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“Thank you for the broth. Please pass it over,” he instructed Antonia, who did as she was told. He held the bowl in his hands and dipped the spoon in the broth, blowing on it to cool it a little. Then, he turned to Ellie in hopes of spoon feeding her. She needed to eat, but her lips refused to part.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he whispered, “it’ll help warm you.”
“Your Grace,” Antonia started.
He touched the spoon of the broth to Ellie’s lips, waiting patiently for them to part and accept it. It wasn’t happening.
“Your Grace—” she repeated.
“You can leave now,” he said as he turned his attention back to Ellie.
“I’m trying to—”
“And why is this woman here?” he asked, referring to the yellow-eyed maid. “I don’t want anyone else here, see her out, please.” He paused once more, looking at Ellie. Her mouth opened only a bit, accepting a small sip of broth inside as she swallowed it carefully. He let out a rare smile.
“Your Grace!” Antonia’s voice rang so loudly, the broth bowl clattered in his hands, and Simon winced. It was followed by a ringing silence. “I apologize for my outburst, but this is Prudence. She told me her father was a doctor, she may be of some help.”
Simon remained silent as the yellow-eyed maid stepped forward. “Your Grace, my skills are limited, but my father taught me a few things. I merely wish to do a medical test on ‘er to make certain ‘er situation isn’t of worry,” she paused, stepping closer, “can I…?”
He sighed, placing the broth to the side. “Go ahead.”
He moved over to the side of the room; his steps were slow, worrisome. Whereas before, his sole focus was on Ellie, this time it was on the yellow-eyed woman, afraid that she could somehow harm her. She removed the blanket, lowering her gown slightly and checking her temperature along with her injuries. Simon held his breath, biting his nails in unease, as he waited for the woman’s conclusion.
The moment he noticed Ellie slightly struggling, he hurried by her side, holding her hand and soothing her with gentle touches and words. “It’s only for a moment,” he said, “you’ll be warm again. I’m here.”
It seemed that the woman was done with her torture. Carefully and gently, he tucked Ellie tight once more, her body accepting the warmth. He couldn’t shake his fear away; his legs shook, and his anger was building up inside his core. He expected bad news, but he wasn’t sure how well he could handle it. “Well…?”
“I don’t mean to worry you.”
There they were, the words he did not want to hear.
The woman turned to face him. “Your Grace, she ‘rgently needs a doctor. Her situation is urgent, ‘er temperature appears to be too low and the color, it’s yet to return to ‘er face—it is good news that her body accepted the broth, but the chilling is serious. She may get worse before she gets better.”
Simon shook his head in disbelief. Of course she needed a doctor, he would assure of that, but the rest was bollocks. Her skin had warmed significantly, her lips were no longer blue and bruised, and she had even managed to down some broth; he wouldn’t allow a woman like her to ruin his hope.
“Her temperature appears fine to me,” he argued. “Her lips are no longer bruised either, don’t you see?”
“Your Grace, she’s chilled. It might appear as such when you remove or place on the warmed linens, bu’ I assure you, it's only short-lived. She needs more than that.”
He clenched his fists. The hope of her recovery was all that was keeping him sane, and this self-proclaimed medic was snatching it away from him with extreme boldness.
“She accepted the broth!” he lashed out.
“It was only a small gulp—it isn’t enough to sustain her, she—”
Antonia cleared her throat, rushing to the woman’s side and wrapping a hand around her arm. Simon, trying to push the woman’s words away from his head, sat next to Ellie and caressed her hand, struggling to ease his growing anxiety.
This isn’t like Maddie.
He tried to comfort himself as he captured Ellie’s form in his eyes, thinking of ways he could reach a doctor at this time. The storm was subsiding, that much was certain, but the roads were still blocked, and there was no one experienced enough to handle navigating the heavily covered streets.
“What good is all this damned wealth now,” he muttered under his breath.
The maid lingered by the door a while longer, alongside Antonia, who held the most worry from them all. He didn’t need their pity, concern or anything of that sort, he simply needed them to find a solution for Ellie’s situation, some cure that would make her all right again.
Ellie is not Maddie.
His eyes twitched shut as his mind tickled with doubt and denial.
“Uh, Your Grace?” the yellow-eyed woman said, “We have some laudanum in the Castle—I could bring it here, give it to Lady Ellie. It won’t help with the chill, bu’ her head injury will benefit greatly from it.”
At first, her words passed his mind like a blur. After her examination before, he thought everything she said was nonsense to place further worry in his mind. But as her words finally registered, he nodded slightly.
“Bring the laudanum here.”
