Page 50 of The Lovers
Elise was surprised to hear a noise coming from the direction of the kitchen. For one mad moment, she thought it might be James, but then she remembered that he was away in Suffolk, tending to Edward’s estate. At least he was safe there. She shut the window and headed toward the kitchen. Perhaps Cook got up early and would make her some tea. Instead, Elise found Lucy, who was still in her night rail, her bare feet as pale as the linen of the garment. Lucy’s dark hair spilled down her back, and her face was flushed with the heat of her attic bedroom.
“Lucy, what is it?” Elise asked, noting the pail of water in Lucy’s shaking hands. Her eyes were huge with shock as shebeheld her mistress, but she instantly looked away, a guilty expression on her face.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” Elise said, wondering why Lucy looked so spooked. She didn’t seem to be doing anything wrong. Lucy set the pail down on the table and took a deep breath before finally meeting Elise’s gaze.
“’Tis Janet, me lady. She’s unwell.”
Janet was the youngest maid in the household. She was only twelve, a thin mousy girl who’d come up from Kent to find employment. She was an orphan, and according to Lucy, she considered herself truly blessed to have found work in such a grand house with a kind mistress. Elise felt sorry for the girl but tried not to single her out for fear of setting the other servants against her. Elise did give Janet one of her old gowns since the girl had nothing but the clothes she stood up in. Janet treasured the gown and only wore it to church, seeing as she had no other special occasions in her dreary life.
“What’s wrong with her?” Elise asked. “Is it her time of the month?”
“No, me lady. She’s fevered. I came down to get some cool water to sponge her face and body. Her night rail is soaked with sweat.”
Elise nodded. “Let me know how she is. And Lucy, I’ll dress myself this morning. You just see to Janet.”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”
Elise watched Lucy walk away, the pail carefully balanced in her hands. She hoped that Janet would improve by tomorrow. If she didn’t, there’d be cause for concern.
THIRTY-FOUR
Elise didn’t see Lucy for the rest of the day, but a feeling of dread settled over the house, as if all the inhabitants were holding their breath. Even Cook, who liked to hum a merry tune while she cooked, remained resolutely silent, torn between worry and guilt. Janet had gone out two days prior at her behest. She’d purchased produce and fish for supper and then helped Cook bake several loaves of bread. Everyone in the household had eaten the food that Janet had touched. If she did indeed have the plague, they were all at risk.
“How is she?” Elise asked urgently when she saw Lucy coming down the stairs. Lucy looked exhausted and pale, and her forehead was slick with perspiration.
“She’s still fevered and has terrible chills despite this ungodly heat. Says her bones hurt,” Lucy replied. She strove for calm, but the panic in her eyes was painful to behold. She understood the ramifications of sharing a room with Janet only too well, and she was the only person in the household who would be expected to look after her. “In for a penny, in for a pound,” Cook was heard to say, referring to Lucy’s amount of exposure to the sickness. It was too late to do anything for her now.
“Has Janet eaten anything?” Elise asked, keeping a safe distance from Lucy.
“Just a bit of broth and a cup of ale.”
“Lucy, she needs to be examined,” Elise said. She feared for Lucy, but the girl had already been exposed, so examiningJanet would not place her in any greater danger. “Do you know what to look for?”
Lucy nodded. “I’ll just get some more water and a cup of ale for Janet.”
“No. You mustn’t go near the other servants. I will have Will bring up a basin of water and a jug of ale and leave it by the door. Lucy, I’m sorry, but you must be quarantined along with Janet.” Lucy looked aghast but didn’t argue.
“Check Janet over and let Will know when he comes up,” Elise instructed. “And, Lucy, don’t worry. I will look after you. You have my word.”
“Not much ye can do for me, is there?” Lucy asked. She sounded wary and defeated. They all knew the odds of surviving the plague.
Elise paced the parlor until Will finally came back down some time later, his face ashen. Elise didn’t need to ask, she saw it all in his eyes, but she faced him across the room and smiled encouragingly.
“Janet has buboes, me lady. ’Tis the plague, as ye feared.”
“Will, please ask everyone to assemble in the yard. I’d like to speak to them. And please wake his lordship. He’ll need to be informed.”
“Aye, me lady.” Will left the room, his shoulders stooped, and his gait slow. He was hardly older than Elise, but he seemed to have aged a decade in the past few minutes. Elise shared his fear.
Elise came out into the yard moments later. Nine frightened faces stared at her as she stood there for a moment, organizing her thoughts. “As you all know, Janet has been taken ill with the plague. We are now all at risk. I would ask you all to remain calm in the face of this threat. We must do what we can for Janet andpray that Lucy does not sicken. Janet and Lucy will be quarantined from this moment on. Will, you will bring food and water for washing, but leave them on the floor in front of the room. You are not to go in. No one is. If anyone feels fevered or achy, please let me know. You will be relieved of your duties and asked to stay in your room. Is that clear?”
Nine heads nodded. “Should we not inform the authorities that there’s plague in the house?” Cook asked, her normally rosy face pale with fear.
“Not yet. They will have the house shut up with all of us in it. We will look to our own. You may return to your tasks.”
Elise went back into the house and shut the door to the parlor. She didn’t want the servants to see her fear, but she was terrified. One case was all it took to infect everyone in the house. Janet had touched their food, their bread, and likely their dishes. No one knew how the illness spread, but it stood to reason that anything Janet laid her hands on might have become infected. And Lucy had been in the kitchen getting food and drink for Janet. If she had been stricken, that increased their chances of illness.
Elise put her hands over her belly. The butterfly feeling had intensified over the past two days. Had her baby quickened without her even realizing it? She supposed it was possible. She was about halfway through the pregnancy, by her estimation. Elise pressed her hands to her growing stomach, searching for signs of life. “Are you in there, little one?” she whispered. “I’ll keep you safe.”
