There’s either an egregious inconsistency or I’m a massive dingus.
Caroline gets very sick, and keeps getting worse. Shirley is so concerned she manages to persuade the generally stone-hearted (or near enough) Mr Helstone to bring in a doctor to see what ails Caroline. The doctor isn’t too pleased with her state, and his prognosis of her future is grim even though he doesn’t speak it. Caroline gets worse. A few chapters pass, and we find out that while she was getting worse, Shirley was at the seaside with some relatives, enjoying the summer sun.
What??
So Shirley apparently cares enough to get emotional while Caroline is less sick, but doesn’t care enough to stick around when she gets even worse and instead elects to go, I don’t know, sunbathe and sip margaritas??
by HotMudCoffee