“Will you save him?”
Aldonai, be merciful, don’t take away my son! I beg you. Take my life instead, but let him live.
Tahir cast down his eyes.
“I will do everything in my power, Your Majesty. I hope that his heart can last through it.”
It was true, Tahir did everything he could—cleaned out his stomach, gave him a laxative and water, poured in the antidote. He didn’t know how effective his antidote was against the ‘lilac slayer.’ It was a truly a fearsome plant. The mucous absorbed it instantly. Anna had poured almost half a bottle of poison into the cup. Jess was stupid enough to taste poisoned wine, rolling it in his mouth. Tahir couldn’t do anything but pray to the Heavenly Mare.
***
Lilian Earton found out about her husband’s illness on the way to Taral. The messenger intercepted her on her way. He knew the countess by sight. She was a famous person in the capital. There were not many blonde women on an Avarian stallion and with Virmans as a retinue.
Lilian didn’t hesitate for a minute. She turned her horse around and patted him on the neck, asking him to run faster. Lidarh rushed to the royal palace. The situation was worse for Lily than for Edward. Considering her knowledge of medicine, she wasn’t as optimistic.
Yet, if death wasn’t instantaneous, it meant that the poison wasn’t cyanide. There was hope. On the other hand, she feared that it would be impossible to treat her husband properly. They didn’t have hemodialysis, nor plasma, nor blood serum, not even a simple dropper. What is this poison? I wonder if they have fugu fish here. Wolfberry, belladonna and other joyful plants are known here. What about strychnine or arsenic flower? It could've been anything. It doesn’t matter much. It’s harder to cure than to get poisoned.
The palace welcomed the countess with the buzzing of the courtiers. She had no time for greetings. The king sent footmen for her and, bowing on the run, they led her to the infamous room. Edward was waiting in the room next door. Lily hastily greeted him and rushed to her husband.
Husband? No. He is now one of my patients. Lilian Earton never mixed her job and her personal life. She wasn’t pleased with the sight of Jess’s pale skin, blue lips, cold sweat, and dilated pupils. What on earth is this poison?
Lily counted his pulse, checked his heart. The pulse was no more than fifty, and the heart was barely beating.
“How long has he been in this state?”
“Three hours.”
“Did you figure out which poison it was?”
“It seems to be the lilac slayer.”
Lily bit her lips.
“Cover him and warm him up. Do you have any sample of the poison?”
As it turned out, there had been some poison left in the bottom of the goblet. Lily brought the cup to her nose.
“My Lady.” Tahir got worried.
“I won’t try it,” said Lily.
She tried to remember all the poisonous plants. The substance strongly smelled of metal goblet and wine. Lily dipped her finger inside the poison and held it to her face. She began to sniff carefully.
It’s no lab technique, but who cares! The tip of my finger feels—numb?
Lily knitted her brows in concentration. It seems to numb all nerve terminals. How interesting! I’ve heard about it. Numbing… I remember something from childhood. That’s it!
“Give me a needle.”
One cute little plant produced a certain characteristic numbing of lips, tongue, face, and limbs. The woman poked her husband with a needle. The earl wasn’t completely unconscious. He reacted to external stimuli such as light. The enema didn’t please him either. Jerisson reacted to the pinprick in the chest. He jerked with his whole body, except for one leg and his face. His pupils were dilated, and his saliva was abundant. Lily sighed and looked at Tahir, who froze in waiting.
Tannin was a good antidote. The only trouble was that they didn’t drink tea and Lily couldn’t find it anywhere. They did have pomegranates though.
“Tahir, my friend, we need to give him a hot infusion of pomegranate peel, the same as we did for Amir. It wouldn't hurt to strengthen his heart. What do we have from the tinctures? Let’s also have mustard plasters and oils.”
Tahir perked up and ordered the servant to bring hot water. Lily sighed and left the room to see Edward and Alicia. The widowed countess was trying to comfort the king when Lily walked in. Two pairs of searching eyes turned to Lilian.
