Page 63 of Mail-Order Lady

Robert’s pulse kicked. He dropped his hand from Clara’s waist and moved toward the door. “What happened?”

James was already halfway across the yard. “Nathan!”

CHAPTER 19

The sight of Nathan gripping the fence post with both hands twisted Clara’s insides even more as she ran.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

She quickened her pace, pushing faster than Bea and Rose, who ran with her. The brothers stood in a loose circle around Nathan—Enoch a few steps back, Robert and James moving to Nathan’s side.

Nathan’s lips looked bright red against his pale, splotchy skin. Sweat beaded across his forehead and temples, catching the afternoon light. His chest heaved with each breath, like drawing air took more effort than it should.

“Get him inside.” Bea’s voice came from behind her, a bit out of breath. “The room beside Clara’s.”

Robert glanced up at Bea, then gripped Nathan’s arm and swung it around his own neck. James took the other side, and the two of them turned the ill man toward the house.

Now that she could see him from the front, he looked even worse. His eyes had turned glassy, with red veining through the whites. His shirt was soaked through, clinging across his middle. Even with both brothers supporting him, his steps weaved in an unsteady pattern.

Her body remembered too well how he must be feeling. The burning fever that made the skin feel like it might crack open from the heat. Scarlet fever had turned her into nothing but fire and pain for weeks. Was that what he suffered from? She should have thought of it from the first sight of him.

She hurried forward to catch up with them. “Wait. It could be scarlet fever.”

Robert slowed, and James jerked his head toward her. They both looked at Nathan, who still sagged between them, his weight pulling harder on Robert’s shoulder now.

“James shouldn’t be so close. He could catch it.” The family had taken so many precautions during her sickness. The doctor had required it. Only she and Robert were immune to the disease now.

Nathan’s head lifted, and those glassy eyes fixed on her. His mouth opened, but it took him two tries before sound came out. “Not...scarlet fever.” Each word seemed impossibly hard.

“What then?” Was this a sickness he’d arrived with?

“Malaria.” The word came out thick, slurred at the edges. “I need…my pack.”

Malaria. Was that…? She’d heard of it, but the details were blurry. Maybe something sailors contracted?

They needed the doctor back. He’d just left. She turned for Enoch. “The doctor just rode off.”

Robert and James moved forward with Nathan again, almost to the porch steps. Enoch strode past her to catch up with them. “I’ll send Thomas.”

Thomas was inside with Kate. Why couldn’t Enoch go? She would go herself, except she’d never saddled one of the horses. Figuring that out would take longer than convincing one of the men to ride out.

How long had it been since Dr. Morrison left? A quarter hour, maybe. Or a little longer. He wouldn’t be far, but beyond calling distance.

At least she could get Nathan’s pack. If he had medicine that would help, the sooner he took it, the better.

She turned and sprinted for the barn.

When she slipped inside, she had to slow for her eyes to adjust to the dimmer space. The earthy smells filled her nose as she scanned the interior.

There. Against the storage room wall. His mattress tick with a blanket folded neatly on top. Beside it, a leather pack that looked like it had seen many miles. She grabbed the satchel, but it was heavier than she would have thought. She braced herself and looped the strap over her neck, then hurried back toward the house.

Once she stepped into the main room, voices carried from upstairs. Then the creak of floorboards. Someone moved quickly across the upper hall.

She climbed the stairs as fast as the pack would allow, gripping the banister all the way up. At the landing, she turned right, toward her own bed chamber. The two empty rooms lay just past hers.

The door to the first stood open, and Bea’s voice drifted out. “Lay him back. Careful now.”

Clara moved to the doorway.