Chapter Twenty-ThreeIt was immediately obvious that I was not well enough to travel to Melbourne, so I spent the next two weeks in a fuzz of painkillers and indignity, unable to care for myself.
Matilda stayed with me day and night, and often scared off more official visitors. Arabella’s blood hadn’t killed me, so she donated her blood three more times. I was aware enough to know she was deeply affected by what she’d seen during the battle, but not aware enough to form a tactful sentence to encourage her to talk about her experiences. Even when we were not fighting one another, I was unable to be the sister I wanted to be. But I blurred into consciousness one day to find Arabella and Lizzie discussing the tricky task of maintaining my heart, and had just enough awareness to close my eyes
