Page 67 of Stars May Burn

The physician narrowed her eyes and took out a stethoscope. A faint blue light glowed on the head that immediately diverted my attention. I didn’t recall a similar light on Physician Jones’s stethoscope. “Does that use kryalcomy?”

The woman held up her finger as she approached. “One moment, if you please. Were you wearing a corset last night?”

I shook my head. “But I suppose, I had been running and hadn’t slept and had a fright. I’m not very brave or very strong.”

The physician pursed her lips. “Is that so?”

She placed the stethoscope on my chest and instructed me to breathe in and out as she listened. There was a twitch between her eyebrows, and I wondered what she heard.

She turned back to her bag. “To answer your earlier question, yes, the stethoscope does. Kryalcomy can redirect air. It amplifies the sound, which makes it easier for me to hear your heart. It’s a recent invention approved by the Maegistrium. Still very expensive, which is why you might not have come across it in Adenburg yet.”

No, only in a remote city that wasn’t unusually rich.

She pulled out a cuff attached to a box which also had a blue glowing light. “I’m going to test your blood pressure. This uses kryalcomy too. When I turn this dial, it inflates with air and then slowly releases. It records the pressure level when I can hear your pulse again. It’s more accurate than the standard ones.”

She wrapped the cuff around my upper arm, inflated it, and held the head of the stethoscope to my wrist. Just the pressure of the cuff inflating was enough to make me feel dizzy again. I watched as the dial on the box slowly lowered as the pressure reduced until the physician pressed a button to make it stop.

The physician repeated the process while I waited for the results, my eyes feeling heavy with lack of sleep now that I was in the warm comfort of my bed.

Finally, she withdrew a clipboard from her bag and recorded some notes.

“Your heart rate is fast and your blood pressure slightly low. This might be why you feel lightheaded. Are you currently taking any medication or tonics?”

I pointed to the box of tonics Miss Claris had brought that were stashed in the corner. “I take a fertility tonic.” My cheeks heated even as I said the words.

The physician didn’t even blink at the admission but jotted something down. “How regularly do you take it?”

I shifted uncomfortably. “I used to take a spoonful daily in my previous marriage. Since my arrival in Kasomere, I’ve been sporadic at best.”

“I need to check that none of the ingredients are exacerbating your low blood pressure or might interact with what I’m about to give you.” She walked over to the box and withdrew one of the vials, swirling the reddish-brown liquid. She tapped her chin in annoyance. “Why isn’t it labeled?” She turned back to me. “Do they always come like this? Who makes them for you?”

I pulled my bedcovers up to my chest in discomfort. “They’re never labeled. I think for discretion’s sake. Miss Claris said it would be unseemly for anyone to know I took such a tonic. She said I should appear able to conceive without needing help. My maid sourced them with permission from my father. I never asked from where or what the contents were.”

Physician Harris put down the vial and planted her hands on her hips. “That’s ridiculous. Drinking unlabeled tonics is dangerous. Whoever made them is guilty of bad practice.”

She strode back to the bed, writing out something on a slip of paper. “Since neither of us knows what’s in that tonic, you should stop drinking it completely for your own safety. Instead, I will recommend something to help with your blood pressure. A pharmacist will be able to mix it up for you. We’ll retest in three weeks.”

I tugged on the bedsheet, wrapping it around my hands, my mind turning to my garden. “I have my own fallow weed in the garden and could add some carrot juice from the kitchens.”

The physician paused. “You will need to purify and distill the fallow weed and then have the concentration at least one in fifty and add something for the taste.”

I nodded. “I’ll take it with honey. I know fallow weed is only effective above one in thirty and above one in eighty it can cause vomiting.”

She pursed her lips for a moment, then nodded. “Let’s try that then. If it doesn’t work, we’ll use something prepared by the pharmacy.”

I nodded, happy to have another clear use for my project.

She softened her voice. “You are still young, but if you still haven’t fallen pregnant in a year, I will prepare you something myself to help. Until then, try not to put pressure on yourself and your body.”

I nodded, my cheeks feeling warm.

The physician paused as she started to pack her bag. “I…hope this doesn’t sound unprofessional, but I’m friends with Tom, one of your gardeners. He said you were growing yellowmoss as well as bigsweed.”

I nodded. “We’ve already had a tiny harvest that’s drying in the shed. It’s not much, but we’re hoping for a bit more in a few weeks. I used up my last batch of bigsweed when the injured troops came home since Physician Jones said you were in short supply with so many casualties.”

The physician nodded. “If you manage to grow a surplus in the future, the pharmacist is often short since we’re far away from any natural bog land around here and have to wait for merchants. It’s very expensive, as I’m sure you know. I would always be willing to purchase it from you. The fact that you managed to create the right conditions here in Kasomere is extraordinary.”

I nodded. “That was all Tom’s hard work and genius. Of course, I can grow more for you in the future. And if you know of other plants the people here need, we could attempt to grow them as well.”

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