Aether Spirit (8 page)

“Girly hair song?”

Bryce raised his good hand to his hair, which curled around his fingers, and sang softly in a high-pitched, sing-songy voice like a child’s, “Brycie curls, Brycie curls, he’s got hair, just like a girl’s!” He dropped his voice into its usual register. “I always hated it, but even though her brother would join in, Cousin Claire never did.”

Chad remembered Claire’s brother Aidan. He’d always been distant but polite. Perhaps if Chad reached out to him, he’d get more information… But no. He had no doubt Eliza had Aidan in her power like she did Bryce. She could know someone’s weak spot within two seconds of meeting them. It seemed to annoy her that she couldn’t make Chad feel inferior. He couldn’t be angry at Aidan, though. He had arrived on the accident scene first and had helped them find Claire where she’d been thrown.

“Then I’m going to ask you to consider helping me to help her. I want her to be restored to her former wholeness, at least as much as possible. I can’t say whether she’ll remember you or not, or if it will be painful for her to do so, so please try to stay away from her. She’s going to be doing some work here once she’s feeling better.”

“What? What happened?”

“She got a reminder from the past that was too much for her.”

“What?” Now Bryce didn’t catch himself until his fingers curled too close to his arm for Chad’s comfort.

“Someone said her given name. If you see her, call her Doctor McPhee, but please just try to stay away from her.”

“You can’t make me. It won’t hurt her to see me. I’m her cousin.”

“You’re right, I can’t make you.”
I can’t make anyone do any damn thing, not even myself.
“But I can only caution you. Go slowly. And whatever you do, don’t mention to her that she and I were once a couple or that her father is dead. Melanie and your mother have kept that from her, and I can see why after talking to her. Someone installed a block around her being related to a tinkerer in Boston.”

Bryce nodded. “I’ll be careful. And thanks for helping my arm.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll have the nurses put another poultice on it tonight, but in the meantime, let the wound breathe.”

“And I’ll try to stay away from Claire, but it would be nice…” He trailed off, and Chad saw tears in the boy’s eyes for the first time, even since the wound that had led to the infection in the first place.

“Thank you. I promise, I’ll let you know when it’s safe for you to speak to her.”

“Yes, sir.”

Bryce left, and Chad sat back and ran a hand over his face. How on earth did he end up being so unfortunate that both Bryce and Clair landed at his fort? He sat up.

What are the chances that we would all end up here? There are certainly enough places along the border…

He would have to do some investigating to see exactly how they had all come to be there. Meanwhile, he had other young men to patch up.

His next patient knocked on the door of the examining room, and he called out, “Enter!”

* * * * *

Claire opened her eyes to the waning light of the day. After the first dream of the accident, she’d been bothered by fragments of memories. The headache had subsided to a dull ache, and she groped for her glasses, relieved to find them nearby on a nightstand. They didn’t give much of a clue to her surroundings once she could see. She wasn’t in her room in the general’s house, but she wasn’t at Distillery Hospital, either.

She closed her eyes against a wave of disorientation. It reminded her of what happened when she had first come aware in Paris, but at least this time she wasn’t the star of the stage in a medical observation theatre. And her memories were no less intact than previously. She knew better than to chase the memory of what had put her in a sleep state. Whatever it was, it was probably best avoided lest she black out again.

“Ah, you’re awake, then.” A nurse entered the room.

Although Claire sensed no malice, she drew away from the woman, one of the ones who had waited with Nanette on Wednesday evening for their dinner escorts. She had some sort of English accent.

“Don’t worry, Doctor, I won’t hurt you. I didn’t know who you were when I first saw you. I’m Lillian, one of the nurses here at the women’s hospital.”

“So now you know I’m a doctor, you’re going to be nice to me?” Claire wrinkled her nose.
I’ve no use for people who aren’t generally respectful of others.

Lillian shrugged. “You can choose what to believe about me, but I meant no offense the other night. Now let’s take your temperature before you heat yourself up with your redheaded temper.”

