Page 124 (1/2)
"Dr Fenti ofbranches, and he heard the hurrying thump of slippered feet on earth as she ran toward the house, Phaedre in her wake
Roger got to his feet, and paused for a ; it wouldn’t take more than a minute--less, probably, in his present condition But no, Bree ht of the Doctor using his gory instru through the s in hot pursuit The lists of Venus would have to wait
HE FOUND BREE and Jemmy in Jocasta’s boudoir, the center of a small knot of women, all of whom looked surprised--eventhe raised eyebrows and huffing noises, he forged his way through the skirts to Brianna’s side
The little fella did look bad, and Roger felt a clutch of fear in the pit of his stomach Christ, how could it happen so fast? He’d seen Je only a few hours before, curled up pink and sweet in his enial self at the party Now he lay against Brianna’s shoulder, flush-cheeked and heavy-eyed, whi from his nose
"How is he?" He reached out and touched a flushed cheek gently, with the back of his hand God, he was hot!
"He’s sick," Brianna said tersely As though in confirh, a dreadful noise, loud but half-choked, like a seal choking on its fish The blood surged into his already flushed face, and his round blue eyes bulged with the effort of drawing breath between the spaser muttered "What do we do?"
"Cold water," one of the woether under a bath of cold water, then make him drink more of it"
"No! Heavens, Mary, you’ll kill the child" Another youngback "It’s the croup; arlic, warmed and put to the soles of his feet," she told Brianna "That works well, sometimes"
"And if it doesn’t?" another woman said, skeptical The first woman’s nostrils pinched, and her friend butted in helpfully
"Johanna Richards lost two babes to the croup Gone like that!" She snapped her fingers, and Brianna flinched as though the sound were one of her own bones cracking
"Why are we havering so, and a o and fetch Dr Fentiman! Did I not say so?" One of the women clapped her hands sharply at Phaedre, who stood pressed back against the wall, eyes fixed on Jeh, Brianna’s head shot up
"No! Not hilared round at the woent entreaty "Find Mama for me Quick!"
He turned and shoved past the wo Where was Claire likely to be? Help, he thought, helpthe incoherent prayer toward anyone who --God, the Reverend, Mrs Graham, Saint Bride, Claire herself--he wasn’t particular
He thundered down the front stair to the foyer, only toacross it toward hiave him one quick look, asked, "Jemmy?" with a lift of her chin, and at his breathless nod, was up the stairs in a flash, leaving a foyer full of people gaping after her
He caught her up in the hall above and was in time to open the door for her--and to receive an undeserved but ratitude fro his breath andThe moment Claire stepped into the rooed at once There was still an air of concern a back respectfully and ht for Je else
"Hallo, lovey What is it, then, are we feelinghis head to one side and feeling gently under his flushed chubby jowls and behind his ears "Poor thing It’s all right, sweetheart, Mu will be just fineHow long has he been like this? Has he had anything to drink? Yes, darling, that’s rightDoes it hurt hi remarks to the baby and questions to Brianna and Phaedre, all delivered in the same tone of cal, soothing Roger felt it working on hihtness in his own chest ease a bit
Claire took a sheet of Jocasta’s heavy notepaper from the secretary, rolled it into a tube, and used it to listen intently to Je-seal noises Roger noticed dimly that her hair had fallen down somehow; she had to brush it out of the way to listen
"Yes, of course it’s croup," she said absently, in answer to a half-questioning diagnosis offered diffidently by one of the bystanders "But that’s only the cough and the difficult breathing You can have croup by itself, so to speak, or as an early sys"
"Such as?" Bree had a death grip on Jemmy, and her face was nearly as white as her knuckles