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One or two jurors looked puzzled, turning from Colbert to the judge, and back again.
Juster smiled. He looked to Hester. ‘How do you know this, Mrs Monk? And why did you not call the doctor, if Charlie was as ill as you say?’
‘It was the middle of the night,’ she replied. Her voice was perfectly level, but thick with emotion. ‘Dr Rand does not sleep on the premises. And it is a nursing job to know if someone has lost too much fluid and not replaced it. However, the nurse on duty was absent. There are several ways to know if someone is dehydrated.’
She held out her arm and gently pinched the flesh of it between the finger and thumb of her other hand. ‘When it is firm, you are all right. When the skin comes away, as Charlie’s did, then there is not sufficient fluid. One can feel dizzy, headachy, a little sick, and very tired. The inside of the mouth becomes very dry, even painful. You pass water very little. It is easy to let this happen, especially if you have lost a lot of fluid as with vomiting, or having diarrhoea. I simply encouraged Charlie to drink as much as possible. Later we made beef tea, so there would be some nourishment in it for him.’
Out of the corner of his eye Rathbone could see one or two women towards the front of the gallery nodding their heads.
Colbert had fired his first volley, and conspicuously missed the mark.
‘Thank you, Mrs Monk,’ Juster said, barely hiding his smile. ‘I think perhaps many of us here are not certain what is a doctor’s job and what is a nurse’s. It seems clear now that you used your experience in nursing the very ill to save this boy’s life.’
Colbert rose to his feet. ‘My lord, my learned friend is testifying. I understand his eagerness, but he knows better. At least I believe he does!’
‘I apologise,’ Juster said quickly, before the judge could intervene. He turned again to Hester. ‘When Charlie seemed better in the morning, did you then report the situation to Dr Rand?’
‘The matter was taken out of my hands,’ she replied. ‘Dr Rand heard that I had been in that ward and he asked me to help with the treatment of one of his patients who had white blood disease.’
Colbert looked sharply at Juster.
Juster smiled. ‘How did you know that that was his illness, Mrs Monk?’
‘I don’t,’ she replied. ‘I know that was what he said, and I had no reason to doubt him.’
There was a slight titter of amusement around the room.
‘And did you consent?’ Juster resumed.
‘Of course.’
‘Why?’
She looked slightly taken aback by the question. ‘I would never refuse to treat a patient, whatever the illness. And it is not contagious, so there was no question of quarantine.’
‘Exactly so,’ Juster agreed. ‘In what way did you assist in this treatment? Can you tell the court something about the patient?’
Hester described Bryson Radnor briefly, concentrating on his state of health and his symptoms, mentioning that his daughter, Adrienne accompanied him.
‘She was of great assistance,’ she continued. ‘She had been caring for him for over a year in his illness and could describe the course of it clearly for Dr Rand. She also assisted in nursing him, which was helpful to the hospital.’
‘What was the treatment you gave him, Mrs Monk?’
‘Transfusion of human blood,’ she said quietly.
There was a gasp around the room. Someone in the gallery stifled a cry. Two of the jurors leaned forward as if they were uncertain if they had heard correctly.
Lord Justice Patterson frowned. ‘Did you say transfusion of human blood, Mrs Monk?’
‘Yes, my lord,’ Hester answered levelly. ‘It has been tried many times before, going back two hundred years or more. It has never been done with any permanent success. Often the failure is immediate. The patient suffers distress, nausea, faintness, eventually death.’
‘And Mr Radnor?’ Patterson asked.
‘He rallied,’ Hester replied. ‘Sometimes it was for several hours, sometimes longer. Then he would grow faint again and need the treatment to be repeated.’
Patterson stared at Juster. ‘Have you any other witness to this remarkable story, Mr Juster?’
‘Yes, my lord. If you will allow me to continue?’
