Medicine and Manners #2 (17 page)

Artie had eventually told Rob as much of his short life story as he could remember. His mother, he said, worked in a factory at night, but he didn't know what kind of factory. She was with him during the day, although she was sick with a bloody cough. Rob concluded that she had consumption. He'd picked up a few bits of information from the doc. Artie's mother had told him he was five years old, and she was the one who told someone to go to his father when she died. Artie had never known he had a father. That didn't surprise Rob, since he'd never met or heard anything about his own father.

Someone Artie didn't know brought him from London to Newton-upon-Sea, where his father was supposed to live. When he couldn't find the man, he'd simply abandoned Artie at the docks where his father was said to work.

Rob's own story was different in that he remembered his mother all too well—how she'd beat him and broke his arm once. That arm was still crooked. Too bad the doc couldn't have set it for him back then. He remembered his mother mostly drunk, mostly with men he didn't know. He'd finally run away and ended up in Newton-upon-Sea. He'd learned to survive by theft, mostly. He was just teaching Artie some of those skills when the doc came along and got both of them out of some trouble. It was Nance that took in him and Artie. Hired them as stable boys without even asking the doc. Not that the doc ever protested. She was a good 'un, she was. Now they had plenty of food, a dry, warm place to sleep, and no one ever beat them. They did have to learn reading and writing, which was dreadful at first, but now Rob looked forward to school, although he still pretended he didn't.

Sometimes he also pretended he didn't like taking care of Artie. Truth was, he'd grown so fond of the boy, he couldn't imagine not having him around to care for. That didn't mean the chap didn't cause him problems, though. Like now. He couldn't just leave him alone while he searched for Nancy. Even if Artie didn't end up hurting himself somehow, he couldn't trust him to
stay
at home. He'd do something boneheaded. Like last time when he'd slipped away from Nance and caused even more trouble than they had already.

“What ye doin', Rob?” Artie had just opened his eyes and seen Rob staring at him. He was sitting up, rubbing his eyes, and his little-boy voice sounded even younger now that it was hoarse with sleep. It embarrassed Rob that the boy had seen him like that—staring at him like a bloody granny.

“None o' yer business wot I'm doin'.”

Artie looked around the little room. “Where's Zack?”

“In the corner behind that old saddle, chewin' on a bone.”

“Well enough to eat, is 'e? That's good, ain't it?”

Rob didn't respond at first. He was busy slicing the sausage he'd warmed up on the small stove they had in their room. “Here's some breakfast if ye wants it,” he said, sliding a plate filled with the sausage and some of the stew onto a table. He watched Artie eat for a while before he spoke again. “Don't know what to do wif ye while I'm out.”

“Out? Where ye goin'?”

“Got to look fer Nance, ye dumb bloke.”

Artie turned the plate up to lick it. “Don't have to do nothin' wif me. I'm goin', too.”

“No, you ain't. You'll slow me down.”

“Won't slow ye down, ye dumb bloke. We'll ride Lucy.”

Of course they could ride Lucy, Rob thought. Why hadn't he thought of that? Lucy was small, but she was strong enough to carry the weight of the two of them, and she'd had plenty of time to rest after her last jaunt. The little bugger was smarter than he thought.

Rob found a few provisions to take along and saddled Lucy. In less than an hour, they were both astride the mare and on their way. Zack moved along beside them, more sluggish than usual, but he refused to leave their side. It troubled Rob that he still had no solid plan for the search, but he knew he couldn't simply wait at home.

There was no reason to cover the same ground they'd covered before. They'd searched around the Malcolm and Wolcott cottages and into the wooded area where they found the doc. This time they crossed the road leading to Foulness, an hour's ride away along the coastline. It was scary to think about Nancy wandering along the coast. Could she have fallen from a rock into the sea and drowned? And what about the doc? Sure, she was being watched over by the earl, but what if things were out of the earl's hands? Rob knew most people survived a broken leg, but he'd also heard of people who'd died after such an injury. Something could go wrong inside a body and you'd never know it until it was too late. He chided himself. Bad thoughts, he believed, could lead to a bad outcome. He urged Lucy on toward the rocky coastline.

