Cave of Secrets by Morgan Llywelyn

Cave of Secrets by Morgan Llywelyn

Author:Morgan Llywelyn [Morgan Llywelyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781847173850
Publisher: The O'Brien Press
Published: 2012-12-26T16:00:00+00:00


Catherine Flynn stayed in her bed day after day. When any of her children looked in on her she always asked the same question: ‘Is there any word from your father?’ The answer was always the same. ‘Not yet.’

Her response was to sigh and turn her face to the wall.

At first Tom was glad she did not ask him to explain about Maura. All her thoughts were of her husband now. She had been thin; she became skeletal. Several times a day one of the servants carried a tray up to her chamber, laden with delicacies to tempt her appetite. The tray was returned to the kitchen untouched.

On a raw morning when the wind gibbered and moaned around the chimneys, Simon was sent to Ballydehob to fetch a doctor. After a long wait the doctor arrived. He was a short, thickset man in a grey frieze overcoat. He did not wear a gentleman’s cravat because he was not a gentleman. Like many doctors, he was also a barber. He carried the tools of his professions in a badly scuffed black bag.

He was shown to Mrs Flynn’s chamber. Tom and his sisters followed. They watched in silence while he bent over the bed and studied her face. ‘Your mother’s blood is too thick,’ he announced as he straightened up. ‘It has congested her organs.’

Opening his black bag, the doctor took out a set of steel-bladed knives wrapped in flannel. He tested several of the blades with his thumb. When he was satisfied with their sharpness, he laid two of the knives side by side on Mrs Flynn’s writing desk and put the rest back in the bag.

‘You must leave the room now,’ he informed his audience, ‘whilst I give this poor woman some relief.’

Tom and his sisters waited anxiously outside the closed door. The servants gathered around them, listening as intently as they were. For a few minutes they heard nothing. Then Mrs Flynn gave a sharp cry.

I am the man of the family now, Tom reminded himself. He threw open the door and entered the chamber.



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