“Yes,” Hull replied.
“By yourself or your companion?”
Despite the dire circumstances, a curious and quiet euphoria bloomed beneath Ephraim’s breast-bone.No one had ever called him Hull’scompanionbefore.
“By my companion,” Hull told her, which only made Ephraim’s pulse flutter more.
Grytha turned to Ephraim.“What have you given him?”
“Laudanum.”Belatedly, Ephraim realised he’d do better to explain.“It’s?—”
“Opium extract?”Grytha supplied for him.
“Ah,” said Ephraim.“Yes.Precisely so.”
She took his solipsism with far more grace than he felt he deserved.“In what concentration, what quantity, how often, and how recently?”
Ephraim appreciated the exactitude of her accounting and answered her enquiries in kind.
Grytha absorbed this with a brisk nod.Then turned her full attention upon Hull.
Ephraim lacked the benefit of a medical education, but even so, he could draw certain conclusions from the title of “bone-setter.”Given the masterful bulk of the lady in question, he assumed her methods would have a great deal in common with those of a mortal in the same vocation.He reminded himself that what a layman might term brutality was absolute necessity in this case and braced accordingly.
However, when Grytha descended upon his Hull at last, rather than grasp him with brute force and twist him about, her hands alighted on his bruised flesh as lightly as Ephraim’s own, and while her enquiries to the invalid retained a certain military efficiency in their grammatical construction, her voice lowered and softened to something approaching gentleness.
Given this, Ephraim quickly determined he liked her.
“You’ve done well for him thus far,” Grytha said, raising her voice to speak to Ephraim rather than her patient.“The swelling is admirably contained.”
The direct address was almost as surprising as the reassurance.Ephraim demurred and thanked her.
“However,” she added, “we require leeches to drain the blood if I’m to set the bones properly.”
“Oh!”said Ephraim.
Before he could add that he hadn’t the least idea where one might find leeches at this hour in London but would certainly do all in his power to acquire them, Grytha had reached into her bag and withdrawn a jar full of the creatures in question.
Dr Hitchingham had used leeches in the very early days of his practise, but switched over to the modern medical marvel of the multiple-bladed scarificator as soon as he could afford it.(He had explained its form and function to Ephraim precisely once, over dinner, after which Ephraim had begged off hearing any more of the matter, and Dr Hitchingham, being a very dear friend indeed, had obliged him.) Still, Hull didn’t seem in any way put off by the prospect of leeches, so Ephraim raised no objections.Though he could not quite bring himself to watch as the wriggling wet shadows took hold of his dear Hull.
A few moments passed in silence save for the ticking of the mantel-clock.Contrary to his fears Ephraim could not actually hear the helpful little beasts drinking his beloved’s blood.This did, however, leave him without a hint as to when it might prove safe to watch Grytha work again.Only when he heard the soft plunk of, presumably, a leech returning to the jar did he dare to glance again.
The swelling had reduced considerably.Where once had appeared a superfluous joint was now just an errant nub.He tried not to see the scarlet drops trickling down his beloved’s slate-blue flesh.He beheld the merest glimpse of how fat the wriggling ink-blots had become before he had to turn his gaze away lest he become even more unhelpful than he felt at the present moment.
It was remarkable how smoothly, swiftly, and quietly Grytha put her little helpers away in their jar, placed the jar in her bag, and withdrew a leather belt.This last she folded over and held up to Hull’s face.
Without any further instruction required, Hull opened his mouth.She slipped the leather betwixt his jaws.He bit down.Hard.
At this moment, Ephraim arrived at the disquieting conclusion that Grytha’s methods would prove far more manual than magical.
“Now, Mr Grigsby,” she said, much to Ephraim’s surprise, “if you would be so kind as to hold him down.”
This command gave his heart a jolt of alarm.It went against all of his instincts; though rationally he understood that one must sometimes injure in order to heal—what was surgery, after all, if not a controlled wounding?—and had the leeches before him as example, their blood-sucking having relieved the painful swelling in Hull’s flesh and enabled the bone-setter to do her work—still, he had never in his life been looked to as an example of strength.Certainly no one had considered him made of the stuff required to overpower another man.And now, old as he was and mortal to Hull’s fae, there seemed no possibility his own paltry efforts could suffice.He glanced down at his Hull for guidance.
Hull returned his gaze with a tight-yet-encouraging smile.
Determination blossomed anew beneath Ephraim’s breast-bone.If Hull believed in him, required him,neededhim, he could do no less than rise to the challenge.He steeled his nerve and planted his palms on Hull’s shoulders.While the strength of his arm might not account for much, he knew he was certainly not a slender man, and perhaps the sheer weight of him would make up the lack.
“Just so,” said Grytha approvingly, surprising Ephraim again.
