5. Chapter 4 #2
Late afternoon sunlight filtered into the room from the small window beside her bed, bestowing its gentle light over Nelly’s strained face.
Her splotchy, red skin was dotted with sweat as she writhed on the bed.
Caroline’s stomach tightened, but she crossed the room and shut the drapes.
Nelly’s reaction to sunlight seemed like she could have Valeria’s illness, but she wasn’t sure if it was the sun bothering her after all.
Caroline moved the chipped black stool to her bedside and sat beside her.
“Nelly,” Caroline said, her voice gentle as she placed her hand on her brow. There was no fever; instead, she was cold and clammy. “How are you feeling?”
Nelly’s eyes fluttered open, but it took a few moments for her eyes to focus.
“Miss Blythe, do you need my assistance? If you give me a few moments, I can get up.”
“You will do nothing of the sort.” Caroline gently placed her hand on Nelly’s shoulder when she attempted to sit up. “I heard you fell ill and I wanted to check on you.”
“Yes,” she said, already out of breath. “It’s been ages since I’ve been ill and I’m not sure what brought it on. One moment I was dusting and the next I was on the floor.”
“Were you in Lady Valeria’s room when it happened?”
“No, I was in another guest room. I don’t visit Lady Valeria during the day since she’s such a heavy sleeper.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
“The previous evening. I was going to check on her after I was done with my duties, I swear.”
“You’re not in trouble. I only worry you caught the illness plaguing Lady Valeria.”
“I delivered her some laundry and sat with her for a bit last night. I wasn’t there for very long, but she seemed lonely.”
“Did she seem any worse?”
“No, she seemed quite well. I helped her with her hair since it was a rat’s nest, and she asked me some questions about the village. The poor dear was so cold.”
Caroline frowned, but it wasn’t entirely unsurprising if Valeria developed the fever during the day. There was no way for her to explain her other symptoms, as there seemed to be a disconnect between Caroline and Nelly anyway.
“And how did you feel after you left her room?”
“Quite well. My duties were done by then, but I was able to get some sewing done before going to sleep.” Nelly’s eyes opened again, and her brow furrowed. “My sleep wasn’t restful. I usually fall asleep easily, but last night I had a difficult time staying asleep.”
“Did dreams wake you up? Or noises?”
While Nelly had a private room, walls could be quite thin, and the maids held different hours, so someone was up at all hours.
“I’m not sure. I don’t remember much, just waking up. I was likely getting sick without realizing it.”
Unease swirled through Caroline. There was something strange about all of this, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Stories matched up, and nothing and no one seemed out of place, but that was what gave her pause. Everything seemed too perfect.
“What are your symptoms? How do you feel?”
“I’m dizzy. So dizzy and cold.”
Shivers wracked her body even beneath the multiple wool blankets over her. Caroline didn’t see any other blankets in the room, but she would send for some to be brought down.
“Did you wake up like this in the night? Were you cold?”
Feeling cold was a symptom of fever, but Nelly felt ice cold to her touch as well. She would make sure to note that for the doctor.
“No, I was warm last night. Hot even. Maybe that’s why I was up. To open the window.”
The window was closed, but that wasn’t surprising, as someone likely closed it while helping her to bed. While there was sunshine, it was a brisk day, so letting more chill in would do little to help with how cold Nelly felt.
“Did you feel ill when you woke up?”
“No, just tired. Though I did remember one of my dreams, which is strange because I never usually dream.”
“What about?”
“I’m not sure. There was humming. It felt like when my mother stroked my hair, but she’s been dead for a long time.”
“And you collapsed partway through your day? Are you nauseous? Have you been coughing or sneezing?”
“No.”
“Have you had anything to eat?”
“I’m not hungry, just thirsty.”
Caroline poured some water for Nelly, and this time her patient drank what was offered, but even supporting her own head seemed like too much work for her. Though she poured another glass, Nelly no longer seemed thirsty, so she left it on the side table in case she got thirsty later.
“Let me get you another blanket, and I’ll call the doctor for you.”
“You don’t need to go through all that trouble for me. I’m sure I’ll be fine tomorrow.”
The sun was setting, and she imagined Dr. Murnau was likely at home. She would send for him in the morning. Nelly was surely well enough to make it through the night. She was dizzy and clammy, but this was perfectly survivable.
Caroline went back to the second floor, where one of their seldom-used guest rooms had become a sort of linen closet where she stored her blankets that were too thick for the coming spring.
Clasping the wool blanket to her chest, Caroline closed the door behind her. Valeria’s door was at the other end of the hall, and she glanced in that direction. Nelly needed this blanket, but she would be fine waiting another minute or so. Caroline needed to check on Valeria one final time.
This time, she didn’t knock before slowly turning the knob.
“Valeria,” she called softly as she rapped on the door.
When silence met her, she opened the door and was greeted only by the flicker of the candle she had left lit that was now burned almost all the way down. The bed was mussed, but empty.
“Valeria.”
She frowned, looking around the room. The attached bathroom door was shut, and Caroline couldn’t remember if it had been that way earlier or not.
This time, she did knock on the door because she couldn’t imagine just bursting into a bathroom.
Edgar would die of embarrassment if he knew she had treated a client in such a way.
“Valeria,” she said, knocking loudly on the door. Her ear pressed against the door, and she heard only silence.
The door hinges squeaked as she opened the door to another empty room. The cast iron tub sat dry in the middle of the room. A white towel sat folded on the counter.
Valeria had been so ill when Caroline had last been in there scarcely an hour ago, but now she was missing.
She walked over to the shut drapes and gently nudged them back.
Darkness had fallen, but it was still the early evening.
She had no clue how Valeria could have woken up and gotten somewhere so quickly. Not with a fever.
Walking back to Nelly’s room, Caroline’s eyes trailed every nook and cranny to see if the woman had walked off, delirious in her state, but she didn’t see her. It took her longer to return to Nelly, but she didn’t find Valeria in any of the rooms she checked.
When she was finally in Nelly’s room again, the woman had fallen asleep, her pallid color looking even more severe in the low light as the breath rattled in her chest. Caroline carefully tucked the wool blanket around her to trap in as much warmth as possible.
She felt a cool breeze on the back of her neck that made her frown as she looked for the source.
Looking up, the window was ajar, waving in the wind.
It wasn’t open more than an inch, but Caroline frowned.
She swore it hadn’t been open when she was here earlier, and there was no way Nelly had the strength to open it.
Caroline closed the window, firmly locking it in place.
The windows were all old, especially in this part of the house.
Most of them needed to be replaced. It was yet another large repair she needed to find the funds for.
It had been lower on her list, but when she needed to use all her strength to latch it shut, she moved it up her list. Closing the thick brown curtains as an extra layer of defense against the cool night air, Caroline left Nelly to rest.