Page 47 of The London Girls
‘Ava, why didn’t you tell me!’ They were at Florence’s for the dress fitting, and Florence’s hands hovered over Ava’s shoulder as they both stood and stared at the deep cut and grazes that spiralled down her upper arm. She thought she’d done a good job of patching her up the night before, but clearly Florence disagreed. But it was her puffy red eyes that Olivia was worried about; she’d never seen Ava upset over anything before, but it was obvious she’d cried a great deal during the night.
‘You’re so lucky to walk away from a crash like that,’ Florence said. ‘Honestly, you’re like a cat with nine lives.’
Florence had a small dish of warm water that she was dipping a cloth into, carefully cleaning the wound as Ava sat silently, barely a grimace marking her face even when Florence gestured to Olivia to spread some cream across her wounds.
‘Ava, you could have stayed in bed, you know. I wouldn’t have minded,’ Olivia said. ‘You can have my bed for as long as you need.’
‘Wait,yourbed?’ Florence asked. ‘What am I missing here?’
Olivia glanced at Ava, seeing how uncomfortable she was. Tears clung to her lashes, and Olivia knew her usually bold friend was on the verge of crying again.
‘Ava stayed at my place last night,’ Olivia said gently.
‘My father kicked me out, and it seems you were both right about my married man.’ Tears streamed down her cheeks as Olivia reached for her, using the backs of her knuckles to dry her skin for her. ‘It seems he doesn’t want me any more than my father does, and hiswifewas there.’ Ava’s voice cracked. ‘It was the most humiliating night of my life.’
Olivia took a deep breath and swapped glances with Florence, who looked as worried as she felt.
‘Ava, please, why don’t you let me tuck you into bed for a bit?’ Florence asked. ‘You’ve been through so much, and we’d all understand if you wanted—’
‘It’s just a scrape, I’m absolutely fine, or at least I will be,’ Ava said, braving a smile and quickly wiping away fresh tears. ‘See, all patched up, I’ll be good as new before you know it.’
‘You’re certain?’ Olivia asked.
‘I wouldn’t miss this for the world,’ Ava replied, her attempt at sounding bright not fooling Olivia.
She held out her arm as if to convince them both that shewasin fact fine, but when Florence dropped low and took off the bandage, exposing Ava’s knee, she almost hit the roof.
‘Ava!’ Olivia cried. ‘How bad was this crash? Does George know?’Why didn’t she show this to me last night?
‘Oh, he knows all right.’ Ava hissed this time as Florence dabbed at the wound, and Olivia quickly sat beside her and took her hand.
‘What did he say? Was he furious?’ She’d bet he was absolutely livid! She’d had to go to work almost immediately after Ava had arrived the night before, leaving her in the care of one of her flatmates, and she wished now that she’d stayed longer with her.
‘Well, he wasn’t as angry as I thought he’d be,’ Ava said. ‘He seemed more concerned about my injuries than the damage to themotorcycle, which was surprising. And these wounds have already been cleaned, so I’m finding this all a bit unnecessary.’
‘He didn’t yell at you? Scream bloody murder? Demand that all women be banned from riding motorcycles for ever more?’
Ava shook her head. ‘Actually, he was the only man last night who treated me with respect and dignity.’
Before Olivia had time to question her further, Florence’s grandmother walked in and stole the attention away from Ava’s wounds. She was holding the ivory lace fabric in her hands that Olivia had brought with her, and the older woman’s eyes were twinkling as she came towards them.
‘MrsHughes, I—’
‘Ivy,’ Flo’s grandmother said, swatting at the air with her hand as if to dismiss the use ofMrs. ‘You can both call me Ivy. No need for formalities here.’
‘Can’t I just call you Grandma?’ Ava asked. ‘I really need a grandma right now.’
Olivia smiled at Ava, knowing she was trying to make them all laugh, but she could still see how upset she was. But she had to hand it to her; even heartbroken, she was capable of charming a stranger, and an old lady at that.
‘Flo told me all about you,’ Ivy said, making a tutting noise with her tongue.
‘All good things I hope?’ Ava asked.
‘Well, she didn’t mention you had a shoulder that looked like a hunk of meat, that’s for sure.’ Ivy sighed. ‘But I’ll figure out a way to hide it, don’t you worry.’
Olivia hid her smile behind her hand, loving Ivy already. Anyone who could put Ava in her place so effortlessly rated highly in her books, and she’d done it with a gentleness that told her Ivy had seen the pain behind Ava’s bravado.
‘So, what do you think?’ Olivia asked, eyeing the fabric. ‘Can you make it work?’
