Page 70 of A Sight to Behold
“What’s ipecac?”
“The ipecacuanha plant, or simply ipecac, is a species in theRubiaceaefamily. It’s native to Brazil and has been used for centuries as a source of emetic substances,” Alfie explained.
“Oh, it’s a small one, about this high.” Pippa showed the distance of a foot between her hands. “It has slender stems that are reddish-brown and covered with fine hairs. The flowers are small.”
Alfie blinked slowly as if to digest the fact that she not only knew the plant, but apparently knew it very well. Nick smiled. He couldn’t help but be proud of her intelligence.
“Why do you know that?” Alfie asked.
“I have one. But its little lavender blooms have dried out for the year.”
“She has an ipecac?” Alfie turned to address Nick as if he’d discovered that Pippa rode alligators and tamed tarantulas for fun.
“An orangery,” Pippa corrected him.
“So, you can easily dig out a piece of the ipecac’s root?” Alfie asked.
“She has a greenhouse,” Nick said. “The plants are in flower beds and are quite accessible.”
“A greenhouse. With medicinal plants?” Alfie asked, incredulously.
“Most of them.”
Alfie squinted, keeping his arms crossed and his gaze skipping from Nick to Pippa and back. “Your beautiful blond lady is in love with you, owns a third of England, and has a greenhouse.” He coughed into his fist now, before saying, “Excuse me. She has anorangeryfilled with exotic medicinal plants.”
Nick couldn’t suppress the smile and pinched his lips. Yes, that was his Pippa.
“Where you found her, I’m going, too!”
The three of them chuckled.
Nick inhaled gravely. All would be well. He had his love and his friends; somehow, they’d weather this storm. They’d even saved Truffles.
So, step 2 was taken care of: Pippa’s father would be weaned off the mushroom cap.
That left step 3. The incision.
Chapter Thirty-Two
While Pippa andAlfie returned to the orangery to dig out some of the ipecac plant’s root and infuse into the chocolate desserts they’d laced with charcoal; Nick had to return to Lance.
Lance had been right all along.
“So, my lenses are both cloudy?”
“It’s one of the worst cases I’ve ever seen.” Of course, it was. The man was blind, after all.
“And yet, it looks familiar?” Lance asked, oddly hopeful to have a diagnosis that explained his blindness.
“It’s the back of the lens, Lance. That’s why you lost your vision so quickly. Where the light has to pass through, I mean where it’s bundled—”
“Don’t speak to me like I’m a layperson. If I have a posterior subcapsular cataract, say so. I get it,” Lance bellowed. He pressed both hands flat on the table and was tense. “Take them out.”
“What?”
“That’s what you do, don’t you? Take the bad lenses out and give me crystal glass ones. Please!”
“Lance, I… ahem…” Was that why he’d come? To coerce Nick into operating on him? He’d had an inkling that there might be an ulterior motive besides introducing his wife to him and their friends, but he was usually the one to pick the cases for surgery, not vice versa.
