36: The epidemic (part 1)

The epidemic (part 1)

The calm breeze caressed the edges of the blue curtain, taking it forward sometimes and backward at others. The fair compromise between the two represented hope to Adela.0

Hopeless he said...

"Wise men find the middle ground," she muttered to herself. 

"Pardon me, My Lady?"

She glanced at the knight across from her, "Oh...The evenly spaced hall is warm, for which I am grateful. Get the last batch of knights inside," Adela said authoritatively.

"Yes, Lady Adelaide…" he hesitated, "Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

The knight only saw Lady de Lanark's eyes and forehead since the rest of her face was covered with her embordered handkerchief, but those parts were whiter than bone.

Her kind eyes smiled, "I will have some of the broth we boiled with the rest of you once we deal with the last batch,"

"That would be an honor!"

"The honor is all mine, now wash your hands with soap on your way out,"

Rejoicing over the fact that the nightmarish outbreak was coming to an end, the knight hurried outside of the infirmary with renewed energy. The healthiest bunch of those affected were postponed to the very last, and there was no news about more falling ill.

Adela's drowsy eyes evaluated the semi-organized situation around her with a sense of accomplishment.

We have come a long way...

She reached for the parchment and ink on the polished mahogany table next to her preparing to write down the latest developments.

Closest to her and amongst the first to exhibit severe signs of food poisoning were the three doctors who normally worked at the infirmary, next to them were the fourteen knights who were on the same boat symptom-wise, all of them were in a much better condition now.

To the far end of the hall were the twenty knights who suffered similar symptoms but on a smaller scale. Two of them took turns blushing as Larissa sat in the middle between their beds and fed each of them a scoop of the wholesome broth. Not too far away were paler-looking knights who were giving information about what they ate and drank to the Archduke and his Commander.

She saved the exquisite face of the Archduchess for last, standing in the furthest corner of the hall right by the back door, the new arrivals of the final batch were welcomed by Grace de Lanark, she took their temperature with her gloved hand one by one.

Arkin was the last to enter and get his temperature checked, a slightly frowning Archduchess shook her head in disappointment and pointed at the other far end of the room where Adela stood, scowling.

I knew it…

She vaguely recalled noticing how he tried to hide from her sight when she first arrived at the scene with their fathers, falsely interpreting his behavior for shame was a mistake on her part. As he came closer, Arkin's skin was as green as the three doctors twelve hours ago.

She suppressed the urge to throw the parchment at his head.

"…You were always the first one to catch a spreading disease,"

She taunted him sadistically as he sat down on the only empty bed next to her, she immediately placed her hand on his forehead, down on his cheek, and then further down on his neck to feel his pulse.

"…My lady,"

He was about to ask what was wrong with her hand seeing how she winced repeatedly.

"Save your breath, Arkin, whatever you have to say I do not wish to hear it,"

He could have recovered by now, and she could have finally gone back to her bed where she could pass out in peace for a couple of much-needed resting hours.

She picked up a fresh bowl of broth the maids just placed beside her then scooped a little with the wooden spoon and brought it closer to his mouth.

Stubbornly, Arkin turned his head to the other side.

"…I can feed myself," he complained flatly, his ear taking a reddish shade.

"Save your energy, that is an order,"

He slowly looked up at her with incomprehensible eyes, "Is this all you ever want to do whenever you see me? Give orders?"

Adela sighed.

She had not the time nor the energy to humor this oversized baby. She was about to annoy him with some more orders when a loud commotion came through the back door.

Steeling herself for news of another outbreak in the manor, she expected one of the guards to come in and pass the terrifying news. But when the door opened, it was Andreas who came inside dressed in a suit fit for a ballroom, wearing no gloves nor covering his nose and mouth, a blunt violation of her strict code of conduct.

…What of the four guards who had instructions not to let anybody inside?

Andreas wasted no time finding the Archduke and approaching him, "Your Excellency, I came to request urgent aid,"

In a hostile, demeaning gesture, the Archduke gave the blonde von Conradie his back, "This is a quarantined area. Go back where you came from," Kaiser said dismissively.

Somebody was going to pay a heavy price for allowing the pestering merchant access at a time like this.

Andreas glowered darkly down the long hall toward its end where Adela stood next to her infected knight.

"People are falling ill left and right and we are failing miserably at handling it,"

A sinister silence filled the room, only broken by the sound of Adela's loud footsteps as she took them one by one to Andreas. His usual relaxed calm was nowhere to be seen, it left him looking like a true relative of Egon von Conradie for once.

"Symptoms," she demanded.

"Upset stomach, diarrhea, and high temperature,"

Her sleepless night caught up to her when his head slightly spun in her vision, he was delivering the worst news possible to her.

They were the same symptoms. The Archduke's manor was not facing an outbreak, rather Lanark was facing an epidemic.

"How long has it been since the first case was registered,"

"No one is registering anything, but the first arrivals to the closed infirmary came in the late hours of the night,"

Her eyes widened. Did he just say closed?

"Where are you keeping them!"

"Outside,"

"In this cold weather!" She squeaked.

"Adelaide,"

Everybody was astonished to hear the Archduchess calling out to her daughter in the presence of a very silent Archduke.

"Take Larissa and go with the gentleman, they are short on doctors over there and we have the situation under control here thanks to you,"

"Yes, mother," Adela said obediently then looked at Larissa who held the wooden spoon close to her heart now. "Hurry," she urged before she herself hurried to the back door grabbing her coat from the hanger on the way without stopping. Once outside, the lack of knights on guarding duty took her by surprise. But something else was on her mind. She turned around and looked up at Andreas who was hot on her heels.

She braced herself, "Egon..."

Andreas's pretty face looked warry as he slowly shook his head.

"Come and see for yourself, My Lady,"

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