The maid, or nursemaid as she must have been, handed Andrew a cool cloth. She had a few cloths resting in a bowl of cold water that lay on a washstand near the door. That was good.
Ten minutes later, Darius returned with the doctor. He turned out to be a young man, but one who seemed reassuringly calm. He carried a black bag. “I have lately returned home, and I’m glad I was here. Elizabeth knows me, so I am less likely to agitate her.”
The doctor sat on the bed and smiled reassuringly at the little girl. “If you lean back, I could find out what is wrong with you.” He did not allow the expression of calm to leave his features.
Darius was impressed. The doctor examined the child thoroughly, but without alarming her, a skill Darius knew to be invaluable.
Darius removed his coat and draped it over a nearby chair. He was in for a long night, for he had no intention of leaving if there was something he could do.
The doctor touched Elizabeth’s neck and nodded. “Open your mouth, my dear.”
Without being asked, the maid brought another lit candle closer, so the medical man could see what he was doing.
It did not take long. The man restored Elizabeth to her father’s arms and sighed. “Her throat is a little swollen, but I can see the problem. It is a tooth, right at the back. Elizabeth is five, is she not?”
“Nearly,” Andrew said. “Her birthday is in December.”
“Ah, yes.” The doctor nodded and addressed the child. “Did you not tell anyone your tooth hurt?”
The child, whimpering, shook her head. “I thought it would get better.”
“Sadly not, my dear.” The doctor shook his head. “I fear that tooth is done for. It has set up a fever, but once it has gone, I feel sure you will recover quickly. You will grow another in due course.”
Darius’s heart sank. The doctor would have to pull the tooth. That would hurt. He felt for the girl, for he’d had two teeth pulled when he was a little older than this child. He winced in sympathy but ensured the child would not see it.
He glanced at the nursemaid, who had turned an interesting shade of green. “Go and boil water,” he told her. “Do you know how to make barley water?”
The nursemaid dropped a curtsy. “I should remain here.” She swallowed. “She is my charge. I should have noticed the tooth before.”
“Not if the child did not want you to know. Do as I say. She will need cold drinks. You did well with the cloths. Bring more when you come.”
Although he had spoken quietly, Andrew had noticed. He turned his head. “I am sorry the evening has ended in this way. But my daughter must come first in my attention, particularly when she is ill.” He spoke with a slight tremor in his voice, which Darius did not miss.
“I will stay, if Elizabeth has no objection.”
The girl stared at him. Her eyes were the same gray as her father’s, but bigger in her flushed face. Tears sheened her eyes, and she whimpered.
Darius smiled. “I have sisters and nieces. I have a little experience with small children.”
As he had expected, the child stiffened. “I am not small!”
“Indeed you are to me, but you will grow soon enough. Do you like stories?”
The child nodded slightly and then winced.
“If you are good, I’ll tell you one that my niece Caro loves. She is older than you, but not by much. I’ll wager you’ve not heard it before.”
While he was speaking, the doctor was making his preparations out of sight of the girl. He placed a cloth on a nearby table and laid out a small dish, a pair of pliers, and some soft rags. Darius quelled his shudder and kept his attention on the girl.
Elizabeth lay in her father’s arms. Andrew spoke to her in a soothing voice, one Darius had not heard before. He’d experienced the crisp, sharp tones of the lawyer in court, pitched louder than Andrew’s normal speaking voice, which was nearly as precise. This was something else, calming and sweet, the tone softer and loving. Evidently Andrew adored his daughter.
“The tooth is bad,” the doctor said. “It must come out. Otherwise, it will affect what lies beneath.” As he turned, he smiled reassuringly at Elizabeth. “A mere twinge, my dear. You won’t hurt anymore.”
Visibly trembling, Elizabeth nodded.
Darius took her for the brief time it took Andrew to remove his coat and tuck a cloth over his waistcoat. The child’s body was soft and warm. Too warm, for her fever, while not yet at a critical stage, could not be comfortable.
He began the story. “On an estate in the country called Haxby Hall, there lived a dragon.” He recalled the lake at his childhood home and the hours he and his siblings had spent sailing boats and playing in the shallows. When they were old enough they swam there, although the girls’ nursemaid called them in if they caught them, telling them they were scandalous hussies. Elizabeth liked that part. Darius felt oddly proud when he drew a smile from her.
She kept her eyes on him as he told the tale of the baby dragon that appeared one day to astonish and delight the children. The child opened her mouth in an O of delight as he described the green scales, the way the dragon had scared him and his brothers when it had roared and fire shot out of its mouth.
The doctor was quick and efficient. He had the tooth pulled in half a minute.
Darius kept going with the story. That way, if Elizabeth wanted to hear more, she would have to curtail her screams. After one shriek and a series of sobs, she did so. Darius told her how the dragon saved his older brother from drowning, heading for the end of the tale, when the dragon disappeared, but promised he would always be there to watch over them and keep them safe.
By the time he’d concluded his saga, they had Elizabeth sitting up, and Andrew was mopping the remains of the blood from her lips. Unfortunately, she had tipped forward and spilled gore on her nightgown. When Darius attempted to leave the room to give her some privacy while her father washed and changed her, she begged him to stay.
The nursemaid returned, bearing a jug covered with a cloth and a glass. “I put a bit of lemon in, sir. The barley water will taste better that way.” She glanced at her charge. Darius waited for a fainting fit, but now the deed had been done, the woman seemed steadier. “I had a tooth pulled last week,” she confessed.
Ah, that would explain it. Nobody wanted to relive an unpleasant memory so close to it happening. Especially tooth-pulling.
The doctor was remarkably quick putting his things away, wrapping them in the cloth and tucking them into his bag.
“Call me if the swelling does not go down in a day or two,” he said. “Elizabeth should feel much better after she has slept. Her mouth will be sore for a few days. I’d advise giving her soft food for a while.” He paused. “If the fever does not go down, call me tomorrow.”