell my hubby I’ll be winning the glamorous grandma contest yet at next midsummer fair!’

  Ismay herself was smiling by this time, nobody could have resisted the infectious mirth of the pleasant woman facing her, and Mrs. Kynoch, smiling gently, glanced from one to the other before she asked, ‘What would you like for your own meal, Ismay? I don’t suppose you had much to eat on the journey coming up.’

  ‘I’ll have whatever Clare has,’ Ismay answered. ‘I’m not frightfully hungry. I’ve been sitting all day, you know.’

  ‘Just the same, I’m sure you could managed a grilled pork chop,’ Mrs. Kynoch stated. ‘That’s what Clare will be having. Now run along and keep my granddaughters happy. Mrs. Fletcher will bring everything up in a quarter of an hour, so away with you.’

  Ismay hesitated. ‘Are you sure I can’t help?’

  ‘Positive. Mrs. Fletcher and I are used to getting things done as a team. Amuse Anne and Clare until the evening meal is ready. It will relieve me just to know someone is keeping an eye on them.’

  Ismay thanked her and beat a retreat. She found the girls bent over a game, but immediately they saw her open the door the game was abandoned.

  ‘Come and tell us about yourself,’ Anne demanded. ‘We want to know how old you are, where you live, where you learned to be a nurse—all about everything, in fact. You don’t mind, do you?’

  Ismay laughed. ‘Not at all, if you want my life’s history, you shall have it. I’ve nothing to hide.’ But the instant the words left her lips she knew she had no intention of telling anyone about Peter and the accident, nor about the wedding which had so nearly taken place. The pity which she had received from all sides in Cambridge had been such an ordeal she certainly was not giving her latest employers the opportunity to begin pitying her in their turn, especially as she knew how little she deserved people’s commiseration. Not even to her own parents could she find the courage to admit that Peter’s death had solved a problem for her, one which she had been quite unable to sort out for herself, and that far from feeling all purpose in life had ended, she had only been shocked beyond measure at her own reactions. She had felt she had lost a good friend, not a dearly loved future husband, and the resultant weight on her conscience had almost overwhelmed her usual cheerful spirit.

  Ismay awoke from these unpleasant recollections to find the two girls were waiting for her to begin, so she forced herself to smile as she gave them a brief, thumbnail sketch of her home in Cambridge, her schooldays and brief anecdotes of nursing in the same London hospital where Matron had said Anne and Clare’s father had also trained.

  The girls hung on her every word. Ismay spoke slowly so that Clare would have no difficulty in following the conversation. ‘Not married yet, or even engaged?’ Anne asked as she finished. Ismay shook her head.

  ‘Well, I can’t understand it,’ Anne continued. ‘I should have thought someone like you would have been snapped up.’

  ‘Why someone like me?’ Ismay asked. ‘I’m very ordinary, you know. There are lots of girls exactly like me nursing in every town in Great Britain.’

  Anne looked unconvinced. ‘Well, I think you’re rather super.’

  ‘What, already?’ Ismay asked quizzically. ‘You hardly know me yet. I might be an absolute dragon.’

  ‘No, I can tell you’re not,’ Anne said. ‘I’ve had my fill of dragons while I’ve been in hospital, and our Matron at school ... well!’

  Anne glanced towards Clare, who laughed merrily. ‘She’s an absolute beast,’ Clare corroborated her sister’s speaking look. ‘She won’t let us do anything. In fact, she wouldn’t believe for a long time that Anne’s leg was really bad. She thought she was putting it on to get out of games. It wasn’t until Lewis came down on the next Sunday to take us out and saw something was really wrong that Anne saw the doctor—and didn’t Lewis give Matron a piece of his mind? We weren’t supposed to know, but one of the other girls heard them through, the door of Matron’s room and came and told us.’

  At that moment there was the sound of activity in the corridor and getting up to open the door, Ismay stood aside to let Mrs. Fletcher come in. She was carrying a huge tray and she waddled across the bedroom floor and set it down on the table by the window.

  ‘There! I think I’ve remembered everything. Eat every scrap,’ and beaming on all three of the girls she took her departure.

  By the time Ismay had peeped under the covers and discovered which was Anne’s special fish, Clare had put an invalid’s tray across her sister’s knees and spread out a napkin. Ismay carried the plate across and put it down on the tray. ‘Think you can manage that?’ she asked, and smiled.

