His head hit the concrete and he lost consciousness for several seconds. He came to, bleeding badly and confused enough to think he had been caught in an explosion. A duty BBC nurse dressed his wound in the first aid room and said he had symptoms of pleurisy. She drove him to hospital where he was given intravenous antibiotics and his chest drained. ‘You should never have started work this soon after pneumonia.’ Evie rang McCall after calling Bea and hearing he had ignored all medical advice and returned to London. She was owed a few days leave and found him in the flat he rented near Shepherd’s Bush Green, alternately shivering and sweating and still coughing up blood. She surprised herself by how worried she was. ‘You look dreadful, McCall. I’m taking you back to Shropshire.’ Evie stayed at Garth for two nights, making sure Bea did not have to cope alone. For this, Bea was grateful and a warmth developed between them. Francis had decamped to the dacha and was sleeping there.
