“No, I think I can do it myself,” I croaked as I shakily got to my feet and stepped around the mess, following the matron.
“Can you give him a room with a view of the trees? He gets more sick when he can’t see the outside,” Lochlan put in helpfully. “I’d like to stay with him if that’s allowed.”
“Of course you may stay, and I’ll see what I can do about a room,” the matron said, bustling down the hall. “Follow me.” She scribbled on her papers as she went, muttering to herself. “Male, five feet tall, roughly one hundred pounds…”
“Good move with throwing up,” Lochlan whispered. “That was brilliant.”
“And gross,” I told him. “You better get me some mint leaves to chew. It tasted awful.”
“Here we are,” the matron said brightly, opening another door. “We don’t have many patients right now, so for the time being you have it to yourself.” She waggled a finger at Lochlan in a good-natured way. “Now don’t you go sleeping in the other bed. I need that in case we have more patients.”
Lochlan crossed his heart and held up his hand. “I promise,” he said, looking entirely too earnest. “I’d never take something away from someone who’s ill.”
The matron nodded and jotted a few things down in the notepad on the table. She had me describe symptoms and a brief medical history, then finally put down her pen. “Very good. Oh, and how old are you, Gil?” She picked the pen back up.
“Thirteen, almost fourteen,” I told her with yet another groan. “I’m awful sorry about the mess. I really am.”
“Don’t you fret,” she said with a smile. “And here we are. You can see all the way down the road from your bed, and the sunrise looks beautiful in the morning. But if you want to sleep in, that’s fine too. Get some rest and we’ll have a doctor come to look at you soon.”
My stomach lurched unpleasantly. I couldnothave any doctor do an examination. There was no way I’d risk compromising my identity over a feigned stomachache, even if Lochlan wanted me to pretend. I might be able to fool Peter and Lochlan and Roderick, but a doctor would be able to tell that I was no thirteen-year-old boy, and the idea of a doctor making that discovery in front of Lochlan was enough to make heat rise to my cheeks and ears.
The matron plumped the pillows and handed me a basin. “Just in case your last meal comes back to visit again,” she said with a kind smile. “I’ll see you soon, all right?”
I nodded and hugged the basin close to my chest. “Okay.”
Lochlan sat down on the stool next to my bed as the matron closed the door. “Well done,” he murmured. “Now you just need to keep pretending to be sick and enjoy the show.”
Enjoy the show?
“What do you mean?”
Lochlan grinned wickedly. “If I told you, that would spoil the surprise.”
“I can’t stay too long,” I told him, glancing uneasily at the door where murmured voices still floated in from the hall. “I don’t like doctors.”
Lochlan gave me a look that was much too calculating. “Why’s that?”
I swallowed. “No reason. I just don’t. So if he comes in, I may pretend to be asleep and you have to get rid of him, okay?” I narrowed my eyes. “You owe me after I threw up. I still haven’t gotten any mint leaves.” Oh shoals, I had terrible breath. Would Lochlan notice?
“I promise,” Lochlan said.
When the doctor did come in, I feigned sleep and heard Lochlan whisper that I needed my rest and that I was starting to feel better but he didn’t want to wake me and thankfully, the doctor didn’t insist on waking me up. Once the doctor left, Lochlan started to doze on the stool, nodding off and leaning against the wall, but true to his word, he didn’t once lie down on the other bed.
Midnight fell. The doctor hadn’t come back and the matron peeked her head in a few times to check on me, but other than that, nothing at all happened. When Lochlan had said “enjoy the show,” I’d assumed that something would occur that I could see from my window. He must have meant watching the stars come out.
This was the most boring assignment in the entire world.
I found myself drifting off then jerking back awake, wondering how long I was supposed to continue my supposed illness. I could understand them not wanting to give a new team memberallthe details of their plan, but I felt like I was flying blind and I didn’t have any information. How was I supposed to help them when I was constantly kept in the dark?
An hour after dawn,Lochlan woke up and rubbed his eyes, then immediately jumped to his feet and ran to the window in a panic.
“Did I miss it?” he said, looking up and down the road outside the window.
“Miss what? You haven’t told me anything. And how long are we supposed to be here?” I hissed. “I’m not staying to let doctors poke and prod me, and I overheard him saying he’d check on me in the morning.”
“Relax, everything’s fine.” Lochlan looked at the sun’s position in the sky. “It’ll start any second now.”
“Whatwill start?”
