He slowly craned his neck, making out what appeared to be his mahogany nightstand and the full wash basin. Then a strong pulsation reverberated against his skull, as though it were splitting it open. A scream of agony tore through his throat,despite his attempt to fight against it. The pain pierced, as if bullets were ripping through his flesh again.
“Josephine!” he called out, but the resonance of his voice was met with silence. “Josephine!”
General held his throbbing head in his hands, his breathing rapid.That ungrateful, useless girl. Where is she?
“Josephine!”
His scream cut through his parched throat like a bayonet through soft flesh as he tried to sit up, but each time his palms dug into the mattress and he balanced his weight, another jolt of pressure squeezed his brain, stronger than before.
Rapid footsteps pounded up the staircase and down the hallway before the door burst open, sending another spike of pain through the general’s skull. The outline of Josephine’s overweight Mammy stumbled in, breathless and heaving.
“General Wellington! Oh, General, yuh’re awake!”
General growled softly, his palm resting on his banded head. “Mammy, where is my wife? You know good and well she’s supposed to come when I call.” His teeth clenched hard, his words hissing through his teeth.Idiotic women.
Mammy caught her breath. “Don’t yuh remember?”
“Remember what?” General huffed. “Where is my wife and why does my head feel worse than a bottle ache?”
General squinted his eyes, studying Mammy’s nervous complexion. She had one hand over the other, trying to steady it. Her lips quivered and her forehead creased. Marcus couldn’t remember anything since lunch hour in Raleigh on April 10th. He remembered the brandy being poured, the rich brown liquid sliding down his throat. The shuffle of cards. The weight of money chips stacked in his hand. A full house lying in his grasp.
“Suh,” Mammy began calmly. “Missus Wellington is away on a family emergency in Wilmington. Do yuh remember anythin’? Yuh’r accident?”
“Accident?” General spat, peering through his fingers. “Why is my wife in Wilmington without my permission? She doesn’t have any family except that old wheezer in Charlotte.”
Mammy scratched behind her head. “Distant cousins, suh. One’a the girls had a baby and has been feelin’ mighty poorly. Missus Wellington went to help.”
General scowled his lips. “That stupid woman. She should think about supplying me with an heir before tending to others’ children,” he muttered under his breath. “When will she return?”
“She don’t rightly know, suh. I didn’t want the missus to worry. Yuh accident happened hours after she left. I couldn’t let her turn her back on that poor, ailing mother.”
General’s fist curled.She’ll be horsewhipped for that. How many beatings does it take for her to learn?A sharp ringing pierced his ear, and he smacked the side of his head, only to grimace as the pain flared worse.
Mammy patted General’s leg. “Suh, let me get ya some laudanum. I’ll call the doctor immediately.” She rummaged through a drawer beneath the nightstand, the clatter of metal and rustling of cloth making the general groan.
“Stop that ruckus!” he barked, his fist slamming against the mattress. “How long ago was my accident? I demand answers!”
Mammy hesitated and peered down at her empty hands. “Nearly three months, suh.” Her fearful gaze met his. “The doctor—he didn’t rekon yuh’d make it. He didn’t think yuh’d ever wake up either.”
“Three months?” General growled, his jaw hardening. His nostrils flared, heated breaths exhaling like puffs of smoke. “How did this happen? Who did this to me?” This was all impossible. He was in perfect health. Those scars on his body were the testament to his invincibility. Whatever this was couldn’t be an accident.
“Yuh fell down the stairs, suh. Yuh had a little too much to drink and—”
General’s anger bubbled, and his ear grew hot enough that he believed steam would burst through. “Shut your mouth! This isn’t my folly. It’s those stupid housemaids’ fault. They did this to me! I’ll hang them for it!”
“Please, suh,” Mammy whimpered, her head lowered. “I’m sorry. Forgive me for sayin’ all that.”
His whiskey didn’t cause this. Someone was to blame for his accident. He couldn’t remember anything, but he’d get to the bottom of it soon enough. He ran his fingers along the side of his face, tracing the beginning of his long scar, then up to his scalp, where another jagged mark met his touch.
“What is this?”
Mammy gulped, pressing her lips together.
“Answer me!” General demanded, punching his mattress. He leaned his back against the headboard, fighting back another groan. Mammy jumped, and her breath hitched. She looked at her feet, folding her hands in front of her.
“After yuh fell, yuh weren’t breathin’. We had the butler check yuh pulse, and there weren’t nothin’. We proceeded with the burial, and before Dr. Colson put yuh in that box, yuh flinched. Nearly jumped outta my skin, me and the maids. I screamed ‘He’s alive, Doctor! He’s alive!’ Dr. Colson told me to calm myself, and I did. I stood there watchin’ as he put that instrument in his ears and pressed the other part to yuh heart. Then he looked at me with the widest eyes, full of fear. I ain’t never seen the man look like that, even when . . . yuh know what I mean.
“Then he said yuh was alive. I couldn’t believe it! But yuh wouldn’t wake. So, the doctor took yuh to the finest surgeons in Raleigh. They decided to do an experimental surgery, one theybelieved could bring yuh back to us. They ain’t never tried it on anyone.”
