Page 25 of Once Bitten, Twice Mine

Dr. Murnau held a small hand mirror before her father’s chest so he could see them. He frowned as he examined them, touching one before quickly pulling back his hand.

“Is it tender?”

“A bit.”

“Is this the first time you’ve noticed your injury?”

“Yes.”

Caroline frowned as she also hadn’t known about the injury; her eyes shifted to her mother, who also looked on with concern. Usually she wouldn’t be concerned with such a small thing; however, the marks looked like they were becoming infected.

“Do you think the infection caused his illness?” Her mother asked, biting her lip.

“Not likely. Typically, the infection would be much further along to make someone sick.” Murnau paused as he examined the wound. “While this certainly looks angry, I don’t see any signs the infection has hit the bloodstream.”

“Is angry a medical term?”

“Caroline,” her father said sharply.

She was no longer a child to be spoken to in such a manner, but the quickest way to disprove that was to say it, so she bit her tongue. She would wait to question the doctor when they went to check on Nelly.

“Angry may not be the technical term, but I have found it to be the most accurate. I only mean the wound is inflamed and could heal perfectly, or turn into an infection. I’ll treat this now, and we’ll keep an eye on it to see if it gets better. Regardless, this likely has no bearing on your father’s illness.”

Caroline’s shoulders relaxed. Everything he said made sense, but she still worried because he was her father, and as children grew up they began worrying after their parents in the same way their parents worried over them as children.

“Miss Blythe,” the doctor said as he returned his tools to his bag. “Would you take me to the next patient?”

“Of course.”

Caroline led him out of the room and down the servant corridor with Mrs. Thomas following them at a distance because even in the middle of a medical emergency she was still an unmarried woman who could be tainted.

Yet another reason why she couldn’t wait for Edgar’s return. Even though she still hadn’t gotten a letter.

“Do you think it may be plague?” Caroline asked, careful to keep her voice low so Mrs. Thomas couldn’t overhear.

“I’m not sure. We had a death overnight, which made me want to visit so I could see the similarities. Your father’s situation is most curious. None of my patients have improved, only died.”

“Did they have the same symptoms?”

Caroline paused with her hand on the brass knob to Nelly’s room. She looked up at the doctor with such hope. This was something he could fix. Plague may be burning through the village, but they were untouched in this home. Her father was proof.

“Miss Blythe, I know what you want me to come in here and tell you definitively what everyone has and exactly how to cure it. Unfortunately, that isn’t how medicine works, no matter how much I wish it did. So, we’ll collect our information and then see where we can go from there.”

Caroline sighed. She hated that his explanation made sense. Even though she wanted nothing more than to have a fix for the problem today, she would have to fight off her impatience if they had any hope of beating this.

“I just hope it isn’t plague.”

“As do I, Miss Blythe. As do I.”

Caroline opened the door. Part of her expected Nelly to be sitting up in bed just as her father was, but she was flat on her back, not even a pillow beneath her head. Her dark blonde hair lay unbound, fanned around her.

“Nelly, I’ve brought Dr. Murnau to see you.”

The woman didn’t stir.

As she walked towards the maid, her heart thumped. She relaxed when she saw Nelly. She looked radiant. Her sallow skin had color once again. Her hair was sleek and smooth despite her being too sick to lift her head for days. Her lips were red, and her light brown lashes cast a shadow on her cheek. All blemishes and discoloration on her skin were gone. It looked almost like porcelain had been left behind. She had scarcely seen a more beautiful woman.

“Mein Gott,” Dr. Murnau said, sucking in a breath.