Part 45 (2/2)
”I pride myself on being persistent, if that's your meaning.”
”No, that is not my meaning, but I'll answer that rather meddlesome question in spite of my reluctance to add pine knots to your fire. My accomplishment-my hoped-for accomplishment, that is-would be twofold: one, to aid in the construction of a settlement that would grow into a city; and two, to have my name forevermore on the t.i.tle of Fount Royal's infirmary. I plan on remaining here long enough to see both those things come to pa.s.s.” He reached out and gently grasped the first blister cup between thumb and forefinger, checking its suction. ”The influence of Rachel Howarth, ” he said, ”was an unfortunate interruption in the forward motion of Fount Royal. But as soon as her ashes are buried-or scattered or whatever Bidwell's going to do with them-we shall put an end to our calamities. As the weather has turned for the better, the swamp vapors have been banished. Soon we shall see an increase in the population, both by people coming in from elsewhere and by healthy babies being born. Within a year, I think Fount Royal will be back to where it was before this ugly incident ever happened. I shall do my best to aid that growth, leave my mark and name for posterity, and return to Boston and my wife. And, of course, the comfort and culture of the city.”
”Admirable aims, ” Matthew said. ”I expect having your name on the mast of an infirmary would help your standing in Boston, as well.”
”It would. A letter from Bidwell stating that fact and his appreciation for my services could secure me a place in a medical partners.h.i.+p that ordinarily I might be denied.”
Matthew was about to ask if Bidwell knew what the doctor intended when there was a knock at the door. s.h.i.+elds said, ”Who is it, please?”
”Nicholas, ” came the reply. ”I wanted to look in on the magistrate.”
Instantly Matthew sensed a change in Dr. s.h.i.+elds's demeanor. It was nothing radical, but remarkable nevertheless. The doctor's face seemed to tighten; indeed, his entire body went taut as if an unseen hand had gripped him around the back of his neck. When s.h.i.+elds answered, even his voice had sharpened. ”The magistrate is indisposed at the moment.”
”Oh... well, then. I'll return later.”
”Wait!” Woodward had removed the sa.s.safras root from his mouth, and was whispering in Matthew's direction. ”Ask Mr. Paine to come in, please.”
Matthew went to the door and stopped Paine before he reached the stairs. When Paine entered the room, Matthew watched the doctor's face and saw that s.h.i.+elds refused to even cast a glance at his fellow citizen.
”How is he?” Paine inquired, standing at the door.
”As I said, indisposed, ” s.h.i.+elds replied, with a distinct chill. ”You can see for yourself.”
Paine flinched a little at the sight of the six gla.s.s cups and the ebony blisters they had drawn, but he came around to Matthew's side of the bed for a view of the magistrate's face. ”Good evening, ” he said, with as much of a smile as he could summon. ”I see... Dr. s.h.i.+elds is taking care of you. How are you feeling?”
”I have felt... much superior, ” Woodward said.
”I'm sure.” Paine's smile faltered. ”I wanted to tell you... that I approve heartily of your decree, sir. Also that your efforts-and the efforts of your clerk, of course-have been nothing short of commendable.”
”My thanks, ” Woodward replied, his eyes heavy-lidded.
”Might I get you anything?”
”You might leave, ” s.h.i.+elds said. ”You're taxing him.”
”Oh. I'm sorry. I don't wish to do any harm.”
”No harm.” Woodward gasped for a breath, a green crust around his nostrils. ”I appreciate... your taking... time and effort... to come and see me.”
”I also wanted to tell you, sir, that the stake has been cut. I understand Mr. Bidwell hasn't yet decided where the execution shall take place, but the likelihood is in one of the unused fields on Industry Street.”
”Yes.” Woodward swallowed thickly. ”That would do.”
s.h.i.+elds grasped the first blister cup and popped it free. Woodward winced and bit his lower lip. ”I think you should depart now, ” the doctor said to Paine. ”Unless you'd like to give a hand in this procedure?”
”Uh... yes, I'd best be going.” Paine, for all his manly experiences, appeared to Matthew to be a little green around the gills. ”Magistrate, I'll look in on you at a later time.” He glanced at Matthew with a pained expression of commiseration and took a step toward the door.
”Mr. Paine?” Woodward whispered. ”Please... may I ask you something?”
”Yes, surely.” Paine returned to the bedside and stood close, leaning toward the magistrate, the better to hear him clearly.
s.h.i.+elds removed the second blister cup. Again Woodward winced, and now his eyes were wet. He said, ”We share... a commonality.”