“Countess?”
“Your Majesty, he’s very weak.”
Edward turned pale, but Lily wasn’t going to hide anything.
“I assume the herb is the lilac slayer.” Lily remembered this herb from Jamie’s stories. “There are also some nasty impurities. Otherwise, he would at least have been conscious.”
“So?”
“If his heart is strong, he will survive. If not…”
The unsaid echoed in the killing silence.
“He has a strong heart.” Edward looked hopeful.
“It’s not only about the heart, Your Majesty. I don’t know what else was in the poison, but the lilac slayer makes the heart beat very fast to then make it cease beating at all.”
“Countess…”
Lily understood him without words. He would get her a star from the sky only to save his nephew. She didn’t exactly know how to remove the poison from the body and how to help the heart without surgical intervention. She could strengthen the heart with tinctures, but they weren't as effective as say kordiamin or cardioprotectors.
“I swear to Aldonai I will do everything in my power to save him. Pray for him.” Lily took her leave and left. She didn’t want to witness the king’s suffering.
***
Anna looked around in terror. The sight of the port invoked disgust and fear. There was no way back. The coachman had brought her here, and now she had to find a ship that could take her away from Ativerna. Slipping in the mud, she slowly walked along the quay. She noticed a large ship and squinted to read the name. Anna knew nothing about ships, but judging from the load, she assumed it was heading far away. The ‘Silver Shark,’ why not? Anna moved closer to the ship. The sailors noticed her and whistled. Had she come here at night, she would've found herself in serious trouble.
“Are you lost, madam?”
Anna turned around and collided with a man. He was tall, handsome, with dark hair, and with a dagger in an expensive sheath on his belt.
“Erm,”
“Peter Levorm. It’s my pleasure to be at your service, madam.”
“I need a ship!” Anna gathered her courage.
“Excuse me?”
The princess sighed and told him the story she had invented while sitting in the carriage. She introduced herself as a widow, whose husband died two days ago. Her relatives were going to hide the poor woman in a nunnery. Therefore, she decided to take some valuables from home and escape. She would be unhappy where everything reminded her of her dead husband. She needed to leave for Avesterra or the Khanganat.
The man listened carefully and nodded.
“I feel your pain, madam.”
“Anna Ulter. I am not a noblewoman.”
“Anna, darling, let me invite you on my ship.”
“Your ship?”
“The ‘Silver Shark’ departs this evening, with the tide.”
Anna nodded.
“Where are you heading?”
“To the Khanganat.”
“How much is the fare?”
The captain named a price that Anna could afford. She thought a little and agreed.
“Fine. I’m going.”
“In that case, welcome aboard. I will show you to your cabin. Where are your things?”
Anna shook her head.
“I didn’t want to risk being caught by his relatives.”
Peter nodded. Of course, the relatives. It’s clear that this wench is running away from someone. And that her story is a lie from the first to the last word.
Peter was not a saint. He told t
he truth about going to the Khanganat, but he didn’t mention what he was taking there. He would set sail along the shores of Wellster and Elvana, and collect a cargo of female slaves. Beautiful girls were in demand in the Khanganat. He would happily add Anna to the headcount. He offered the woman his hand and led her onto the ship.
I wonder if what she said about her husband was true? If she isn't a virgin, I could use her on the way. A nice kitty!
Anna had a dark future ahead of her. Yet, not as dark as the one she would've gotten at the hands of her father, Count Lort, or Edward.
***
Lily lost track of time. It had been several hours since she sat down at her husband’s bedside. They cleaned out his stomach, gave him enemas, tried to strengthen his heart.
God, how I hate death. It knew no time, no reason, no mercy, and took away the closest people to unknown faraway places. Whatever the Bible said about death, Lily didn’t believe that the dead departed to a better place. She wasn’t going to sit back and watch them depart to that better world. She wanted to fight. She viciously fought for every patient’s life. Sometimes hopelessly, but she continued the fight until the end. It wasn’t fair when the young and strong died before their time. Death was always painful, sometimes too painful.