  Anne looked down at the minute portion of beautifully cooked fish flanked by vegetables and said, ‘Oh, it looks lovely, and it’s got Gran’s special shrimp sauce on it too. Oh, it does look good! The food wasn’t bad in hospital, but it was never like this.’

  Ismay smiled to herself as she went back to the table where soon she and Clare were tucking into their grilled chops, apple sauce, creamed potatoes and greens. Ismay, after the first mouthful, discovered that she was actually hungry and she set to with a good appetite. The first course was followed by raspberry mousse, each individual portion covered in thick, fresh cream, and glasses of milk had been provided for the two younger girls. A small brown earthenware coffee pot covered in a hand-knitted cosy also stood on the tray, and peeping inside, to her delight Ismay discovered it held piping hot coffee. She was in the act of pouring herself a cup when Clare startled her by jumping up from her chair, diving towards the bed to pick up the discarded hearing aid and hurriedly putting it to her ear.

  As she looked up to discover the reason for the child’s abrupt action Ismay’s jaw almost dropped open with astonishment. Standing in the doorway surveying them with cool detachment was a vision of loveliness. As soon as she was sure she had their undivided attention, the girl in the periwinkle blue silk suit, her silvery-blonde hair cascading on to her shoulders, walked right into the room and going across to the bed laid a delicately tinted cheek briefly on Anne’s forehead, saying as she did so, ‘You arrived all right, then, pet? Everything under control?’

  Anne, a completely unreadable expression on her young face answered immediately, ‘Yes, Mummy, I’m fine. And this is Ismay,’ she went on without a pause. ‘She’s come to look after me.’

  Ismay, feeling she should make at least a gesture of courtesy, got up and walked forward. So this was Lewis Kynoch’s wife! The exquisite face which turned to inspect her was immaculately made up, the eyes as they met hers, Ismay noticed, heavily shadowed with violet-blue almost reaching to the pencil-line eyebrows. Really, Ismay thought to herself, the whole effect smacked more of Bond Street than the wilds of the Lake District. She was careful however, to keep these private opinions to herself as she held out her hand and said simply, ‘How do you do, Mrs. Kynoch.’ The response was an immediate tinkling laugh. Fingers just touched hers and a high voice replied, ‘Oh, do call me Felicity. There’s only one Mrs. Kynoch in this house.’

  Ismay’s eyes narrowed briefly. There was no trace of expression on the perfect face, but there was no doubt about the acid note in the smooth voice. While Ismay was assimilating this fact Felicity Kynoch went on casually, ‘Well, since the three of you seem to be quite cosy, I think I’ll go and change. I’m in disgrace already for being late,’ and she drifted across to the door again, leavi
ng it open as she went into a room immediately opposite.

  Somehow her visit seemed to have broken up the easy atmosphere, and even after Ismay had gone across and carefully closed the door behind their late visitor she could not get the girls to start chattering as they had been doing before their mother’s arrival. She piled all the used dishes on to the tray, and thinking it might be a good idea to leave them to their own devices for a while she said, ‘I’ll just take this downstairs to the kitchen, then I’ll be back, I won’t be long.’

  But she was away longer than she anticipated. When she got down to the kitchen Mrs. Fletcher was still there and she kept her in conversation for more than ten minutes, so that by the time she returned upstairs, Ismay was feeling a pang of conscience. She did not want the Kynochs to think it was her habit to gossip and leave patients on their own, but she need not have worried. When she returned to the bedroom she found that what she had assumed to be a cupboard facing the girls’ beds had been opened in her absence to reveal a fitted television set. Both Anne and Clare were on their beds absorbed in the programme and Clare pointed out a chair which she had placed between them so that Ismay herself could also sit and watch in comfort.

  Until eight-thirty they looked in, and then, feeling that Anne had had a long enough day, Ismay rose to her feet and spoke firmly. ‘As this is Anne’s first day home, and I expect they woke her in hospital about six o’clock this morning, I think we ought to make it an early night.’ There were groans from Anne and Clare but no real reluctance to do as they were told. Helping Anne out of bed, Ismay assisted her into the bathroom and then returned to strip and remake the bed.

  When Anne limped back on her crutches, washed, and with her teeth freshly brushed, she climbed gratefully into bed and let Ismay comb and brush her hair and tie it back again with a fresh ribbon. Clare meantime collected her own things and departed to have a bath.