Page 140 of Strangers in Time

And that was when she glimpsed the vertical scar near her mother’s right temple. It pulsated thick, dark, and brutish against the pale skin.

She was brought back from staring at it when she felt a hand on her face.

She looked down and saw her mother’s trembling fingers slowly drifting over her skin, like a blind woman Molly had once seen do to someone she had met for the first time.

But clearly her mother could see her.

“Molly?”

“Yes, your daughter, Molly. I’m here, Mummy.” Tears formed in Molly’s eyes and then drained down her cheeks. “I’ve missed you so much, Mummy. I love you so much.”

“Missed… Molly.”

And then the hand withdrew and the eyes closed and that, apparently, was that. Eloise Wakefield fell back asleep.

“She tires very easily, but she seemed quite happy to see you,” Stephens said kindly. “I was quite astonished when she asked for you by name. She had not been… communicative in a long while.”

Molly reluctantly let go of her mother’s hand and rose. “That… scar at her temple? And those holes around her eye sockets?”

“Yes, yes, we can talk about all that later. I’m sure after your long journey you and your friends need a good night’s rest.”

“There’s an inn near Falmouth that we passed,” offered Oliver.

“Oh, no, we have a small cottage here on the grounds for visitors. You’re welcome to it.”

“Are you sure?” said Molly. “I would like to be as near to her as possible.”

“I am very sure. We’ll get you settled and, though the hour is late, you can meet my colleague, Dr. Foyle.”

He led them out and locked the door behind him.

Molly said, “I wouldn’t think she could get out of bed.”

“We like to take precautions,” said Stephens vaguely. “It is best to.”

He led them back down the hall in silence.

THEPROCEDURE

THEIR ROOMS IN THEsmall cottage were utilitarian but clean. The simple meal they had in the staff room was flavorless and overcooked, but it relieved their hunger. They gathered in Dr. Stephens’s office afterward to meet with him and his colleague, Dr. Everett Foyle, who was exceptionally tall and lanky, with curly dark hair, and around forty.

Molly opened the discussion by saying, “She seems quite bloated, which suggests she’s retaining fluids. Is there something wrong with the functioning of her kidneys?”

A surprised Foyle said, “You sound like you have medical training.”

“I do, actually. I’m a nurse auxiliary at a clinic in London. And I performed nursing services at a hospital in Leiston before that.”

“Remarkable,” said Foyle, eyeing her intently.

Stephens said, “As I noted in my letter, your mother suffers from some difficult internal disorders.”

“She also felt very warm. Is she feverish?”

Foyle shook his head. “It’s merely a side effect of her treatments.”

“Her eyes also seemed… off.”

“Yes, we noted that, as we’ve noted it with other patients who have received treatments,” said Foyle.

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