“In my heart I know what the correct decision is,” Elaine said with new tears in her eyes,“but it just so frightening. Seeing my daughter lying prostrate like that almost tore my heart out of my chest. However,” Elaine pulled herself up to full height and got a determined look in her eye that her husband had seen many times before,“I will not allow my fear to overrule what I know will give our Lizzy the best chance at a full recovery, I agree Reggie, we will allow Mr Finch to try and give us our girl back in her full whirlwind condition!”
Finch was called back in, and the decision was conveyed to him.“So that there is no chance that she will awaken during the procedure, I will administer a few drops of laudanum to her. As she is petite, that is all that will be needed to keep her asleep for a number of hours. I thank you for your confidence in me and I will do everything in my power to help make sure that your daughter will have no physical impediments.”
With wishes of Godspeed, Finch left the parlour and returned to the sickroom where he was joined by Mr Harrison to assist him as needed. The older man was set in the old ways, but he had heard particularly good things about Finch and would do anything that he was asked to for the success of the upcoming surgery. Finch measured five drops of laudanum and used an invalid feeder to make sure that they were ingested. He waited a few minutes to make sure that the drug would take effect and then he picked up his first implement and began.
Chapter2
“Pick him up!” Mrs Fitzpatrick instructed. She had just struck George Wickham hard with her walking stick, causing him to fall to the floor of the barn.“Do you have any idea what you have caused with your impetuous action?”
“What has what I did got any…” He did not finish his sentence as a fist crashed into his stomach. He would have fallen again had the two footmen not being holding him up.
“You have destroyed my plans!” she exclaimed close enough to George’s face that he felt her spittle on his person.“Even if you killed the foundling, they will be on their guard now, for years!” In her anger, she hit him on the shoulder with the head of her walking stick and he howled with pain.“I should have my men kill you and dispose of your useless body.”
George Wickham soiled himself thinking that his life was forfeit.“Please your Ladyshi…” He received another blow from her walking stick for his trouble.
“Never call me that!” she hissed.“I am Mrs Fitzpatrick, do I make myself clear?” He nodded, afraid that if he opened his mouth to speak it would be closed by another blow from one of his three tormentors. The lady circled him a few times and then made a decision.“I need a houseboy and you look like you could be useful to me at some point. You will not receive pay; your pay is your life, your board, and lodging.”
“But…” Wickham closed his mouth as he saw her raise her walking stick again.
“You will not be able to show yourself in society for an awfully long time, and then, if you do, it will be in disguise. That foundling was loved by the Queen for some reason and her family will not rest until you are dancing at the end of the hangman’s noose,” she told him as he turned white and his knees weakened, though not from being hit.“If you ever disobey me, your body will be dropped somewhere where they will find it and stop searching. Do you understand?” Knowing that at least for now he had no choice, George, bloody and in pain, nodded his acquiescence.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
It seemed like an eternity, but it was a little less than three hours later that Finch exited the sickroom, still in his apron. Both Ladies Elaine and Anne blanched at the sight of blood on his apparel. The surgeon realised that he was still wearing his apron and quickly retreated and returnedsansapron.
“Her arm had two breaks, one in her upper arm, and the more complicated one was the break in the two bones below the elbow. Her leg had three breaks, one above the knee and two below.” There were gasps from more than just the ladies when the little girl’s injuries were enumerated.
“How is our girl doing?” her mother asked afraid that the news would not be positive.
“She is still under the influence of the laudanum and thankfully remained unconscious for the whole of the operation. I believe that I have aligned her bones as they should be. However, now the greater danger will be infection. Unlike many of my colleagues, I believe that cleanliness when treating patients is critical to a positive outcome. We will know soon enough if a fever takes hold; if one does, as long as it is not too high, she should survive it.” Finch left his statement hanging in the air, clearly implying how deadly a high fever could be.“She is already weak from her ordeal, so a fever would be that much more dangerous for her.” He did not sugar-coat the news for them.
“When do you think that she will start to wake?” Reggie asked.
“It could be anywhere from a few hours to a few days. The body will sometimes keep itself in an unconscious state when there has been trauma of the type Lady Elizabeth has suffered. Her wounds are all stitched, but there will be scaring on her arm and leg; there is no helping that. I have put sturdy splits on both her arm and leg,” Finch imparted,“It is imperative,” he continued,“that her ladyship’s leg and arm are kept from moving at all for the next fortnight at the very least. That is the period that I estimate that it will take for the bones to start to heal.”
“Only two weeks?” William asked in his naïveté.
“That, Master Darcy, is only the beginning; it will be many months before she is back on her feet, if ever,” Finch added.” He did not want to excite unrealistic expectations. Elaine started to cry silently at the possibility of Lizzy never walking again.“Either I or Mr Harrison will be present for the next sennight; after that one of us will visit once or twice a day, or more as needed.”
“When will we know if the operation succeeded?” George asked the question on all of their lips.
“To my chagrin, that will not be known for many months. There is one thing I would like to advise, if you will hear me?” All four adults nodded simultaneously.“If Mr Harrison recommends bleeding or purging for any reason, I urge you to refuse. There is a school of thought that I ascribe to, which believes those actions weaken and harm the patient and do not help at all.”
As they had trusted Mr Finch to this point, they decided that they would keep doing so.“We will not allow her to be bled or purged,” Reggie promised solemnly.
“You will find that the new generation of physicians, like Ben, Mr Harrison’s son who will take over from his father, are rejecting the practices of old and are looking more for the causes of the illnesses to treat.”
“We cannot thank you enough for trying to give our Lizzy her mobility back,” a grateful and somewhat hopeful mother intoned. Finch inclined his head to the Countess and then excused himself and returned to the sick room.
“You do know, do you not Elaine,” Reggie almost grinned, the first time he had come close since his daughter had been attacked,“how hard it will be to keep our daughter still once she is awake? We all know how bad a patient she turned out to be the one time she was confined to bed, and that was for a trifling cold, as she put it.”
“I remember, father,” Andrew added, feeling more light-hearted than he had before Finch made his report as there was some hope even if Lizzy was not out of danger yet.“We practically had to tie her down to keep her in bed, and she was not yet five.”
“You did not know how to convince her,” Richard boasted smugly,“I simply told her that if she did not get well that she would be too sick to read and discuss books with Will and she reluctantly cooperated.”
“I have a feeling that it will be a while before she is able to chafe against the restrictions that she will have to live with until she is well,” Anne offered quietly.“I must go and tell Anne and Georgie the news.” Lady Anne made her way up to the nursery.
She found two girls with their worry showing clearly, and tear stains streaking their cheeks. Alex was more subdued than his normal exuberant self, as if he sensed there was something wrong but could not grasp what it was.