It was not easy for the little mare to walk through the rocks, but they kept going, asking fishermen along the route if they'd seen any sign of the small blond woman dressed in a plain blue dress over the last few days. No one had seen her, and no one had heard of anyone drowning or a body washing ashore.

Rob kept a watch on the sun as it moved down the western sky. When it dropped far enough, he turned Lucy around.

“We got to get home 'fore it gits dark,” he told Artie. “I ain't fer bein' out in the night again.”

Artie didn't protest, but clung tight to Rob's waist as they made the unsteady ride across the uneven ground. Zack followed along with no protest. It seemed he was back to his old self again. Just as they reached the road to Foulness, the dog stopped.

“Come on, Zack. Keep movin',” Rob called.

The dog sniffed the air, barked once, and started up the road, moving away from Newton-upon-Sea and the Gladstone house.

“Ol' Zack knows somethin',” Artie said. “They's somethin' on that road.”

Without replying, Rob turned Lucy around to follow Zack.

“Wot ye think 'e's after?” Artie asked.

“Don't know.” Rob was a bit apprehensive, and at the same time excited. Could it possibly be Nance? Or was it more trouble?

Within a few minutes, Rob and Artie saw what Zack had sensed. A carriage was approaching. It was hard to make out at first because of the fading light, but before long they both knew it was Lord Dunsford's carriage. Zack knew as well and was now racing toward it. Rob urged Lucy forward.

Before long, Artie was waving his arms and shouting over Rob's shoulder. “Is that you, me lord? Is that you?”

Lord Dunsford waved back to them, and someone in the carriage waved as well. Was it Nance? No, it was the doc. And why was she riding in a carriage so soon after her accident? Rob could imagine that she'd give a patient of hers a piece of her mind for doing that.

“Did you find Nance?” Artie asked as the carriage drew closer.

“No, I'm afraid not,” Lord Dunsford said as he pulled the carriage beside them.

“Nicholas, please, we must find her!” The doc's voice sounded funny, like she was in pain. No wonder at that, Rob knew.

“You'll be going to Montmarsh, my dear.” Lord Dunsford's voice was firm. “The constable is searching for Nancy, and as soon as possible, I'll join him.”

“But she—”

“You're going to Montmarsh, where Mrs. Pickwick can see after you, and I'll hear no more protests,” Lord Dunsford said. It startled Rob a little. He'd never heard anyone talk to the doc that way before. He could tell the doc didn't like it, but she wouldn't make a fuss in front of him and Artie. Instead, she turned her attention to Zack, who was standing with his front paws on the carriage, licking the doc's hand and wagging his tail in a frenzied motion.

“He seems better,” Dr. Gladstone said. Rob saw her wince as she made a movement to rub Zack's head. “You've taken good care of him,” she added. There was no joy in her voice or in her eyes. She was clearly worried about Nance, as they all were.

“I've got to get the doctor to Montmarsh, boys,” Lord Dunsford said. “She escaped from the doctor's surgery in Foulness like a thief sneaking out of gaol. Couldn't stop her. Getting free of Pickwick's grasp will be a different matter, though. If I were one to make a wager, I'd put my money on Pickwick.” He already had the carriage and horses moving forward. “You boys ride ahead and tell Pickwick to get ready for us.”

Rob was glad to have a job to do. It would help him keep his mind off Nancy. He managed well until they reached Montmarsh and gave the cook the news that Lord Dunsford and Dr. Gladstone would be arriving soon, and that she was charged with taking care of the wounded doctor.

“I'll take care of her,” Mrs. Pickwick said. “Have experience with that sort of thing, I have. My own son fell from the top of a hayloft and broke a leg. I know all the things to do. I'm good as Nancy at that sort of thing, I dare say. And speaking of Nancy, I take it you've not found her, have you? Otherwise, 'twould be her taking care of the doctor.”

“We ain't found 'er,” Artie blurted. “We looked ever'where. I fear she drowned.”

Mrs. Pickwick shook her head, and her eyes clouded. “Poor Nancy's gone for good, that's for sure.”

