Laina closed the door as Beaumont hurried off down the hall, then pulled off her nightgown and tossed it aside, shrugged into her blue-and-white-striped gown and fumbled to fasten the buttons in back. Why didn’t they design gowns with the closure in the front? She would have to order some made that way for emergencies such as this.
Anne moaned and threw off her covers.
Laina glanced at the fretful child, scooped up her shoes and hurried to the bed. Poor baby—she was so hot! Should she put a cold cloth on Anne’s head or wait for Thad? She leaned down to comfort the little girl, frowning as her long, thick hair fell forward over her shoulders. What could she do with her hair? There was no time to ring for Cora.
Laina dropped her shoes, pulled the cover back over the restless child and ran barefoot to her dresser. There had to be something… Ah! She snatched a length of white satin ribbon from her drawer, slid it under her free-falling hair, then knotted it at her nape. That would have to do. Her hair still flowed down her back, but at least it was restrained. Now for her shoes.
“Mama.”
Laina spun around. Anne had thrown off the cover again.
“Where are you, Mama?” Anne flopped over, trying to climb from the bed.
Laina rushed over and lifted the little girl into her arms. “It’s all right, Anne dear, I’m here.” She sat on the edge of the bed, holding her close and rocking back and forth, praying Thad would be at home and not out on some emergency.
He could hear her soothing the child through the door. Thad lifted his hand and rapped softly. Laina Brighton was a natural mother. It was a shame she was barren. She should have children of her own. Of course, that would involve a husband. He shoved that thought away and rapped again.
“Come in.”
Thad opened the door and stepped into Laina’s bedroom. His heart knocked hard against his ribs at the sight of her sitting on the edge of the bed rocking the child in her arms back and forth.
She smiled up at him and he lost track of why he had come. “I’m so glad you’re here, Thad.” The relief in her voice brought him back to his purpose. “Anne is sick and I don’t know what is wrong or what to do for her.”
Thad shifted his gaze to the child in Laina’s arms. “Put her down on the bed and I’ll have a look at her. Maybe I can figure it out.” He strode to the bed and put his black bag down on the nightstand.
The child coughed and whimpered. Laina moved forward out of his way, bent close to Anne’s head and took her hand. “It’s all right, Anne. I’m right here.” She glanced up at him. “Her mother died a few days ago. The housekeeper brought Anne to me yesterday.” She stroked the little girl’s hair. “I think the fever has made her delirious and she thinks I’m her mother, because she quiets when I hold her.”
Thad nodded and tried unsuccessfully to ignore the warm compassion in Laina’s eyes. Every time he saw her his admiration for her grew. Admiration? Hah! Who was he fooling?
Thad stepped closer to the bed, leaned over and placed his hand on the toddler’s moist, hot forehead. She had a fever, all right. A high one. He gently pulled back the lid of one closed eye. Glassy. Not surprising with the fever. He brushed her hair aside, looked behind her ears, then placed his fingertips on the inside of the small wrist and looked up at Laina. “Beaumont said she’s complained of her head hurting?”
“Yes. I thought of putting a cold cloth on her head, but I didn’t know if I should.”
Worry clouded her eyes. Those beautiful dark blue eyes. He looked away. The child coughed again. Thad frowned, lifted the candle from the nightstand and held it out to Laina. “I need you to hold this for me. I want to look in her mouth.” His gaze met hers. “You’ll have to come closer.”
Laina nodded and broke the eye contact. She took the candle and moved to stand beside him, keeping her gaze fastened on Anne.
Thad put his hand over hers and moved the candle down. “Hold it right here.” Her hand was trembling. Because of him? The errant thought made Thad’s heart pound. He jerked his mind back to his patient, leaned down and looked in her mouth. There were spots on the insides of her cheeks, just as he’d suspected. He straightened. “Well, the mystery is solved. Anne has the measles.”
