Chapter 14
14
Sasha gave a long blast on the Land Rover horn in the hope that Peter would hear it and come out. It wasn’t that Ingrid was fat or anything, but she was taller and heavier than Sasha, and she knew she’d struggle to pick Ingrid up on her own.
‘Where do you hurt?’ she asked gently as she crouched down by Ingrid.
‘Just my wrist and my ankle,’ Ingrid said. ‘So stupid of me. I’ve been so careful with that seat belt recently, the bloody thing has been twisted and not rolling back in for a week or two. Tonight, I just completely forgot about it. And I haven’t made up the beds for the guests.’
‘Don’t worry about that right now,’ Sasha said. ‘I can do them for you.’
Peter came running at that moment. ‘Are you okay? Do I need to phone for an ambulance? Shall I drive you to Urgences in Carhaix?’
‘Neither,’ Ingrid said emphatically. ‘I’m pretty shaken, but I’m fairly certain it’s just a twisted ankle and possibly a sprained wrist.’
‘Come on then, let’s get you in and put cold compresses on everywhere that hurts.’
Between them, Peter and Sasha helped Ingrid onto her good foot and, with Peter on one side and Sasha on the other holding her up, she hopped her way into the kitchen and collapsed onto a chair. Peter gave her a worried look as he wrapped an ice-cold tea towel around her ankle before elevating her leg onto another chair and wrapping another tea towel around her right wrist.
Sasha put the kettle on as Ingrid told her where to find everything, and made a pot of tea. Handing Ingrid a full mug with plenty of sugar in it, she shook her head.
‘I’m so sorry. If you hadn’t taken me to see the puppies, this wouldn’t have happened. I feel so guilty.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ said Ingrid. ‘My own fault for not remembering about the seat belt. At least it happened here on home ground. I wasn’t stranded on my own in town, unable to drive home. The worst part of it is, I have so many last-minute things to do for the first two guests arriving the day after tomorrow.’
‘I’ll come up tomorrow and help. I can make up the bed and make sure everything is ready for when they arrive. You can sit and direct me as to what else needs doing. And I’ll come and cook the breakfasts while they are here too. Okay? So stop worrying,’ Sasha said.
‘Thank you. I’m sure I’ll be fine in a day or two,’ Ingrid said. ‘I’ll get a crutch and at least I’ll be able to get around.’
‘I think you’ll have to rest that ankle, not aggravate it by trying to hobble around,’ Sasha said. Looking at the swelling and the psychedelic colouring on the ankle already, she was pretty certain it was going to be more than a day or two before Ingrid was fully mobile again. ‘Right, I’d better get home. Freddie is cooking supper tonight. I’ll see you in the morning. I hope the ankle and wrist feel better tomorrow.’
Back in the cottage, Freddie had prepared a salad and was waiting for her before he cooked the cheese omelettes. As he beat the eggs before pouring them into the hot pan, he looked at the two feed bowls, the two water bowls, the two collars and the bag of dog food that Sasha had dropped in the corner of the kitchen. ‘Two of everything? We’re having two puppies? Where are they?’
‘Bruno wanted them to stay together, and I couldn’t possibly have chosen between the two anyway. So I thought we’d have one each.’
‘Brilliant idea,’ Freddie said.
‘We’re collecting them tomorrow. At least, that was the plan, but Ingrid fell out of the Land Rover when we got back and hurt herself.’ Sasha sat down with a sigh. ‘I feel so guilty. Ingrid has been so kind and now because she was doing me a favour, she’s injured and she’s got the first guests coming to the chateau in about forty-eight hours.’
‘I’m sure she doesn’t blame you,’ Freddie said. ‘These things happen.’
‘Doesn’t stop me feeling guilty though. Can you take me to pick up the puppies?’ Sasha asked hopefully.
‘Sure, but it will have to be about eight o’clock tomorrow evening. I’m working all day.’
‘It’s a bit late. There won’t be much time to settle them in, but at least we’d have them. Okay, thanks. I’ll ask Ingrid to ring Bruno tomorrow for me and let him know I’ll be later than planned to pick up the pups.’
After supper, Sasha went up to her soon-to-be studio room and studied the boxes before emptying the biggest one and leaving the contents in a pile on the floor. She took it downstairs and placed it in the corner of the kitchen. Freddie cut it down to the size she thought it should be, whilst she went to find a couple of small blankets to make it comfy. She’d buy a proper bed for the two of them when she went into town next.
‘Right, I’m off to the bar to watch the football. You could come if you wanted to?’ Freddie suggested.
‘No thanks. I might download a copy of Rebecca and start to re-read it, ready for the next book club meeting. I know I read it at school, but that was sometime ago.’