The rest of the visit was about his business and his life in the Americas. The ladies didn’t talk, and Vivienne rarely glanced at him. She seemed about to fall asleep, and he couldn’t blame her.
When he was about to leave, he bowed in front of her and signed while Jones wasn’t looking, “What happened to you?”
That got a reaction from her. Her cheeks flushed.
He bowed again, showing a written page to Lord and Lady Huntington. “My lord, my lady, thank you for seeing me.”
Dobkins beamed at him again.
Samuel left the house with a sense of confusion draped around him like a cloak. He drove through Oxford Street to pick up the captain. He was eager to talk to him.
“How did it go?” Captain Jackson said once he was in the carriage.
“Vivienne. Something is wrong with her. She’s thin, pale, and even her hair is lifeless.”
The captain drummed his fingers on his knee. “The damage left by double pneumonia might be severe and long lasting. She’s lucky she survived.”
“For years?”
“Yes. In some cases, for a lifetime. The body remains locked in a battle with the latent infection, and it’s an exhausting battle. If parts of her lungs don’t work properly, she’ll feel tired constantly. Her breathing will be shallow, and she’ll be prone to catching colds and having respiratory problems, and even her heart could be affected. Progress has been made with severecases of double pneumonia, but modern medicine hasn’t found a solution to help a body recover yet.”
Samuel shook his head. “I’m not convinced. Spending time with you and your patients, I learnt a thing or two, and I tell you, whatever afflicts her is more serious. I want you to examine her.”
“Of course. I just have to march into her house, from where I was banned years ago for not having saved her sister, and ask her parents to trust the assessment of the man who, in their opinion, killed their daughter.”
“Don’t be so dramatic.” He shot his gaze upwards. “I’ll find a way to let you meet her.”
