Miss Helena looked shocked.
“No, no, no, Dr Frederick, what engagement?”
Dr Frederick was about to expatiate when she spoke again.
“Jeffrey’s words are to promote quandary for his own end. There is no truth in them. He has not asked for my hand in marriage, talk less of telling my parents,” Helena replied.
Her voice shook. And she didn’t meet his gaze. Dr Frederick placed his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up so her eyes could meet his, but she only hugged him closer.
“But if –”
“No, ifs Frederick, just kiss me.”
Dr Frederick obliged, bending low to meet her mouth and failing to hold in the moan that escaped from his throat. He bent and dipped his face in the softness of her bust, revelling in the sweet tingling sensation of his face. He took one hand low, raising it up her naked thighs till his hand got to her butt cheek. Dr Frederick swiped his fingers slowly through them till he got to the sleek slit at the base. Miss Helena gasped and held his hand there, closing her thighs tight around his hand. Dr Frederick smiled and wiggled his fingers, rubbing the insides of her vulva with his calloused fingers. Miss Helena’s breath became a staccato of gasps.
“Helena, Helena.”
They froze. That was Lord Jeffrey’s voice. He was calling to her from the room with the long table, Dr Frederick guessed. They said nothing, holding their breaths to assure dead silence. The room was almost dark now; the sun had almost gone down completely.
“Go and check the other rooms. She’s around. When you find her, tell her I’ve been looking for her,” Lord Jeffrey said.
“Yes, Lord Jeffrey,” two voices answered.
The sound of feet moving away was a balm to Dr Frederick’s frayed nerves. They waited till they heard the door slam and a few extra moments for good measure before Miss Helena spoke.
“I think you need to meet him, Miss Helena. I will pay a visit soon,” Dr Frederick said.
“I know. Call me Helena. We are more than just acquaintances,” she said before kissing him once more on his lips then walking out of the room.
Dr Frederick waited a short while before moving a muscle. He walked slowly out of the room, minding that the reduced visibility might hide potentially painful obstructions on the way.
“Helena,” he said, as he closed the room’s door behind him.
He was leaving. There was nothing more for him in the ball. He wished she hadn’t cut him short.
“But if he asks you to marry him, what would be your response?” was what he had intended saying when she placed her finger on his lips.
Dr Frederick didn’t think about the possible answer. It just might be too painful and spoil what had turned out to be a great evening.
*******
Dr Frederick rode at a slow pace. He wanted time to himself so he could methodically go through everything that happened that evening, so he could cherish the few stolen moments they shared.
Damn, Lord Jeffrey for stopping us.
Dr Frederick heard the wheels of a carriage, running fast and making quite a ruckus as it came closer. Dr Frederick moved to the edge of the road. It was almost complete darkness and the driver might not have the best eyesight. There were no awards for bravery for being the horse rider in a collision between a horse and a speeding carriage. The carriage ran closer till it got to him then strangely, it slowed down.
Dr Frederick thought nothing of it at first. He tried to return to his musings, but when it became too obvious that the carriage had been running up to meet him and was now matching his pace, Dr Frederick became concerned. He rode closer to the carriage, furtively attempting to glance into the window. The carriage stopped, suddenly. Dr Frederick halted his horse.
“Come in,” the voice said from inside.
Dr Frederick almost swore out loud. It was Lord Jeffrey. He couldn’t mistake that voice for any other.
What does he want this time?
Dr Frederick alighted and got into the now open carriage door. He saw very little. There was a small lamp at the middle of the cabin that seemed to cast shadows, instead of illuminate. Dr Frederick saw Lord Jeffrey’s form, but he could not make out his face. He cast away thoughts of how dark his eyes would be now.
A man whose eyes are dark in the light of day, they would be terrifying to see now.
“Lord Jeffrey, it is a bit late for discussions about Miss Helena, don’t you think?” Dr Frederick said.
“Why do you assume I followed you to talk about her?”
Dr Frederick remembered the Duke’s frail health and shook his head. Lord Jeffrey had never truly seemed concerned about his father.
“We have little else to talk about,” Dr Frederick replied.
There was no reply from Lord Jeffery for a short while before he spoke again. His voice sliced through the cool cabin air, solemn but filled with the promise of swift action.
“You were at the party, at Mr Ontario’s house.”
Dr Frederick remembered that it was the name on the invitation.
“Yes, that’s where I’m coming from.”
“Did you see Helena?”
Dr Frederick thought about his answer. Lord Jeffrey would have asked her where she was when he was looking for her.
“I saw her, but we only greeted from afar. I wasn’t in the mood for too much chit-chat.”
Dr Frederick could not see his reaction, but he doubted the Duke’s son believed him.
