THURSDAY, AUGUST31, 1916•MAGEE-WOMENSHOSPITAL, PITTSBURGH
A whooshing sound continued next to her in a steady rhythm. Whatwasthat?
Where was she?
Eliza listened a little more intently. But there wasn’t another sound. Wait. What wasthat? Was someone snoring?
Wherewasshe?
She took a few deep breaths. Ooh... everything hurt. But the more long, deep breaths she took, the clearer her mind became.
She worked to open her eyes. Only her right one cooperated at first. But with persistence, her left opened a little as well.
The room around her was bright.
But it wasn’t home.
It wasn’t anywhere she knew in Utah.
Her memory was fuzzy.
Oh! The shack. Tied up. Melissa Friedman. A...
A gun aimed at her!
She jolted in the bed and gasped for air. Why couldn’t she sit up?
“Eliza?”
Oh, that voice. Calm washed over her. “Devin?”
“I’m here.”
“Where is here?” She licked her lips. “And can you get me some water?”
“Of course.” He lifted a cup to her lips.
Never had anything tasted so delicious. She wanted to gulp the entire thing down.
“Let’s take it a little at a time.”
Who was that strong voice?
Eliza managed to look at the doorway. A man entered the room and stood at the foot of her bed. “Good to see you awake and alert, Miss Mills. I’m Dr. Dover.”
Even in her dazed state, her eyes widened. “You’re Mr. Carnegie’s physician.”
“That I am.” He stepped closer. “I went out to Utah to fetch you in Mr. Carnegie’s personal train car. I’ve had to give you a lot of pain medication because you kept writhing, and we didn’t want you to be uncomfortable and open up the wound. But you’re here now.” He touched the sheet covering her legs. “May I take a look?”
“Yes, Doctor.” But even as she answered, she frowned.Wound? What woun—?
Oh. That’s right. She’d been shot in the leg.
She closed her eyes against the memory. The sound of the shot. The pain that hit her. Blood gushing from the wound...
Then nothing. She must have passed out.
The doctor covered her leg again and looked down at her. “It’s healing. Finally. But it will probably take months for it tocompletelyheal.” The doctor gave her an encouraging smile. “It was providential that I made it when I did. They hadn’t been able to get the whole bullet out before I arrived in Jensen. You’d lost a great deal of blood, and they didn’t want to sacrifice your leg. I did surgery immediately, and once you were stable, we brought you back here.” He patted her shoulder.
