All the time he was speaking he had kept his eyes fixed on Mary Crawford’s face, and had seen the grief and horror his words occasioned; he saw, too, that if she did not like him, she did, at least, believe him, and her first action, when he had concluded, was to turn at once to Phillips, and beg him with passionate ardour to comply with whatever he suggested. Mr Phillips, however, was extremely reluctant to cede the right to determine the correct mode of treatment to someone completely unqualified to pronounce in such cases. Nor, it seemed, did he agree with the diagnosis.
"I cannot concur with you, sir," he said, coldly. "I attended the young lady some days ago, at the onset of her present indisposition. I am of the decided opinion that this is merely a particularly virulent case of putrid fever. I propose to bleed her, in order to suppress the fever in its forming state, and relieve the vascular congestion. I have complete confidence in the efficacy of this method of proceeding, as I do of Mr Gilbert’s agreement with what I propose."
"It seems to me, sir," retorted Maddox, "that you are more afraid of deviating from Mr Gilbert’s opinion, than you are of losing your patient. Bleeding will not help her now — indeed, it is very like to kill her, in the weakened state to which she is now reduced.We must apply a purge, and hope to expel the poison from the gut before it can be absorbed into the body. There is no time to lose — we do not even know when the fatal dose was administered. It may already be too late."
He had hoped to shock the man out of his timid complacency, and his words had their effect — though not, at first, on the apothecary.
"What do you mean, sir?" cried Mrs Baddeley in terror, rising unsteadily from her chair. "Do you talk of
"That may very well be the case," said Maddox, striding to the table of medicines, and beginning to examine them. "But are you in a position to swear that there was never a moment — never a single moment — in the last two days, when Miss Julia has been left alone?"
Mrs Baddeley flushed, and the two women exchanged a glance.
"I see you cannot," continued Maddox. "And here, I believe, is the result. This bottle breathes faintly of laudanum. Mr Phillips — your opinion, if you please."
The apothecary came forward, and lifted the bottle to his nose, before looking up with an expression of horror. "This is most alarming — someone has clearly tampered with the cordial. Heaven knows what Mr Gilbert will have to say to this — "
"Your efforts would be better directed to assisting your patient, Mr Phillips. Mrs Baddeley, do you happen to have a supply of ipecacuanha in the house? It may serve, as an emetic."
"I believe so, sir. It is long since I have had need of that evil physic, but there may still be a small quantity in the chest in my room. I will need to fetch the key."
"Then if you feel strong enough, I would ask you to make haste there with Mr Phillips, so that he may make up a tincture."
"Mrs Baddeley is not well, sir," intervened Miss Crawford, as the door closed behind them. "I know the chest to which she refers, and could just as easily have gone in her place."
"I wished to speak to you alone, Miss Crawford," said Maddox, "and prepare you for what is to come. Once the emetic has taken effect, we must try to get Miss Julia from her bed, and revive her a little by moving her about the room. With luck, we may prevent the onset of the final stupor. But it will not be an easy task, and may tax even your strength and fortitude. If you do not feel yourself equal to it, I will send for one of the servants, but, for reasons that will no doubt become clear to you when you have had time to reflect, I would prefer to keep the matter between our four selves, at least for the moment."
She did not answer at once, and when he turned his eyes towards her white and horrified face, he perceived that she was already blaming herself. She had administered the last doses of the cordial; she — all unwitting — had therefore been the purveyor of the poison; how she might feel if the girl were to die, he had not, then, the energy to contemplate.