Out of nowhere, Miranda appeared, pale and crying. Her searching look asked one question, My Papa will live, right?
Lily sent her to Alicia and Edward. The child clung to Alicia’s chest like she was her real grandmother. She was sharing her living human warmth. Lou-Lou was whining softly, clinging to the feet of her little mistress.
The earl was vomiting. His heartbeat was weak and inconsistent. Lily decided to take more serious measures. Atropine could help, but if she didn’t guess correctly with the dose, it could be fatal. Atropine was found in belladonna, a deadly poisonous plant. The dosage was crucial. The earl’s heartbeat was fading out, and Lily decided to take the risk. It can't get worse than this. She diluted a few drops in a cup of water.
Jess’s heartbeat evened out slowly. One minute, two minutes, ten minutes. Lily was treating poison with poison.
The earl flinched and ceased to breathe.
“NO!”
Lily wasn’t going to give up. She knew it wasn’t the end. She didn’t care about the smell or the vomit and shouted to Tahir, “Push on his chest!”
He was a healthy young man, he would cope with broken ribs if they came.
“Lily!”
“Come on!”
A breath, one more—push! A breath, and again, and again!
Her hands were numbing, tears came running down her cheeks, her lungs hurt.
Come back! I’m not letting you go. Two more breaths then push!
Minutes felt like years and added gray hairs to Lily’s blonde. Only when Jerisson’s chest started moving, when he began unevenly rattling and started breathing by himself, did Lily drop to the floor near the bed.
“He will survive. Tahir, he will survive!”
Tahir was a Khangan, and the thing he did next went against the customs of his country. He bowed deep before Lily and kissed her hands slowly, first one, then the other. He kissed the hands of the doctor, the hands that saved lives.
Lily looked at her wrists and burst into tears. Impotence? Anger? Stress? Tahir helped her to a chair and left her alone. He looked at Jerisson.
That man won’t cross the great divide today!
He would let the others know that the danger had passed. A lot of people were waiting for the verdict: Edward (who was unwell because of his nerves), Miranda (who needed comfort), Richard (who was worried about his friend’s fate), and Alicia. August Broklend was also there to support his daughter. Everyone thought an attempt had been made on the king, but that they had poisoned the earl instead. Fortunately, nobody said anything about Anna. Nobody linked her to the attempt.
All of them waited.
Edward was first to take a step forward, but as soon as he saw Tahir’s eyes, he was relieved.
“He’s alive.”
“Lily said he will live.”
Edward sighed in relief and slowly dropped to the floor. Miranda squeaked and ran next door to see her parents. She snuggled on Lily’s knees and couldn't stop crying. Papa will stay alive! Papa will live!
Nobody took notice of the crying women. The doctors in the room were busy with Jerisson Earton. The rest surrounded the king, helping him to recover from fainting. The king was old. Thankfully, it was nothing serious.
The only person who didn’t make a fuss, but instead got Tahir’s silent reassurance and left the room was Richard. He was the future king, after all. He had to behave accordingly.
***
Jerisson, the Earl of Earton, opened his eyes, and in the moonlight, saw his wife sleeping in a chair by the bedside, close enough to be touching his hand with her fingers. There was a mattress on the floor near the bed. On it, in the company of two big dogs, slept Miranda. It went against all code of conduct, but nobody dared to turn them out. The palace servants didn’t even try; they feared punishment.
Lily opened her eyes and looked at her husband.
“Water?”
A glass was brought to Jess’s lips, and the man greedily sipped. He was about to ask something when Lily covered his mouth.
“Be quiet. I will tell you everything. I don’t know what Anna of Wellster gave you to drink, but she poisoned you. You should thank Tahir. If he hadn’t been there, you wouldn't have been saved. I wouldn’t have managed to get here on time. I hope there won’t be any serious consequences.”
