Page 16 of Choices of the Heart

Dr. Jones sat the child he was carrying on the table and motioned for Lorenzo to do the same.

The two children looked to be the same age, twins, most likely, and somewhere near three years old. Their deep brown eyes took in the scene, but there was a decided lethargy about them. Sophie didn’t know what they looked like when feeling well, but she was certain their current pallor was not natural.

Dr. Jones was as quick and expert at checking their temperatures and pulses as he’d been with Mrs. Archer. He used the same calm and reassuring tone he had then. It was a fine skill for a doctor to have. It likely made treating people easier.

“How long have they been feeling poorly?” he asked.

“Only a couple of days now,” the children’s mother said. Her words were rushed and clipped. Her brow pulled fiercely. “They were so much worse this morning, so we headed out straight off. It took a couple hours to get here.”

Dr. Jones nodded. “I’m glad you came.”

“And we’re glad you’re here,” the man said. “Before you came, we were on our own.”

“I’m afraid for them, Doc,” their mother said.

“I’ll do all I can, Flora.”

Dr. Jones continued his examination. He asked questions: how often had they been sick of late, what were they eating and drinking, was anyone else living near them feeling poorly? Lorenzo answered most of the questions, while Flora grew more distressed. Sophie put an arm around the woman, hoping to offer some silent reassurance.

“I can help,” Aidan said. “Tell me what you need, Dr. Jones. I’ve been working on the cabinet and shelves, so I know where lots of things are.”

Dr. Jones took him up on the offer with no hesitation, no insistence that he was too young or too inexperienced. Aidan proved an able assistant, though he did occasionally not know what it was the doctor was asking for. Still, Dr. Jones was patient, and Aidan was not easily ruffled.

After a time, the doctor asked Lorenzo to pick the children up once more. He held one child in each arm, their little heads resting against his shoulders.

Dr. Jones turned to Flora. “Our first aim is getting their fevers down. Then, we need to make certain they have some nourishment. We’ll start with bone broth and move forward from there.”

“Are they in danger?” Flora asked, her voice quivering.

Sophie squeezed her shoulders.

“Now that they’re here, I can do everything possible for them.” Dr. Jones spoke gently but with authority. “Once we bring their fevers down, everything else will improve.”

Flora nodded. She leaned a little bit against Sophie.

Lorenzo, still holding his children in his arms, said, “You tell us what to do, Doc. We’ll do it.”

“Take them upstairs. The second door at the top has an available bed. We’ll tend to them there.”

“Can you give them any powders?” Aidan asked.

“The powders I have aren’t intended for little ones. They’d pose too great a risk.” Dr. Jones offered the explanation without embarrassing the boy for his well-meaning but inadvisable idea. “I can, however, make a tisane that is safer for them. I’ll do that once they’re settled.”

They all headed upstairs.

Sophie walked at Flora’s side. “Everyone here has great faith in Dr. Jones. The children could not be in better hands.”

The woman nodded. “We all praise the day he arrived. Hope Springs lost half the town to fever on account of not having a doctor to help them. Everyone in the surrounding area is grateful to have one now.”

Joseph’s late wife had died of a fever. Perhaps, it was the same one Flora referred to.

They passed by Mrs. Archer’s room. None of her visitors had left.

Sophie accompanied Flora into the room, where her children were settled on the bed. Dr. Jones met Sophie’s eye. “You’ll have to let Miss Emma know this room is being used.”

She would be disappointed not to be able to look after her grandmother, but she had too good a heart to resent the room being used for such an important purpose.

To Aidan, Dr. Jones said, “Take a bucket out to the water pump and bring it back full. We’ll need water to cool the children.”

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