And Myra. Poor Myra. She had been happy. She had married a most attractive man; she had come to a new country; and now she was in this state. She had not believed that such happiness as she envisaged with Roger Lestrange could ever have been hers. She had not thought herself worthy of him. Her mother had made her feel her inferiority. Poor Myra, who was accepted because she was an Ellington … and because she had a fortune of her own.

I went back to the bed and looked down on her sleeping face.

A light tap on the door startled me. I moved too quickly and in doing so overturned the small bedside table. I tried to grasp the bottle, but it was too late. Myra’s tonic was running over the carpet surrounded by specks of glass.

Mrs. Prost came into the room.

“Look what’s happened,” I said.

“Oh dear. I’ll send someone to clear it up. It’s Mrs. Lestrange’s tonic, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so. We shall have to get some more. I thought perhaps you’d brought the doctor.”

“There’s no hope of getting him just yet. The doctors are so busy at the hospital. A little party of men managed to get through last night and some of them are badly wounded. We’ll try again later. How is she?”

“She’s sleeping.”

“Poor lady.” Mrs. Prost shook her head.

“I’m terribly sorry about the mess,” I said. “It was careless of me. And then there’s the tonic …”

“Never mind. It’s just the tonic. The doctor will give her some more though … when we get hold of him.”

“I hope she’ll be all right without it for a little while.”

“Oh, it won’t be for long. I daresay we’ll be able to get that. Even if he can’t come … he can give her that. These are terrible times. You’ll be staying here for a while, I expect, Miss Grey.”

“I promised I would. Could you send someone over to the schoolhouse to explain to Miss Milne that I may be here for a few days?”

“I’ll certainly do that and I’ll send someone up to clear that mess. I don’t like broken glass lying about.”

“I do hope she’ll be able to get some more soon.”

“That’ll be all right, I’m sure. We’ll do our best anyway. Can’t do more than that.”

I stayed with Myra all through the day. She slept a great deal of the time, and as soon as she opened her eyes she looked for me. I saw the relief when she was assured that I was still there.

“I feel safe,” she said. “She can’t do anything when you’re there … because you can’t see her and you don’t believe she’s there, do you? She’s only there in my mind. That’s it, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” I said. “That’s it.”

“Then please stay.”

“I have promised I will.”

“All night?”

“Yes. I shall be here. I have sent a note to Lilias.”

That comforted her.

I spent the night in her room, sitting in a chair by the bed, dozing fitfully. Her looks had alarmed me so much that I wondered whether she would live through the night.

I was relieved when the dawn came and I looked at her in the clear morning light.

She was breathing more easily and she seemed more peaceful.

Mrs. Prost brought me coffee and bread and butter.

“Not very much,” she apologised. “But we have to go carefully. I don’t know what things are coming to. How is she?”

“She’s had a quiet night.”

“She’s better when you’re here. I’ll send something up for her if she wants it. She’s been turning away from food. A nice bit of porridge would be good for her. There are some oats left. Goodness knows when we’ll get the next.”

“I’ll let you know when she wakes and we’ll see if we can get her to eat something.”

“And I’ll send someone to see if we can get hold of that doctor. She’ll need her medicine.”

“Oh yes. It was careless of me.”

“Accidents will happen. Well, let me know when she wakes.”

She left me. The coffee and food tasted good. I thought: we are beginning to appreciate food now that we realise we may not have it for much longer.

It was about ten o’clock when Myra awoke. I had determined to be there when she did and I was glad, for her eyes alighted on me immediately, and she said: “Oh, Diana. I’m so glad you are here.”

“How are you? You’ve had a good night’s sleep.”

“Is it morning then?”

“Yes, ten o’clock.”

“I’ve slept all through the night!”

“That’s rare, is it?”

“I usually wake and see things …”

“Well, you didn’t last night. I’ve been here all the time.”

“What? Sitting there?”

“It was nothing. The armchair is very comfortable. I dozed for hours. I just wanted to be here if you awakened.”

