Hunting for Silence by Robert Thier

Disorderly Orders

‘Ella!’

Was that my voice screaming? It sounded so distant. Like a stranger from a foreign land.

‘Out of the way! Let me check!’

Someone pushed past me. Who…? Of course. The doctor. He knelt by Ella’s side, feeling her pulse.

‘She’s alive! Help me get her onto the bed!’

Some part of me, the part that refused to faint when proper ladies should be out cold on the floor having smelling salts waved under their delicate noses, rushed forward and grabbed Ella’s feet. But most of me just watched, detached, as my body went through the motions.

‘Good! Now, on three. One, two…three!’

With the maid looking on anxiously from the doorway, we lifted Ella onto the bed. Was she breathing? Oh my God, please let her be breathing! Let her be alive!

‘Help me turn her onto her back. Good! Now give me that pillow over there. We have to get her legs up, improve the circulation.’

Without thinking, I followed the doctor’s instructions.

Thank God he’s here! Thank God I have someone capable who knows what to do!

‘Well done. Now, open her dress!’

My hands froze.

Scratch that! I got an old lecher!

Hands on hips I sent him a fiery glare. ‘Doctor! This is my sister! You can’t seriously think I would let—’

‘—me open the corset so she can breathe easier?’ he cut in. ‘Yes, I think that. In fact I think it would be a really good idea to do it right now.’

Oh.

Ears turning red, I started unbuttoning Ella’s dress. ‘Turn your back!’ I grumbled.

‘I’ve seen ladies in the nude before, Miss. It’s part of my job.’

‘Well, this lady damn well isn’t! Turn your back. And as for you,’ I shot at the maid who was still standing in the doorway, ‘be so kind as to close the door, will you?’

‘Oh. Of course, Miss. I’ll be outside if you need anything.’

‘Thank you.’

I looked at the doctor, my eyes determined. Sighing, he turned around.

‘Hands over your eyes. Now!’

‘Miss Linton, I really don’t think—’

‘Hands over your eyes, or I’m fetching the big fellow with the beard and sabre!’

Instantly, the doctor put his hand over his eyes. The moment I was sure he could see nothing, I started to open Ella’s dress. It wasn’t as if I didn’t believe him when he said he was a professional. It was simply that I knew my little sister. And I knew the silly, lovable little goose would die of shame if she knew some stranger had seen her like this.

‘And I’m not going to go to all this trouble saving your life just to have you keel over dead afterwards,’ I told the unconscious Ella sternly. ‘Do you hear? You’re going to survive! Survive, dammit!’

All I got in response was silence. And not the comforting kind I was used to.

Quicker than I’d ever managed to do it with my own, I unlaced and removed her corset. After I buttoned her dress back up, I tapped the doctor on the shoulder.

‘She’s ready. You can turn around.’

Instantly, he went to work. From a corner of the room, I watched as he pulled various instruments from his bag and started to examine Ella. He listened at her chest with some strange kind of tube, lifted one eyelid to shine a candle in her eyes and did various other things that, in my opinion, had about as much medical value as wiggling your toes. But it must have told him something, because, he rose with a contented sigh and nodded.[49]

‘I don’t think the fall was caused directly by her illness or did any lasting damage. She probably just fainted from exhaustion because of a lack of sleep and that infernal corset. Those things should be outlawed!’

‘I’m with you on that. But let’s postpone the political rally till tomorrow, shall we? Right now, I want to know what is wrong with my little sister. Please.’

The doctor’s face darkened. ‘I have my suspicions. But I need to talk with the patient first. To ask her a few questions. Could you ask the maid to bring us some smelling salts?’

‘Coming, Miss!’ came a voice from outside the door, followed by receding footsteps.

How nice.

The helpful eavesdropper was back two minutes later, face flushed and a little lilac bottle clutched in her hand. Taking it, I handed to the doctor who stepped up beside Ella’s bed and bent over her.

‘Would you come here, Miss? Stand like this. I think it’s best if she sees a familiar face when she wakes up. I wouldn’t want to alarm her.’

‘Of course.’

Quickly, I took up a position at the head of the bed. The doctor uncorked the little bottle, and immediately, a strong scent pervaded her room. He waved the bottle under Ella’s nose, and she twitched, letting out a pitiful little moan.

‘What…how…’

Her eyes fluttered open—and widened, when she caught sight of the strange man leaning over her.

‘Who are you? What are you doing here? I—?’

Feebly, she tried to pull away. I grasped her shoulder, holding her in place and leant over her.

‘Shh. Everything is all right, Ella. This is Doctor Ross. I called him to have a look at you. When we came up we found you lying on the floor.’

‘On the floor…? I don’t remember…’

‘You were unconscious.’

I saw the flicker of fear in her eyes, and pulled her against me. ‘It’s going to be all right, Ella. Everything is going to be all right. Doctor Ross will take care of you.’

She hesitated—then nodded. Gently, I let go and let her sink back onto the pillow.

‘Emanuel Ross, MD.’ Doctor Ross made a curt bow. ‘May I ask your name, Miss?’

‘E-Ella. Ella Linton.’

‘A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Linton, even in these disagreeable circumstances. Do you feel well enough to answer a couple of questions? There are some things about your condition I must know before I can make my diagnosis.’