The chamber pot wasn't where it was supposed to be. Nancy fumbled around searching for it, and she knew she had to find it soon, because she was going to throw up. She held it as long as she could and rushed out the door, running as far away from the house as she could before she bent over and retched, spitting out the contents of her stomach.

She straightened and looked around, feeling disoriented. There was a breeze blowing in from the sea, cool but not cold, and smelling of fish and salt. It cleared her head some, and she recognized the stables, the tree where she and Miss Alex used to play, the back of the house with the rickety staircase leading down to the basement, and behind her, the door to the kitchen.

She was home! But where had she been? She started a slow walk toward the surgery door. She was weak, and the walk seemed to take forever. When at last she reached the entrance, she realized she was hungry. The kitchen seemed too far away, however, so she sat down to rest. She was in the waiting area, and just beyond was the room with the examination table, vials of medicine, and all of Miss Alex's instruments and files. Where was Miss Alex? Of course! The doctor had to be making her morning rounds. How could she have forgotten that after all the years they'd worked together?

It took a moment for Nancy to realize that she had spent the night on the examination table, and that was why she couldn't find the chamber pot she kept under her bed. How strange it was to sleep on the examination table, and fully dressed as well! She stood up again, feeling even more confused.

If she was hungry, then everyone else must be as well. She would go to the kitchen and cook…cook what? Breakfast? Lunch? Something for tea? She hurried to the parlor to look at the clock that always sat on the mantel. It had stopped, the pendulum as still as death. She could wind the clock, but she had no way of knowing the correct time. Was it morning, as she had at first thought? Perhaps if she ate something, she could regain her senses.

The familiar look of the kitchen gave her a sense of relief. There was the heavy metal range, the fender, the fire irons, the washtubs, the table. She frowned when she saw the loaf of bread that had been left on the table, along with crumbs scattered around. An army of ants marched in straight lines to and from the crumbs. Someone had been in her kitchen! Most likely Rob and Artie. She'd give them a proper scolding.

Forgetting her hunger, she went to the kitchen door and stepped out to walk to the stables, where she'd most likely find the boys. She saw them immediately, only they weren't in the stables. They were just riding up on Lucy, with Zack following along.

“What are the two of you about? Riding Lucy, are you? Without permission, I dare say. You're due a thrashing if you ask me, and where is—”

“Nance! Oh, Nance!” Artie jumped from the mare and ran toward her, throwing his arms around her.

“You're home!” Rob said at the same time. “For the love o' God, you're home!” He looked as if he might want to throw his arms around her as well, but he held back.

“Of course I'm home. Why wouldn't I be?” Nancy pried Artie's arms from around her. “If you think that will get you leniency for what you've done to my kitchen…” She couldn't continue because Rob had both her hands and was twirling her around in a crazy dance while he laughed.

“I knowed you'd show up,” he said. “Yer too full o' pluck to let 'em git the best of ye.” Zack danced around her as well, barking with maniacal joy.

“Zack!” Nancy finally pulled herself away from Rob. “ 'Tis good to see you're no longer sick. I thought…” She stopped midsentence, remembering how she and Miss Alex had given him a purge because they thought he'd eaten poison. She'd left him in Artie's care while she went to search for Miss Alex. But why had she been searching for her? And where was the doctor now?

She glanced at both of the boys, feeling confused all over again. “I think I need to talk to you,” she said slowly, because she wasn't sure how to explain the blank spots in her mind.

“We needs to talk to ye also, Nance,” Rob said. “To my way of thinkin', ye got a lot to answer for.”

Nancy opened her mouth, prepared to scold him again for such impertinence. Instead, she took a breath and said, “Let's go to the kitchen. There must be something there we can eat.”

“Ain't much o' nothin',” Artie said. “We et most of it.”

“The word is
ate,
Artie, not
et,
and how many times do I have to tell you not to use the word
ain't
? Oh, never mind,” she said, before he had a chance to reply. “Let's go to the kitchen. Perhaps I can find at least a little something.”

The boys were more than eager to follow her and endured another scolding for leaving the bread out, but they urged her to tell them where she'd been while she prepared porridge for them.

“Where I've been? Why, I've been here, of course, where else…” Her voice trailed off. She couldn't have been at the house all along. Too much had happened that she didn't remember.

