Page 18 of A Zephyr Rising
As she held onto the sobbing child, her promise to help him felt hollow to her own ears.Had she done anything at all to help the Martins…or had she only made things worse?
ChapterSix
Mrs.Martin arrived shortly after Charlie drifted to sleep from the medicine the doctor had given him.A sick feeling still clenched at the back of Ginger’s throat.She unclasped her hand from Charlie’s, noticing the blood sticking her fingers to his.
Her parents were behind Mrs.Martin, still dressed for dinner.
Ginger rose to her feet, with a mixture of relief and apprehension at their arrival.“Thank goodness you’re here,” she said as Mrs.Martin rushed to Charlie’s side.
Charlie opened his eyes drowsily, his face no longer bunched with pain.“Mum,” he whispered, reaching for her.
Mrs.Martin tearfully took his hand, then drooped beside him as she saw his injury.
Her father caught her arm and helped her to the chair.“Where’s the doctor?”he asked Ginger.
“He’s tending to a woman in labor but promised to return shortly.”Ginger smoothed her hands over her skirt.The examination room felt full now with them all crowded inside it.Henry was noticeably absent.“Where’s Henry?”
“We dropped him by the police to speak to the authorities about the events of this evening.He’ll be along shortly,” her father said.He had yet to meet Ginger’s gaze, which spoke volumes.More than likely, Henry had told her father about Ginger’s part in all this.He would be as furious with her as Henry had been.
Ginger approached her mother.“Can we speak in the vestibule, Mama?”
They exited the room, leaving her father with Mrs.Martin.Ginger led her mother away from the doorway.She winced at the pain in her ankle, digging her fingernails into the palms of her hands.Telling her mother about her ankle would only worry her parents more.“Were the Martins able to settle into the house?Who’s with the children?”
“We left them in the old nursery with some servants.They’re frightened, but fine.For now.”Her mother wore a serious expression.
“What do you mean, ‘for now?’”
Her mother took her by the elbow.Her pupils were wide in the dim light, making her appear more stern.“Ginger, you never should have left Penmore tonight without telling us what had happened.”She held out a hand to cut off any defense Ginger may interrupt with.“Don’t worry, I’m just as upset with Henry.Your father and I know how deeply you feel about the plight of the Martins, and we, too, sympathize with them.”
The door to the hospital opened and Dr.Morgan came inside.He nodded a greeting to them and then hurried into the examination room.Ginger didn’t want to hear what she was certain would follow.“But what?”
Her mother covered Ginger’s free hand with hers.“But we must be careful.Very careful.It’ll do the whole family—not to mention your father’s position with the government—a great deal of harm if we’re seen as being pro-German.”
Ginger tried to maintain her composure, exhausted from this struggle.“I hardly think housing an innocent woman and her children is a pro-German stance.”
“Unfortunately, there are many who won’t see things quite the same way as you do.”
The words of the man who had attacked Henry came back to her.“You might be a spy, too, Whitman.Ye’re willin’ to betray England to the bloody Huns.”
Boring her gaze into her mother’s, Ginger narrowed her eyes.“Are you one of those who doesn’t see things my way?”
“No, of course not.”A line appeared between her mother’s eyebrows, and she pursed her lips.She reached over and cupped Ginger’s chin in her hand, her fingertips cool against Ginger’s flushed skin.“But you’re young, darling.You don’t understand how cruel this world can be.Our circles would quickly ban your father if they felt his loyalties were in question.”
Surely her mother had to be exaggerating.Besides being a member of the peerage, her father had spent his life in service to the Crown.“So we’re to do nothing?We can’t very well cast Mrs.Martin and her children out, Mother.She has nowhere to go.And the village is dangerous for her.This evening more than proved that.”
“Yes, yes, I know.”She sighed, looking back at the closed examination room door with agitation.“Your father and I will discuss it further.Don’t worry, we won’t be throwing them onto the street.We must find a solution that also doesn’t cause our family harm.We may try putting them up somewhere.Perhaps in another town where no one knows them.”
A woman’s cry came from the examination room.Exchanging a glance, Ginger and her mother rushed to the door.Mrs.Martin stood by her son, a handkerchief in her hands.Her father continued to hold onto her arm as though the woman might suddenly be unwell again.
“Y-you can’t t-take his leg,” Mrs.Martin said, her words choked by tears.She shook her head, her face a deep red.
Her father shifted with discomfort beside the crying woman.Ginger relieved him of the position.“Mrs.Martin, what’s happened?”
“I’ve informed Mrs.Martin the boy’s injuries are too severe.His leg will have to be amputated,” Dr.Morgan said without a trace of gentleness.“He’ll be fine.He’ll live.And that’s all that matters, really.”
Ginger’s lips parted in horror.The thought of poor Charlie being left a cripple by this was more than she could bear.“Isn’t there some other option to reset his leg?”
Dr.Morgan released another sigh, then checked his pocket watch.“The extent of the injury would require the skills of a masterful surgeon.While I can do some surgeries here, I’m not equipped to handle something of this nature.Not to mention, you’re speaking of options for the rich, Lady Virginia.”
