The Mayflower Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse

Author:Kimberley Woodhouse [Woodhouse, Kimberley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781683224211
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2018-01-15T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Monday, 6 November 1620

Mary Elizabeth’s heart thundered in her ears. She couldn’t wake Father. For hours he’d been motionless, and she couldn’t rouse him.

“Mary Elizabeth, why isn’t he waking?” David’s voice sounded so small. The poor dear had found Father this way earlier.

She closed her eyes and sent a quick prayer heavenward for wisdom. “I don’t know, David. But I need for you to see if Mr. Heale can come down and see him, all right?”

Her little brother flung the curtain aside and took off at a run, leaping over obstacles and buckets.

Lord, please help me to know what to do.

“Father, please, I need you to wake up.”

Several moments passed, and then she heard footsteps. Mary Elizabeth turned just in time to see Mr. Heale approach. “Thank you for coming.” Pulling back from Father, she gave the surgeon some space. “He’s not responding to me.”

Giles Heale put his head to Father’s chest. “His heart is very slow. How long has he been sick?”

She swallowed the tears building in her throat. “Weeks.”

He nodded. “That’s what I thought. I brought some smelling salts with me. We can only hope the intense ammonia will make him take a deep breath. Maybe then we can bring him out of this deep sleep.”

“Please. Let’s try.”

The surgeon nodded to her and put the potent concoction under Father’s nose. It took a couple seconds, but then Father inhaled sharply. His eyelids fluttered. “Talk to him, Mary Elizabeth.” He stepped back.

“Father, please, wake up.”

Her father moaned.

“Please, we need you to wake up.”

Mr. Heale stepped forward and tried again.

With a jolt, Father’s eyes opened as he took a deep breath. He blinked several times and then locked eyes with her. “Mary Elizabeth?”

Tears streamed down her face. “Oh, Father. I was so worried.”

“Miss Chapman?” Mr. Heale summoned her with a finger. “Might I speak with you for a moment?”

“Of course.” She grabbed David’s hand and pulled him close. “You talk with Father for a bit, all right? See if you can keep him awake.”

Her little brother knelt beside their father and Mary Elizabeth exited the curtained off area.

“Thank you, Mr. Heale.” She swiped at her face to dry the tears.

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Mary Elizabeth, but I’m afraid your father is still very ill. Try to keep him awake as long as you can, but his heart is weak, and I’m certain he will fall back into that deep sleep.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do?”

“Whatever it is that has taken hold has weakened him. Unless we can get him to eat and move about, he won’t be able to gain strength—he’ll only lose it.” The surgeon nodded and bowed slightly. “I’m sorry.”

As the man walked away, Mary Elizabeth didn’t know what to think of his words. What did it mean? Was he implying that Father would die? She shook her head. No. She was worrying too much.

She stepped back into the curtained off area and saw Father give David a tiny smile. “It’s good to see you smile, Father.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.