Beasts of London by K.C. Lannon

Author:K.C. Lannon [K.C. Lannon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: K.C. Lannon
Published: 2023-04-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Vera broke away from Miss Lucy’s grasp and ran down the hall. She skidded to a halt in the doorway of Mr. Morris’s bedroom and froze. He was lying on his back on the bed. Witherbones stood on a stool and leaned over his master, dabbing his flushed, sweating face with a damp cloth.

Her breath caught. It was just like when Momma was on the ship to England. The fever came first. Then she never woke up. The room swayed in her vision, and she felt as if the museum was the same boat rocking on a tumultuous sea.

When Miss Lucy grabbed under her arms from behind, trying to pull her away, the child struggled. If she had been the matron, Miss Lucy would have shaken her or had a doctor sedate her. She was stunned when the young woman knelt down beside her and pulled her into a fierce embrace, pinning her arms to her sides.

“Let go of me,” Vera demanded, but her body went limp. “He promised. He promised he wouldn’t die.”

Miss Lucy shushed her softly. “Come now. We must let him rest. Come away with me, Vera.”

After some coaxing, the child followed her with halting steps to her room. When she meekly begged Miss Lucy not to shut her in, the governess left the door open under the condition she would not bother Mr. Morris.

Vera lay curled up and sniffling on the bed. Sitting beside her, Miss Lucy awkwardly patted her back. “It’s my fault,” the girl croaked.

“What’s your fault?”

“He’s dying because of me.”

Lucy flinched. “That is absurd. You are not to blame for any illness. Mr. Morris may be sick, but that does not mean he’s…”

“I brought the likho with me,” Vera continued, stifling a shaky yawn with her hand. “Momma told me to be a good girl, but I wasn’t.”

The woman did not seem to hear her. “If anyone is to blame, it’s likely me,” the woman whispered hollowly. Then she forced a pained, half-smiling expression and covered the girl with her quilted blanket. “Rest now, Miss Vera.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Just for a little while.”

Too exhausted to protest, Vera kept her eyes on the open door until she drifted into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Witherbones padded outside the room, his head hanging so low that the tail of his cap dragged on the floor. When Miss Lucy asked him how Mr. Morris was faring and what had happened, the Brownie explained wearily, “Master Cecil was bitten by a foul snake, milady.”

This confirmed what she already feared, and her blood turned icy as images of her nightmare flashed phosphorescent through her mind. “But he will recover?”

“Aye, but the fever has its fangs in him.” The Brownie shuffled onward, his clawed feet clicking on the floor like an old dog’s. “You may sit with him if you like. He’s hardly conscious, mind you, and in a fitful state. Perhaps speaking to him will help. If you’ll excuse me, miss, I must fetch his medicine.”

Lucy hesitated outside of the door, a misplaced sense of propriety keeping her momentarily from entering a gentleman’s bedroom.

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