Bound by Ivy (21 page)

65

I get Annabel up to her room and make her change into some dry clothes. Meanwhile, I take off my soaking wet coat and hang it on the radiator. My jeans are drenched too, and they stick to my legs as I get Annabel a dressing gown and help her into it.

‘Yo
u need to change your clothes too,’ says Annabel. ‘I have some pyjamas. Here.’ She hands me a pair of hospital-green pyjamas with a long drawstring.

As
I change into them, I realise I’m feeling a little hot and shivery. Oh no. I can’t get sick. I have the show tonight. And tomorrow night. And the night after. There’s barely two weeks left now, and then we’ll have finished.

‘Do y
ou have the number of the social worker who called this morning?’ I ask, trying to ignore the pounding feeling in my head.

‘Yes,’ says Annabel, picking up a ‘Tower
Clinic’ notebook with a phone number and the name, ‘Mandy Reynolds’ pencilled onto it. ‘She told me to call when I had a place sorted. She said maybe we could set up some sort of visitation, if the new parents agree.’

‘Is it okay if I call her?’ I ask. ‘You’ll have to speak to her too. To give permission for
us to discuss your personal circumstances.’

‘Of course,’ says Annabel
.

‘I don’t think they can g
o ahead and have Daniel adopted if you’re still willing to take custody of him,’ I say. ‘Unless the rules have changed majorly from when Dad and I lived together, I’m pretty sure a lot of time has to go by, and you can still go to court and appeal.’

‘
You really think so?’

‘
Yes,’ I say, taking the paper and punching the number into my phone.

A nasal voice comes on the line.
‘Hello, Mandy Reynolds.’

I clear my throat. ‘Oh, hello. Good morning. I’m Sophia Rose. I’m a close friend of Annabel Blackwell’s. S
he’s here with me now. She’s given me permission to speak about her circumstances – would you like to confirm that with her?’

‘If she’s there with you, it’s fine,’ says Mandy.

My neck prickles. Mandy should definitely be checking that Annabel has given permission for me to speak about her case. After all, I could be anyone.

‘You’re phoning
about Daniel, I imagine?’ says Mandy.

‘Yes,’ I say. ‘
Annabel is worried that you want to have him adopted.’

‘It’s the next step
, given Ms Blackwell’s current location and situation.’

‘
But she has a lot of support right now,’ I say. ‘Myself and her brother will be there to look after her and Daniel.’

‘Her brother, the famous Marc Blackwell,’ says Mandy. ‘Yes, I’ve read all about him. It
sounds like he has childcare issues of his own. Hardly a stable influence.’

‘
You can’t make a judgement based on something you’ve read in the papers,’ I say. ‘They fabricate things all the time. Anyway, as far as I was aware, Daniel can’t be adopted yet. Annabel has to permanently give up custody of him, or have it legally taken away from her. Which as far as I’m aware, hasn’t happened yet.’

‘She put him into our care
—’

‘That’s not the same as giving up custody
permanently,’ I point out. ‘Care was supposed to be temporary.’

‘I wasn’t aware ... as far as I knew
, Ms Blackwell had given up custody.’ I hear papers shuffling.

‘
Did she sign a P12?’ I’m crossing my fingers that Annabel didn’t accidentally sign the permanent custody form.

‘Mmm,’ says Mandy. ‘
I don’t see that form here, but ...’ There’s silence, then more shuffling. ‘As far as I was aware ... I was told ... hang on a minute.’ The phone clunks down on a table.

More papers shuffle
, and then I hear Mandy’s voice again. ‘I do apologise. There’s been an error. You’re quite right, we don’t have a P12. Yes, Daniel can’t be adopted as yet. He needs to be fostered first. If Ms Blackwell can prove she has a stable home and environment, then it’s possible that the boy may be returned to her.’

I feel a smile growing on my
face. ‘She will have a stable home. I promise. Very, very soon. Thank you.’

‘Okay. Well, g
oodbye now.’

The line goes dead.

I turn to Annabel. I mean to give her a hug, but something happens to my knees. It feels like they’re made of jelly. And my head starts to spin.

The next moment, everything goes black.

66

I wake up in the gues
t bed at Dad’s cottage. The sky is growing dark outside. My throat feels croaky and sticky, and my head is pounding.

I sit up, wondering how on earth I got here, and pull back the bedclothes to see I’m dressed in my
own pyjamas.

As I pull myself upright, the room begins to sway and my head pounds harder. I feel hot and feverish, and there’s a weird metal taste in my mouth.

The bedroom door opens and I see Jen, holding Sammy.

‘Thought I heard you waking up,’ she says.
‘Are you trying to get out of bed, Sophia Rose?’

‘I was
—’

‘Oh no you don’t.’ Jen puts a firm hand on my sho
ulder and pushes me back onto the pillow. ‘Bed rest for you. You’ve caught a fever. Overwork, the doctor says.’

‘How did I get here?’ I ask. ‘I was with Annabel.’

‘You fainted. Marc called an ambulance for you. But they said it was just a fever, so the doctors thought a home environment was best. You were brought here to be looked after.’

‘Marc was at Tower Clinic
?’ I ask, rubbing my eyes.

‘No. But Annabel called him when you fainted
, and he called the ambulance. He’s worried sick about you. He calls every half hour.’

‘How did I get into my pyjamas?’

‘You put them on when you got here. Don’t you remember?’

I shake my head. ‘I guess I really do have a fever.’

‘That’s what the doctors think too. But nothing too bad. Nothing that can’t be treated with good food and bed rest.’

‘
What doctors?’ I ask.

‘Well, you have two private doctors looking after you right now,’ says Jen.
‘Doctor Holmes, Marc’s private doctor. And Doctor Freeman. A friend of Leo Falkirk’s.’

