A Conspiracy of Ravens Read Online Free Page B

wake up, you’ll be all treated.” She put a cloth over the lower part of his face, dropped three drops onto it, and then watched carefully.
    The use of ether was the greatest advancement to date in scientific medicine. It had been developed a few years earlier, and doctors no longer had to work at such a fast pace. Before the discovery of ether, when there was no such thing as putting someone to sleep, patients fought and jerked against the agony brought on by the knife to the point that a surgeon’s most valuable asset was his ability to operate quickly. That had all changed with the discovery of ether. After an American surgeon, Dr. Crawford Long, operated on an etherized patient, the practice of medicine was revolutionized. Serafina watched closely, wishing someone were there to help her, but the wound was bleeding badly and needed attention immediately.
    She worked deftly and quickly, for she had some experience with wounds like this, having assisted her father and watched him carefully.
    As she worked, in one small corner of her mind, she thought of David and how he could have been the body on this table instead of Dylan. The thought of his death unsettled her, and she forced it out of her mind as she cleaned up the leg and began to put the stitches in.

    Lady Bertha Mulvane was thrown forward as the horses came to an abrupt halt. “Henry, can’t you drive more carefully?” she protested. She waited until the coachman jumped to the ground, opened the door, and lowered the step. As she got out, she began saying loudly, “I’m going to get another man if you can’t do better, Henry. You jostle me around like I was a load of potatoes.”
    Henry Twiller was accustomed to this, and nothing changed in his face. “Yes, Lady Bertha, I’ll be more careful,” he said wearily.
    Bertha was not through with her sermon, but she stopped suddenly when another carriage pulled up. It caught her eye, for it was one of the new expensive carriages, a Victorian, named after Queen Victoria, of course. She watched as the driver pulled the horses to a stop, and a groom came up to take them. Recognition came, and she called out loudly, “Sir Alex! Sir Alex!”
    The man who turned to her was tall and well-built. Sir Alex Bolton had hair the colour of straw, and his eyes were half hooded, a pale shade of blue. He was wearing the latest fashion—tight-fitting grey trousers and a blue waistcoat.
    “Good afternoon, Sir Alex.”
    “I’m sorry, your name escapes me. I’m very bad with names.”
    “I’m Lady Bertha Mulvane, the oldest sister of Mrs. Newton.”
    “Why, of course, I remember you, Lady Mulvane.” He glanced toward the house saying, “I’m just leaving my card. I would like to call on the family if I may.”
    “Why, they’ll be so happy to see you, Sir Alex. Come in at once.”
    Lady Mulvane led the way, and as soon as she stepped in, she said to Daisy, a housemaid, “Is Lady Trent at home?”
    “Oh, yes, ma’am, but there’s been a lot of trouble.”
    “I didn’t ask you about that. I just simply want to know where Lady Trent is.”
    “She’s in the small parlour, but—”
    “That’s enough, girl. Come along, Sir Alex. Lady Trent will be happy to see you.”
    “I feel like I’m intruding.”
    “Not at all. Come this way.”
    Bertha led the way down the long hallway and turned in toward the right. The door was shut, which was unusual. “This way, my dear sir.”
    “After you, ma’am.”
    Bertha gushed her thanks and then stepped inside the room, followed by Sir Alex. She paused, and for once Lady Bertha Mulvane was speechless.
    She stared at the scene before her, and Sir Alex did the same.
    “What in the world—” Bertha finally gasped. She was in shock, for the room was changed. The furniture had been removed, and a bed was placed beside a wall and a table beside it. What was even more shocking was the fact that a half-naked man sat on the side of the bed, and her niece, Lady Serafina Trent, was