Orla turned back to Bill’s little corner, and noticed that the door of the shed was open.
‘Bill?’ she called, walking towards it. He was probably grabbing a tool or perhaps pouring himself a cup of tea, she thought. But he wasn’t. As she rounded the door, she almost tripped over his boots. Bill was on the floor, and he didn’t look good.
‘Bill!’ Orla screamed as she fell to the floor beside him. ‘What is it?’
Bill’s face was screwed up and he was clutching his belly.
‘Pain,’ he managed.
‘I’ll get help.’
Quickly, she grabbed her phone, cursing the fact that it was switched off and took an age to turn on. When it did, she left the shed for a better signal and rang 999.
‘Ambulance, please. It’s my friend. He’s in his seventies. He’s on the floor in great pain. Abdominal, I think. He can barely speak.’
Orla gave directions to the allotment and was told an ambulance was on its way. She was just about to return to the shed when the woman from the other allotment ran over.
‘What’s happening? I heard the word “ambulance”.’
‘It’s Bill.’ Orla ran back into the shed, followed by the woman. ‘Bill? An ambulance is on its way.’
Bill was still writhing in pain, unable to speak.
‘What did they say to do?’ the other woman asked.
‘Not to move him, but to keep him warm.’ Orla took her coat off and placed it over Bill. She felt a strange numbing calmness wash over her.
‘He’ll be all right,’ the woman said. ‘He’s tough as his old boots is Bill.’
Orla nodded. ‘He’ll be all right.’ She reached out to touch his shoulder and then something occurred to her. ‘I’ve got to let Margy know.’
‘I’ll ring her,’ the woman said, getting her phone out.
‘I’m sorry, I don’t even know your name.’
‘It’s Pauline.’
‘Thanks, Pauline. I’m Orla.’
Pauline left the shed and returned a moment later. ‘There’s no answer,’ she said. ‘I’ll try again. Should I leave a message?’
‘Try again in a few minutes. Where’s that ambulance? Bill? We’re getting you help. You’re going to be all right.’
‘I’ll walk down to the entrance and wait for the ambulance,’ Pauline said, knowing that the entrance was easy to miss from the road.
Luckily, it didn’t take long before two paramedics appeared, who asked a bit about Bill before moving him carefully onto a stretcher.
‘Is he going to be okay?’ Pauline asked. Orla’s mouth had gone completely dry by this stage and everything seemed to be passing in a blur. Her eyes moved from Bill to Pauline to the men carrying him and back to Pauline.
‘I’ll keep trying Margy,’ Pauline told her, giving Orla’s arm a quick squeeze. ‘Quickly – give me your number so we can keep in touch.’
‘Are you coming?’ a voice finally asked Orla after they’d swapped numbers. She looked up to see that Bill’s stretcher was now in the back of the ambulance.
Orla hesitated. Then got in.
Orla lost all sense of time after that. It was a blur of roads as they sped towards Ipswich and then a blur of white corridors as they rushed Bill to hospital There was still no word from Pauline about Margy so Orla texted her to try and find out what was happening.
But there was one person above all others she needed to reach out to: Luke. They hadn’t spoken since her mother had thrown him out of the castle and, although she’d wanted to talk to him and explain things, she’d never got up the nerve. She’d been anxious that he might ignore her calls or – worse – that he’d answer and give her a piece of his mind. She’d deserve it too. He’d given her so much and he must think she’d treated him abominably.
But this wasn’t about her, was it? It was about Bill, and Bill was Luke’s friend. So she made the call.
‘Luke?’ she said a moment later, relieved that he’d answered. ‘It’s Orla.’
‘Orla?’
‘Yes.’ She paused, giving him time to say something – anything.
‘How are you?’ he asked guardedly.
‘I’m fine. Well, I’m at Ipswich Hospital.’
‘What? Why? What’s the matter?’
‘It’s Bill. He’s just been brought in. He’s in a lot of pain. I’ve no idea what’s happened yet. I found him collapsed at the allotment.’
‘Oh, God!’
‘I’m so worried. I don’t know what to do.’ She could feel tears rising and her throat felt thick with emotion.
‘It’s okay, Orla. I’m on my way.’
‘You’re coming?’
‘I’ll be there as soon as I can,’ Luke told her. ‘Hold tight, okay?’
Orla hung up and took a deep breath. He hadn’t ignored her call and he hadn’t shouted at her or refused to come, and for that she was so grateful. She hadn’t thought about the implications of asking him to drive all the way from Kent and Luke hadn’t seemed to consider it as anything out of the ordinary. She had asked for help and he’d come through for her and she felt all the better for knowing that he’d be there soon.
Luke didn’t need to think twice. He dropped what he’d been doing, said something vague about a personal emergency to Chippy and left for Suffolk. He tried to remain calm during the drive, but it was hard not to be worried – worried for Bill, worried for Margy and worried for Orla. How was she coping with being in the hospital? It must be bringing back all sorts of horrific memories for her and he felt terrible for not being by her side right at that very moment. But he would be as soon as he could.
It had been the end of July when he’d left Lorford. Now it was October, another season, but it felt like another lifetime.