“The measles!” Laina glanced from him to Anne, then back. “But she has no spots.” Her eyes filled with hope. “Shouldn’t she have spots?”
He nodded. “If I’m right in my diagnosis, she’ll break out with them any time now. The fever usually brings them out.” Thad leaned forward again and covered Anne, gently tucking the blanket beneath her little chin. “The rash most often starts behind their ears or on their forehead and spreads from there.” He straightened again. His arm brushed against Laina’s shoulder. Awareness sizzled through him.
The candle in Laina’s hand flickered violently. She stepped back and set it down on the nightstand. “What am I to do for her?”
Her voice sounded strained and she didn’t look at him. Why? Had that touch jarred her as much as it had him? Thad cleared his throat and focused on the business at hand. “Keep her warm and quiet. Give her plenty to drink to help the cough and fever, and keep the room dark. Light will hurt her eyes. When she’s feeling better give her light foods to eat.”
“All right. May I put a cold cloth on her head?” Laina glanced his way. Her cheeks flushed as their gazes met again.
Thad’s heart started tripping all over itself. He shook his head. “No. I believe the heat of the fever brings the rash out. Children get very sick if they get chilled and the rash goes inward.”
“I see.” She turned and looked down at Anne, who was mumbling in her sleep. “I’ll be careful to keep her warm. I’ll close the windows. The nights are turning cool.”
“No. I believe fresh air is beneficial to the ill. Covers will be enough.” Thad yanked his gaze from the silky mass of softly curling brown hair streaming down Laina’s back and picked up his bag. He had to get out of there! He started for the door. “You’ll have to keep Anne here in your room, separated from the other children, until the disease runs its course. And you must stay here, too. Don’t leave the room. And don’t let anyone else in. Measles spread very quickly.”
“Oh, dear.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. He turned back to face Laina. “What’s wrong?”
“Anne has been upstairs with Nanny Tobin and the other young children since yesterday afternoon.” Her panicked gaze locked on him. “She was sleeping in the same room as Emma and Heidi when Nanny Tobin discovered she was ill. That’s why I brought Anne to my room—so I could care for her without disturbing the other children.”
“I see.” There was a silent plea for reassurance in Laina’s eyes. Unfortunately, he had none to offer her. Thad blew out a breath. “Well, then…it’s too late to stop the spread of the disease among the other children. Some are bound to be infected—especially Emma and Heidi, as Anne shared their room. And probably Billy, as he and Emma are so close—and that means Tom, also, because he’s in Billy’s room.”
“Oh, my. So many?” Laina looked completely dismayed.
“I’m afraid so.” Thad scrubbed the back of his neck with his hand and threw her a ray of hope. “Perhaps we can stop it there if we isolate them all.”
“Perhaps?”
So much for his good intentions. There was something close to horror in Laina’s voice. Thad nodded. His right knee began to jiggle as he worked on a plan to contain the spread of the disease. “We can’t put them here in your room. I don’t want them close to Anne, in case—by good fortune—they haven’t picked up the infection.”
He snapped his fingers. “We’ll use Emma’s room. Nanny Tobin can care for them there, as she has already been exposed and might carry the disease to others.” He frowned. “Of course, we’ll still have to isolate the entire third floor. The maid and tutor can care for the rest of the children there. But if contact has already been made…” His frown deepened. “I can’t risk it. I’ll have to quarantine the orphanage.”
“Quarantine us?” Laina’s eyes went wide with shock.
“Yes. This could start an epidemic.”
“But a quarantine means…”
“No one comes in or goes out.”
She stared at him. “No one?”
She looked a little stunned. Perhaps she’d had the same thought that had just struck him with the power of a lightning bolt. Thad shook his head. “No one—including me.”
She looked away. “For how long?”
“Until two weeks after the last child to come down with the measles is well.”
Laina’s gaze shot back to meet his. “But that could be—Oh, my.” She clamped her teeth down on her lower lip and reached out and gripped the bedpost so hard her knuckles whitened.
