‘Too bad. I could use a good joke right about now.’
‘I don’t want you to catch this,’ Ella whispered, reaching out for my hand—then abruptly drawing her fingers back. ‘It’s not right. You have your whole life in front of you.’
‘Really? I must be careful I don’t trip over it.’
‘Besides, the things you have to do to care for me…’ Ella blushed. ‘It’s not right!’
I shrugged. ‘I’ve cleaned you up before.’
‘That’s when I was three and we were potty training!’
‘And to think you still haven’t gotten the hang of it. You really are a slow learner, aren’t you?’
I wasn’t entirely sure how I was still able to joke right now. I only knew that I had to. If I stopped, I would think about what was happening, and I would fall apart. Besides, if anything kept Ella’s mind off the pain she had to be suffering, it was worth it. Even if I annoyed the heck out of her.
‘Lill?’
‘Yes?’
I was waiting for another protest or plea for me to leave. Instead, just words came.
‘Thank you.’
Glancing up, I gazed into my little sister’s eyes, and for once, they weren’t looking away in embarrassment. They were gazing straight into mine. I swallowed around the lump in my throat.
‘You’re welcome.’
‘If anything happens to me…if I don’t…you know… you’ll break it to Edmund gently, won’t you?’
I shook my head vehemently. ‘No.’
‘Lilly! Please, I—’
‘I won’t break anything to him, because nothing is going to happen to you! You’re going to pull through this, do you hear?’ Grabbing her by the chin, I forced her to look at me. ‘That boy has been camping out in front of your door practically every minute since we arrived. He’s worried so sick he’s practically sicker than you are! What do you think will happen if you die?’
Ella gave me a weak mile. ‘Are you honestly trying to guilt me into surviving?’
‘Abso-bloody-lutely, if that’s what it takes!’
‘I don’t think it works like that, Lill.’
‘It does if I say it does! Now eat your broth and concentrate on getting better!’
‘Yes, Ma’am.’
In spite of my clear orders, the stubborn girl’s condition refused to improve. By the time evening had arrived, I had changed her linens half a dozen times and was about ready to drop dead from exhaustion. And Ella…well, she looked as if she already were dead from exhaustion. Her skin was dry and cracked, her hands feeble, and even her eyes, usually shining in a blue as bright as the summer sky, had dulled to the colour of brackish water.
She’s still breathing! As long as she’s breathing, there’s hope!
But was there? A human needed other things besides air to live. Food. Water. A body that wasn’t rebelling against anything and everything.
Finally, around ten pm, Ella dropped into an uneasy sleep, and I stepped out of the room into the corridor, dragging in a deep breath. I hardly remembered what clean air smelled like. Were the people who believed that disease spread through bad air correct? If so, Ella was doing her very best to spread it. But somehow, I couldn’t quite believe that theory. If bad smells spread sickness, my Uncle Bufford’s socks should have been the origin of the world’s greatest plague. So far, my aunt hadn’t succumbed to the Black Death on laundry day.[53]
Blinking at the corridor in front of me, I frowned. I was so exhausted I hadn’t noticed at first, but…something was wrong with this picture. Where was Ella’s staunch little watchdog? Edmund had hardly moved one inch away from the door since he’d heard the doctor’s diagnosis. Had he given up already? If he’d forsaken my sister…!
Before I could even finish the thought, I heard someone quickly approaching from around the corner. A moment later, Edmund appeared at the end of the corridor, a big smile on his face and an even bigger bowl in his hands.
‘I’ve got them! I’ve got them, Miss Linton! It took me a while, but I didn’t give up! The very best quality, and peeled, too.’