“We have decided to delay the wedding. We want to settle a few niggling issues,” Lord Jeffrey said.
Dr Frederick almost smiled but for fear that Lord Jeffrey could somehow see his face. He chose to say nothing in reply.
“I know how the two of you are,” Lord Jeffrey said.
Dr Frederick’s heart stuttered, or it felt like it did. He dropped his gaze to the floor regardless of the fact that he was sure Lord Jeffrey couldn’t see his guilty eyes in the darkness of the cabin.
“I know how you’ve helped her, treating her foot. How it made two of you close,” Lord Jeffrey continued.
Dr Frederick’s heart beat more easily. The second statement wasn’t one that made him feel safer, but it was less damning than the first.
“I am willing to offer you a gift,” Lord Jeffrey said, pushing a small parcel along the ground till it got to Dr Frederick, “Gold worth ten thousand pounds. I want you to help support us as we prepare for our marriage. You could use it to boost your research too. You could breed those animals on your own instead of smuggling them from the animal centre, and the cadavers, money allows you more access. There is more where this came from. My father is still the second richest man in England. All I need you to do is to confirm our friendship, you and I, by supporting my marriage to Helena.”
Dr Frederick steadied his racing breath. He could hear the beat of his hear in his ears, and there was a rumbling sound behind his ears.
“How do you know about–?”
“Do not bother about that. Money opens a lot of mouths, you know. You weren’t a friend of mine so I did my research on you. Now I want you to be a friend.”
Dr Frederick swallowed, but the clog in his throat didn’t budge. Lord Jeffrey was the most devious person he had ever seen. He could take the money and make the unspoken threats go away.
That’s exactly why I cannot take his money. I become a pawn in his game.
“I cannot take this,” Dr Frederick managed to say, pushing the bag back with his foot.
“I have never failed in a quest to get any woman, anything of my choice. You are about to stand between me and my woman. I will move you aside, with your will or by force,” Lord Jeffrey said.
“Take it,” he said, pushing the bag back to him.
“No,” Dr Frederick answered, with far more resolve than he had before.
There was a sudden movement, a flicker of the lamp’s flame, and Dr Frederick found his arm in Lord Jeffrey’s tight grip.
“I will take away everything you have, your life’s work,” Lord
Jeffrey snapped.
“Unhand me; I had warned you about this,” Dr Frederick said, attempting to draw his hand away but finding Lord Jeffrey’s grip tight.
“You have been warned, Doctor,” Lord Jeffrey said, releasing his hand.
Dr Frederick kicked the door open and jumped out of the carriage. He mounted his horse and started riding away. He tried to think, but he couldn’t. He had never been so rattled in his life. He kicked into the horse, sending it into a flying pace.
Chapter 22
A Grand Future without Her
Dr Frederick poured water on his face again. It just made him wet and cold. It couldn’t wash away the creeping fear or reflex spasm his hand did. He was rattled, and he knew it.
I shouldn’t take his words lightly. He looked serious. But how do I handle my feelings with Helena?
Seeing Helena again that evening had reignited the dying embers in his heart. Now he just wanted another chance to see her.
But at what cost?
There were two quick knocks on the door.
“Come in, Frank.”
Mister Frank came inside the room and looked taken aback when he saw his master. Dr Frederick looked around to appraise the situation himself. He was sitting dejectedly on his reading chair, his hair and face were wet and the room was dimly lit. Mister Frank had the right to look concerned.
“Is anything the matter sir?”
Dr Frederick shook his head. Even if he said yes, there was very little Mister Frank could do. Mister Frank didn’t say anything for a while. He looked to be weighing his options: to find out what was unsettling his master or to say what brought him to the room. Dr Frederick hoped he did the latter. He did.
“Sir, while you were away, a few test animals were transferred here,” Mister Frank said.
Mister Frank then smiled. He interlocked his fingers and rested them on his lap as he stood. Mister Frank was pleased about something.
“I didn’t know you ordered monkeys. Three juvenile monkeys were brought here. I knew you wanted to use monkeys but wasn’t that meant for when your research was close to its end? Are you already so close to finishing sir?”
Dr Frederick shook his head.
“I didn’t,” Dr Frederick said, feeling very tired, “I didn’t order monkeys.”
“You didn’t. So who did?” Mister Frank asked.
Dr Frederick nodded his head.
Lord Jeffrey.
“Do not be bothered about that. Just keep them and give them water in a bowl and fruits. I’ll start work on them soon,” Dr Frederick said.
Mister Frank smiled and looked to have forgotten the unanswered question. He nodded, turned, and walked out of the room. Dr Frederick held his head between his hands and screamed with his lips closed. The sound came out as an animalistic groan.