Thad wasn’t sure what prompted such a reaction in her, but he felt the same way. He could use some support himself. The thought of being in Laina’s company for an indeterminate amount of time robbed him of his strength, not to mention the ability to form a coherent thought.
Anne coughed again. Whimpered. Laina tore her gaze from his and leaned down to comfort the little girl.
Thad plowed the fingers of his free hand through his hair. I don’t understand, Lord. I’ve been doing my best to stay away from Laina, and now this has happened! I’m forced to stay here! There’s no choice. If this has come to pass as a test of my resolve to serve You as a doctor, or a test to measure my love for Laina, to see if I love her enough to deny myself my own heart’s desire for her good, how can I not? I’ve only to look about this elegant room to know I’m not worthy of asking for her hand. I—
“Thad.”
He blew out a breath, yanking his mind away from his discourse with the Lord. “Yes.”
“You must be right about the measles. Look. Spots.” Laina lifted a damp curl off Anne’s forehead as he walked back to the bed.
Thad stared down at the telltale red spots, then placed his bag on the nightstand and leaned forward to again check behind Anne’s ears. The spots were appearing there, as well. “It’s measles, all right.”
He straightened, ran his hand through his hair again and glanced around the large room. “Since you’ve already brought Anne here, we’ll use your room as the infirmary. We can move that chaise and the writing table to one side and set beds up along that wall.” He frowned. “Hopefully, some of your grooms and gardeners have had the measles.”
“Why hopefully?”
“Because they will be immune to the disease and can help move the beds in. Otherwise I shall have to move them myself.” He looked at her. “The quarantine isn’t only to protect the other children, Laina. If an adult comes down with the measles it can be very serious. They often become more ill with them than a child—” Thad stopped, his stomach tightening with a dreadful suspicion as Laina turned away from him. Please, Lord, let me be wrong. “Laina.”
“Yes?”
Please, Lord. “You have had the measles?”
“I don’t know.” She took a breath, turned back to face him. “I don’t remember having them.”
The tightness in Thad’s stomach turned into a knot that felt the size of his fist.
Anne began to whimper and thrash about. Laina reached down to comfort her.
Thad darted his hand out and grabbed her wrist. She shot a startled gaze to his face. He jerked his head toward a door in the wall behind them. “Is that your dressing room?” The words came out more terse than he intended.
She stared up at him. “Yes, it is. Why? I don’t understand what—”
“I want you to go into your dressing room, take off everything you are wearing and put it into a pile, then bathe and wash your hair. When you’re through, put on all clean garments. Don’t touch the others. Then I want you to go to another bedroom and stay there. I will—”
“I’ll do no such thing!” Laina lifted her chin. Her eyes flashed with anger. “Anne is four years old. She’s just lost her mother and been put into a home with strangers! Now she’s ill and frightened. I will not abandon her!”
“Laina—”
“No.”
He tried another tack. “I’ll be here to tend Anne. I’ll—”
“No, Thad. She’s only a baby. She needs me.” Laina looked him full in the eyes. “Don’t you stay with your patients when they need you, in spite of the risk to yourself?”
“That’s different! I’m a doctor, Laina. It’s my job to…”
She shook her head.
Thad stopped, blew out a breath and released his grip on her wrist. “I never realized you were so stubborn.”
“I’m only stubborn when I’ve good reason to be.” Laina reached down and took hold of Anne’s small hand.
Thad wanted to grab her and carry her bodily from the room to keep her safe. The problem was that if she hadn’t had the measles, it was probably already too late. His doctor’s mind knew that, but his heart refused to calmly accept the fact. He sucked in a breath and headed for the dressing room to wash his hands. “If I’m to stay here I have to go home and get my things. I’ll be back shortly.”
Laina lifted her head and looked at him. “I thought you couldn’t leave.”
“Ordinarily, I wouldn’t. But it’s the middle of the night and I’m not likely to run into anyone on my way home and back, and there’s no one at my house for me to infect.” He reached for the doorknob.
