‘It’s best you take George home. I don’t want Mum distressed more than she is already,’ Ruby said without looking round.
Milly turned her face to Ruby. ‘There’s some more money in the box . . . it’s not a lot . . . but it’ll help you . . . give me a decent send-off . . . I’ve been putting . . . a copper or two by since . . . since I was told . . . about my dicky ticker . . . I didn’t want . . . to be a burden to you.’
‘Mum, you have never been a burden to me and shouldn’t be worrying about such things at the moment. You need to rest.’
Milly gave a weak laugh. ‘I’ll be resting aplenty before too long . . . There’s something else . . . you will find an envelope and my will . . . stitched into the lining of . . . my Sunday coat. There’s more money there too . . . If that’s not enough . . . you are to sell all me bits and pieces . . . to make up the difference. But what’s left . . . if anything . . . is all yours . . . no need to tell your sisters. They are doing all right . . . without my help . . . You’ve been a proper daughter to me . . . not like those two with their posh houses up in Bexleyheath. Promise me?’ she begged, still gripping Ruby’s hand.
Ruby stroked Milly’s cheek. ‘I promise. Please don’t fret. Why don’t you close your eyes and rest for a while? Fanny and Janie will be here before too long,’ she murmured, hoping that Eddie had the sense to rush to let them know.
Milly closed her eyes, but continued to grip Ruby’s hand tightly. ‘They’d best hurry,’ she said, before falling into a deep sleep.
Apart from a nurse who looked in occasionally to check on Milly, Ruby sat alone with her thoughts. She never let go of her mum’s hand, giving a gentle squeeze now and then, whispering a few words to assure Milly she was still there by her side. Tea, left by a thoughtful ward orderly, went cold as she thought back to her childhood, which had been spent mainly alone with Milly after her sisters, who were much older, went out to work, then married and rarely visited. There was never much money without a husband and father to provide for them, but they got by.
‘Thank you, Mum. I may not have said it very much, but thank you for caring for me and trying not to judge too much when I married Eddie after I fell with our George. I didn’t mean to shame you . . .’ Ruby didn’t know if Milly could hear her words. Perhaps not, as Milly never stirred.
As the sun dropped in the sky and nightfall gradually darkened the screened-off section of the ward a nurse appeared with a small oil lamp and set it down on the wide window ledge. ‘Am I able to stay?’ Ruby asked, thinking that she would be sent home for the night. She was surprised she’d not been dismissed before now, as the signs she’d spotted in the entrance hall had strict visiting times for family.
Milly’s eyelids fluttered and opened. ‘Where . . . am . . . I?’ she murmured faintly.
‘It’s all right, Mum. You had a fall earlier and your ticker’s been playing up. If you rest up you’ll be home before too long,’ Ruby reassured her, wondering if perhaps Milly had turned a corner and was getting better.
Milly took a shuddering breath. ‘Nah . . . my Bert . . . he’s waiting for me,’ she said, looking past Ruby towards the window. ‘Look . . . look there . . .’
Ruby felt fear grip her stomach. ‘But, Mum. Dad – well, Dad died before I was born. Don’t you remember?’
Milly continued to smile for a few seconds more. Her eyes twinkled just like they did when she’d had a bit of a knees-up and a tot too much of something down the pub. ‘Bert . . .’ she murmured, before sighing her last breath and sinking into the pillows.
‘Mum – no, Mum!’ Ruby sobbed, throwing herself onto the still body and hugging her mum for all she was worth. ‘Don’t leave me, Mum, please don’t leave me . . . You’ve got to wait to see Fanny and Janie, and in the morning George will be coming to visit you. Mum . . .’
The gentle arms of a nurse took Ruby by the shoulders and pulled her away from her mother. A second nurse bent over to check Milly before closing her eyes and pulling the white bed sheet up under her chin. ‘She had a peaceful death, Mrs Caselton,’ she said, turning to give Ruby a hug. ‘What a lucky lady she was to have such a devoted daughter.’ She handed her a handkerchief.
Ruby took a few more deep shuddering sobs before doing her utmost to calm herself. The patients in their beds just the other side of the screens didn’t need to be wakened by her crying or be aware someone had passed away. ‘My sisters need to know,’ she finally managed to say.
‘There is a lady waiting outside. She’s been there some time, but insisted on waiting.’
‘It must be one of my sisters. Why wasn’t she allowed in? She’s missed saying goodbye,’ Ruby said, feeling suddenly angry.
‘No, it is your neighbour – a Mrs Green. Unfortunately our usual rules don’t permit people to enter the ward out of hours, but she insisted on staying. One of my colleagues gave her a hot drink,’ the nurse explained, seeing that Ruby looked puzzled. ‘It takes a good friend to wait so patiently and for so long.’
Ruby was thoughtful. ‘Do you think she could come in and pay her respects to Mum?’
The two nurses looked at each other and, without speaking, one left Milly’s bedside. She returned a few moments later with Stella.
‘Oh, my poor love. You’ve had so much heartache,’ Stella said as she sat beside Ruby and rocked her in her arms. The two nurses disappeared, leaving them alone with Milly.
Once Ruby had composed herself she turned to Stella. ‘Mum looks very peaceful,
