Soon enough, the cure was ready.
‘Only one thing for it, now,’ Xander said, taking a deep breath. Bisma held her breath, as well, hope creeping up on her as he injected the cure into their testing tree.
At first, nothing happened. Then the tree began to lose its branches. The trunk splintered.
Xander swore, rubbing a hand over his face.
‘Lovely,’ Bisma said, her eyes slitting. Her back hurt. They’d been at it all day, and it hadn’t even worked.
Xander frowned. He was practically wilting at the edges, his earlier excitement long gone. More than that, he looked exhausted.
An idea planted itself in Bisma’s mind.
‘Why don’t you take a nap?’ She blurted out the question before realizing how out of character it was.
Xander gave her a funny look. ‘Since when are you so attentive to me?’ he asked, though he did not seem suspicious. Rather, he looked quite pleased.
Bisma made a face that portrayed just how ridiculous she considered him.
‘You look horrible,’ she said, trying to bring back the usual bite back to her tone. ‘And I’d prefer if my partner didn’t drop from exhaustion in the middle of a trial.’
Though she had insulted him, he only grew more pleased. ‘I’m your partner now, am I?’
She rolled her eyes, not bothering to give him a response.
‘No, no, I can’t take a nap,’ he said, sighing. ‘I might have some tea and take a break, however. And I’ve got to drop something off.’
That would work for her plan. ‘To whom?’
‘I have my own private clients,’ he said, sounding quite pleased with himself by the fact. ‘I like to experiment with new techniques, and since Mother doesn’t want me to take such risks under the official Chapman Apothecary name, I do so with my own personal clients.’
‘What’s the case?’
‘The patient has shaking hands, and the Apothecary doesn’t have anything strong enough for it. We have potions to help with the pain, and some to help with mild shaking, but none for his condition. I think I’ve puzzled it out, though.’
He went to a cabinet, rummaging around bottles until he found a short, fat one.
‘I used a base of dried chamomile leaves and celery seed, then mixed in vanilla and nettle,’ he said, removing the cap and showing her the salve.
She smelled it. ‘Hmm, seems good to me,’ she said. ‘I wonder if it’ll work.’
‘Only one way to find out,’ he replied, putting the cap back on. ‘I was meant to head over hours ago, but …’
He would be gone, which meant she could investigate Eleanora. She recalled what he’d once said about guest rooms in the house.
‘You should go now.’ Bisma yawned, a bit theatrically. ‘While you do, perhaps I’ll take a nap.’ She rubbed her eyes for good measure.
‘Of course,’ Xander said. ‘Make yourself at home.’
He gestured to the bed in the greenhouse, which was really just a mattress on the floor. It had no frame, just an abundance of blankets and pillows. At the moment it was a mess, which made her think of Xander lying there, sleeping.
Her face warmed at the thought. Her gaze jumped away from the bed. He seemed to follow a similar train of thought, for his face turned pink, as well.
‘We have guest rooms in the house, as well,’ he added quickly.
‘Oh.’ She pretended to think about it. ‘Is anyone home?’
‘No, Mother’s at the Apothecary, and Father’s away on business.’
