Page 47 of The Lovers (Echoes from the Past #1)

THIRTY-FOUR

Elise didn’t see Lucy for the rest of the day, but a feeling of dread settled over the house, as if all the inhabitants were holding their breath.

Even Cook, who liked to hum a merry tune while she cooked, remained resolutely silent, torn between worry and guilt.

Janet had gone out two days prior at her behest. She’d purchased produce and fish for supper and then helped Cook bake several loaves of bread.

Everyone in the household had eaten the food that Janet had touched.

If she did indeed have the plague, they were all at risk.

“How is she?” Elise asked urgently when she saw Lucy coming down the stairs. Lucy looked exhausted and pale, and her forehead was slick with perspiration.

“She’s still fevered and has terrible chills despite this ungodly heat.

Says her bones hurt,” Lucy replied. She strove for calm, but the panic in her eyes was painful to behold.

She understood the ramifications of sharing a room with Janet only too well, and she was the only person in the household who would be expected to look after her.

“In for a penny, in for a pound,” Cook was heard to say, referring to Lucy’s amount of exposure to the sickness.

It was too late to do anything for her now.

“Has Janet eaten anything?” Elise asked, keeping a safe distance from Lucy.

“Just a bit of broth and a cup of ale.”

“Lucy, she needs to be examined,” Elise said. She feared for Lucy, but the girl had already been exposed, so examining Janet would not place her in any greater danger. “Do you know what to look for?”

Lucy nodded. “I’ll just get some more water and a cup of ale for Janet.”

“No. You mustn’t go near the other servants. I will have Will bring up a basin of water and a jug of ale and leave it by the door. Lucy, I’m sorry, but you must be quarantined along with Janet.” Lucy looked aghast but didn’t argue.

“Check Janet over and let Will know when he comes up,” Elise instructed. “And, Lucy, don’t worry. I will look after you. You have my word.”

“Not much ye can do for me, is there?” Lucy asked. She sounded wary and defeated. They all knew the odds of surviving the plague.

Elise paced the parlor until Will finally came back down some time later, his face ashen. Elise didn’t need to ask, she saw it all in his eyes, but she faced him across the room and smiled encouragingly.

“Janet has buboes, me lady. ’Tis the plague, as ye feared.”

“Will, please ask everyone to assemble in the yard. I’d like to speak to them. And please wake his lordship. He’ll need to be informed.”

“Aye, me lady.” Will left the room, his shoulders stooped, and his gait slow. He was hardly older than Elise, but he seemed to have aged a decade in the past few minutes. Elise shared his fear.

Elise came out into the yard moments later.

Nine frightened faces stared at her as she stood there for a moment, organizing her thoughts.

“As you all know, Janet has been taken ill with the plague. We are now all at risk. I would ask you all to remain calm in the face of this threat. We must do what we can for Janet and pray that Lucy does not sicken. Janet and Lucy will be quarantined from this moment on. Will, you will bring food and water for washing, but leave them on the floor in front of the room. You are not to go in. No one is. If anyone feels fevered or achy, please let me know. You will be relieved of your duties and asked to stay in your room. Is that clear?”

Nine heads nodded. “Should we not inform the authorities that there’s plague in the house?” Cook asked, her normally rosy face pale with fear.

“Not yet. They will have the house shut up with all of us in it. We will look to our own. You may return to your tasks.”

Elise went back into the house and shut the door to the parlor.

She didn’t want the servants to see her fear, but she was terrified.

One case was all it took to infect everyone in the house.

Janet had touched their food, their bread, and likely their dishes.

No one knew how the illness spread, but it stood to reason that anything Janet laid her hands on might have become infected.

And Lucy had been in the kitchen getting food and drink for Janet.

If she had been stricken, that increased their chances of illness.

Elise put her hands over her belly. The butterfly feeling had intensified over the past two days.

Had her baby quickened without her even realizing it?

She supposed it was possible. She was about halfway through the pregnancy, by her estimation.

Elise pressed her hands to her growing stomach, searching for signs of life.

“Are you in there, little one?” she whispered. “I’ll keep you safe.”

Elise sank down onto a wooden settle and closed her eyes.

The only way to keep her baby safe was to keep herself safe, and she had no way to do that.

They’d been granted a reprieve this past month, but now it was over.

The plague was among them, and Edward wasn’t about to do a damn thing to keep them from harm.

She’d heard the thunder of hooves as he left the house, fleeing without even speaking to her.