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“How far is the physician’s office from here?”
“It is not very far and he should arrive soon. I will go and check.”
She nodded. “If that bath is the cause of your fever, Nicholas, you are going to be in a lot of trouble,” she said when she was alone with him. “Why would you harm yourself in such a manner?”
The physician did not arrive until an hour later and he immediately began to examine Nicholas, asking questions. Jenny was compelled to tell him about the ice bath. “Do you think it could be the cause?” she asked when his expression turned grave.
“It could be. Subjecting the body to temperatures like that can be harmful.”
“What do we do about this?”
“Allow the fever to run its course. I will prescribe some laudanum for him. Keep an eye on him and I shall return in the evening.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
“Do not worry too much, Your Grace,” he reassured before leaving.
She sat in the chair that Ramsay had placed beside Nicholas’s bed and stared at him. The last time she had seen him ill had been after his mother’s death when he was recovering from the injuries he had sustained. His father had not believed he would recover but Jenny had visited him every day and sat with him for hours, reading to him.
Reading to him now might take her mind off her growing fears. She went to her bedchamber and retrieved John Skelton’s collection of poems that Phineas had given her. She read several poems around until her eyes grew heavy.
“No!”
Jenny abruptly sat up, nearly falling off her chair. She blinked the sleep from her eyes as she searched for the source of the noise. Nicholas was thrashing on the bed, flailing his arms about.
“No!” he shouted, sitting up. “Don’t leave me.”
Jenny climbed onto the bed and pushed him down onto the bed. His heavy arm swung in the air, hitting her shoulder and causing her to lose her balance. Ramsay ran into the room to help her. He pinned his arms at his sides and held him there.
“Please,” Nicholas muttered, seeming to calm down.
“We need to call the physician back,” she said.
“I will send for him again,” Ramsay said, looking at Nicholas with grave concern. “The fever has gotten worse.”
It was already evening and several doses of laudanum had been administered to him. The fevershouldbe coming down but it was not.
“Mother,” he moaned and Jenny understood he was having a nightmare. She sat beside him and gathered him close, her heart aching for him.
“I’m sorry, Nicky,” she whispered, rocking them back and forth. “It is going to be well. You are going to be well.”
He never spoke of his mother. Not even her name. She had been the light of his life. He shuddered in her arms.
“I was already on my way here when Ramsay met me,” the physician, Dr. Jenson, said on entry.
Jenny released Nicholas and climbed down from the bed. “He was thrashing,” she explained.
Dr. Jenson’s brows furrowed and he sighed. “The fever is not going down. Please continue to cool him. We need the fever to go down.”
“We will do that.” She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. “Is there anything else we need to do?”
He shook his head. “I will return in the morning.”
This was going to be a long night and Jenny did not want to face it alone. Being strong for Nicholas was important but she could use some company. “Ramsay,” she called.
“Yes, Your Grace?”
“Send someone to get the dowager duchess.”
