Page 19 of The Unseen Hour

“Perhaps we should take her to the physician’s, then. People are staring here, and we don’t want to make a scene.”

Charlotte turned toward me.

“Celia, do you think you can walk that far?”

I made a great show of trembling as I pushed myself up, and when I nodded to Charlotte, I winced and put a hand to my temple.

“I really must, I think. That’s the only thing that ever helps my mother.”

I was so close, and after tonight, I’d be ready.

CHAPTER 11

The three of us made our way through the darkened streets and toward the apothecary, where two lanterns lit the sign in front.

“I’ll get the physician,” Charlotte promised, dashing ahead.

Marie walked slowly next to me, fretting.

“Surely the physician can fix this. He must.”

I heard the familiar clop of hooves on cobblestone as Marie stepped into the street ahead of me, still talking to herself.

“Marie no!” I lunged forward, grabbing the maid around her wrist and hauling her back onto the side of the street as a carriage sped by. All four horses were running, the driver whipping them on. He didn’t even turn to look at us.

Marie stared, wide-eyed, at the spot where she’d been standing, directly in the path of the carraige.

She started to shake.

“I almost. If I had. You saved me.”

“You would have done the same,” I said, blushing.

After all, it was my fault we were out late to begin with. I’d never intended to get anyone hurt. I was the only one who was supposed to be in pain, and that was fictional.

I gave a moan and reached for my head again as I remembered my supposed crushing migraine.

Marie helped me across the street. Charlotte was rapidly knocking on the physician’s door. It creaked open, and we were met by Dr. Stephans. He had impeccably styled brown hair, and silver-rimmed spectacles gleaned in front of hazel eyes. My mother had seen him a number of times for her debilitating headaches. He hadn’t been the most sympathetic of all the physicians in town, but he’d been just as willing to accept payment for treatment as any of them.

He stared at the three of us, one eyebrow raising almost to his hairline. Marie strode to the front of our trio.

“I’ve brought Celia Hipnosi. She’s suffering a dreadful headache and said you’d know what to do. She says her mother has the same affliction.”

“Bring her in,” he instructed.

While the apothecary was a place that reminded me of ailments and illness, I couldn’t deny being intrigued. There were wooden shelves lining each wall. Small cutouts and large, housing tiny vials, oddly shaped jars, wooden boxes, and all manner of containers. Some of the glass ones glinted in shades of teal, turquoise, and red from a lantern that the physician had lit. A library of medicines instead of books.

Charlotte and Marie assisted me to a chair within the shop. I knew, from previous visits, that the physicians disappeared into the back when they needed to look for additional inventory or check instructions for a specific medication. That was where I’d need to go, and I knew just how to do it.

“The light is too blinding in here. I can’t possibly stay in this room. It’s an onslaught to the senses, truly it is.” I threw a hand over my eyes, cringing away from the relatively dim lantern light within the shop. I knew it wasn’t overdone; my mother was sensitive to light for days when she had her migraines. She remained in her room with the curtains drawn, and a second set of curtains behind the first to block as much light as possible.

Dr. Stephans frowned, his forehead creasing, then gave Marie a hard stare.

“You really should have brought her as soon as she displayed symptoms. I can put something together, but it will take some time to have an effect. She’ll need to remain here for a little while.”

Marie’s face reddened as she bristled.

“Of course I brought her as soon as she expressed a need for medical care! I am not irresponsible, Doctor. We have had quite an evening. Loose horses and waiting in the cold and runaway carriages. She’s no doubt overwrought. And she expressed full confidence in your ability to assist in this matter.”