“Thank you for assisting me today,” she murmured just as Miss Rawly began to stir.
Soon, she silently promised.
Chapter 19
A rare occurrence to have the entire household at the breakfast table—or any meal, for that matter—but no one had been called urgently away this morning. Horace, eyebrows twisted in worried contemplation, reached for another sugar cube and dropped it into his tea with measured care. “Conway said he’s seen eight cases, but all in the same household. It doesn’t seem to have traveled.”
Forks stilled as everyone listened with concentration too profound for movement. Horace continued, “He found it where you’d expect—down at the docks. Probably came in with a ship.” Horace looked out the window to the steel sky, trees glazed with morning dew. “If we must see cholera this year, it’s as tame as you’d want, and still—”
“Any deaths?” Harry prodded.
Horace pressed his lips together as if tempted to keep the truth to himself. “Five of the eight.”
“Good Lord,” Daniel whispered.
“The weather’s been terrible,” Horace pointed out. “Floods all over the city through a sweltering summer, and now a cold start to autumn. I believe sickness in general will be amplified this year.”
Mrs. Phipps maintained a stiffer pose than the painting ofLord Nelson behind her. At last, she released her thin lips. “If it is cholera, will it be as bad as the year Nora took sick?”
Horace’s frown deepened. “I don’t see how it could be.” His mouth twitched and his eyes burned with thought. “’32 was…” He shook his head. “We’re jumping ahead.”
Mrs. Phipps exhaled, relief in her breath.
“My district work has me down in the docks,” Harry reminded them. “I’ll keep an eye out and report everything.”
Beside him, Julia’s pale, pinched face betrayed her worry.
Horace gave a satisfied nod. “That’s good. Everyone on alert. If you do see it, isolate the patient immediately and keep your distance.” He raised his spoon like a saber and jutted it at each of them. “I don’t want to expose our household.”
Julia shifted in her chair. “It’s bad enough thinking of Harry being surrounded by disease. To bring it here—”
“Horace brought me here,” Nora quietly reminded the room.
“You were one little girl,” Mrs. Phipps replied after an uncomfortable pause.
“And she barely allowed me in the front door with you, as I recall,” Horace huffed.
Mrs. Phipps’s face reddened. “It was a risk.”
“Hopefully, we’ll hear no more of it. But extreme caution, nonetheless.” Horace put down the spoon with finality.
Across the table, Julia brushed Harry’s hand with relief. Nora and Daniel still hadn’t melted back into easy warmth. Nora’s stomach dipped, and she pushed the food on her plate farther away from her.
Daniel lowered his lips close to her ear and asked in a gentle aside, “Aren’t you eating?”
“I’m not very hungry. I still have to prepare for my lesson with Ruth today,” she whispered while the others kept discussing. Three other midwives were now expressing interest. If Nora could develop a curriculum that satisfied men like Adams…
“Don’t forget to keep your strength up,” Daniel whispered.
Nora startled. It sounded too much like pregnancy advice. “Why do you say that?” She forced the words through numb lips.
Daniel frowned. “What do you mean, why? You stay so busy. You can’t forget to eat.” Confusion burned brown rings in his eyes.
Nora resisted the urge to squirm. “I’ll be hungrier at teatime.”
Mrs. Phipps cleared her throat. “If sickness is more pronounced this year, I propose Julia, Nora, and I take a holiday in Suffolk at my sister’s house.”
“But who would run the clinic?” Harry pointed out, his cup paused in the air. “Without Nora, we’d have to close it.”
