Her head snapped up, a strand of hair falling loose and sticking to her perspiring face. “You weren’t there. Did it ever occur to you to defend me like Horace did? Why do you assume I was in the wrong?”
“Nora!” It was the closest thing to an outburst she’d heard from him. “I defend you day and night. You have no idea. And I never said you were wrong. Just that this isn’t the place—”
“Thisisn’t the place?” she demanded, pointing at the floor. “For whom did Horace build this hospital?” She dropped the bandages onto the table, one rolling away and falling to the floor.
“For you, Nora. I haven’t forgotten.”
She thought guiltily of the ledger, then quashed the emotion. “Just checking that you remembered. You can finish here. I’m changing for dinner.”
She wasn’t one to storm away, and Daniel wasn’t one to sympathize with displays of temper, but a moment later she was mounting the stairs like a thunderstorm, promising herself she’d reach the privacy of her own room before she let the rain fall.
She didn’t count on blundering full force into Horace as she turned the corner at the top of steps. He grunted, and sheinstinctively clasped his coat to keep him from falling.
“I’m sorry.” The impact loosed one rogue tear. It tickled the top of her cheek, but if she wiped it, he would notice. “I had no idea you were home.”
“Quite right. Or you and Daniel wouldn’t be carrying on like that.”
Nora released his lapel and brisked her hands over her face. “You heard?”
As he flicked one eyebrow in answer, she noticed an uncharacteristic hollowness to his eyes. His usually animated face was stiff with distant thought.
“What’s wrong?”
“Horace, where have you been?” Daniel’s voice made them both turn. His hands, deep in his pockets, and his heavy tread told Nora he dreaded finishing their quarrel, but he wasn’t the type to turn away from a fight. Not an important one.
“I was near the docks. Dr. Berry wanted a second opinion.”
The tension in Nora’s spine wavered. Interesting cases took precedence over personal matters. Just now, she’d welcome a new topic.
“Anything unusual?” Daniel pressed.
Horace sighed, leaning on his cane. Sensing a longer answer, Nora pointed to the study down the hall. “Sit down.” She could do with a moment off her feet, too.
Horace waited until they were all seated before speaking. “They took Berry and me out on a dinghy. Didn’t want to berth the ship until they knew what to do with the body.”
Nora’s eyebrows shot up.
“When I saw it, I thought he’d been dead and drained aweek already—a dried husk.” Horace’s jaw flexed, as if fighting against the escaping words. “He only died last night.”
“What killed him?” Daniel asked.
Horace gave a long blink and shifted his eyes. “Cholera.”
With breathless speed, Nora’s vision jolted from the well-lit study to a dark, closed room. A woman’s shrunken hand—her fingers weathered ropes, the skin leathery and tough—hung over the side of a soiled bed. She willed herself not to peer at the woman’s motionless face. She’d died with her eyes open and Nora didn’t want to see the lifeless rings of color, the same color as her own.
“Nora?” Horace barked.
She turned her head, and the dead woman disappeared like vapor.
“Are you all right?”
“How many?” she asked. A jade bowl filled with roses sat on the nearby table. Mrs. Phipps must have changed the flowers today.
“Just the one. The ship came from Rotterdam, and apparently the sailor took sick almost immediately. None of the other sailors showed symptoms. They would have put the body overboard last night, but he’s the first mate and has family in London. The crew thought they’d want a proper burial.”
“Are you certain it was cholera? There’s other illnesses that cause purging… What about dysentery?”
Horace inhaled deeply, shoulders rising. “I have no doubt. They described him passing what can only be rice water stools. Death came in less than two days. And the condition of the body… Berry already knew. He just wanted confirmation.They’re bringing the body along soon. You can see for yourself before the family comes for it.” Horace tugged on his beard. “I wish families would believe me when I tell them they don’t want to see someone in that state. They always insist.”
