Promises Unkept

One Lost Breath

All through that night, Eden was fine.

Just a minimal fever_ easily justifiable considering the switching of seasons and precariously volatile weather.

In the morning however, she began to have successive episodes of rapid seizures and a following high fever.

She fell adamantly unconscious.

No amount of summon or watering would waver her from her death sleep.

That certainly was not fine.

Lord Stephen, who had not been informed of this entire ordeal last night didn’t know about it in the morning either, until Mrs. Hopkins sent Bella for him.

He had just been seated for tea with a very gloomy Penfield and had just asked for Eden’s whereabouts from the footman when Bella entered and curtsied to him.

“Master, Mrs. Hopkins requests for your Lordship’s presence in Eden’s room.” The girl glanced at him tensely. “Immediately, my lord.”

Lord Adelwood frowned. A muscle of his smooth jaw ticked. “Everything is fine, I presume?”

Bella paused a moment, swallowed and then, edgily met his gaze. “No, my lord. I fear, not.”

***

Penfield went for the doctor while Stephen stayed by Eden, pacing her room, changing the wet towel from her forehead at intervals and glaring at prone Eden_ almost angrily. Grudgingly.

And a little bit_ only a tiny bit concernedly.

“I still do not recognize, Mrs. Hopkins, the reason why her predicament was kept from my knowledge last night. I am the utmost here and you have one job_ to keep me informed.” His resentment oozed from the razor-sharp edges of his voice. “This girl is impossible but you, Mrs. Hopkins, should have known better than that.”

Mrs. Hopkins grimaced at the wall opposite to her. “We thought not to disturb you after all that had happened.”

“Oh, you thought, didn’t you?” Lord Adelwood shook his head disapprovingly. “I am so_”

There, Mrs. Hopkins who was anxious enough lost the little composure she had built up through the morning. “Why, if I may inquire, did you not visit her last night, Stephen?”

Stephen stilled in his pacing. Steadily, he turned his slow, sharp gaze towards Mrs. Hopkins in a cold, vapid haughtier.

“I thought not to disturb her after all that had happened.”

“There, that’s it.” Mrs. Hopkins chastised. “Those exactly were her words too when I insisted on calling you.”

Scoffing, Lord Adelwood restarted pacing across the room.

***

“What is it, doctor?” Lord Adelwood demanded almost as soon as the doctor had completed his diagnosis and let Eden’s limp wrist fall back on her side.

“Convulsions, my lord.”

“Not so shortly, Doctor Chaffer.” His Lordship sighed exasperatedly. “Elucidate that.”

“Convulsions, my lord, are one of those great ambiguities of our medical investigations and researches that the more we delve into it, the more we lose out grip on its understanding. It is a clinical clause, my lord, where the subject undergoes episodes of spasm_ seizures as you may call it, the muscles of their limbs and faces twitch involuntarily and rapidly_ like the one on your jaw did just now and the tremors run in the whole body at short, quick intervals.  This sort of paroxysm is majorly observed in infants but some very rare time in adults too_ though it may or may not cause any serious harm in either_”