‘I can’t, not yet.’ Nick lowered his voice. ‘Lemuel is fading fast, Daisy. There’s nothing more I can do for him.’

‘Is Mary all right?’

‘She shows no sign of the disease, at least not yet. She’s a strong woman.’

‘What about the girls and Jack? Shouldn’t they be allowed to come and say goodbye to their father? Or at least be given the choice.’

‘Mary doesn’t want to risk them catching the sickness, even though I told her it’s unlikely. Although to be honest, by the time they get here it may be too late.’

‘Have you any other patients to see?’

‘Not yet, but that could change.’

‘Then go home, Nick. I can’t tell you what to do but I think Dove deserves to know that her father is dying. She’s a grown woman and she can make up her own mind.’

He nodded dully. ‘I expect you’re right.’

‘And you are dead on your feet, Doctor. As your senior nurse I insist that you get some food and rest. I’ll stay with Mary.’

‘Doctor! Thank God you’re still here.’ Mary Fox appeared in the doorway, white-faced and trembling. ‘Come quickly.’

Chapter Twenty

Lemuel’s death had come as a shock to his family. He had been a strong man, used to working outdoors and seemingly indestructible. The disease had overtaken and overwhelmed him with terrifying suddenness, and Daisy knew that her uncle would miss his fishing companion. Although the two men had been quite different in character they had become good friends. Mary was obviously shaken by her husband’s unexpected demise, but Daisy could not help wondering whether it had come as a blessed release from an unhappy marriage. But now there were the girls to consider and Jack. How Jay would feel was another matter. Daisy broke the news to Linnet and Jack, leaving Nick to tell Dove when he returned home to snatch a meal and a brief rest. Linnet was visibly upset, but she put her own feelings aside to comfort her younger brother.

It had been a long and exhausting day, and late that evening Daisy was alone in the parlour, studying one of the nursing textbooks she had brought with her. She was disturbed by someone tapping on the door and she dragged herself away from the chapter on ward hygiene. ‘Come in.’

‘Might I have a word with you, miss?’ Linnet stood in the doorway, a pale shadow of her usual cheerful self.

Daisy put her book down. ‘Of course. Come in and sit down. You look exhausted.’

‘I’ve just been to our cottage. I wanted to make sure that Ma was all right.’

‘She’s a brave woman.’

‘Yes, she is, but she’s worried about Jack. I told her that he was taking Pa’s death as well as could be expected but she wants him to come home.’

‘I can understand that, but is the cottage a safe place for him to be? I heard that the outbreak started with overflowing effluent from the shared privies in that area.’