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“Excuse me,” Henry said, trying to be as polite as possible, “Your Grace… Lady Clay… please allow the doctor some space, as he plans to give Eleanor a closer examination.”
“Why?” the Dowager Countess of Barrow stammered. “Why must the doctor look over her again? Hasn’t he been by her side for the last few days?”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Henry said through gritted teeth, “Dr. Wexler has been very attentive, but I have asked him to do me this courtesy and examine Eleanor once more.”
Lady Clay rose at once, but the Dowager Duchess stayed fixed to her seat. “I should like to stay with my daughter,” Eleanor’s mother said, her voice barely audible as she was whispering hoarsely.
Henry was about to argue the matter when Dr. Wexler gasped loudly. When Lady Clay had moved from her seat, the doctor had crept forward, and he was now leaning over Eleanor. His face blanched and he turned to look at Henry with eyes as wide as saucers.
“What?” Henry asked, moving to the Dowager Duchess’s side, and staring down at Eleanor.
But then he saw what must have alarmed the doctor. “What are those dark spots on her face?” Henry pointed to a dark patch just underneath Eleanor’s chin. It looked like a faint bruise, but instead of being purple, or maybe even blue with a touch of yellow, the mark was entirely black, as though a piece of coal had been smudged across Eleanor’s chin.
Eleanor’s eyes fluttered open. “Henry…” she called out weakly. “Henry… I do not feel well.”
As quickly as they had opened, Eleanor’s eyes shuttered once more. Henry panicked. He looked at Dr. Wexler for assistance, but the little man was staring at Eleanor, his eyes just as wide with astonishment as could be.
“What’s happening?” Henry asked.
Dr. Wexler turned toward Henry then and he spoke in a strangled voice. “I think…” He halted and seemed to be searching for the right words. “I do strongly believe… Her Grace has been poisoned.”
“Poisoned?” Henry questioned, a hand flying to cover his mouth.
“The dark spots indicate that Her Grace has ingested a large dose of arsenic.”
“Arsenic poisoning?” Henry staggered back away from Eleanor’s bed, as the words filtered into his mind. “Who would do such a thing?”