Lord Jeffrey was serious. He could take away his research. He could, and he would.
Dr Frederick stood up from the chair. He was about to wash his face again for the fourth time since he had come back. He had gotten to the sink when it struck him.
I am being such a fool, again.
Helena was going to marry Lord Jeffrey. She had never told him she wouldn’t. And he had been too weak to ask her the question because he was scared of what her answer would be. Whatever flitters he felt in his chest, no matter how many flips his heart did, what he had with Helena was only temporary and recreational.
Dr Frederick walked back to his seat and flopped into it. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the chair. The chair’s sharp edge bit into the base of the back of his head, but he left it there.
Maybe the dullness of that pain could wash away the ache in his heart.
He had to be rational and realistic. Lord Jeffrey had sent him test animals that might have cost him months or years to get. He was making headway with his research. There was no reason to sabotage what he had for what he could never have.
*******
“Frank, Frank,” Dr Frederick shouted.
The monkey was dying.
Well, it is meant to die.
It was meant to die but not yet and not in this way. He needed Mr Frank to bring the scalpel. Dr Frederick could hear Mister Frank rummaging through his room for it, but there was no need for that.
“Frank, it’s on the table, in a bowl of water. I’ve already sterilised it as good as possible.”
Dr Frederick had been taught by Dr Terry that all surgical equipments used, which include one’s hands, must be properly washed before use.
“If you introduce a killer while trying to remove another killer, then you’re also a killer,” Dr Terry used to say.
The door burst open and Mister Frank ran inside with a small bowl in his hands. Dr Frederick looked into the bowl and picked up his surgical blade. He placed it at the centre of the small monkey’s chest and watched the rhythmical rise and drop of its chest.
“Pick your note, Frank,” Dr Frederick said.
“Blimey,” Mister Frank said, quickly stopping to pick up a writing pad and a pen from the top of a stool beside them.
“The poison has been introduced into the juvenile rhesus monkey for a quarter of an hour.”
Dr Frederick looked sternly at his dresser who stared at him absentmindedly.
“Oh!” Mister Frank squealed.
He bent his head and wrote down what Dr Frederick had just said. After Dr Frederick saw that Mister Frank had written that down, he continued speaking.
“There is an obvious reduction in breath rate,” he said. Dr Frederick lowered his ears to the monkey’s face and listened to its breathing.
“Slower and shallower breaths,” he said to his furiously scribbling dresser.
Dr Frederick took his tube listener and placed it on the monkey’s chest.
“Yes, as I thought,” he said under his breath so his dresser didn’t hear enough to write.
“What did you say, sir?” Mister Frank said.
“The heart rate has slowed to less than half its normal rate,” Dr Frederick said.
He flipped the hairy lids of the monkey’s eyes. Its eyes were white, pupils dilated.
“Pupils are dilated. All the signs of a body shutting down,” Dr Frederick said.
“Bring me the injection,” Dr Frederick said to Mister Frank.
Mister Frank looked at Dr Frederick with his brows arched.
“Am I to write that too?”
“No,” Dr Frederick shouted to him.
What is wrong with Frank today?
Mister Frank went to the other table and brought the small injection with a covered needle. Dr Frederick looked at the small amount of fluid in the syringe. That tiny fluid was the physical manifestation of all his work for the past four years.
Adrenaline.
That’s what he’d called it.
“I pray this works,” he said.
He pushed the syringe gently into the chest of the monkey, making sure to put it towards the left and between the ribcage bones. When he was sure the needle was nestled in the whimpering animal’s heart, Dr Frederick pushed the piston, pumping the hormone into the monkey’s heart. He removed his needle once he was sure the tube was empty.
The monkey’s chest muscles spasmed just as he removed the needle. Dr Frederick laughed. He placed his tube listener on the monkey’s chest, and the heartbeat was racing. Dr Frederick smiled. He was delighted, that was exactly the reaction he was expecting. He placed his ears close to the animal’s mouth and heard a ragged, hoarse sound from its open mouth. He pushed the animal’s eyelids open and observed that the eyes still remained the same.
“Write this, Frank.”
“The infusion of adrenaline into the animal’s circulatory has triggered an instant reaction. The heart rate of the monkey is incredible as if under intense physical exertions. The pupils and eye colour remain the same.”
Dr Frederick watched the monkey open its mouth but no sound came out. The poison was still in its system, and while it was in the proces
s of shutting down the animal’s organs, the action of adrenaline was giving the animal a fighting chance. The monkey would still die when the short-term effects of the hormone had passed.
But my aim is achieved. Patients struggling for their lives have another chance at life. Dying patients can be revived.
Dr Frederick was not interested in seeing the animal die. He had kept it and observed it for over a week now.
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