“No.” She frowned. She had also never before had such an extreme reaction to eating something she shouldn’t. “At least I don’t think so.”
“Well, if you’re allergic to something, you might react within a couple of hours, but it can take up to seventy-two hours for food poisoning to set in, so you could be reacting to something you ate as long as three days ago,” Eva said. “It could take you a couple of days to get over it.”
Pia tried to think back, but she had no idea what she had eaten three days ago. She hadn’t been paying attention . . . although she was pretty sure she had eaten everything from home that day, so the food should have been safe.
She growled in frustration and dashed back to the bathroom to look at her reflection. Her skin was still pale and blotchy. She threw up her hands. Great, just bloody great.
“Maybe you should see a doctor?” Eva had followed her to the bathroom and was watching her with a troubled expression.
“See a Wyr doctor in D.C.?” Snorting, she turned away from the offending mirror. “Good luck finding one. Humans take over-the-counter medication for allergies. It’s called antihistamines. Have you heard of it before?”
Eva rubbed her face. “Yeah.”
Her gaze met Eva’s. “I’ll put in a call to Dr. Medina, but in the meantime, get me some antihistamines. I don’t care what brand. I’m going to make it through this day if it kills me.”
But first, she was going to take a shower to see if that would calm down the infernal itching, at least until Eva could get back with the medication. Eva took off, while she showered, smothered her leg in lotion and dressed in jeans and a light silk sweater.
Thank the gods, Dragos had taken off some time ago to attend the day’s functions without her. She drank a quick cup of coffee, ate a few bites of fruit, and called the doctor’s office.
Dr. Medina was busy dealing with an emergency, the office manager told her, but she would be sure to return Pia’s call as soon as she could. Pia hung up, went to the vanity and smoothed another ten pounds of makeup on her face to hide her blotchy complexion, until she looked more or less normal.
Then Eva returned with several different packages of antihistamines. Together, they scanned the dosage directions.
“Don’t operate any heavy machinery, may cause drowsiness. . . .” Eva read aloud.
Pia popped a dose out of foil wrap and swallowed them. “Or in other words, keep the coffee coming.”
“You sure you feel up to this?” Eva pursed her lips in concern.
“I am totally up for this,” Pia said grimly. “Let’s go.”
With that, she plunged into the day’s preparations. It seemed that everyone had saved up at least a dozen questions to ask her. There was a mistake on the order of fresh flowers. Would the substitutes do? What about the seating arrangements for dinner?
Thankfully, her leg stopped itching after about a half an hour or so. When the doctor returned her call, a couple of hours later, she was so busy she let the phone call roll to voice mail. She could call Dr. Medina back in the morning.
The afternoon sped by too fast. Dragos arrived back at the residence in a foul mood. He was standing in the middle of the foyer watching staff scurry past, his hands on his hips, when Pia found him.
“How did your day go?” she asked.
“I hate people.”
He sounded grumpy, but no more than usual when he had to deal with a lot of people. She held her face up to him. He took his time kissing her and did such a thorough job, she was flushed and laughing when he finally lifted his head again. “How are things going here?”
She looked around. “You might not be able to tell by looking, but it’s a controlled kind of panic. It’s just as well I didn’t go with you today—there was too much to do here, but I think I can let go and get ready for the evening now. Come upstairs with me?”
“I will in a minute. I’m going to get a scotch, and I want to talk to Bayne first.”