The War I Finally Won

Susan is sick and remains in bed. Lady Thorton has to go out, and she leaves Ada in charge. Ada notes that Susan is damp with sweat and feels hot to the touch. Ada does not understand the severity of Susan’s condition; she merely thinks that Susan is overheating and so removes some of the covers. When Lady Thorton gets home, she explains that Susan is sweating because she has a fever and is very unwell. Lady Thorton sends Jamie with a note for Fred Grimes at the stables to call the doctor.

Lady Thorton helps Susan breathe by setting her up over a bowl of steaming water and menthol. Doctor Graham arrives and diagnoses Susan with pneumonia; he insists that Susan must be taken to the hospital in London immediately. Lady Thorton goes with Susan.

Recalling that Becky died of pneumonia, Ada and Jamie are terrified that Susan will die too. Fred Grimes comes to stay with Ada and Jamie in the cottage. Jamie holds his cat, Bovril, in his arms all night as he and Ada sleep by the fire. They call London from the stables the next morning and learn that Susan has been admitted to the hospital and is stable.

The next day, Lady Thorton returns to retrieve more things for Susan. Ada tries to ask about Susan but instead bursts into tears. Lady Thorton is shocked by Ada’s violent sobbing and agrees to take her to London to see Susan. Jamie is left with their neighbors, the Ellistons.

Ada is silent with fear as they travel to London, thinking only of Susan. Lady Thorton reassures Ada that she and Lord Thorton would take custody of Jamie and Ada in the unlikely occurrence of Susan’s death. This does not comfort Ada.

Ada is shocked with the decadence of the hotel they stay in. As they wait for visiting hours at the hospital, Lady Thorton buys Ada a new coat, and they go to see a concert where a woman plays piano. Ada feels somewhat calm for the first time in days.

Finally, they go to see Susan. She is weak and still very unwell, but she reassures Ada that they are treating her with a new drug and that she will not die.

Ada reluctantly leaves the hospital, feeling that she should be caring for Susan. Lady Thorton takes Ada to the zoo, and she is amazed by the animals. They fall into a pattern of checking in on Susan’s condition in the morning and then walking to various sites around London until visiting hours at the hospital.

Lady Thorton shows Ada the house she grew up in, explaining that she had a lonely childhood despite the grandness of the building. Ada is surprised at this similarity; she too had a lonely childhood.

Susan’s fever breaks, and she starts to regain her strength. Ada hugs her and sobs, overcome with relief. Ada tells Susan that she loves her.

Lady Thorton asks Ada to take her to where she grew up. They go to Elsa Street in the East End, which has been totally obliterated by bombs. Lady Thorton is teary, realizing that Ada and Jamie may have been killed if Susan had not saved them.

Ada points out the locations of some stores and landmarks—now all destroyed—that she could see from her small window. Ada is grateful that she will never have to live here again.

Reassured that Susan is recovering, Lady Thorton and Ada return to Kent. A few weeks later, Susan returns as well. Ada continues to insist that she should take care of Susan, believing she should be Susan’s carer (and not the other way around) based on the definition of the word “ward,” which she looked up in her dictionary. Susan realizes this and explains that her definition is archaic.

Susan reiterates that it is not Ada’s job to be the carer. She points out that even when she was incapacitated in hospital, Lady Thorton took care of Ada. Ada is shocked to realize that this is true.