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couldn't remember anything, not even who I was," he
said, amazed.
"What did the doctor say?"
"He knew what it was immediately. Gisselle has contracted St. Louis encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain caused by a virus mosquitoes transmit to
people."
"Mon Dieu," I said, my heart thumping. "Is she
in the hospital?"
"No," he said quickly.
"No? Why not, Beau?"
"The doctor said the prognosis is not good.
There is no known treatment of the disease when it is
transmitted by viral infections other than the herpes
simplex virus. Those are his exact words."
"What does this mean? What will happen to
her?"
"She can remain in this condition for some
time," he said in a voice devoid of any feeling, a voice
drained and lost. And then he added, "But no one back
in New Orleans knows about it yet. In fact, only this
doctor and some servants here are aware of what's
happened, and they can be persuaded not to talk about
it."
I held my breath. "What are you suggesting,
Beau?" "It came to me just a little while ago while I
stood by her bedside and watched her sleep. When
she's asleep, she looks so much like you, Ruby. No
one would question it."
My heart stopped and then began to pound so
hard, I thought I would lose my breath and
consciousness. I shifted the receiver to my other ear
