Of Monsters and Madness (17 page)

Maddy’s mother’s lips start to move and she forms the words along with me. “
Oh, the oak and the ash and
the bonny birken tree. They flourish at home in her own country.…”

We sing the rest, and I move my hand to her forehead. Gray hair clings to her bare scalp in clumps. I don’t know what’s happened to this poor woman, but she has not known an easy life. Her eyes start to drift closed. “I’m going to remove the blankets now,” I say softly. “I won’t do anything more than look, though, I promise.”

I glance at Maddy and she nods her agreement. She starts humming, and I’m thankful she can help keep her mother distracted. I lift up the blanket. It’s stiff with dried blood, and smells like putrefaction. I steel myself for what I’m going to find.

When the leg is fully revealed, it’s even worse than I imagined. The flesh is rotting. A strip of skin at least six inches wide is missing from the entire length of her lower limb, knee to foot. If it were a simple cut, I could stitch the edges of the wound together. But there isn’t enough skin to do that. I’ve never seen anything like this before.

I look at Maddy, and she must be able to tell how helpless I’m feeling.

“I’m going to get you some water, Mama,” she says,
withdrawing her hand. “I’ll just be right over here.”

Her mother gives no sign that she understands what Maddy is saying. The only indication that she’s still alive is the slow rise and fall of her chest. I follow behind Maddy, and keep my voice low. “I would try to close the wound, but it’s so large and there is so little flesh left.…” I shake my head in frustration.

Maddy wrings her hands. “I did not know how bad it was. I only just found out. My brother wrote me an’ told me he came home to her like this.”

“Oh, Maddy … Her wound should have been seen to at least a week past.”

Maddy’s hand-wringing continues, and she worries her lip. I put my hand on top of hers.
Is this what she meant about losing her mother?

“What happened?” I ask.

“She’s touched. It started when I was ten. We all tried to keep an eye on her. Me an’ my brothers an’ sisters. But Mama was found wandering the streets one day an’ committed to Pennsylvania Hospital. To the women’s insane ward.”

“And she was … released?” I cannot bring myself to ask if she escaped.

Maddy nods. “Last week. They said she was cured.
She’s been here on her own an’ I just found out. That’s why I was so upset, Miss Annabel. Why I was ashamed.”

There is no delicate way to ask my next question. “Did she do this to … herself?”

Maddy nods again, miserably. “When I was little, Mama thought bugs were crawling beneath her skin, an’ she would tear off great bloody chunks to get at them.”

How difficult it must be to go through life having to take care of your mother instead of having her take care of you. “I’ll clean the wound and apply some salve. Then we’ll cover the injury and try to keep it dry.”

While I ready my supplies, Maddy fetches a glass of water. When I’m ready, she props her mother’s head upon her shoulder and helps her take a sip. “I’ll try to be quick,” I say.

Thankfully, luck is on my side, and the wound is easy to clean. It’s messy work, though, and I have to keep exchanging dirty rags for fresh ones. When there are no more signs of putrefaction, I dress the wound with a clean bandage.

Standing wearily, I wash my hands in a bucket that serves as a sink. “That’s all I can do for now. The rest
is up to God.” My back is sore and my legs ache from sitting for so long.

Maddy joins me a moment later, her face showing relief. “Mama’s sleeping.”

“Good. Rest will help her heal quickly.”

“Miss, I—”

“Annabel.”

She blushes and looks down.

“You mustn’t thank me, if that’s what you’re thinking, Maddy. You’re my friend and you had a need. I wouldn’t be acting as
your
friend if I didn’t help when I could.”

She opens her mouth to say something more, but then simply nods. Her shoulders slump. She looks exhausted.

I press the pot of salve and the rest of the bandages into her hands. “Remember, just as I told Johanna, after the first three days, the bandages need to be changed and new salve applied. Keep an eye on the edges of the wound for discoloration.”

Maddy bobs her head and takes the supplies, placing them on the floor next to the cot. “I’ll be sure to do as you say, Miss Annabel.” Then she returns to me. “We should be getting back to yer father’s house now.”

“I’m glad you’ll be with me, Maddy. I don’t think I can find my way home in the dark.”

Maddy glances over at a grimy window above the bucket. The window is so small, I had not noticed it was there. “It’s not dark out anymore. There’s daylight.”

My heart sinks as I look over and see this is true. Morning has come.

And I’ve been out all night.

Sixteen

W
e race through the streets, trying to get back to Father’s house before we’re missed. The morning air is crisp and cool with a light covering of fog on the ground, and I rub my hands together to try to warm them. We’re almost there when, rounding a corner, I stumble on a loose stone. Hands reach out to catch me before I fall, and I look up to see a familiar face.

