Chapter 26: The Darleys & Co. Doctor
DARLEYS & CO. was a conspicuously large company, even when compared to other companies in the main trading district of the capital.
The carriage stopped in front of the Darleys’ home and office, and Charlie the driver jumped out and called, “I’ve brought Mrs. Darleys and baby Patricia!” which caused a gaggle of workers to fly out of the building.
“Mrs. Darleys! Welcome back. Come, hurry in,” said an old woman as she took the baby from Bethany and nearly pulled them into the building.
Arthur and Olivia weren’t certain if they should exit the carriage, too. An old man came rushing up to them and asked Charlie, “And these two are…?”
“These two saved our lives, Derek,” said Charlie. “Our carriage toppled over in the snow, and we nearly froze to death, but they found us just before we did.”
“You’ve done us a great favor, then,” said Derek. “We must thank you somehow. Please, come inside.”
“Um, but we…” Olivia didn’t know what to do. She was certain they’d think they just wanted a reward if they went inside.
Arthur seemed to guess at Olivia’s hesitation. He quickly, but not rudely, stopped Derek. “We didn’t come along with Mrs. Darleys because we wanted a reward. We heard Mr. Darleys isn’t doing well. My wife, an apothecary, was concerned. Her skills and knowledge are recognized by a royal apothecary. I’m sure you’ve already had doctors see Mr. Darleys, but she was wondering if she could be of any help.”
Arthur normally said very little, but he was now talking a lot to explain the situation.
He’s working so hard for me. I can’t just stand here dilly-dallying while he’s doing all that, thought Olivia.
She’d been hearing Derek thinking things like, The lady was saved by these unrefined people? How many gold coins should I give them to get rid of them? which was making her start to regret coming all the way here.
“Pardon my rudeness,” said Derek. “I’m sure the mistress wouldn’t approve of my keeping you here talking on the side of the road. Please, come inside.”
They’ve obviously only come all the way here for a reward, he thought at the same time.
Olivia had always protected herself by putting distance between her and people like this, but she gathered her courage as she thought, I’m going to give this my all, partially for Arthur who’s so concerned for me.
“I wouldn’t want anyone to think we’re here just for money, so please let me make this very clear up front: We do not need any sort of reward,” said Olivia. “Is there any way I could see Mr. Darleys?”
“The master? I’m sure you could, for a brief moment, anyway. This way, please,” said Derek, while thinking, Someone this young calls herself an apothecary? How much can we really trust her?
For the first time in a long time, Olivia had to deal with the difficulty of people whose words didn’t match what was in their hearts. She closed her eyes for a moment, finding it hard to bear.
She normally spent most of her life avoiding this sort of horribleness, unpleasantness, and this was only reminding her about that.
Derek led them past the office section of the building into the living area. They came to a door at the end of a hallway, which he opened and spoke into. “Ma’am, the two people who accompanied you wish to see Mr. Darleys.”
“Please, bring them in.”
Olivia and Arthur walked into a large room with plenty of sun. A fire was blazing so strongly it felt like walking into a wall of heat.
Bethany looked up at them. She looked like she’d been crying, but she nodded, which Olivia took as permission to come in. She moved over to Bethany’s side.
“This is my husband, Samuel,” Bethany said. “He’s awake, so please, feel free.”
Samuel, the head of Darleys & Co., was wasting away. His eyes were sunken in, his pale, bluish skin was lifeless, and his lips were chapped.
“He’s dehydrated,” said Olivia. “Could I get a large amount of warm water? As well as sugar, salt, and two soup spoons?”
“Derek, would you, please?” requested Bethany.
“Of course, ma’am.”
Olivia waited for Derek to leave the room then asked Bethany, “I assume you’ve called a doctor to see him…”
“They have, yes. Why?”
“Your husband is very obviously dehydrated. In that state, his body couldn’t heal itself well even if it tried to get rid of his illness.”
“Oh. Well, I’ll make sure to ask the doctor about it next time he comes.”
Derek came back with what looked like a maid who was carrying a tray with the things Olivia asked for. Olivia took the tray, roughly measured out some sugar, salt, and warm water into a cup, and stirred it with a spoon. She taste-tested it herself, then gave Samuel one spoonful at a time.
While Bethany watched, she asked Derek, “Doctor Jean has come to see him, hasn’t he?”
