CHAPTER XII
NANCY DELIBERATES
Nancy felt deeply sorry for Dot, she had no idea that her life was that complicated for all those years, and now the love of her life had died. She couldn't imagine what she would do if anything ever happened to Daisy.
None of the others realised that she was so very fond of Dot. Perhaps Titty, or even Peggy, had an idea, but even those two could not have known to what extent she was and why.
When they all first met Dot and Dick during that winter the lake froze, she had 'fallen' for Dot at once, despite not being at all sure of her own feelings in such matters. Despite this she was quite sure that Dot didn't share them, such things did not seem to bother her much in the same way as they didn't her own sister. But then, as it turned out Nancy was wrong about that as well.
A few years later, she had gone through similar feelings, but so much more immediate and stronger, about Daisy and it turned out this time she was right.
Dot had always been a romantic, that had been clear from the start, but back then the others were not sure of her, what use would she be to the Polar expedition? Dick they accepted, he knew about the stars and grasped the notion of codes and signals at once.
The others had even made fun of Dot's plaits, until she and Titty put them in their place, she had even thought the plaits were sweet, they really suited her, but what could she say? The 'terror of the seas' would never admit to such things, had she done so the others would have been shocked and never understood.
Now Dot had to deal with twenty years of love and admiration being curtailed by the cruelness of fate, what would she do? More pressingly she now had money, a lot of money, she and Daisy knew what is was like to make do and be careful and would be thankful for such a bequest, they had been when Daisy inherited the cottage and the money that came with it. But Dot doesn't want it.
She had managed to avoid an immediate discussion for her, get the others to think about it and come up with an answer. Dick might. John, oh dear, John, he will be so straight about it all. She was fond of John, but so glad she didn't marry him as all the others seemed to have expected of her, but then Peggy had saved her from that, not intentionally, just that her feelings were not at all what everyone thought. Then her own weren't either as they found out when Daisy showed up that morning at the cottage in Wales.
Before Daisy she had always protected Dot, the others underestimated her, well, all except Titty, but when she heard about their adventures on the Broads, particularly catching criminals, she respected her even more.
But the money. What could she do with it? The amount, if she was selfish she could easily live off it, but her books gave her an income. There was nothing she wanted, and even if there had been she didn't want to acquire it with his money. It had to be something useful for others, Dot clearly wanted no part of it.