”We do, sir?”
”Your wife. Died of fits, I understand. I wanted you to know... my son... perished of fits... suffered by the plague. Was your wife... also plague-stricken?”
Dr. s.h.i.+elds's hand had seized the third blister cup, but had not yet removed it.
Nicholas Paine stared into Woodward's face. Matthew saw a pulse beating at Paine's temple. ”I fear you're mistaken, sir, ” Paine said, in a strangely hollow voice. ”I have never been married.”
”Dr. s.h.i.+elds told me, ” Woodward went on, with an effort. ”I know... such things are difficult to speak of. Believe me, I do know.”
”Dr. s.h.i.+elds, ” Paine repeated, ”told you.”
”Yes. That she suffered fits until she died. And that... possibly it was the plague.”
s.h.i.+elds removed the third cup and placed it almost noiselessly into his bag.
Paine licked his lower lip. ”I'm sorry, ” he said, ”but I fear Dr. s.h.i.+elds is just as mistaken as-” He chose that instant to look into the doctor's face, and Matthew was a witness to what next occurred.
Something pa.s.sed between Paine and s.h.i.+elds. It was something intangible, yet absolutely horrific. For the briefest of seconds Matthew saw the doctor's eyes blaze with a hatred that defied all reason and logic, and Paine actually drew back as if from a threatening physical presence. Matthew also realized that he'd witnessed very little direct communication between Dr. s.h.i.+elds and Paine. It dawned on Matthew that it was the doctor who preferred to keep his distance from Paine, yet the feeling had been so well disguised that Paine might not even have been aware of a void between them.
However, now an ugly animosity was clearly revealed if only for that fleeting second. Paine perhaps recognized it for the first time, and his mouth opened as if he might exclaim or protest against it. Yet in the next heartbeat Paine's face froze as tightly as the doctor's and whatever he might have said remained unborn.
s.h.i.+elds held the dark bond between them for only a second or two longer, and then he very calmly returned his attention to his patient. He removed the fourth blister cup, and into the bag it went.
Matthew looked questioningly at Paine, but the other man had blanched and would not meet his gaze. Matthew realized a piece of information had been delivered from Dr. s.h.i.+elds to Paine in that brief hateful glare, and whatever it was had almost buckled Paine's knees.
”My wife, ” Paine's voice was choked with emotion. ”My wife.”
”My son... died, ” Woodward said, oblivious to the drama. ”Fits. From the plague. Pardon my asking you... but I wished you to know... you were not alone in your grief.”
”Grief, ” Paine repeated. Shadows lay in his eye sockets, and his face appeared to have become more gaunt and aged by five years in as many seconds. ”Yes, ” he said quietly. ”Grief.”
Dr. s.h.i.+elds pulled the fifth blister cup free, none too gently, and Woodward winced.
”I should... tell you about my wife, ” Paine offered, his face turned toward the window. ”She did perish from fits. But not caused by the plague. No.” He shook his head. ”Hunger was the killer. Hunger... and crus.h.i.+ng despair. We were very young, you see. Very poor. We had a baby girl who was sick, as well. And I was sick in the mind... and very desperate.”
No one spoke. Even the magistrate, in his cloudy realm on the edge of delirium, realized Paine had dropped his mask of st.u.r.dy self-control and was revealing heart's blood and fractured bones.
”I think I understand this, ” Paine said, though that strange remark itself was a puzzle to Matthew. ”I am... quite overcome... but I must tell you... all of you... that I never intended... the result of what happened. As I said, I was young... I was brash, and I was frightened. My wife and my child needed food and medicine. I had nothing... but an ability I had learned from hunting cruel and violent men.” He was silent for a time, during which Dr. s.h.i.+elds stared intently at the sixth blister cup but made no attempt at removing it.
”I did not fire the first shot, ” Paine went on, his voice tired and heavy. ”I was first struck myself. In the leg. But you must know that already. Something I had been taught by the older men... during my career at sea... was that once a weapon- pistol or rapier-was aimed at you, you fired or slashed back with grievous intent. That was our creed, and it served to keep us- most of us-among the living. It was a natural reaction, learned by watching other men die wallowing in their own blood. That was why I could not-could not-spare Quentin Summers in our duel. How can a man be taught the ways of a wolf and then live among sheep? Especially... when there is hunger and need involved... and the specter of death knocking at the door.”
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