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“Is—his lordship back yet?” Julie’s rising hopes were dashed as she regarded her maid’s apologetic face.
“No, My Lady.” Alice curtsied lightly and bustled forward, dressing Julie.
Julie frowned, trying to push unwanted thoughts away. He was all right, and he wasn’t with another woman. She repeated over and over in her mind.
As the morning went by, she wasn’t so sure what to think anymore. Her mood darkened even more since Mary seemed to be more withdrawn than usual. She asked about Robert, what seemed to Julie, every second, heightening Julie’s agitation. Not having answers bothered her more than she was willing to admit to herself.
Her worries and uncertainties showed on her face and gnawed at her soul if she sat idly by. She knew that. That lesson she learned from her unfortunate home. When things were bad, or when she was lonely, scared, and agitated, she worked. So, she got to work putting the townhouse in order. She ordered the maids to clean up the house, came up with the menus for the upcoming month, even moved some furniture around, made lists of things she needed to buy to make this empty house cozier.
As the afternoon rolled on, winded but surer of herself, Julie went in search of Mary. The fact that Clydesdale couldn’t bother to greet them in London didn’t mean they couldn’t explore the city on their own. They would go shopping, she decided.
She found Mary in her room, sitting on the windowsill, looking out the window into a gloomy garden.
She was hugging her knees, crouched, and swaying lightly as if to calm herself. Since the door was open, Julie didn’t bother to knock. She walked into the room and sat beside Mary.
“Good day gorgeous, want to hear the good news?” she said, gently placing her hand on Mary’s back.
Mary turned her head toward her, a grimace of pain marring her features.
“What’s wrong?” Julie’s eyes widened in horror. “Are you in pain?”
“Yes, pain,” Mary repeated, clutching her small fist to her chest.
“Oh, God! Let’s go, lie down, honey,” Julie said and took her gently by her arms. She led Mary carefully to her bed and frantically rang the servant’s bell. “Alice, call for a doctor, now!” Julie cried as the girl barely entered the room.
In several minutes, the house was in an uproar. Maids running back and forth, bringing clean sheets, boiled water, cloths, and anything else that wasn’t remotely helpful. Every footman was dispatched to find and bring the doctor.
Mary was perspiring immensely, cold sweat running down her face, as she lay curled up on the bed. Julie didn’t let anyone close to her. She was sitting by her side and holding her hand while the dowager assumed her most formidable stance and barked out orders.
“That’s all right, my darling,” Julie crooned to her sister. “I am right here.”
“Rob?” Mary called in an agitated whisper.
Julie bit her lip and tears ran down her face. “He’ll be back soon, darling,” she whispered back and prayed that she wasn’t lying.
Mary used to get chest and abdominal pains, but they had never been as severe. Julie was afraid that something was incredibly wrong. What if she did not get better? What if it took too long for a doctor to get here?
Julie had been looking out for Mary ever since her little sister was born. She nursed her when she was a babe, taught her to speak, to read. She was the one who always looked after her when she was sick. Their mother was sickly ever since Mary’s birth, and all the burdens of motherhood fell on Julie’s fragile shoulders. Their father never took an interest in either daughter.
Julie was supposed to be used to this responsibility of taking care of her little sister. Yet, she was extremely terrified. The only thing she wished, other than for Mary to get better, was for Robert to be by their side. He would know what to do. He would take command of the situation; he would make Julie feel safe.
She closed her eyes and lowered her forehead to Mary’s chest. Listening to the frantic beating of her heart.
“Not now, sweetheart. Not when I just got you back,” she whispered.
After about an hour, the doctor had finally arrived. Mary had been sleeping by that time, so Julie was reluctant to let him see her, but she didn’t want any complications with her condition. She had breathing problems since childhood. Her heart would start beating faster, she would have difficulty regulating her breath, and she’d be tired and sleepy. But this time, it was slightly different. Or so Julie thought. She had contributed Mary’s melancholy to Robert’s absence, but perhaps Mary was already not feeling well for over a day.
What a perfect sister she was, she thought harshly. She should have had her checked by a doctor the moment she got her back from the asylum. But Julie hadn’t wanted to scare her. And she hadn’t wanted even more doctors to intrude on Mary more than they already had.
The dowager entered together with the doctor, and they advanced to Mary’s side.
“She is sleeping now,” Julie started babbling instantly. “Should we wait for her to wake? What do you think is wrong with her? What are you going to do?”
A doctor, a white-haired, kind-looking man, patted Julie on the shoulder. “Relax, child, I’ll just need to do a check-up. I might not even wake her.”
Julie nodded, appeased, and stepped aside to allow the doctor to pass farther into a room.
“I need you to leave, Julie,” the dowager blurted.
