Read Summer at Tiffany's for Free Online Page B

his daughter,’ she said, planting her feet firmly and hoisting Velvet higher onto her hip.
    â€˜Children are not allowed on the ward.’
    â€˜I understand that, but perhaps her mother would appreciate a few moments with her child, after what has undoubtedly been the roughest twenty-four hours of her life?’
    The nurse, who was standing by the door, hand poised over the entrance buzzer, looked back at her and Cassie tried to arrange her expression into something less combative. This was about Suzy and Arch and Velvet, not her having a battle with the nurse who was furtively flirting with her fiancé.
    The nurse relented. ‘Bay three. But only for a moment. If Mrs McLintlock wants to spend time with her daughter, she will have to do it off the ward. I can’t have any of the other patients being disturbed.’
    â€˜Of course,’ Cassie nodded, before adding magnanimously, ‘Thank you.’
    She walked slowly across the room, already oblivious to the nurse’s eyes on her back, trying to brace herself for the image she already knew would be waiting for her behind the brown floral curtain. She peered round cautiously; she didn’t want to risk frightening Velvet and needed to see how bad things looked first.
    Suzy was asleep on a small camp bed that had been set up against the wall, with only a thin blanket over her, although she didn’t need it – it was so warm in here. And Archie . . . Archie looked like a dystopian warrior, his pale body covered in tubes and wires so that he looked more machine than man.
    She recoiled. It was every bit as brutal and mechanical-looking as she’d feared – her own father had died from a heart attack six years earlier, and although he had been in Hong Kong and she in Scotland at the time, this was the very image that had haunted her dreams. She stepped away from the curtain, shaking her head and trying to smile as Velvet frowned.
    â€˜Kiss-Kiss,’ the child squawked, reacting to her unfamiliar expression.
    Cassie clasped her head and kissed her firm, chubby cheek again at the sound of the pet name her god-daughter had bestowed upon her. Velvet was too young to be able to say Cassie yet, and besides, Cassie never, ever stopped kissing her.
    â€˜Velvet?’ The sound made them look up, as Suzy – wide-eyed but still shrouded in sleep – suddenly appeared round the curtain with a gasp of joy to see her daughter. ‘Oh, Velvy,’ Suzy whispered, taking her child from Cassie’s arms and covering her face in kisses. ‘Mummy’s missed you so much.’
    â€˜Mum-my. Dad-dy.’
    â€˜He’s sleeping, my sweet thing. But you can see him very soon, I promise. Did you have fun with Auntie Kiss-Kiss?’ Suzy looked across at Cassie and squeezed her arm hard. ‘Thank you,’ she mouthed.
    â€˜I didn’t know whether you wanted her to see Arch or not,’ Cassie said in a quiet voice.
    â€˜No. No. He looks . . . He looks . . .’ Suzy bit her lip as huge, swollen tears raced down her cheeks.
    Cassie threw her arms around her, around both mother and daughter, as Suzy’s shoulders began to heave. ‘Come on. Why don’t we go downstairs for a coffee? It’ll do you good to have a break from this place, and you can play with Velvet more easily. We’ve not had breakfast yet, anyway, so she’s probably starving.’
    â€˜But—’
    â€˜No buts. Henry’s here and we’ll only be a short while. I promise you’ll feel so much better for having a break.’
    Suzy nodded, frankly too exhausted to argue further. Her skin was almost bone-white, and even her famously chocolatey dark brown eyes had lost their richness. Cassie peered round the curtain – taking care not to look at Archie this time – but Henry had overheard and nodded in reply, without either one of them opening their mouths. He was leaning against the wall, arms folded over his