Again, that flicker of fear flashed in Ella’s eyes. She clearly wasn’t too eager to find out what was wrong with her. But while she had always been a little timid, a coward she was not. Raising her chin, she nodded. ‘Go ahead, doctor. Ask all you need.’

The nosy side of me – the one that took up ninety per cent of the available surface – wanted to join the maid outside the door and listen. It wasn’t as if this would be the first time I listened in on my little sister. But somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Not here. Not now. Not when she might have to bare things that she wouldn’t want anyone, not even me, to know about. So I left the room and shooed the maid away with orders to prepare a good, hot, strong broth for Ella. Let the doctor do his doctoring. I’d help in any other way I could.

Anxiously, I paced up and down in front of the door. From inside, I heard nothing but low murmurs. Again and again, I was tempted to press my ear against the door and find out what the heck was happening—but I resisted. Somehow. Miraculously. The wait dragged on endlessly. I felt as if I had already worn grooves into floor from all my marching up and down—and yet, it couldn’t have been more than ten minutes since I left them alone. It felt like ages.

What’s taking them so long? What’s bloody happening in there? What’s wrong with her?

Finally, the murmurs stopped. A moment later, the door opened and the doctor stepped out, a serious expression on his face.

‘And?’ I demanded. ‘What is it?’

‘Under normal circumstances,’ the doctor told me, ‘my Hippocratic oath would forbid me from sharing that information with you. But since you are the main caregiver and have a hulking giant with a big sabre at your command who would cut my head off if you told him to, I think I will make an exception in this case.’

Well, well. What a wise man.

‘I’m not a hundred percent certain yet what your sister’s sickness is. It may just be a stomach bug. The symptoms would fit. It could all be over soon.’

His words didn’t make me feel any better. His face was still as grim as death.

‘Could?’ I demanded, picking up on the key word. ‘What do you mean, could? What else could it be?’

The doctor hesitated.

Please don’t let him say it! Please!

‘What else? Tell me!’

His face hard, he met my eyes. ‘Cholera.’

The word nearly knocked my legs out from under me.

‘Y-you’re not serious.’

‘I’m afraid I am. But at the present moment, it is only a possibility. I might be wrong in my suspicions.’

‘Might?’ Disregarding every rule of proper manners Aunt Brank had ever drilled into my head, I grabbed him by the lapels. ‘What do you mean, might? How likely is it? Tell me!’

He didn’t answer. Gently freeing himself from my hold, he pulled a card out of his tailcoat pocket and handed it to me.

‘Call me if she begins to exhibit symptoms of diarrhoea.’

I grabbed the card.

‘And then? What should I do then?’

He looked at me with so much kindness in his old eyes that it was almost too hard to bear. ‘Pray.’

And with that, he turned and strode down the corridor.

*~*~**~*~*

I didn’t take the doctor’s suggestion. Ella was the praying type. I, on the other hand, had always taken a more practical approach. So, instead of appealing to the almighty, I force-fed my little sister chicken soup and held her head while she threw most of it up again. I made her drink warm tea and washed the sweat from her face with damp linens. The hours dragged on and on.

A knock came from the door.

‘Yes?’

Karim stuck his turban through the door. His head followed a moment later.

‘The kitchen staff tells me they’re about to serve lunch. Do you wish to come down and—’

‘No.’

‘I would watch over her while you ate and—’

‘No.’

Karim looked distinctly uncomfortable. ‘I, um…was instructed to ensure that you ate and rested sufficiently.’

‘I see. And did the person who instructed you perchance wear a ten-year-old mint-condition tailcoat?’

‘They did.’

I considered for a moment—then smiled. ‘But he also instructed you to follow all my orders, didn’t he?’

‘Yes…?’

‘Very well then. I order you to disregard his orders. All of them. Past, present and future.’

This left the poor man looking distinctly discombobulated. If I hadn’t been so hellishly scared for Ella, the constipated expression on his face might have made me laugh. When he looked as if steam was about to come from under his turban, I finally took pity on him.

‘If you have one of the maids bring me something up, will that satisfy our mutual acquaintance? I just…’ I glanced over at Ella. ‘I can’t leave her. Not now.’

Mine and Karim’s eyes met and there was a rare moment of understanding between the two of us. He nodded.

‘Family comes first. I shall have them bring something up immediately.’

Ten minutes later, I had a lavish meal in front of me, that had probably taken ten people to prepare and would take another ten to eat. A faint smile played around the corner of my mouth. The hotel manager apparently was taking his instructions to take care of me very seriously. Not surprising, considering from whom those instructions had come.

You’re not alone Lilly. He’s here. He cares.

The thought was almost enough to give me hope. Plus – so far, Ella hadn’t shown a single symptom of diarrhoea. Her vomiting had even gone down a little, and she’d been able to eat some more broth. If things just stayed like that, if nothing went wrong—

‘Lill!’

My head snapped up, away from the food. Ella had a panicked expression on her face and was trying to get out of bed. Just the effort to stand made her tremble.

‘What are you doing? Lie back down!’

‘I can’t! I’ve got to—’

Her eyes strayed towards the toilette. Eyes in which fear shone bright.

No. No, please no.

‘I…I…oh!’

Ella convulsed. A moment later, a dark stain began to spread across her bed.