Page 19 of The Duke and the Enigmatic Governess
“I know this is very scary, but it isn’t like Mama. Miss Banks is strong, and we are all here to look after her. I have known Nurse for many years. I’ve never known anyone not to get better with Nurse looking after them.”
Sasha nodded and Nurse Walters looked in her direction. “That’s right. We’re going to make sure that Miss Banks gets well again. Do you want to help?”
Sasha nodded.
“Well, little one, this is what you must do,” said Jude. “You need to go with Mrs. Driscoll and help her cook lots of broth for Miss Banks. She is too ill to eat proper food and needs to keep her strength up. And, when she feels better, she will need some pictures of flowers to cheer her up. She is going to be too ill to go into the garden to look at all the beautiful blossom outside. You and Mrs. Driscoll can make her some pictures to put in her room and make her feel happy. That is as important as anything that the doctor will do.”
The little girl looked thoughtful and held her doll close. Then she looked up at Jude again and nodded.
“Good girl,” he said, his voice gentle. “Now can you go downstairs with Rosie and find Mrs. Driscoll, and start to do those jobs to help Miss Banks get better?”
She nodded solemnly and stood, picking up her doll. Her gaze moved to Miss Banks, lying pale in the bed. Jude hoped the child did not catch the illness, but she had been ill before her mother and he thought it likely the child was now immune to this disease, but it wasn’t possible to be sure.
Nurse Walters, listening attentively, nodded with admiration. After Rosie had come and helped Sasha gather her belongings to go downstairs, she came up to Jude.
“Well done, Your Grace. There is no way that child could stay in this sick room. Now all we need is Dr. Carstairs and hope our patient starts to pull through this fever.”
Jude looked at Miss Banks, seeing her eyes flickering open and her voice murmuring incoherently. “She looks worse… much worse,” he said to Nurse Walters. “Should she be this pale?”
“It’s the nature of the illness,” said Nurse Walters. “She is paler, her pulse is faster, and she has a fever. We need to hope that the fever will break soon. Once the fever breaks then we know she is likely to be out of danger. We need the room to be warm with hot bricks on her feet. That should help the fever.”
Jude was still standing there when Dr. Carstairs arrived, medical bag in hand, a serious expression on his face.
He hasn’t even seen Miss Banks and he looks as though he is at a deathbed already,thought Jude despondently.
Dr. Carstairs nodded to Jude and Nurse Walters before asking Jude to leave the room. There was no way he would dare to ask Nurse Walters to leave. She glared at him with the experience ofmany years of sick children and inadequate doctors. Jude’s heart was heavy as he closed the door behind him. This doctor was austere but competent. He had been a naval surgeon in the war and knew the realities of dealing with infection at sea.
Jude waited outside while Dr. Carstairs did his examination. When the door finally opened, he took a breath before entering the room.
“How is she?” he asked nervously. “Will she survive?”
Dr. Carstairs looked at him with pity in his eyes. “It’s hard to say, Your Grace. She has symptoms of the putrid sore throat, but there is only mild redness in her throat. That’s positive news. However, she has become delirious, and the fever is raging throughout her body.”
“But will she live?” Jude repeated.
“If the fever does not abate…” Dr. Carstairs’ words faded as he shook his head. “If Nurse Walters can help her work through the fever, then there is every chance, but it is a close-run thing.” He looked at Nurse Walters, who nodded.
Dr. Carstairs continued, “There is, however, a possibility, and I had not planned on mentioning this, but it may help you to know, there is a possibility that this is not the same illness which killed the child’s mother.”
Jude stared, trying to take in the words. “Different? How so?”
“Nurse Walters agrees that the symptoms of this fever are different to the putrid sore throat. We can see no signs of white lesions in her throat and, this is crucial, there is no sign of a rash, which signifies the blood poison spreading. In the putrid throat, the rash would have appeared,” the doctor explained to Jude.
Dr. Carstairs continued, “She was exhausted no doubt. The signs are of scarlet fever or scarlatina, a disease which you will most probably all have had when in nursery. It is strange for an adult to fall sick with scarlatina, but not impossible. Until we see a rash, then let us hope she has escaped the putrid throat.”
Dr. Carstairs paused and placed a hand on Jude’s arm. “It is by no means certain, but there is hope and not only for Miss Banks, but the rest of you, if you remain in quarantine.”
“We will form a rotation, Your Grace, and take it in turns to make sure she is cared for every minute. If we can help the fever break, then she should come through and live.” Nurse Walters’ voice was business-like and reassuring as she determined to take charge of the situation. “We will keep a steady level of perspiration with a hot brick on her feet and a cold compress on her forehead.”
Nurse Walters was already setting about her duties as the doctor picked up his bag and hat and quietly left the room.
“Jude, there is every chance she will come through. I’ve seen many a worse case. Now, I need to prepare some medicine if you could sit with her awhile.”
As Nurse Walters left the room, he felt the weight of exhaustion pressing on his shoulders. The frail body on the bed next to him had slipped into unconsciousness. Would she ever awake from this deep sleep?
Here they were, a small group of people, trapped together, waiting for sickness to strike. He heard a voice downstairs and knew Sasha was safe with Mrs. Driscoll.
You need to get another compress, not sit feeling sorry for yourself,he chided himself.This won’t help Miss Banks recover.