I don’t really have one.
But rather than argue, which she didn’t have the energy for, Claire allowed Lillian to help her to a sitting position. She opened her mouth, and the nurse placed a thermometer under her tongue. Claire watched as Lillian walked around the room and lit the two oil lamps, one on the table beside her and one on a dresser across the room. They plus the golden light from the setting sun gave the room a warm glow, but Claire didn’t relax until Lillian took the thermometer and pronounced her temperature normal.

“Doctor Perkins will be by later to give you a listen and make sure you’re good to go back to your room at the general’s house. Doctor Radcliffe’s orders are for you to take it easy through tomorrow.”

Ugh on both counts. What must Radcliffe think of me? Did I faint in his office?
“I’d rather Doctor Radcliffe see to me.”

“You and the rest of the base, dearie. I won’t let you be in here alone with him, don’t worry. We women have our reputation to keep, although the rules are more relaxed here. If you go into town, though, be sure you have an escort.”

Claire wasn’t sure what to make of this unsolicited advice, but her rumbling stomach replied before she could.

“Oh, you missed lunch, didn’t you? Hang here a trice, and I’ll be back with some soup.”

Lillian disappeared, and Claire sat back to watch the shadows outside change. Her pocket watch said it was a little after five when Lillian returned with a tray, on which there was a bowl of soup, a piece of bread, and a glass of juice.

“Thank you,” Claire said. “It smells wonderful.”

Lillian placed the tray on Claire’s lap and pressed a button on the side. Little wooden legs lowered so the tray stayed even and didn’t warm Claire’s lap too much.

“Clever,” Claire said.

“Sometimes our boys in tinkering actually make something useful. Do you have everything you need?”

Claire nodded, and Lillian turned to leave, but something she’d said made Claire say, “Wait.”

“Yes?”

“Are you familiar with the tinkerers? I mean, do you talk to them regularly, know what they’re working on?”

“Why, do you need something?”

Claire thought to the glowing thing in the glass globe that O’Connell had thrown a sheet over. “No, I was just curious.” Her vision fogged, and she heard her voice as though she stood on the other side of an echoing tunnel once. “I knew a tinkerer once. In Boston, I think.” She blinked the strange film away. Lillian studied her with a frown.

“I don’t know that any of them except that Irishman have ever been to Boston,” the nurse told her. “And whatever he’s working on is some sort of big secret. No one is close enough to him to find out what except Doctor Radcliffe, and he’s certainly not telling.”

“I see. Well, thank you.”

“I’ll check on you in a bit, dearie.”

Claire picked up the spoon and tried some of the soup. Like that morning’s breakfast, it tasted very salty to her, but not overly so. Her mother and aunt had treated her like an invalid, which meant a bland diet, so she supposed she just wasn’t accustomed to normal food. She hoped that would change.

Meanwhile, she wanted to know what Patrick O’Connell worked on. Something about the strange device in the workshop fascinated her. Things like that often did and filled her with a wistfulness, but for what, she didn’t know. Her intuition told her she would find out, though, if she pursued knowledge of the Irishman’s secret. It would probably be safer than going after her own.

Chapter Eight

Distillery Hospital, 24 February 1871

Chad ran into Perkins as he was leaving. The smug smirk on Perkins’s face made Chad pause. He swallowed his pride—apologizing to the ass would be best for the hospital, and he’d need Perkins’s cooperation once Claire started working with the boys. If being too near Chad made her ill, she’d have to work with Perkins.

“About yesterday,” Chad said and held out a hand, “I’m sorry. I lost my head, and I shouldn’t have.”

Perkins nodded and took Chad’s hand for a limp shake. “Apology accepted.”

“Just to let you know, though, Doctor McPhee is going to be working with us, and I expect everyone, including myself, to maintain a professional air about it.”

Perkins raised his eyebrows, which echoed the curve of his glasses. “I’d heard a neuroticist was coming. That’s her?”

Chad tried to erase the comparison to a fish opening and closing its mouth without anything useful coming out. “Yes, I got the telegram from the general today. It was held up at the post for a week.”

“Typical,” Perkins said with a sigh. “It’s a good thing we don’t need those messages in a timely manner. It’s not like we’re at war or anything.”

“True.” Chad appreciated the other doctor’s attempt at humor. Things would always be tense around him, but he could at least try to be civil.

They walked out into the dusk, but Perkins didn’t turn toward the dining hall.

