Camellia by Lesley Pearse

Author:Lesley Pearse [Pearse, Lesley]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9781407095585
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2012-05-22T19:31:04+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

The private room on the second floor of Bath General Hospital looked and smelled like a florist's shop. Baskets and vases of flowers filled the windowsill. The locker by Magnus's bed was almost hidden by a huge basket of fruit and a string along the wall held at least thirty get-well cards.

Magnus had stayed in a coma for almost thirty-six hours following his stroke. Although the doctor and nursing staff had continually reassured his children during that time, that this was quite normal, even they were surprised he'd suffered so little permanent damage when he finally came round. There was some paralysis down his left side, and his speech was slurred, but so far, five days since he regained consciousness, he seemed to be making an almost miraculous recovery.

Yet Magnus had aged dramatically in that short time. His skin had a yellow tinge, and it hung in loose folds under sunken eyes. The nurse had shaved off his beard and his rugged, square chin looked gaunt without the protective whiskers. Veins stood out like pieces of thick string on his hands.

Nick was sitting beside the bed looking through a newspaper. Gradually he became aware that his father was studying him and guessing what his next question would be, Nick attempted to forestall it.

'I'm getting really bored with all this Watergate business,' he said, closing the paper. 'How much longer are they going to harp on about it?'

'I couldn't care less if Richard Nixon is a mass-murderer, much less worry about scandals in the White House,' Magnus retorted with some difficulty. 'Stop treating me like an imbecile, Nick, and tell me why Mel hasn't been in to see me?'

Nick swallowed hard. Since he arrived back in Bath almost a week ago he felt as if he'd been through an emotional sandblaster: the fear that his father might die, the rage he felt towards him for having betrayed his mother, and his own sense of shame at the way he'd treated Mel. Worse still was trying to contain all this within him while he went about the business of hospital visiting and keeping things on an even keel back at Oaklands.

It had been reasonably easy while Magnus was still very sick to avoid any mention of Mel. He was only allowed one visitor at a time for just a few minutes and Stephen, Sophie and Nick had priority. All three of them had agreed for different reasons to say nothing about her departure until their father was stronger.

Part of Nick wanted to wound Magnus now, to call him all those names he'd muttered to himself during the long, sleepless nights of the past week. Yet the better part of him was overjoyed that his father had recovered enough to want to know what was going on back at the hotel.

'She's left, Dad.' He tried to sound casual. 'She went off the morning after you came in here.'

'Left!' Magnus's eyes seemed to come right out of his head as he struggled to sit up.

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