“Right, call for Mr. Sterling at once, Mary. Mrs. Farnsworth, fetch me some cold water and a cloth. Make haste, both of you,” he ordered, and the women sprang into action.
“I’m... f..fi...fine,” Sally weakly protested as her eyes focused on him.
Leonard saw the truth written in the fevered flush of her cheeks and the glassy sheen of her eyes. “You’re not okay,” he insisted, vexed by her insistence. “You need rest and medical attention. You must not constantly insist you can manage anything and everything.” He didn’t mean to sound harsh, but he knew he did. Quickly, he placed a hand over hers. “I am worried about you, Sally. Please, do not protest. You need help.”
I... suppose I am ... a little... ill,” she admitted. “Joanna... the visit...”
“I will let them know, “Leonard promised.
She smiled despite her illness and mouthed ‘Thank you’ before closing her eyes.
Leonard could do nothing but watch her while fear gripped his heart like a vice.
The thought that she might have contracted the same illness that had befallen the Kellers sent a shiver of dread coursing through him.
He should not have let her go to their home. It had been a mistake, a terrible one. How could he properly protect her when he couldn’t even stand up to her when she was making a mistake? He hadn’t wanted to stop her, fearing he’d be seen as controlling or worse. He’d remembered the way his mother described his father in her diary. Abrupt, abusive, controlling - he hadn’t wanted to be any of those things. He wanted her to have autonomy over her choices. But now that might cost her ...
“Your Grace?” Mrs. Farnsworth said gently. “Mr. Sterling is here.”
How much time has passed? How long have I been sitting here?
The man entered. His face marked with deep lines and his hair, once black and lush, now thin and mostly white. He carried a leather bag in one hand and walked with determined self-assured steps.
Leonard got up and greeted the physician, sensing an urgency in the man he appreciated.
“Your Grace,” Mr. Sterling said with a small smile. They shook hands immediately and Leonard’s skin crawled. Not because he disliked the physician. No, he admitted his skill. It was a past they shared, a secret only the two of them knew. A secret that changed Leonard’s life.
“Mr. Sterling,” he said and withdrew his hand, breaking the onslaught of memories that had threatened to overtake him.
“I shall examine your wife,” he said. “Mrs. Farnsworth already informed me of everything. You are welcome to stay.”
“I will,” Leonard said without hesitation. There was no way he would leave Sally alone when she was ill, not until he knew there was no danger.
Leonard watched with a mixture of agitation and alarm as the physician examined her, his heart pounding in his chest with every passing moment.
When the examination was finally over, Leonard couldn’t contain his anxiety any longer. Stepping outside with the physician, he demanded answers.
“What’s wrong with her?” he implored, his eyes searching the doctor’s face for any sign of reassurance.
The physician sighed heavily, his expression grave as he delivered his diagnosis. “It appears to be a cold, so far,” he explained, his tone measured yet tinged with concern.
“So far? What does that mean?” Leonard demanded.
The man shrugged. “As you know, a cold can quickly turn into something more serious if not tended to properly. She has a fever which is higher than one normally sees with a common cold. That could be an indicator that something else might be taking hold.”
Something else ... Leonard didn’t even want to imagine.
“She needs plenty of rest, fluids, and perhaps a warm poultice to alleviate her symptoms. Mrs. Farnsworth will receive all my instructions as per usual,” Mr. Sterling explained. “With good care, she will recover swiftly, I venture to say.”
Leonard felt relief wash over him at the news, but his concern lingered like a shadow at the back of his mind. “But could it be the same illness that afflicted the Kellers?” he asked.
The physician shook his head solemnly. “Unlikely,” he replied. “If it were the same illness, she would have fallen ill much sooner. This seems to be a typical cold with a high fever, nothing more.”
“Thank you,” he said but avoided shaking the man’s hand again. To his relief, he did not attempt to extend his hand to Leonard either.
“Of course. Good day, Your Grace,” the physician said and disappeared.
Leonard rushed back to Sally’s side, determined to do whatever it took to ensure her swift recovery. She was pale, exhausted now from the physician’s exam. Pearls of sweat clung to her forehead, and he thought back to their conversation in the music room. They’d jested about her mother’s aversion to perfectly normal human conditions, such as sweating.
