Page 13 of The Premonition at Withers Farm
This time, Mrs. Withers mumbled through an agonizing sob, “My girl. Mygirl!”
Perliett took the liberty of running her hands down Mrs. Withers’s body. A quick examination revealed no wounds and drew no cries of pain from the woman.
“Is she going to be all right?” Millie breathed.
“Oh yes.” It was a flimsy reassurance, and Perliett knew Millie recognized that. Still, that was more comforting thanNo, your mother is losing her mind with grief. And she was. That much was apparent, and there wasn’t much medically she could do outside of...
Perliett straightened and looked to her apothecary chest. Flipping the latches at both ends, she opened it. There. She reached for the brown bottle, its label printed in block letters.
“What is that?” Millie asked over her shoulder.
Perliett didn’t mind. It was natural for Mrs. Withers’s daughter to be so concerned, especially considering all they’d been through this last week.
“Heroin,” Perliett answered as she prepared to uncap it. “We use it for various things, but one is to ‘give optimism to the mind,’ as the maker here claims.” She tapped the bottle with a well-trimmed fingernail.
“Oh.” Millie’s voice was small because of her lack of comprehension. “I’ve not heard of it.”
“As you shouldn’t have!”George Wasziak’s voice filled the room with his offended tone. He pushed his way in with an explanation to Millie’s shocked expression. “Your brother-in-law, Errol, had me fetched after he realized your messenger was retrieving Miss Van Hilton.”
At Millie’s concerned “Oh,” he added, “Errol will cover my fees. You’ve no need to concern your father with them.”
Millie visibly relaxed, but Perliett stiffened. She stood poised with the bottle of liquid heroin in one hand, a spoon in the other.
Mrs. Withers curled into a fetal position, pressing the suffocating shawl against her face.
George glowered. Well, he always glowered, but this time there was a dark ferocity to it. “I recommend capping that monstrous liquid instantly.”
“Would you prefer I use the tablet form?” Perliett couldn’t help but poke at him, even though it was highly inappropriate at a patient’s bedside.
“For all that’s holy!” The man had the audacity to snatch the bottle from her hand. A small amount of liquid dripped from the bottle.
“Return that at once!” Perliett could match his glower and it took little trying. He brought out the worst in her.
George fisted the bottle and held it up with a singular firm shake for emphasis. “Any good doctor knows this has a darkly addictive side to it.”
“Do they? Really? And yet it’s still available to doctors to administer and even sell to their patients?”
George’s eyes blackened more than they already were.“Andyouobtained your own bottlehow? You’re not a licensed medical practitioner. You’re not even apractitioner.”
Perliett tilted her chin upward. “That is no business of yours.”
George strode to the window, shoved it upward, and in one swift motion tilted the bottle and allowed the heroin to drain out.
“How dare you!” Perliett chased after him but was too late.
“How dareI?” George stuffed the empty bottle into his coat pocket and waved his hand toward Mrs. Withers. “You’re the one masquerading as a doctor—which she isnot!” He shot his last comment at Millie. “The sooner you accept that your abilities are limited, the better.” This was directed to Perliett.
She had nothing to say.
No. No, that wasn’t true. She had plenty to say, but not in front of poor Mrs. Withers or Millie. She allowed George to step between her and Mrs. Withers’s bedside. He bent over her, checked her pulse and other vitals, then opened his own bag of treatments.
“Have you administered any medications to Mrs. Withers at all?” he barked.
“No.” Perliett pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her shirtwaist. If disdain could ooze from her body, it would be a goopy mess trailing along the floor. But she held it in and allowedDr.Wasziak to do his thing.
The painfully honest truth was, he was a very good doctor. There was no reason not to trust his expertise. He just butted in when he felt he had precedence—which wasalways. She didn’t mean her patients any harm, and heavens knew heroin was a perfectly fine treatment for many ailments! Cocaine was more typically used for pain or coughing, and it treated well but had its own set of other ill effects. Heroin was an appropriate replacement and—
Perliett snapped to attention as George initiated his instructions.He was gentler with Millie. The lines on his face softened. His voice tempered. Even his shoulders stooped in concerned care.
