She’s terrified.
Before he could say or do anything, the door opened and Georgina, Violet’s lady’s maid, came rushing into the room. “The fresh towels,” she said, holding a couple of them out to Violet. “Let me take that one, my lady.”
Violet nodded and exchanged her towel for the two Georgina was offering. As she held one of them to Noah’s face, he let out a dismayed cry and flinched away from her.
“I know,” Violet said, her voice shaking. “I know it’s so cold. You’re going to be all right. We just need to get this fever down, Noah.”
Jonathan realized that he had been standing still in the doorway. He hurried into the room and knelt on the far side of Noah’s bed from where Violet was sitting. “What happened?” he asked urgently. “What’s the matter with him?”
She looked up, and he saw that her eyes were full of tears. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I thought he would come down to breakfast like he always does, but he didn’t do that. I waited. I thought he was just getting some extra sleep. Lunch came and went, and he still hadn’t appeared, so I asked someone to check on him—and he was like this.” She gestured. “It’s my fault…I waited too long. If I had come to check on him right away…”
“Hush,” Jonathan said firmly, reaching out to put a hand on her arm. “Of course it isn’t your fault, Violet. It’s a fever. It happens, and it’s nobody’s fault.”
“But it won’t come down.” She was shaking. “He’s so ill. I don’t know what to do.”
“We need a physician.”
“Williams has gone to bring him.”
“Then you’ve done all you can,” Jonathan told her firmly. “You’ve done everything right. We just need to keep trying to bring the fever down until the physician arrives.”
“But what if…” She trailed off again. It seemed as though she was having trouble finding the ends of her sentences.
“No,” he told her firmly. “Nothing terrible will happen. He’s going to be all right. You’ll see.”
“You can’t know that, Jonathan.” Tears slipped down her cheeks. “He trusted us to take care of him, and now this is happening.”
“I know. And I know how frightened you are.” He was frightened, too, truth be told. He placed his hand on the side of Noah’s face. The boy was so warm. It was worrying. “When did you send Williams out?”
“About fifteen minutes ago. He should be back soon, I hope.”
But not that soon.It would take time to ride into town, and more time to explain to the physician what was happening. Jonathan drew a breath. “Hand me one of those towels.”
She passed one to him. It was cold, and he shivered a little. It must feel just awful against Noah’s fevered skin. He lifted the boy’s shirt and pressed it to his chest.
Noah wailed and thrashed.
Jonathan draped the towel over him and caught one of his arms. “Help me,” he urged Violet.
She hesitated, but reached out and took Noah’s other arm, holding him down. She put her own towel across his neck.
Noah howled.
“We need this fever to break,” Jonathan said. “That’s all. We just need to fight it down.”
“Jonathan, what if something is seriously wrong with him, though?”
“I’m sure it isn’t. Whatever this is, the physician will be able to treat it,” Jonathan said. His heart was pounding a rapid staccato—he wasn’t certain at all. “Be strong for him, Violet. That’s what he needs us to do right now. He needs us to be brave, and he needs to know that we aren’t frightened. As long as he realizes that, he’ll have the determination he needs to fight.”
She met his eyes.
She didn’t have to say what she was thinking. He could read it there.But I am frightened.
He wondered whether she could read on his face that he was frightened too. He did his best to school his expression. Just as they both needed to be brave for Noah, Jonathan knew that he needed to be brave for Violet. It was all he could offer her right now, the only thing he could do to make this any easier.
He took her hand.
It did feel, in this moment, as though the two of them were parents sitting beside their sick child. It was difficult to imagine that any other two people could care as much as they did right now. Noah’s real parents were out there somewhere, but what would they say and do if they were here? Would they worry the way Violet and Jonathan were worrying? Would they do everything they could to make sure Noah recovered? Would they feel this fog of fear and uncertainty that had settled over the room?