“Ye went to look fer the doc,” Artie prompted. “Ye left me here wif ol' Zack, only I didn't stay, I…well, n'er mind that. Remember? Ye went to look fer the doc.”

Nancy stirred the porridge silently, her mind racing as she tried to remember. “I went to look for Miss Alex,” she said slowly. “Yes, I think I did. She didn't come home, and…” She stopped stirring and turned around quickly to face the boys. “She didn't come home. Where is she? Is she…”

“She's goin' to be all right,” Rob said. “She's at Montmarsh now.”

Nancy frowned. “Why is she at Montmarsh?”

Rob breathed a frustrated sigh. “All right,” he said. “I sees ye ain't rememberin' much, so I'll tell ye what I knows.”

He related the story of the search for Alexandra, how Zack found her first with a broken leg, and how he and Lord Dunsford had finally found her.

“Lord Dunsford had to take her to Foulness to a doc there, and now she's at Montmarsh 'cause ye wasn't around to help. The constable's out lookin' fer ye now.”

“A broken leg? Dear God in heaven, how she must have suffered,” Nancy said, forgetting the porridge for a moment.

“She fixed it 'erself,” Artie said. “Wif a stick. She's a smart 'un, the doc is. Didn't have to depend on that quacky duck in Foulness.”

Nancy fretted. “Oh, I should have been here.”

“Don't fergit the porridge,” Artie said.

Nancy turned back to the pot on the stove and stirred it again. “You said she mentioned someone with a knife,” she said. “I…I think I saw a knife.”

Rob sat up straighter. “Where?”

“In someone's hand.”

“Who?” Rob persisted.

“I…I don't know. I was afraid I would be cut, I…no, I wasn't cut, but I think someone hit me, and then…There was someone, someone I think I know, but…No, I can't remember, except she was helping me, giving me something to drink. Medicine, I think.”

“She? 'Twas a woman wot hit ye?” Rob asked.

“No, not a woman. 'Twas a man. He wore trousers, but a woman…I think I saw a woman. At first I thought 'twas Miss Alex, but…” Nancy rubbed her forehead, where it seemed a heavy hammer was pounding away. She turned toward the cupboard, but Rob sprang from the chair where he'd been sitting next to the table and led her to another chair. Nancy saw him signal Artie with a movement of his head toward the cupboard. Artie jumped up as quickly as Rob had. He had to stand on a sideboard to reach the bowls, but he soon had three of them placed on the table, along with spoons. Rob poured porridge into each of the bowls.

“So someone was after ye, just like they was after the doc,” Rob said between mouthfuls of the porridge. “A man.”

“Appears that way,” Nancy said, “but I know not why.”

“Maybe 'twas the ghost man,” Artie said. “The one what we seen on the 'orse, remember?”

“No, I don't think they were the same.” Nancy reached across the table and dabbed at a spot of porridge on Artie's mouth with a napkin. “But 'twas a man who…”

“You said first 'twas a woman,” Rob said.

“No, I told you 'twas a man who attacked, and a woman—I think 'twas a woman—who tried to help me.”

“Yer not making sense, Nance,” Rob said.

Nancy said nothing. She knew she must sound irrational, and indeed she was confused about everything. It was frustrating not to be able to remember, but it would only upset her more to dwell on it. She had to get her mind on other things.

“I need to see Miss Alex,” she said. “I need to make certain she's all right, that her leg was properly set.”

“I tol' ye she's at Montmarsh,” Rob said.

“So you did.” Nancy stood and picked up the empty porridge bowls and took them to the washbasin. “I shall be leaving as soon as these bowls and the pot are washed.”

“Leave?” Artie sounded alarmed. “Where ye goin'?”

“To Montmarsh, of course.”

“How ye think ye's goin' to get to Montmarsh?” Rob asked.

“I shall walk.”

“Ye can't walk,” Artie said. “ 'Tis too far.”

“Of course I can walk, and 'tis not too far. How do you think Mrs. Pickwick gets here when she comes to visit with me?”

“Well, she…” Rob was at a loss for words.

