‘I think there’s very little chance of her doing that,’ Holly said in disgust. Then she managed a weak smile. ‘Thank you, Richa—Dr Parkin. Goodnight.’

‘Goodnight, Holly. Sleep well.’

Chapter Twenty

Once they were outside, Emma stepped to the kerb and hailed a cab. They were both far too tired to consider walking home.

‘It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?’ Emma remarked, and then with a sly little grin, ‘And who was that rather handsome young doctor you seem to be on such good terms with?’

‘He’s just a friend,’ Holly answered rather too quickly and Emma changed the subject, sensing that now wasn’t the right time to pry, although she could have sworn she could sense romance in the air. If she was right then she had no doubt that Holly would tell her about him in her own good time. She was clearly far too upset about what had happened to Ivy to concentrate on anything else at the moment.

Settling back in her seat she squeezed Holly’s hand. ‘Try not to worry about her, darling. You heard what the doctor said, it’s just going to take a little time before she’s right again.’

‘That’s the problem.’ Holly chewed on her lip as she stared from the window. ‘What if she goes back to him? And if she doesn’t, who is going to look after her? I have to work and she’s not going to be fit to be left on her own for a while.’

‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,’ Emma said wisely. ‘For now we just have to keep her spirits up, and don’t worry, I shan’t be going anywhere until I’m quite sure she’s properly on the mend.’

Holly gave her mother’s hand a grateful little squeeze and they fell silent for the rest of the journey. She was so thankful that her mother had been there to help her through Ivy’s crisis. She wasn’t sure she could have coped with it half as well without her.

She slept fitfully that night and finally fell into a deep sleep just as dawn was streaking the sky. The next thing she knew someone was gently shaking her arm and, blinking, she looked up to see her mother standing at the side of the bed with a cup of tea in her hand.

‘I’m sorry to wake you, darling, but I didn’t think you’d want to be late for work.’

Holly glanced at the little clock on her bedside table and, instantly wide awake, she swung her legs out of the bed.

‘Oh, goodness. Thank you, Mother, I would have overslept if you hadn’t woken me. But what are you going to do all day while I’m at work?’

Emma crossed to the window and swished the curtains aside revealing the smoggy street outside. ‘I shall be perfectly fine. I’ll come in to visit Ivy later.’

‘Don’t come before four o’clock,’ Holly warned as she swallowed some tea and reached for the uniform she had laid out the night before. ‘Matron’s a stickler for visiting times. No one is allowed into the wards one minute before four or one minute after five.’