Five

Nurse Hopkins said with emotion:

“It was a beautiful funeral!”

Nurse O’Brien responded:

“It was, indeed. And the flowers! Did you ever see such beautiful flowers? A harp¹ of white liliesthere was, and a cross of yellow roses. Beautiful.”

Nurse Hopkins sighed and helped herself to buttered teacake. The two nurses were sitting in theBlue Tit Café.

Nurse Hopkins went on:

“Miss Carlisle is a generous girl. She gave me a nice present, though she’d no call to do so.”

“She’s a fine generous girl,” agreed Nurse O’Brien warmly. “I do detest² stinginess.”

Nurse Hopkins said:

“Well, it’s a grand fortune she’s inherited.”

Nurse O’Brien said, “I wonder…” and stopped.

Nurse Hopkins said, “Yes?” encouragingly.

“’Twas strange the way the old lady made no will.”

“It was wicked,” Nurse Hopkins said sharply³. “People ought to be forced to make wills! It onlyleads to unpleasantness when they don’t.”

“I’m wondering,” said Nurse O’Brien, “if she had made a will, how she’d have left hermoney?”

Nurse Hopkins said firmly:

“I know one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“She’d have left a sum of money to Mary—Mary Gerrard.”

“Yes, indeed, and that’s true,” agreed the other. She added excitedly, “Wasn’t I after telling youthat night of the state she was in, poor dear, and the doctor doing his best to calm her down. MissElinor was there holding her auntie’s hand and swearing by God Almighty,” said Nurse O’Brien,her Irish imagination suddenly running away with her, “that the lawyer should be sent for andeverything done accordingly. ‘Mary! Mary!’ the poor old lady said. ‘Is it Mary Gerrard you’remeaning?’ says Miss Elinor, and straightaway she swore that Mary should have her rights!”

Nurse Hopkins said rather doubtfully:

“Was it like that?”

Nurse O’Brien replied firmly:

“That was the way of it, and I’ll tell you this, Nurse Hopkins: In my opinion, if Mrs. Welmanhad lived to make that will, it’s likely there might have been surprises for all! Who knows shemightn’t have left every penny she possessed⁴ to Mary Gerrard!”

Nurse Hopkins said dubiously⁵:

“I don’t think she’d do that. I don’t hold with leaving your money away from your own fleshand blood.”

Nurse O’Brien said oracularly:

“There’s flesh and blood and flesh and blood.”

Nurse Hopkins responded instantly:

“Now, what might you mean by that?”

Nurse O’Brien said with dignity:

“I’m not one to gossip⁶! And I wouldn’t be blackening anyone’s name that’s dead.”

Nurse Hopkins nodded her head slowly and said:

“That’s right. I agree with you. Least said soonest mended.”

She filled up the teapot.

Nurse O’Brien said:

“By the way, now, did you find that tube of morphine all right when you got home?”

Nurse Hopkins frowned. She said:

“No. It beats me to know what can have become of it, but I think it may have been this way: Imight have set it down on the edge of the mantelpiece as I often do while I lock the cupboard, andit might have rolled and fallen into the wastepaper basket that was all full of rubbish and that wasemptied out into the dustbin just as I left the house.” She paused. “It must be that way, for I don’tsee what else could have become of it.”

“I see,” said Nurse O’Brien. “Well, dear, that must have been it. It’s not as though you’d leftyour case about anywhere else—only just in the hall at Hunterbury—so it seems to me that whatyou suggested just now must be so. It’s gone into the rubbish bin⁷.”

“That’s right,” said Nurse Hopkins eagerly. “It couldn’t be any other way, could it?”

She helped herself to a pink sugar cake. She said, “It’s not as though…” and stopped.

The other agreed quickly—perhaps a little too quickly.

“I’d not be worrying about it any more if I was you,” she said comfortably.

Nurse Hopkins said:

“I’m not worrying….”

 

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