Necessary as Blood

family spoil your wedding. You are going to do what feels right for you.‘ Hazel patted Gemma‘s hand. ‘Now, promise me you‘ll go straight home and talk to Duncan. You can work this out between the two of you. That‘s what counts, after all.‘

    But when Gemma arrived home, she found Duncan in the hall, looking as if he was on his way out, and his expression didn‘t augur well for a discussion.
    ‘Where have you been?‘ he said, sounding irritable. ‘I‘ve tried ringing you for ages. Toby and I wanted you to meet us for lunch. But when I couldn‘t get you, I made sandwiches, and now I‘ve promised to take him to the art shop because you weren‘t here.‘
    ‘Oh, no. My phone.‘ Gemma remembered tossing it onto the seat before she went into Betty‘s, and that was the last time she‘d thought of it. Had it fallen onto the floor of the car and turned itself off? ‘I think I might have lost it.‘
    ‘You think?‘ He frowned at her. ‘What do you mean, you think? Either you lost it or you didn‘t.‘
    ‘I can‘t... remember.‘ The room wavered. She sank down onto the hall bench, knocking the dogs‘ leads to the floor. ‘I — I don‘t feel very well. My head‘s gone all fuzzy.‘
    ‘Gemma?‘
    At least, that was what she thought he said. His lips moved, but a buzzing sound rose like a wave, drowning the sound of his voice. Then his face receded to the end of a white tunnel and blinked out.

Chapter Twenty-Four

It was seen as proper that you were married before you had a baby, and East End weddings were big social events. Even families without much money would try to put on a good ‘do‘.

Gilda O‘Neil, East End Tales

    The next thing Gemma knew, Duncan was stroking her cheek and saying her name, urgently. Then he turned his head and shouted for Kit and Toby.
    She winced. ‘Ouch! Don‘t shout. It hurts my head.‘
    ‘Gemma, are you okay? What happened there?‘ His face was inches away, his eyes intent.
    ‘Just a bit dizzy,‘ she mumbled. ‘I‘m all right.‘ She liked his hand on her face. It felt warm, and she pressed her cheek against it, closing her eyes against the light. But he tightened his grasp, using his other hand to turn her head.
    ‘Open your eyes, Gemma. Look at me,‘ he said sharply.
    ‘The light makes my head hurt,‘ she protested, but complied.
    ‘Your pupils aren‘t normal.‘ He sounded as if he was angry with her.
    ‘I‘m sorry. I didn‘t mean...‘
    The boys came thundering down the stairs, the dogs at their heels, barking excitedly at the commotion. The noise made Gemma‘s head feel as if it was going to split open. She covered her ears, so that when Duncan spoke, his voice came through fuzzily.
    ‘I‘m taking your mum to hospital. Kit, I want you to look after Toby until we get back. I‘ll ring you.‘
    ‘I don‘t want to go to hospital,‘ said Gemma, pushing Duncan‘s hands away. ‘I hate that place.‘
    ‘No argument.‘ He slipped an arm round her waist and lifted her, and she found that in spite of her resistance she needed the support.
    ‘I‘ll start the car.‘ Kit scooped the keys off the floor, where Gemma must have dropped them. She caught a flash of his face, white and frightened, as he went out the door.
    ‘Kit, I‘m fine,‘ she tried to say, but it came out as a thread of sound, and as Duncan started to walk her towards the door, the world began to go white and fuzzy again.
    After that, she let Duncan fold her gently into the car, but managed a smile at Kit as they drove away.
    Then it was a blur of glass doors and gurneys and long, ugly corridors. Duncan stayed with her, holding her hand. At last they were through with the scans and exams, and a young female doctor came into the curtained cubicle to speak to them.
    ‘The bad news is that you do have concussion, Mrs James,‘ she said, and Gemma hadn‘t the energy to correct her on the title. She hadn‘t been Mrs James since she and Rob were divorced, although she‘d kept his surname for Toby‘s sake. ‘The good news is that there‘s no sign of subdural haematoma,‘ the doctor went on. ‘But you should have come in sooner. Head injuries can be quite dangerous. Now, you‘re going to need to stay quiet for three or four days‘ — she must have seen Gemma start to protest because she said more firmly — ‘and that means bed rest. We don‘t want to see you back here. We‘ll give you something for the headache that will help the pain and reduce the swelling as