“Thad.”
“Yes?”
“If you’re going home, will you take Audrey to Elizabeth and Justin? She’s going to Europe to study the violin and she’s to leave in three—no, two—days. Her trunks are all packed and ready.” Laina’s eyes pleaded with him. “Please let her go. She hasn’t been near any of the young children.”
“How can you be certain of that?”
“Because she’s been busy in her room all day.” Laina stepped toward him, her hand raised in supplication. “She even had her meals on a tray. The only time Audrey came out of her room was to practice in the music room this evening, and the young children were all in bed.”
Thad stood for a time, rubbing the muscles at the back of his neck, weighing her words. “All right. As long as you’re sure she hasn’t been exposed, I’ll take her.”
“Oh, thank you, Thad! I’ll have Cora wake Audrey immediately.” She gave him a smile he felt clear to the soles of his feet and reached for the bellpull.
“Don’t ring!”
Laina yanked her hand back from the pull and swept a startled gaze to his face. “Why? Cora will help her—”
Thad shook his head, stopping her words. “If anyone in this house touches Audrey, she has to stay. Tell me where her room is. I’ll wake her, then I’ll get your groom to harness up and come for her trunk. She’ll have to prepare herself to leave.”
“Oh, I see. All right. It will be as you say.” Tears shimmered in Laina’s eyes. “I won’t be able to see her to tell her goodbye. Will you…” Her lips quivered. She took a deep breath. “Will you tell her I love her and I’ll miss her? Tell her I’ll write and—” Her voice broke. She covered her face with her hands and turned away.
Thad clenched his hands into fists to keep from pulling her into his arms. “I’ll bring Audrey to stand beneath your window, Laina. You’ll be able to tell her goodbye.”
Justin sat up in bed, looking around their moonlit bedroom, listening. Hooves clattered against bricks, wheels rumbled. He tossed back the covers and slid from bed.
“What is it, Justin? Is something wrong?”
He glanced at Elizabeth, who was looking up at him through sleepy eyes, and shook his head. “I don’t know, dear. Someone is coming to the house.”
“Coming to the house?” She sat up. “It’s the middle of the night.”
“I know. Go back to sleep.” He hurried to the window, staring down at the chaise coming up the drive.
“Who is it?”
Justin shook his head. “It’s Laina’s rig, but I can’t see…” He stopped, staring in disbelief at the tall man exp
osed to his view as the rig entered the curve of the sweep below. “It’s Dr. Allen! He’s walking beside the chaise.”
“Dr. Allen?” The words were a startled gasp. “Oh, Justin, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll soon find out!” He raced to the bed, grabbed his dressing gown and headed for the door.
“Wait! I’m going with you.” Elizabeth swirled her own dressing gown around her shoulders, stepped into her slippers and rushed up beside him. He took a protective grip on her arm as they hurried along the hall and down the stairs with only the glow of moonlight to guide them.
“Measles.” Justin scowled.
Thad hurried to offer reassurance. “There’s no chance Audrey is infected, or I never would have brought her here.”
“I know that, Doctor.” Justin glanced after Elizabeth, who was leading Audrey upstairs, then stepped around Audrey’s trunks and out onto the brick portico. He pulled the front door closed as Laina’s chaise drove away.
Thad backed up. “Don’t come any closer—I’ve been with the patient.”
Justin nodded. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Yes, inform Dr. Gibbon of the problem. My patients will be calling on him when they find I’m unavailable. I’m going home to get my things and then I’m going back. I’ll stay until the quarantine is lifted.”
Justin shook his head in disbelief, rubbed his chin and shot Thad a dark look. “I don’t like this, Doctor. I don’t like Laina’s health being at peril. And I don’t like feeling helpless to do anything about it!”
Thad gave him a rueful smile. “I know exactly what you mean.” He started down the steps.
“Doctor.”
He looked back at Justin.
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