AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rand’s eyes were shining. ‘Lemon juice,’ he answered in a whisper so quiet she read his lips rather than heard it. ‘And potash . . . it is just as simple as that. The trick is to get exactly the right proportions, and have the nerve to carry it through.’
She stared at him, beginning for the first time to feel the force of his will, the power of the intelligence behind those strange eyes that changed colour in the light.
‘You brought blood with you?’ Then she was suddenly sick with the thought of what he had done to the children in order to get that amount of blood. She dare not show the horror she felt, or the grief. How could she hide it? She wanted to take one of the bottles on the small rigid table and hit him with it until his intense, smiling face was broken.
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he said smoothly, as if no ugly thought had crossed his mind. There was no outrage in him at all. ‘I have no idea how much we shall need, or for how long. I have bought the children themselves. You keep missing the point. Really, you mystify me. Sometimes you seem so capable, so imaginative, fired with the love of knowledge. Then at others I marvel that you can be so stupid!’
He shook his head and went on talking, meticulously, as if he had been lecturing a student. ‘The purpose is to find the cure for bad blood – white blood – and the insufficiency of blood because of major injury and shock to the system. Radnor is merely the first of many. We will save him, and from that we shall gain great knowledge, and so support from others who will fund further research.’ He looked in her face to see her grasp of the magnitude of what he was saying. It was not vanity or praise he wished for. She knew that. He wanted companionship in his quest.
She was ashamed of herself because for an instant she could see what the implications could be. She forgot the taking of the blood and its terrible cost; like Rand, she saw the marvellous results. Within her own immediate knowledge were hundreds of men who could have been saved. Beyond them were countless women who had bled to death in difficult childbirth. The people to be saved stretched into the future without end.
Then she remembered again the cost to Charlie, Maggie and Mike. Not to mention their parents!
‘The children are here?’ she said.
It was one question she could ask without raising his anger or suspicion.
His eyes widened, so that for an instant she saw the hazel gold in them.
‘Of course. That is the other part of your duty. You will look after them, see that they are healthy. The better they are, the more settled, the better chance we have of saving Radnor.’
She stared at him. He was both human and monstrous.
A very slight smile curled the corners of his characterless mouth. ‘In case you had at any time thought of running away from here, Mrs Monk, remember that you do not know where you are. And if I fail then Bryson Radnor will die, and he is your patient. But possibly of far more emotional importance to you, the three children may well die without you.’ The smile vanished from his lips. ‘And if Radnor dies then I will have no more use for those children whom I cannot care for myself, and who might well cause trouble for me. I hope you do not require me to make myself any plainer?’
Hester understood, and she believed him. He was a chemist – it was Magnus who was a doctor – but for Hamilton, medical discovery overrode everything else. He would sacrifice the children and not even see harm in it. If he had ever had doubts, any comprehension of pity or regret, he had overcome them.
‘No, Mr Rand, you don’t.’
‘Then please continue with your care for our patient by seeing that the children are fed and in as good health as is possible.’ He looked her up and down. ‘I imagine you can cook. I do not wish to leave it to Miss Radnor. I think she has little understanding of the art, and still less desire. She will care for her father and keep his room clean and attend to the laundry.’
‘Where are the children?’ Hester asked, using a softer tone with difficulty. For their sakes she could not afford to antagonise him. Until she could find a weapon against him, she must keep his trust.
‘I shall take you,’ he responded. ‘They are in the old coach house. It is perfectly adequate for them, clean and warm. They are locked in, of course. It would not do for them to be wandering around. They could get hurt, or even lost.’ He was leading her through the large, stone-floored kitchen area. Adrienne glanced at them as they passed, turned to pour boiling water into a large teapot then bent to her chopping board again and the vegetables she was dicing.
Outside in the sunlit yard Rand pulled a key from his pocket.
‘This is for the outer door,’ he remarked. ‘I shall give it to you. I think you have sufficient intelligence to deduce for yourself what will happen to the children if you do not care for them to the utmost of your ability.’
‘Mr Rand!’ Hester spoke so huskily that he stopped and turned to look at her, his eyebrows raised. ‘I understand you,’ she said, trying to keep her voice steady. ‘You do not need to keep reminding me.’
‘Good.’ He nodded. ‘Like it or not, we shall work well together.’ He handed her the key, turned on his heel and walked briskly back across the yard and into the kitchen.
Hester opened the door to the coach house and closed it behind her before she looked at the single, large room. There was little furniture in it: just one cupboard with a few drawers beneath, and three small beds. There was a large knotted rag mat on the wooden floor, and a single door leading to another room, presumably toilet facilities, possibly even a bath. Rand understood the dangers of contamination from uncleanliness.
Maggie was sitting up in one of the beds. She was pale and her whole attitude listless, until she recognised Hester and her face lit with joy. She slid off the bed and ran across the floor, throwing herself at Hester and clinging on to her with surprising strength.
‘Yer come fer us! I told ’em yer’d come!’ She buried her head in Hester’s waist, holding on to her as if she were drowning.
Hester put her own arms around Maggie and hugged her back as she looked at Charlie, who was sitting up on one of the other beds with Mike beside him. They were both pale also, but she had seen them worse in the hospital in Greenwich. She felt her pulse steady as she realised Rand had understood that he must keep them well, at least as long as he needed them. After Radnor was recovered, or believed that he was, it would be different. But until then she had time to think, and to plan. They must get away, because this was only a breathing space; it would not last.
‘We must be careful,’ she said to Maggie, letting her go and looking across at the boys.
‘I thought yer’d come,’ Charlie said with an uncertain smile, his wide eyes meeting hers, looking for a promise she longed to be able to make.
‘Me, too,’ Mike added, smiling as well.
Her heart lurched as she looked at him. He was little more than a baby still, his milk teeth even and white, his hair curling and in need of a cut.
