Revelations an adaption of Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 134

Anne herself was fighting her own inclinations, on the one hand she felt she should be disgusted and shocked by three men coolly dissecting what was once a living, breathing woman, and on the other she was fascinated by their dedication to their work and the things they told their audience about the human body. First they explained how consumption had destroyed the tissue of the poor woman's lungs, showing them the ravaged remains of that essential organ. Then they started on the pregnancy, and when after a terrific lecture on conception and growth they reached the human foetus Anne finally felt upset. In three more months that poor cold tiny body would have been a cuddly baby like little William Collins, blue-eyed and innocent, with wee little hands and feet, and now it was study material in the hands of uncaring scientists. Of course she knew they would put what they learned to good use to save other women's lives, and their babies', but still it was a confronting sight.

Then she felt Nick's solid shape move so close that she could feel the heat of his body, and a warm hand took hers under the dubitable cover of her dress skirts. It helped, though the risk of discovery was significant. Or was it? Anne had Frederick on her other side, and the three doctors were not paying any attention to their spectators, Anne wondered why they allowed them in the first place. They must be pressed for funds, or Frederick must have offered them something else they needed. Another thing she needed to ask him, she was going to be his wife, she wanted to know what he was up to. They could have gone to a public dissection, where convicted murderers were denied a decent burial after their hanging. Of course those were held the day after the trial, and not at Mr Frederick Manners' convenience, but still, how did he even know about these obviously illegal practices?

Of course Anne had recognised the middle-aged Lector straight away as Doctor Parker, Frederick's personal physician, who'd made her realise those bloodlettings had caused her a decade of suffering from lack of energy and spirit. Still there was a distinct difference between being a rich man's physician and telling him about your illegal practice of dissecting unclaimed bodies from a charity hospital.

A sound to her right distracted Anne from her musings and from the ever more blood-drenched scene in front of her, and she was just in time to see all the blood draw from Frederick's face. Then he just toppled over, and Anne quickly pulled her left hand from Nick's to catch her fiancée in her arms instead of letting him fall on his face on the attic's bare planks.

At first no-one seemed to notice Frederick's fainting except Nick, her sudden tug to get her hand back having alarmed him. He noiselessly got up and supported the broadly-built man, just in time for Anne was starting to feel the weight of him, she was slight and Frederick's limp body kept wanting to slide to the floor. A quick look at Simon showed him torn between the desire to go to his lover and his usual hesitation to even acknowledge him in public. Anne gestured him to help, he was Frederick's personal servant after all, as far as anyone knew, and it was his right, even his duty, to assist his master when unwell. Simon seemed to understand, he rushed over and helped Nick to lift Frederick away from the scene that had disturbed him. Somehow, Anne didn't think less of him for fainting, it was a very disconcerting scene, and she liked to think he was a lot more sensitive than he pretended to be. She followed to where the others took Frederick, he was her fiancée after all, she could not leave him to Simon's care without giving a wrong impression.

Having found a nice, quiet place to rest Frederick's still shape against a fat wooden support, Nick moved towards Anne and whispered, 'I checked his pulse, he is fine, he must have been unaware he cannot stand the sight of so much blood. Will you stay with him? If he is not conscious in about ten minutes it may be best to have one of those doctors see to him. Though we'll have to make sure they leave their scalpels behind and wash their hands, consumption is deadly to the rich as well as the poor.'