The Surgeon's Daughter by Audrey Blake

Author:Audrey Blake
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2022-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

There was no harrowing wait to see if Pozzi’s symptoms would grow into a serious case. As if trying to spare them the suspense, Pozzi’s spasms began that night, pulling his right hand into an anguished claw and forcing him to double over as pain racked his abdomen. Nora and Magdalena sat on the bed next to him, taking turns stifling tears and retrieving useless medicines.

Late in the night, Nora watched her mentor smooth the hair from Pozzi’s brow, her wavering profile painted on the wall by the lone candle. Her lips moved, whispering prayers that were probably as familiar as nursery songs to the boy who grimaced even in his sleep. “Lisandro had measles as an infant. I did not sleep for two nights except when I napped with him in my arms.” Magdalena said, her low voice carrying in the silence. “I think we should send for his mother.”

The words shook Nora from her stupor, and she pulled her head off the arm of her chair where it had fallen. “I’ll send for her tomorrow, but there is still hope. I’ve seen plenty of cases recover.” It was an overstatement. She’d seen three. All treated by Horace. “I’m going to put more belladonna on his throat,” Nora said, rifling through the jars and glasses of medicine.

“Belladonna, theriac,” Magdalena said, pacing to the black window, “calomel, opium, turpentine. Bleed him, pass his urine. If he cannot eat or breathe, he will die.”

“He can breathe,” Nora insisted as she opened the belladonna. The dark green-black liquid pooled in her palm as she poured, the grapelike scent expanding into the air. She let it drip across his throat, careful to keep any poisonous drop far from his lips. Less than a minute later another spasm woke him. Pozzi’s head pulled back, his mouth drawn down in a frown so unlike him Nora had to turn away.

His tongue pushed against his teeth, his arms gripping his stomach. “The abdomen is hard as brick,” Nora said, trying to tamp down her panic.

“That’s to be expected,” Magdalena said calmly, meeting Pozzi’s stare as his eyes widened in pain. “It’s uncomfortable but will pass in a minute.”

It was the longest minute Nora had ever known. When Pozzi’s body relaxed, she noticed a tear collect in the corner of his eye. “Tetanus,” he gasped, his lips barely opening.

Nora’s hands flew to his jaw. It was already tightening like an overwound clock. Her fingers traced his chin down to the tender hollow below his tongue. His chin pointed to the dark ceiling from the pull of the muscles. The symptoms couldn’t be advancing this quickly.

“Pozzi,” Nora asked, taking his hand in the dark, “did you have spasms before today?”

A matching tear gathered in his other eye and slid down his cheek. He blinked and Nora knew that was his answer.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” she demanded, clenching his fingers.

“Venturoli.” His voice was slurred from the rigid muscles of his neck, but Nora understood.

“Lo stupido!” Nora cried, standing above him, her voice shaking.

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