‘Leo?’ Now I’m really confused.

Jen nods. ‘Leo was at the cottage when the ambulance brought you here.’

‘He
was?’

‘Yep. H
e was coming by to visit you. And then you showed up in an ambulance and scared us all to death. Oh my god, Leo is … there are just no words for what he looks like in real life. I nearly passed out when he turned up on the doorstep.’ She smiles at the memory.

‘I’m so sorry to worry everyone,’ I say.

Jen shakes her head. ‘Don’t you even think about any of us. Just rest and focus on getting better.’

‘Where’s Marc now?’ I ask.

‘You two have an arrangement, remember? He didn’t want to break it. I think he would have done, if your condition was more serious, but … he’s holding out. It was clearly torture for him, not being able to see you before. He wanted to fill this whole room with flowers, but the doctor thought best not. Just in case part of your flu was caused by early hay fever.’

I laugh. ‘Me, with hay
fever?’

‘I know. Anyway, Leo
recommended a load of healthy food instead of flowers. So the whole kitchen is full of it. Deli soups. Organic vegetables. Fresh brown bread. Squeezed orange juice. Lots of nourishing stuff. I think Marc was pretty impressed.’

‘Marc impressed with Leo
?’ I raise an eyebrow. ‘That would be a pretty big turnaround.’

‘
I think Marc understands that he and Leo are on the same page, when it comes to looking after you.’

‘Wait.’ I try to sit up again, but one look from Jen sends me lying back down on t
he pillow. ‘Were they both here?’

‘Yep.’ Jen
shifts Sammy from one hip to the other. ‘Both of them. Marc was going out of his mind with worry. I think he nearly broke your agreement, to be honest. But he stayed strong. And Leo … well, he was emailing homeopaths and acupuncture people and just trying to find out things that might help you get better. He’s such a sweet guy. A
really
sweet guy.’

‘Yes he … Jen? You’ve gone all gushing all of a sudden.’

‘Have I? Well … Leo and I were talking for ages, and we really got along …’

‘That doesn’t surprise me,’ I say with a smile.
‘Does Dad know that Marc called an ambulance for me? And that he had me sent here?’

‘Yes.
’ Jen pauses. ‘I think it helped your Dad’s view of Marc. To see how much he cares.’

I sit up, suddenly
. ‘Oh my god, what time is it? I have a show tonight.’

‘It’s okay, Sophia. Davina knows you’re sick. The show
can afford to lose a few nights.’

‘But
—’

‘No arguments.
It’s doctor’s orders that you rest in bed for a few days. If you don’t, you’ll just get sicker and probably end up not being able to finish the show run at all.’

‘I
hate letting people down.’

‘I know
. But there’s not much you can do, right now. Everyone understands.’ She hoists Sammy a little higher. ‘I’m going to take Sammy out for a quick walk before bed. He’s getting fidgety. Rodney’s here. And your dad’s here too. He’ll be happy to know you’re awake again.’

I yawn. ‘Jen, what time is it?’

‘Six o’clock. Are you hungry? There’s loads of food downstairs.’

‘It’s okay, I’ll
get it—’

‘No you won’t.’ Jen shakes her head. ‘I’ll have Rodney bring you something up.’

67

I spend the next few days in bed, watching spring appear through the bedroom window. It feels so st
range, doing nothing but resting. I’m not sure I’ve ever done it before. But the doctors and everyone else are insisting, so I’m trying very hard to listen – even though sometimes I’m dying to go downstairs and play with Sammy or cook a meal.

B
y the afternoon of day two, I come downstairs on wobbly legs and head to the kitchen.

Jen’s
out with Sammy and Dad is working, so it’s just Rodney and I in the cottage.

‘How’s the patient?’ Rodney asks.

‘Okay, I just … I wish I could speak to Marc. Tell him I’m getting better.’ I pad over the lino in bare feet.

‘How’s the separation going?
’ Rodney asks.

‘Awful,’ I say with a smile, going to the kettle. ‘
But not long to go now. Tea?’

‘
You, Sophia Rose, will sit down while
I
make the tea.’

‘Okay.’ I
sigh, and reluctantly take a seat at the kitchen table.

‘So
,’ says Rodney, filling up the kettle. ‘What is it … a week now until you can see Marc again?’

‘About that,’ I say.

‘He misses you,’ says Rodney.

‘I hope so.
’

‘I’ve never seen Marc like this
.’ Rodney gives me a kind smile. ‘You’ve changed him. For the better. But he’s suffering for it.’

‘I don’t want him to suffer.’ I
watch Rodney pour hot water into mugs and add teabags.

‘No. Of course
you don’t.’

I smile. ‘
I wish I could be with him.’

‘You will be
soon,’ says Rodney. ‘This last few week will fly by.’

‘I h
ope so.’

*****

Time doesn’t fly by, but little by little it moves. Or rather, trudges its weary feet.

After three days, t
he doctor says I’m well enough to get back to the show, and it feels good to be back on stage with Leo. I love performing again, and the show is as popular as ever. But these last few days are still passing slowly, especially at night.

I think of Marc constantly, and
stay awake until the early hours, thinking of him and wishing he was with me.

During the daytime, I do everything I can to distract myself.

Ebony and I go riding in newly spring green fields, and I also spend a lot of time with Annabel, viewing apartments and townhouses, and helping her think about her future.

Annabel is
really keen to work and pay her way, but she’s never had a job, so writing her CV is tough. A few museums and art galleries have offered her unpaid placements, though, and she decides to take one at the Tate Modern. It’s a start.

D
ay by day, I see Annabel growing stronger and brighter. I know she’ll be a good mother. And Marc and I will support her every step of the way. And day by day, I get closer to being with Marc again.