“Aren’t you going to have dinner?” Chad asked.

“Yes, but I have to check on your girl first. Apparently she had some sort of fit today?”

Chad sighed.
Great, just when I thought we’d reached a peaceful point.
“Yes, I’ll come with you.”

“It’s quite all right. I’ll be a gentleman, don’t worry.” Perkins lengthened his stride. His legs were longer, so Chad had to jog to keep up with him.

“I admitted her, so I’d like to see how she’s doing,” Chad said. They reached the women’s ward, a converted house, at the same time.

Perkins opened the door and went through. Chad had to catch it before it slammed in his face. What was Perkins’s problem? Well, beyond that they were both coming to see the reason Chad had shoved him and ruined his second best suit. Perkins was an army doctor—he couldn’t afford to be a peacock in any sense.

While Perkins checked the book and talked to the nurse, Chad went up the stairs to Clair’s room. She sat in the bed and braided her long copper penny-colored hair, which was even redder in the gentle light coming from the lamps. A book lay open on her lap, and her lips moved as she read. He caught his breath at finding her in such a personal moment. He’d only seen her with her hair down a few times, when they’d managed to sneak away from her parents and steal a few kisses. He hadn’t been able to keep his hands out of it, and they’d laughed as they tried to find all the pins. Now he couldn’t move, only watch her slender gloved fingers tame the red-gold strands into the braid. Thankfully she was fully dressed. Otherwise there was no way he’d let Perkins near her.

“Ah, there you are,” Perkins said. He approached with the nurse Lillian at his heels.

“Hello, Doctor Radcliffe,” she said.

Claire looked up, her eyes wide behind her glasses. Then she schooled her expression into a smile. Was she happy to see him? Or was he allowing himself foolish hope?

“Well, hello, Doctors. Are you here to release me from this gilded cage?” With swift movements, she finished the braid and pinned it up into a bun at the back of her head. Chad felt like he’d been spying on her and stepped aside to let Perkins into the room. Claire watched him warily. Perkins listened to her heart and lungs and pronounced her fit.

“Just try to avoid whatever landed you here,” he said and stepped back. Chad relaxed the death grip he had on the door frame and flexed his fingers.

“That might be tough, but I’ll do my best.” Claire met Chad’s eyes with a little grin. It was the same look she’d given him back when they shared their love with its secrets and inside jokes.

Chad couldn’t smile back lest he trigger her memory of those moments, so he scowled. She looked away, a blush coming to her cheeks and neck.

“Then if we’re done here, she can go back to the general’s house. She needs to eat, and I trust Mrs. Soper to feed her better than the mess hall cooks.”

Perkins nodded and looked from Claire to Chad. He put his stethoscope in one pocket and walked out of the room without saying another word. Chad wondered what he was thinking but didn’t ask. He was sure he’d find out soon enough.

“Excuse me, Doctor?” The nurse made a shooing motion with her hands. “I’m going to help Doctor McPhee get ready to leave. Would you mind stepping fully out so I can close the door?”

Chad wasn’t sure what else needed to be done, but he complied. The click of the door closing squashed his heart. There would always be a barrier between them, at least unless he could figure out the Eros device.

* * * * *

As Lillian helped Claire with her boots, Claire pondered the strange visit from the doctors. What was Radcliffe’s problem? First he’d given off tender, caring emotions, and then they turned cold with an edge of frustration. As for Perkins, he was the typical male creature, but at least he had a screen of professionalism over his inappropriate feelings toward her.

As for how he felt toward Radcliffe, Claire needed to figure that one out. There was contempt, definitely, but also envy and something else she couldn’t tease out.

“Will you be all right walking to the General’s House, Doctor?” Lillian asked. The aroma of some sort of fish wafted from what Claire assumed was the direction of the mess hall. The odor turned Claire’s stomach, but Lillian sniffed the air and licked her lips. “Smells like the fishing expedition got back.”

“You go right ahead,” Claire said. She hoped Mrs. Soper would have something light, or at least not fishy, for her. “I’ll be fine. Just point me in the right direction, please.”

“Oh, it’s on the other side of the center of the base. Just stay on this road and you’ll see it on the right once you get to the middle of the square.”