Jess slowly lowered his eyes.
“Your body might hurt; it’s the consequence of the treatment. I will tell you later. You need to sleep now.”
“What about—”
“Anna? We haven’t caught her yet. Sleep.”
Jess thought he was lucky to have his family and sank into a deep, heavy sleep. He saw no dreams that night.
***
Edward was ghastly pale and looked aged. He tried to stay strong. Richard understood him. Experiencing such shock at his age was difficult. Yet, things had to be done. The king had to look after the kingdom. It was his duty.
“What do we do with Wellster?”
Edward gave his son a searching look.
“What do you want to do?”
Edward was testing Richard. He was to become king, and it was the king’s duty to decide. Is it disgusting? Alas, the life of the king is like that.
“It’s fine,” said Richard calmly. “We have two choices. The first one, to make everything public and announce a war with Wellster. The second option would be to keep everything quiet, see Lydia off, and hold Gardwig accountable. How old is the second princess?”
“She is two years younger than Anna.”
“Let’s invite her to come here and stay with the princesses. Sooner or later, I will still need to marry.” “What about revenge?”
“I would’ve strangled Anna with my own hands.” Richard bared his teeth, which for an instant made him look like a beast. “That filthy woman managed to escape. As for the war with Wellster, Avesterra would only benefit from our feud.”
Edward looked at Richard with a degree of respect. His decisions might have seemed savage or even beastly, but not for a king.
“Well done, Son.”
Richard sighed.
“Father, you better go rest. I will make an announcement to the court myself.”
“How could I fall asleep?”
“Don’t put strain on your heart.”
Edward also realized that it was best for him to rest.
“Fine. Call Tahir.”
***
The next morning, Lily woke up with a terrible feeling. She had dreamt of India, which at that time was a barbaric place. She had been a criminal sentenced to be trampled to death by an elephant. The elephant had stepped on her head and kept pressing it down. Finish me off, you brute! I haven't got any more strength to endure it! She had howled in her sleep and wok
en up. Although she saw no elephant, the rest was there—a terrible headache. Her mouth tasted of street cats, and her stomach seemed to have turned into a wasp nest. Her feet were freezing cold. The rest of her body was kept warm by a blanket. Jess was sleeping on the bed. Miranda’s cover had come off, but she didn’t have to worry about a cold with such warm-blooded creatures as Nanook and Lou-Lou by her side. Lily carefully moved the girl to the chair. She touched her husband’s cheek. It was warm and full of life.
At moments like that, Lily understood how well she had chosen her profession. A doctor? A healer? A medicus? One could even name it ‘devil.’ The most important thing was the saved life.
Jess opened his eyes.
“Lily?”
She could see it was genuinely hard for him to speak. He almost whispered. Lily smiled at her husband.
“Shall we go home?”
Jess slowly closed his eyes. Yes, home. Praise be to Aldonai! I’ve been such a fool!
Lily was not present during Jess’ confidential conversation with Aldonai. She had already left to organize the servants and the carriage. She couldn't put Jerisson on a horse. There was also Mirrie and the dogs.
How would I have looked my daughter in the eye if I had let her father die? Praise be to Aldonai.
***
Meanwhile, Richard consulted with his father.
“Tomorrow you will go to Gardwig and tell him everything.”
“What next?”
“You will agree to the arrival of his younger daughter. He owes us.”
Richard sighed.
“You bet!”
“Take a draft of the agreement from the table. Read and make a note of it.”
Richard only shook his head. His father’s skin was gray, he couldn't stand on his feet, but that wasn’t a reason to shirk responsibility. His brain worked relentlessly. He thought about the future of the state. Aldonai, be merciful, do all kings become like that? I’m scared to become like him.
The Price of Happiness: A Strong Woman in the Middle Ages (A Medieval Tale Book 5) Page 34
