Last April Fair

Phyllida went pink. ‘I have no intention of interfering, Mr de Wolff, but Gaby has a severe illness and you asked me to look after her and I intend to do so. How long ago is it since Sir Keith Maltby actually saw her?’

Her employer went a rich plum colour. ‘That’s beside the point, Miss Cresswell. All we ask is that you carry out your duties.’

Phyllida drew a calming breath. She was wasting time; he had no intention of telling her. ‘Where would you like us to meet you before dinner?’

She heard his sigh of relief. ‘Oh, in the Neptune Bar—about eight o’clock.’

Gaby seemed better when Phyllida got back to their cabin, and became quite animated over the choice of the dress she should wear. She decided on a plain, long-sleeved blue silk sheath, for no one would dress on the first night at sea, and Phyllida put on one of last year’s dresses, a very plain one; she considered it made her look just as a nurse out of uniform should look.

The evening went off very well after all. The doctor had introduced himself to the deWolffs in the bar, offered his services should they be required and went away before the two girls arrived, and if Gaby didn’t eat a good dinner, at least she seemed to be enjoying herself. All the same, she went quite willingly to bed when Phyllida suggested it, and Phyllida, quite tired out, went too.

The days formed a pleasant pattern; they breakfasted in their cabin and then spent a leisurely morning sitting on deck, and if Phyllida regretted not being able to join in the deck games and wander off to chat to some of the other passengers, she didn’t admit it, even to herself. It worried her that they saw so little of Gaby’s parents, who seemed to think that meeting their daughter at lunch and dinner was sufficient, nor did they express anxiety over her condition or ask Phyllida how she was progressing. Luckily the weather was calm and getting warmer, so that by Sunday morning they were able to wear cotton dresses and lie in the sun for a time. It was while they were doing this that the doctor joined them for their mid-morning beef tea and Phyllida, in a casual voice masking her worry, mentioned Gaby’s headache. ‘Quite a troublesome one,’ she added lightly, ‘it just doesn’t go away.’

‘Ah, yes—one of those sick headaches, I expect,’ observed the doctor, taking his cue smartly.

Gaby nodded listlessly. ‘Yes, I was sick in the night—Phylly had to get up—that’s why I feel so dozy now.’

The doctor didn’t stay long, and presently, while Gaby slept, Phyllida went in search of him. ‘Do you think it’s infiltration of the meninges?’ she asked anxiously. ‘My father told me about that. Should I tell her parents? She seemed so much better—we haven’t done much, but she was beginning to eat a little and take an interest in things.’

‘Where are her parents?’

‘They play bridge a good deal of the time and they’ve made a good many friends.’

‘They don’t see much of Gaby? Not enough to notice if she’s better or worse?’

‘No.’

‘I’ll have a word with them if you like, and I’ll have another look at her later on. I don’t like the headache and sickness, it may possibly be what you suggest.’

By the evening Gaby was worse, the headache was persistent now and so was the sickness, and she had become irritable, so that nothing Phyllida could say or do was right. And when the doctor came to see her just before dinner he looked grave. ‘I’m going to advise you to disembark at Madeira,’ he said. ‘There’s a good hospital there, and while I don’t think she needs to go there at the moment, if you were to stay in an hotel she could be moved quickly. Better still, her parents could fly her back home straight away. I don’t think she should stay on board, we haven’t the facilities.’

Phyllida nodded. ‘You’ll see Mr and Mrs de Wolff? Shall I say nothing to Gaby until it’s all arranged?’She paused. ‘I shall have to pack.’

‘Yes, of course, I’ll go and see them now.’

She went back to the cabin and sat down with a book. Gaby wasn’t sleeping, but she didn’t want to talk either. It was half an hour before Mrs de Wolff opened the door and came in.

‘Well, here’s a fine state of affairs!’ she exclaimed angrily. ‘All our plans changed just because Gaby feels a little under the weather! Still, the doctor knows best, I suppose. My husband’s radioed for rooms for you both at Reid’s Hotel and we’ll see you safely there tomorrow before we get back to the ship.’

Phyllida stared at her. ‘But aren’t we all going ashore?’

‘Good heavens, no. We’ve planned it all nicely—we shall go on to the Canaries and pick you up on our way back next Saturday. Gaby will be better by then. We’ve talked to the doctor, so you have no need to worry, Miss Cresswell. We feel confident that you can look after Gaby very well until we return—it’s only five days and we simply can’t miss any of this cruise and there’s no need for us to do so. Besides, we’ve been looking forward to it for some time.’

She went and peered down at Gaby. ‘You do look a little pale, darling. You’ll feel better on dry land, I expect, and you girls can have a few days’ fun on your own.’She patted Gaby’s head and Phyllida saw the girl wince. ‘We’ll leave you plenty of spending money.’

When she had gone Gaby said wearily: ‘Mummy always thinks that if she gives me enough money everything will be all right.’

‘I expect you’ll enjoy it just as much as being on board ship,’ said Phyllida soothingly. ‘Now, I’m going to pack our things, and suppose we have dinner here this evening? You choose what you’d like to eat and get a long night’s sleep. Now I’m going to take these books back to the library.’

She went to see the doctor too, and he wasn’t in the best of tempers. ‘I’ve made it plain to Gaby’s parents that she’s extremely ill and possibly heading for a relapse, and I suggested that you should all fly back from Madeira tomorrow, but they won’t hear of it—told me that if the specialist considered her fit enough to take a holiday that was good enough for them, that we’re probably over-anxious. They agreed readily enough to Gaby going ashore with you—said they’d pick you up at the end of the week. Are you at all worried?’

‘I’m in a flat spin,’ confided Phyllida. ‘Anything could happen, couldn’t it? And here we are, thousands of miles away from home and her parents refusing to face up to her being ill. Do you think she’ll be all right? I’ll take the greatest care of her.’

‘If she keeps quiet and with you to look after her she might get over this bad patch, but she really needs to be flown home and taken to hospital, but her parents utterly refuse. They say that this has happened before and she’s always got over it.’He sighed. ‘At least Mr de Wolff has all the particulars of her case and I’ve written a covering letter; he’s promised to deliver it himself at the hospital and arrange for a doctor to call and see Gaby—probably tomorrow in the evening or the following morning. We shall be back here on Saturday and if Gaby is no better, I’ll do my best to persuade her parents to fly her back.’