“Of course, ma’am. He was in just yesterday to check up on him.”
Olivia jumped into the conversation before she could stop herself. “What sort of medicine is he giving Mr. Darleys?”
“A nutritional tonic, along with a treatment of bloodletting. He’s making sure to get rid of all the blackened, dirty blood.”
“Bloodletting?” asked Olivia.
“It’s a treatment where the doctor removes the diseased, bad blood and disposes of it. Haven’t you heard of it?”
Olivia stiffened and jerked around to ask again, “Dispose of? You mean he removes a patient’s blood and disposes of it?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s a cutting-edge treatment. Doctor Jean said the darker the blood, the worse the illness is,” said Derek, while thinking, Of course a country apothecary wouldn’t have heard of bloodletting.
While Olivia was shocked to hear of this, her mind immediately started racing to figure out how she could stop this absurd treatment.
Based on how Bethany and Derek acted, Derek had been working for the family for a long time and was fully in control of household affairs. Bethany may be the head of the family’s wife, but she probably didn’t have much of a say. That meant convincing Derek was going to be the faster route. She also got the impression he was the kind of person who would give in to a higher authority.
Olivia waited until Derek had gotten up and moved away to speak to Bethany. “Mrs. Darleys, I don’t believe a royal apothecary would ever use this bloodletting treatment.”
“Really? But royal apothecaries wouldn’t ever help commoners like us, no matter how much money we offered them. The doctor we’re using used to work for royals and nobles, but is kind enough to provide his services to commoners like us as well.”
“Some royal apothecaries also have doctoral qualifications. I think they’re trustworthy. I actually know someone. I think I may be able to pull some strings.”
“Really?! I don’t care how expensive it is, I’m willing to pay whatever their fees are. Could you please ask them to come?”
“I’ll write a letter. I doubt he’ll be able to make it today, though.”
“That’s fine. Oh, please, do write him.”
Olivia asked Bethany for paper and pen and wrote a detailed letter to Doctor Ulysse at the castle about what was going on. Ulysse was the doctor who had realized the effect of bitter potatoes during the epidemic earlier. He was a quick decision-maker and adaptable to changing situations enough that he would go all the way to Marlais, where Olivia lived, in order to harvest bitter potatoes.
Once she finished writing the letter, she put it in an envelope and wrote her name, Olivia Eagleton Dariu, as the sender, then asked a servant who wasn’t Derek to deliver it to the castle.
“I think things will go faster if you tell him it’s from the apothecary who told him where the bitter potatoes were,” said Olivia to the servant.
“Mrs. Olivia, apothecary, bitter potatoes. Yes. I’ll be back shortly,” said the servant.
Samuel seemed to want to drink as much of the slightly sweet, warm water with its salt and sugar as he could. He must have been very thirsty. Olivia was concerned he would vomit it back up if he drank it all too quickly, so she slowly spooned small amounts into his mouth.
It took quite a while, but he eventually drank two cups worth of the warm sugar water. He still couldn’t speak, but he gave a tiny nod and closed his eyes. As he did, Olivia heard his inner voice. Oh, that’s a little better. But my toes are so cold, it hurts.
“Mrs. Darleys,” said Olivia, “could you touch your husband’s toes to make sure they’re not too cold?”
“Of course. Oh my gosh! They’re freezing!”
“Then we need to get him a hot water bottle right away. Actually, three, if possible.”
“Yes!”
Servants quickly brought the hot water bottles. Olivia put one at his feet and the other two beside either flank. A tiny bit of warm color returned to Samuel’s cheeks as he started to breathe slowly in sleep.
“Thank you, Olivia,” said Bethany. “His complexion is looking a little better.”
“Um, this may not be appropriate to ask, but how old is Doctor Jean?”
“Around forty, I believe. He was apparently a doctor on retainer for a high-ranking noble in another country. Everyone in the capital currently recommends him very highly.”
“I see,” said Olivia, while thinking, Doctor Ulysse, please help.
If a doctor of high standing was drawing out people’s blood and throwing it away, he needed to be stopped. Olivia’s grandmother has told her over and over again that blood fights disease, and that there is nothing unnecessary in a living creature’s body.
While it might sound convincing at first that someone could recover from an illness by getting rid of the bad blood in their body, Olivia found it incredibly difficult to believe.