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“No,” Louisa said firmly, “and we’re getting a different doctor. I’m never allowing that one to set foot in our home again.”
Martha took the cold compress off of her forehead and looked astonished. “But ...” she stammered, “Doctor Franklin is a dear friend of my sister’s, and if we don’t allow him to come back, she’ll think …”
“She can think whatever she wishes, for that man is nothing more than a fool, and I will not allow him to be responsible for overseeing Father’s recovery,” Louisa told her mother. Martha responded by emitting a high-pitched whine and falling back upon the couch once more, as though she were a child who had just been told that she could not have one final sweet after dinner.
“Mother,” Louisa snapped, and the formal address that Martha had received made her look up at her daughter suddenly. “I know how worried you are about Papa, and that concern is making you feel rather incapacitated, but I cannot do all of this on my own. Either you must assist me with tending to Papa, or you must take up some of the household tasks that Sophie does not have time for. What will it be?”
Martha was obviously not used to being spoken to so directly, as Archie tended to be overly lenient with her odd behaviour. However, she was not so unusual as not to understand when her daughter needed serious help, and so she simply nodded, sat up, and quietly said, “I do not understand a great deal of the household affairs, and so I shall see to Archie when you cannot. Has he had his lunch?”
Louisa was pleasantly surprised by her mother’s response to her ‘tough love’ approach. “No, he has not, and I have not yet had time to make anything, so …”
But Louisa did not need to finish, as her mother was already up and heading to the kitchen to begin preparing something. Louisa allowed herself a moment of pride as she watched her mother taking up a task that she did not ordinarily attend to. Then, there was a knock at the door, and Louisa’s attention was pulled to the entryway.
That’s odd,Louisa thought,I wonder why Sophie is knocking and waiting to enter after returning from the market. She’s worked here for long enough that she knows she can simply walk inside.
But when Louisa grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, she saw that it was not Sophie at all. Standing in their doorway was Isaac and Gregory Quince, and Louisa’s heart very nearly stopped in surprise.