“Edgar.”

He helps me regain my footing, though he wears a sly expression. “My, my, my. Since your father had an
early morning errand, I know why
I’m
out and about at such an ungodly hour, but what about
you
?” He glances over at Maddy. “Have you not heard there’s a murderer on the loose?”

I draw away from him. “My maid needed my help.”

“Did she? And what assistance did she require?”

Maddy takes a protective step in front of me. “That’s none of your concern.”

“Mmmm-hmm.” Edgar looks at Maddy, and then back to me. When his eyes shift lower, I pull the edges of my dress tightly around me. Not only am I without a coat, but my laces are still open in the back. I shiver uncontrollably as the morning air hits the thin material.

Edgar makes an aggravated sound, and then removes his overcoat. He roughly drapes it around my shoulders. “Here. Take this.”

Before I can object, he is striding away from me, his cane tapping furiously as he heads in the direction from which Maddy and I just came. I turn to face Maddy. She appears as surprised as I am.

“Edgar Poe acting like a gentleman,” she says solemnly. “I never thought I’d live to see the day.” Her shocked reverie lasts a moment longer, and then she
blinks. Tugging on my hand, she pulls me forward. “We need to go, miss. Now.”

We pass through the gate and cross the courtyard, creeping quietly into the kitchen. Cook and Johanna are preparing breakfast and they give us questioning looks, but Maddy holds one finger up to her mouth in a silent request. They nod and go back to their tasks. We’re almost to the kitchen stairs, when the door from the dining room suddenly opens.

“I have repeatedly asked that the paper be waiting for me in the morning,” Father says loudly as he enters the room. “Where is that serving girl? I am in need of some coffee and—”

He halts when he sees us. Moments later, Grand-père follows.

“Well …,” Grand-père says. He is clearly at a loss for words. “Well …”

Father does not say anything at all.

Aware of how shocking I must appear, given the fact that I’m barely dressed and wearing a gentleman’s overcoat, I try to compose myself. “There was an emergency. My help was needed,” is all I can manage.

“Beggin’ yer pardon, sir,” Maddy says. She looks down at the ground. “Miss Annabel was with my
mother. She hurt herself.”

A dark look of disbelief shadows Father’s face. He ignores Maddy and glares at me. “You were practicing medicine?”

Every word is as sharp as a razor.

“Yes.”

“After I forbade it?”

“Yes.”

He glances down at his left cuff and adjusts it. “I see.”

“Why don’t we take this conversation into the dining room?” Grand-père suggests.

“I don’t see why,” Father rebuts. “I—”

“Not in front of the servants, Markus.” Grand-père turns back to the dining room, and Father reluctantly follows. Maddy glances at me, and I shake my head. I know she wants to help, but I’ve made my choice. I will deal with the consequences, whatever they may be.

“What was she thinking?” I hear Father saying as I enter the dining room. “Roaming the streets at night … There will be talk if anyone has seen her. I do not need unwanted attention drawn to this house. Idle gossip already abounds.”

“We must remember that she’s not yet used to our ways, Markus,” Grand-père replies. “Give her time.”

An immense feeling of love floods through my heart for Grand-père. He always tries to understand me. “My sincerest apologies for offending you, Father,” I say in a rush. “I merely offered my assistance to someone who had need of medical aid.”

“If you were
merely
offering your medical services—something which I have not only forbidden you to do but that is also illegal without a license—why are you wearing a gentleman’s coat? Were your services rendered to
him
as well?”

I fight not to blush, and try to keep my voice steady. “No, Father. I only helped Maddy’s mother. She’s an aging woman in poor health, and I bandaged a wound she had suffered. Surely, that is not against the law?”

“Of course putting a bandage on a wound is not against the law,” Father scoffs. “The point is that I forbade you from doing anything of the sort.”

“I’m sure Annabel was simply trying to be helpful,” Grand-père says.

“Then how did she end up wearing a gentleman’s coat?” Father turns his sharp gaze back toward me.

My hands are growing slick, the room seems overly warm. “It was an act of kindness, Father. It was cold out, and I forgot my own coat. Your assistant, Edgar, gave me his as he passed by.”

“An act of kindness?” He lets out a sharp laugh and then turns on his heel, silently dismissing me. “There is nothing kind about him.”

I don’t eat breakfast, returning to my room instead, so I can gather my composure before my morning lessons. Mrs. Tusk will be expecting me in the sitting room at eight o’clock. My stomach tightens as I do my meditations.
Please watch over me, Mother, and let my lessons with Mrs. Tusk go smoothly
.