Page 63 of Ghost of the Ton

The boy hesitated, and transferred Mia’s basket from one arm to the other.

“This basket’s heavy, ma’am.”

“And would you believe Billy if he told you it weighed nothing at all?”

Jamie’s eyes glistened with tears.

“Forgive me,” Mia said. “Come inside and I can give you something to eat for your trouble. That is, if you think it’s safe to enter a witch’s house.”

“I-I dinnae think ye’re a witch.”

“No matter what Billy says?”

“Aye.”

Mia carried the girl inside and set her on the table in the parlor.

“Put the basket on the chest of drawers you see over there, Jamie,” she said. “Once I’ve tended to your friend, I can get you something to eat. I take it Ada is your friend.”

“C-can I do anything to help, ma’am?”

“That’s very kind,” Mia said. “Would you bring me two blankets from the cabinet in the corner? We need to make sure Ada’s warm and comfortable before I take a proper look at her. I’m afraid the fire’s gone out.”

The boy approached the pile of blankets on the cabinet and plucked two from the top. Then he glanced at the fireplace. “I can lay and light a fire, ma’am, if Ada needs to be warm.”

“You can?”

The boy puffed out his chest with pride. “My da showed me how, and I’m only six. Billy says I cannae light a fire, but I can.”

“Then,” Mia said, “perhaps you should listen to your own judgment, not what Billy says. The most important lesson a young man can learn in life is understanding the difference between right and wrong. And often you’re the best judge of that—not those who profess to be your friends.”

Jamie’s eyes widened. “That’s just what my da says.”

“He sounds very sensible. But he might not approve of my letting you light a fire. Fire can be very dangerous.”

“Please.”

Mia glanced at the little boy and saw earnestness and remorse in his eyes.

“I want to help Ada,” he said. “I-I’m sorry for not helping her before. I knew Billy was going to push her, and I didnae stop him.”

“Very well,” Mia said. “Why don’t you sweep out the fireplace then lay the fire while I take a look at Ada? But don’t light it, mind. We can light it together. There’s a broom in the kitchen to sweep the ash, and a log store to the side of the house.”

The boy smiled, then disappeared into the kitchen, returning with the broom.

Mia turned her attention to her patient. The girl’s pallor seemed to have worsened, her skin chalk white, save for the dark-purple semicircles beneath her eyes. Mia folded one blanket and tucked it beneath the girl’s head, then placed the second blanket over her lower body. Then she began to inspect the girl’s upper body, running her fingertips along each arm, recalling Dr. McIver’s instructions on bones of the body—the lower and upper arm bones, the shoulder blade, and the collarbone…

That was it! The collarbone, which should run perpendicular to the breastbone, was distended, forming a lump near the center of the girl’s chest. As Mia ran her fingertips over it, the girl let out a cry.

“Try to stay calm, sweetheart,” Mia said, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder, but the child shifted position in an attempt to break free. “No,” Mia said firmly. “You’ll only hurt yourself more if you try to move.”

“Who are ye?” the girl cried. “Where am I? I want my ma!”

“Ada!” Jamie approached the table and took the girl’s hand. “Ada, ye’re safe.”

“J-Jamie?”

“This lady’s here to help ye, Ada,” Jamie said. “Ye’re in her house—she carried ye all the way here!”