Summer at the Lake by Erica James

Author:Erica James
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
Tags: General, Fiction
ISBN: 9781409145981
Publisher: Orion
Published: 2014-02-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-One

It was a beautiful morning in March, the softly blue sky was clear and beguiling and from her bed Esme could see the daffodils down in the garden heralding the true start of spring, taking over from where the hellebores and snowdrops had hinted at what was to come.

Under strict doctor’s orders – orders that bordered on the draconian – she was feeling wretched and confined to bed for the foreseeable future, yet the sight of those simple yellow flowers cheered her immensely. She loved daffodils; they were such valiant, no-nonsense flowers with their perfectly formed trumpets serenading a song of optimism after the long dark months of winter. A humble flower in so many ways, it symbolised friendship, which was something Esme had come to value again since Adam and Floriana had come into her life. It wasn’t that she had been antisocial before she’d met them, it was simply that her previous friendships had dwindled as, one by one, her friends had died. She had known Adam and Floriana for a scant three months but had become extremely fond of them; she would hate to lose their companionship now.

On the bed with her, Euridice was kneading the coverlet with her paws, getting herself comfortable. In front of the cat was the toy mouse Floriana had made for her. She was so attached to it, she often carried it round with her in her mouth; it was like a kitten to her. ‘You’re in hiding, aren’t you?’ Esme said in a voice little more than a raspy whisper. ‘You’re scared to be alone with Krysta.’

Settled now, the cat blinked back at Esme, but flinched at the sound of the vacuum cleaner starting up on the landing and bumping against anything that got in its way – skirting boards, tables, chair legs, and a small cat if it should happen to make the mistake of getting in Krysta’s formidable path.

Closing her eyes, Esme leant back tiredly, sinking gratefully into the softness of the pillows. She hated to be confined like this, but the terror of her health worsening and being hauled off to hospital, as she’d been threatened with, was enough to make her do exactly what the doctor had instructed so that she would recover from an infuriating chest infection which, to her dismay, had turned into pneumonia. Rest, warmth, plenty of liquids and regular nourishing food were the orders she had been given. Bless them, both Adam and Floriana were doing sterling work keeping an eye on her, as well as trying to amuse her and lift her spirits. How would she ever repay their kindness?

Adam was now living next door – though perhaps camping was a better way to describe the basic manner of his existence amongst the rubble and chaos of the rebuilding work that was going on – but as busy as he was, he had still found time to install a television and a mini hi-fi system with a radio and CD player in her bedroom, both items he said he had going spare.

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