“ 'Course Pickwick walks,” Artie said. “She's twice yer size, Nance. Got all that meat on 'er, but ye's a skinny little gal. It'll wear ye down, Nance.”

Nancy laughed. She was surprised how that little bit of laughter seemed to clear her head. “If I'm not back by nightfall, you'll have to come for me,” she said.

“Nightfall! Ye'll be gone that long?” Rob asked, clearly disturbed.

“Of course not. I expect to be back within two or three hours, assuming everything is going well with the doctor. I was being facetious about staying until nightfall.”

“Ye was bein' wot?”

“Never mind, Artie. I need you and Rob to stay here and watch after things. I don't expect many patients will show up, if any at all.”

“Ye sure yer strong enough?” Rob asked. “Ye ain't been well, ye knows. And ye ain't right in the head.”

“I shall be quite all right,” Nancy said. “I'll take Zack with me. He'll come back and alert you if anything goes wrong. He'll be as happy to see Miss Alex as I shall be.”

Within a few minutes she was on her way across the meadow toward the mansion. Zack trotted along beside her, and she looked back once to see the boys standing together and watching her as if she were going off to war.

The trek through the meadow provided a shortcut to Montmarsh. Most people, including Alexandra, used the road because it was easier for horses to walk, and the meadow would be impossible for a carriage.

She arrived at the great house in no more than half an hour, but instead of going to the front entrance, she walked around to the door at the back that was used by servants and was closer to the kitchen. Mrs. Pickwick responded to her knock. Her eyes widened when she saw who stood before her.

“Nancy!”

For a moment Nancy thought Mrs. Pickwick was going to give her a hug, although a physical display of affection was not common between them.

“May I come in, Pickwick?”

“Of course, of course.” Mrs. Pickwick opened the door wider. “You're a sight to see, you are! Where have you been? What happened to you? We've all been so worried. Are you all right?”

“Yes, I'm all right, and I don't know where I've been, exactly, or what happened to me.”

“Oh, Lor', Nancy, that's the way my nephew used to talk when he'd been out drinkin' all night. You haven't taken to—”

“You know me better than that, Pickwick.”

Pickwick ducked her head. “ 'Course I do, Nancy.”

“I was attacked, that's all I know. Perhaps by the same person who attacked Miss Alex. I woke up at home in the surgery, not remembering anything.”

“Oh, my! Oh, my!” Mrs. Pickwick bustled around the table, pulling out a chair. “Here, sit down. You must tell me everything.”

“There's nothing to tell,” Nancy said. “I told you I don't remember anything. Besides, I haven't the time. I've come to see Miss Alex.”

“She's resting.”

“I should hope so.”

Mrs. Pickwick hesitated, obviously disappointed that she wasn't going to hear any more of Nancy's story. “I'll take you to Stokes,” she said finally. “I'll tell him who you are, and he'll take you to Dr. Gladstone.”

“Stokes?”

“Lord Dunsford's new butler. Not too bright, if you ask me, but at least he's not as stuffy as that one his mother always brings with her when she visits.”

Nancy was surprised that the earl had hired a full-time butler. He never kept more than one or two servants at Montmarsh, including Mrs. Pickwick. He'd always claimed there was no point in it, since he had no plans to live there full-time. There were rumors that he'd changed his mind, mostly because Miss Alex lived in Newton-upon-Sea. Nancy wouldn't mention that now, though. She had no time for gossip with Pickwick.

Stokes was a tall man, hefty, but not fat, and well into his fifties, Nancy thought, since he was graying at the temples. He listened to Mrs. Pickwick's explanation of who Nancy was and of her relationship to Dr. Gladstone.

“Then you are the missing woman,” Stokes said. “The one about whom everyone has been so concerned.”

“As you can see, I'm no longer missing, Mr. Stokes, and there's no longer any reason to be concerned.”

The corners of Mr. Stokes's mouth twitched slightly, as if he'd found what she said amusing, but he quickly gained control. “I shall see if the doctor is awake and if she's well enough to see you.”

Nancy found herself wanting to tell Stokes that Miss Alex would indeed want to see her, and she would want to be awakened even if she was sleeping. She said nothing, however. She gave the butler a little nod and waited while he walked up the grand staircase.