CHAPTER XXIII
The sisters drove on the road early the next morning, and Connie looked as small as an Easter lamb next to her sister behind the wheel. Sir Malcolm was absent, but Kensington's home was open.
The doctor examined Connie carefully and asked her about every aspect of her life. "I often see pictures of you and Baron Clifford in pictorial magazines. You're pretty much famous, aren't you? A quiet girl grew up like this. Even now, despite the photos in the pictorial, you are still a quiet little girl. It's nothing, it's okay, there's nothing wrong with your organs. But this can't work, no! Tell Baron Clifford that he's going to have to take you into town, or he'll take you for a walk abroad to entertain you a little. You need some entertainment, by all means! Your vitality is too weak, there is no foundation, there is no foundation. The nerves of the heart are already a little bit different, yes, it's nothing else, it's a problem with the nerves. I can help you get well in a month, go to Cannes or Biarritz [note]. It can't go on like this anyway, can't, listen to me, or I can't be responsible for your consequences. You're just consuming life and not replenishing your vitality. You have to have a recreational pastime, a proper and healthy pastime. You're now depleting energy without replenishing it. You know, it can't go on like this. Depression! You want to avoid depression! β
Hilda gritted her teeth, what was the point of that.
Michaelis heard that they were in the city, and came with roses. "What's wrong, what's wrong?" He shouted, "You're too thin." Why didn't I notice you became like this? Why don't you let me know? Come, follow me to Nice, to Sicily! Let's go, come with me to Sicily, where the weather is right now. You need to bask in the sun! You need energy! Why are you wasting your life? Come with me! Go Africa! Oh, hang Baron Clifford! Leave him and come with me. As soon as he divorces you, I will marry you. Come on, start living! God knows, Rugby could kill anyone in that place. A place of abomination, a place of filth, a place of death. Come with me and go bask in the sun! What you need is sunshine and, of course, a little bit of normalcy. β
But the thought of abandoning Clifford made Connie's heart unbearable. She couldn't do anything like that. No...... No, she can't do it. She had to go back to Rugby.
Michaelis is a nuisance. Hilda doesn't like Michaelis, but she prefers Michaelis to Clifford. The sisters are back in the middle.
Hilda talks to Clifford. Clifford's eyeballs are still yellow, but he is also exhausted. But he had to listen to everything Hilda said, to hear her relay the doctor's words, not Michaelis's words, of course. Hilda gave him an ultimatum, and he sat still.
"It's the address of a male nurse who served on the doctor's patient until the death of the patient last month. He is indeed a good guy and should come to take care of you. β
"But I'm not a patient, and I don't want a male nurse." Poor Clifford said.
"Well, here are the addresses of two female nurses. I've seen one of them, and she's going to do a good job. She's in her fifties, she's quiet, she's in good health, she's kind, and she's quite educatedβ"
Clifford refused to answer, and was puffed up.
"Alright then, Clifford. If nothing is decided tomorrow, I'll send a telegram to my father and we'll take Connie away. β
"Will Connie go?" Clifford asked.
She didn't want to, but she knew she had to go. My mother was worried when she had cancer. We don't want Connie to take any more risks. β
The next day, Clifford suggested hiring Mrs. Bolton, a nurse from the parish of Twarshaw. It was evident that this was suggested by Mrs. Butler, Mrs. Bolton, who was about to retire from her parish post and would retire as a private nurse. Clifford had a strange fear of being cared for by the living, but Mrs. Bolton had taken care of him when he was sick with scarlet fever, so they were more familiar.
The sisters immediately went to see Mrs. Bolton, who lived in a row of relatively new houses in the village of Twashaw, where it was considered a well-being house. They saw a good-looking woman in her forties, dressed in a nurse's uniform with a white collar and apron, making tea in a cramped living room.
Mrs. Bolton was very courteous and seemed very kind. She spoke with a slight accent, but word by word in standard English. For many years, she took care of sick miners and took care of them, so she thought highly of herself. In short, although she is a small woman, she is one of the rulers of the village, and she is highly regarded by everyone.
"Yes, Lady Chatterley does not look good! She used to be a watery person, but now she's much worse! She's been going downhill all winter! Oh, life is hard, it's hard! Poor Lord Clifford! Alas, when they fight, they all complain about that battle. β
Mrs. Bolton said that she would be able to come to Rugby House as soon as Dr. Shadro agreed. She supposedly had to work as a caretaker in the diocese for two weeks, "but they might be able to find someone to replace me." β
Hilda immediately went to Dr. Shadrow. Mrs. Bolton arrived on Sunday with two suitcases in Lovol's rental carriage. Hilda spoke to her, and Mrs. Bolton was willing to talk at all times. Mrs. Bolton looked so young that her pale face was flushed with excitement. In fact, she is forty-seven.
Mrs. Bolton's husband, Ted Bolton, died in the mine twenty-two years ago, on Christmas Day, twenty-two years ago. The big holiday left her and two children, one of whom was still a baby in her mother's arms. Oh, and now even the baby is married, and her name is Edith, and she's married to a young fellow at the Cloth pharmacy chain in Sheffield. The other daughter, who works as a teacher in nearby Chesterfield, comes back on weekends when no one is invited to hang out. Young people now can enjoy life, but not as well as Ivy Bolton did when she was younger.