“Oh, Diana, I am lucky to have such a friend.”

“I have a confession to make. I knocked over your tonic. I’m afraid I’ve spilt the lot. It made such a mess on the floor. Be careful where you tread. They’ve taken it up, but little splinters of glass can be dangerous.”

“The tonic!” she said. “I was supposed to take it last night.”

“I hope we shall be able to get hold of the doctor today. We have tried already, but apparently the doctors are all in the hospital. I hope you aren’t going to miss the tonic too much.”

“Roger made me promise to take it.”

“I know. He had great faith in it. But don’t worry. I daresay the doctor will be here today and then we shall get some more.”

During the day she seemed a little better. She was talking quite reasonably and there were no more hallucinations.

I stayed with her all during the day and the doctor did not come. Mrs. Prost suggested that on the following night I should use the room immediately next to hers so that if she needed me in the night all she had to do was knock.

“You can’t have two nights sitting in a chair,” she added.

To my surprise Myra agreed with this.

The room I slept in, I realised, was the one Roger used. It was not quite so large as the one he had shared with Myra and which she now occupied alone. The bed was comfortable and there was a bureau by the window. I did not sleep very well. I was waiting for a tap on the wall.

I was glad when the morning came. I went immediately to Myra’s room. She was sleeping peacefully; the stick with which she was going to tap on the wall was in the same position as I had left it last night.

During the morning she seemed almost like her old self; I was delighted. And in the afternoon the doctor called. Mrs. Prost and I were with Myra while he examined her.

Afterwards he sat in the drawing room and talked to us both.

He was full of apologies for not having come earlier.

“There is chaos in the hospital,” he said. “People are still creeping through the enemy’s lines … if you can call them lines. It can’t be much longer, I’m sure. Now, for the time being, there is nothing to worry about with Mrs. Lestrange. I don’t know what happened to her. But she is going to be all right. She’s weak … but her heart’s all right and so are her lungs. Well, everything is. Might have been poisoned by some insect or other. There are some venomous ones here, as you know, Mrs. Prost … and they like a bit of new blood. They go for the newcomer. And I think some of the old-timers become immune. She needs building up.”

“She has had hallucinations,” I said.

“That could well be. I haven’t been out here all that time myself. I am sure newcomers react more rapidly to these poisonous things. She needs some good red meat. It’s a pity things are as they are.”

“By the way, Dr. Middleburg, I had an accident and knocked over the tonic you gave her. She needs more.”

“She shall have it.”

“We were worried about her missing it.”

“Oh no. It was only a mild pick-me-up. I think she might go on with it. If you could send someone round, I’ll give you some more.”

I felt very relieved when he left us, and so did Mrs. Prost.

That afternoon one of the servants collected the tonic and I said we should not leave it on the side table again. There was a little cupboard in the room and I put it in that.

I spent another night at Riebeeck House and in the morning was delighted to see that Myra’s improvement had continued.

I went back to the schoolhouse and promised I would call the following day.

That was a grim time. No food could be brought in and stores had to be guarded. Military law prevailed and we did not know what our fate would be from one day to the next.

Lilias made an effort to carry on as normal at the school, but not all the pupils came. John Dale continued to be a frequent visitor.

“He’s a wonderful friend to us,” said Lilias more than once. He was very eager to protect and often smuggled special items of food into the schoolhouse.

Soldiers now and then broke through the commandos who were surrounding the town. That usually happened after dark. They brought us news and we learned that we were not the only town under siege. Ladysmith and Mafeking were in a similar plight.

The situation was growing more and more alarming. The easy victory expected by the British was even longer delayed. They were learning something of the difficulties of fighting in a strange land far away from home in a terrain unknown to them, while the enemy were fully aware of all its hazards.

“Ninian was right,” I said. “We should have gone home.”

“I shouldn’t have wanted that,” replied Lilias, and John Dale, who happened to be there at the time, smiled at her; it occurred to me that the feeling between them was strong and growing stronger, as such feelings will in a situation such as we were in.