Page 16 of Once Bitten, Twice Mine

“What about?”

“I’m not sure. There was humming. It felt like when my mother stroked my hair, but she’s been dead for a long time.”

“And you collapsed partway through your day? Are you nauseous? Have you been coughing or sneezing?”

“No.”

“Have you had anything to eat?”

“I’m not hungry, just thirsty.”

Caroline poured some water for Nelly, and this time her patient drank what was offered, but even supporting her own head seemed like too much work for her. Though she poured another glass, Nelly no longer seemed thirsty, so she left it on the side table in case she got thirsty later.

“Let me get you another blanket, and I’ll call the doctor for you.”

“You don’t need to go through all that trouble for me. I’m sure I’ll be fine tomorrow.”

The sun was setting, and she imagined Dr. Murnau was likely at home. She would send for him in the morning. Nelly was surely well enough to make it through the night. She was dizzy and clammy, but this was perfectly survivable.

Caroline went back to the second floor, where one of their seldom-used guest rooms had become a sort of linen closet where she stored her blankets that were too thick for the coming spring.

Clasping the wool blanket to her chest, Caroline closed the door behind her. Valeria’s door was at the other end of the hall, and she glanced in that direction. Nelly needed this blanket, but she would be fine waiting another minute or so. Caroline needed to check on Valeria one final time.

This time, she didn’t knock before slowly turning the knob.

“Valeria,” she called softly as she rapped on the door.

When silence met her, she opened the door and was greeted only by the flicker of the candle she had left lit that was now burned almost all the way down. The bed was mussed, but empty.

“Valeria.”

She frowned, looking around the room. The attached bathroom door was shut, and Caroline couldn’t remember if it had been that way earlier or not. This time, she did knock on the door because she couldn’t imagine just bursting into a bathroom. Edgar would die of embarrassment if he knew she had treated a client in such a way.

“Valeria,” she said, knocking loudly on the door. Her ear pressed against the door, and she heard only silence.

The door hinges squeaked as she opened the door to another empty room. The cast iron tub sat dry in the middle of the room. A white towel sat folded on the counter.

Valeria had been so ill when Caroline had last been in there scarcely an hour ago, but now she was missing. She walked over to the shut drapes and gently nudged them back. Darkness had fallen, but it was still the early evening. She had no clue how Valeria could have woken up and gotten somewhere so quickly. Not with a fever.

Walking back to Nelly’s room, Caroline’s eyes trailed every nook and cranny to see if the woman had walked off, delirious in her state, but she didn’t see her. It took her longer to return to Nelly, but she didn’t find Valeria in any of the rooms she checked.

When she was finally in Nelly’s room again, the woman had fallen asleep, her pallid color looking even more severe in the low light as the breath rattled in her chest. Caroline carefully tucked the wool blanket around her to trap in as much warmth as possible.

She felt a cool breeze on the back of her neck that made her frown as she looked for the source. Looking up, the window was ajar, waving in the wind. It wasn’t open more than an inch, but Caroline frowned. She swore it hadn’t been open when she was here earlier, and there was no way Nelly had the strength to open it.

Caroline closed the window, firmly locking it in place. The windows were all old, especially in this part of the house. Most of them needed to be replaced. It was yet another large repair she needed to find the funds for. It had been lower on her list, but when she needed to use all her strength to latch it shut, she moved it up her list. Closing the thick brown curtains as an extra layer of defense against the cool night air, Caroline left Nelly to rest.

CHAPTER 5

The new day hadn’t brought any fresh perspectives to Caroline’s countless problems. Rain had rolled in overnight, revealing a new hole in the roof. This one dripped into a seldom-used hallway, but the carpet and artwork had been removed, so hopefully the damage would be minimal. The dull plink of water into the metal pail was already burned into her ears, and every moment it grew louder.

If she didn’t marry Edgar soon, the whole damn house would crumble around her.

This morning she needed to write to his mother for a guest list. She had meant to do so before she went to bed, but it had been too easy to put off. After visiting with Nelly, she hadn’t been in the mood to do any other work. Not when she was so worried that her illness would be catching.

She would sit down and write the letter this morning, so it could be sent out with today’s mail. After she had breakfast.

When she returned to her rooms, she found Lucy—her lady’s maid—had left her covered breakfast tray on the small table she used for dining in her sitting room. Most meals she took with her family in the dining room, but she preferred to take her morning meal alone, so she had some time for quiet contemplation before she started her day.