A faint smile creased the older woman’s stern features. ‘Don’t worry, Nurse Marshall. Stay as long as you like. Mrs Begg has come through the operation very satisfactorily.’ She walked away to speak to another patient, who was calling for her attention.

Daisy gazed down at Hilda’s ashen face. If life had been hard for the Begg family before the tragic accident, it was not going to be any easier in the foreseeable future, but if there was anything that could be done to help them she would do her very best to see that they were not condemned to the dreaded workhouse.

For the next couple of months Daisy concentrated all her efforts on work and study. She saw very little of Nick, and although she bumped into Toby almost daily in the hospital he was working long hours with little time to socialise, much to Minnie’s disappointment. Hilda recovered slowly and at the beginning of June she was able to walk with the aid of crutches, but what seemed to terrify her most was the prospect of being discharged from hospital. Daisy tried to visit her daily, and she made an effort to sound hopeful, but quite what Hilda would do was another matter. It was unseasonably hot and the hospital wards were filled to capacity with diseases caused by overcrowding and poverty. Beds were needed desperately and Hilda was due to be discharged, although she still had nowhere to go.

Daisy had thought about asking Mrs Wood if Hilda could stay in Fieldgate Street for a while, but the only rooms as yet unoccupied were on the top floor and Hilda would never be able to negotiate the stairs. The alternative would be, if it were possible, to take her to Creek Hall, where at least she would be well cared for and she would be reunited with her children. Daisy mentioned this to Toby when they met one afternoon in the outpatient department.

‘I don’t know,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Nick’s had word from Mrs Bee that there’s an outbreak of cholera in the village. I saw him last evening and he told me that he’d given up his position in Harley Street and he was leaving today for Little Creek.’

Daisy stared at him in dismay. ‘Cholera! But Dr Snow proved that horrible disease was passed on by contaminated water. Surely that can’t be true in the country?’

‘I only know what Nick told me, Daisy. He obviously thought it serious enough to go there as a matter of urgency.’

‘In that case I need to make sure that Aunt Eleanora and Uncle Sidney are keeping well,’ Daisy said anxiously.

‘They have Hattie and Linnet to take care of them.’ Toby gave her a searching look. ‘You aren’t thinking of following Nick to Little Creek, are you?’

‘It might be a false alarm,’ Daisy said slowly. ‘Perhaps it’s an isolated case. As a matter of fact I was going to ask permission to take Hilda to Creek Hall. The poor woman is desperate to see her children, and terrified that they will all end up in the workhouse.’