"I'm getting the doctor at once," I said, and was gone.
I rode as fast as I could to Dr. Cleghorn. I knew where it was, for I had passed his residence many times. Anabel and my father had both talked of that house; it was the one where he used to practice all those years ago. By good fortune I found Dr. Cleghorn in and we rode back to the cottage.
Granny Bell was out of pain now. He made her lie very still and said she was not to move. He was going to get the district nurse to come and see her.
"Is there anything I can do?" I asked.
"Nothing really. Just make sure she doesn't try to get up. She must not move. The nurse will come to her and, if everyone keeps an eye on her, that's the best thing to be done."
When we were outside he said: "Not much chance of a recovery, I'm afraid. She's had a heart condition for a long time. And she's an old woman. I give her a few months at most and she'll not get up from that bed."
"Poor old lady," I replied. "We must make sure she does not lack anything."
The doctor looked at me strangely. "It's good of you, Miss Mateland," he said. "It will help her if people call. She needs attention. We want a hospital badly. The nearest one I know is twenty miles off. There was talk of having one here once... ."
Yes, I thought, I know. But that hospital was built on an island miles away and destroyed by the Grumbling Giant.
I went back into the cottage and waited for the district nurse. When she came I left and went back to the castle for luncheon. Malcolm was there and I forgot to be nervous. We talked of Granny Bell.
"Cleghorn told me you'd called him," said Malcolm. "He said she would be dead if you hadn't."
I felt immensely gratified.
"I shall go along to see her this afternoon," I said. "They'll have to leave the roof now until she's a bit better. We can't have them doing it while she's ill."
"I'll pass the news to Jeff and he can hold up the work," said Malcolm.
"Oh, please do," I replied.
That afternoon I set out for the Bell cottage and I had not gone far when Malcolm came riding up to me.
"I'm just going to see Granny Bell," I explained.
"I shall come with you."
"As you wish," I replied, trying not to appear too enthusiastic.
"You've certainly taken what I said to heart," he commented.
"What did you tell me?"
"That people need the personal touch. They need to know you think of them as human beings."
"I was well aware of that before," I retorted.
"You gave no sign of it before you went away."
"We grow up, don't we? Even you were a little careless when you were young."
He looked at me searchingly. "I often wonder what happened while you were away," he said.
"I saw something of the world. Travel broadens the mind, they say."
"And changes the character, it seems."
"You do bear grudges, don't you?"
"Not in the least. I'm ready to forgive the new Susannah all the sins of the old."
I thought then: He suspects. He must.
He was looking at me closely and I knew I flushed under his scrutiny.
I said quickly: "Something will have to be arranged about Granny Bell."
"Never fear," he said, smiling. "We'll put our heads together."
We arrived at the Bell cottage where Granny Bell was too ill to notice us, yet she seemed comforted by our presence.
The district nurse looked in. She said she thought someone ought to be in the cottage all day. "Perhaps the Cringles could spare Leah," she added.
"Oh yes, that's a good idea," I cried with enthusiasm. I noticed Malcolm was watching me intently. "Don't you agree?" I asked to hide my embarrassment
"Excellent idea," he said.
"If the Cringles make any difficulties tell them Leah will be paid for her services," I went on. "She can come to the castle for her money."
"That's a great relief," said the nurse. "I can look in twice a day, but in her condition she needs someone here at least throughout the day. Thank you, Miss Mateland. I'll go straight to Leah."
"I'll stay here till you return with her," I said.
"We'll stay," corrected Malcolm.
When the nurse had gone I said: "There's no need for you to stay."
"I want to," he replied. "I'm interested."
I burst out: "I wish you wouldn't keep looking at me as though I'm some freak."
"Not a freak," he said. "It's just the miraculous change that I can't get over. I like it, of course. I like it very much, but it just puzzles me."
I shrugged my shoulders with assumed impatience. "I have responsibilities now," I said.
Leah came shyly into the cottage. I liked her. She was different from the rest of her family. I had previously sensed she was in what was called "trouble" and now I was sure of it.
I said: "Come in, Leah. You know what we want you to do."
She looked from me to Malcolm and I could see she was more in awe of him than she was of me, which pleased me.
"Nurse told me," she said.
"So you know we want you to stay here and give Mrs. Bell the medicine Dr. Cleghorn has prescribed. If she takes a turn for the worse you can get help quickly. Have you some needlework you can do?"
She nodded and I laid a hand on her shoulder. I was longing to ask her to confide in me. I gathered that few people would have confided in Susannah but there were times when I forgot who I was supposed to be, which was foolish, for with every day Malcolm was growing more and more suspicious. I was aware of the manner in which he kept looking at me. Very soon he would be asking me questions which I should be unable to answer. He gave the impression sometimes that he knew I was deceiving everyone and he was biding his time, waiting for me to betray myself utterly.
"Well," he said as we came out of the cottage, "you handled that rather well. It was as though you have been managing estates all your life."
"I'm glad you think so."
He took my arm as we went towards the horses. I stiffened and would have withdrawn myself but I thought I could not do so without making the incident seem too important.
"The ground is rough here," he said, explaining the affectionate gesture. "It's easy to slip."
I did not speak and when we reached the horses he gave my arm a little squeeze and as he helped me mount he was smiling warmly but the puzzlement in his eyes was as strong as ever.
Malcolm dined with us that night. So did Jeff Carleton.
The conversation dwelt on castle matters, which bored Emerald. She tried to engage one of us in conversation about her interesting illnesses and Dr. Cleghom's treatment of them, but when each of us was buttonholed by her it was easy to see we listened with only one ear.
"Dr. Cleghorn says Mrs. Bell can't possibly survive," said Jeff. "She would be dead already but for your timely arrival at the cottage, Miss Susannah. You brought him just in time. However, he says she has been a creaking door for a long time and she can't last more than a few months with all the care in the world. Her cottage will be vacant. There will be the question of who is to have it."
"Who do you think is the most deserving case, Jeff?" asked Malcolm.
"Well, there are the Baddocks. They want to get away from her father's place. There's not enough room there for them. The cottage would come in handy for them and Tom Baddock is a good worker."
"Have you said anything about it to him?" asked Malcolm.
"No, but I know he wants it. No one can say anything until Granny Bell has gone."
"Certainly not," I said. "It would seem as though we were trying to shuffle the old lady out of the way."
"The cottages are really meant for the workers," Jeff reminded me.
"Well, Mrs. Bell's husband worked for us. It seems hard that they have to lose their homes as well as their husbands."