We Are The Cure : The Plague Doctor's Tale.

Chapter 27

All of them were looking at Annabelle carefully. She didn't seem to be much intrigued by the story but she knew a lot about it. 

"How do you know that it was jealousy?" Asked Giovanni suddenly. It turned out that he was the one who got interested in that story the most.

"Well, it's not something I'm completely sure of but people think it's the most plausible reason. Some say that Dorothy was once in love with Mr Blight but he married Mrs Blight and forgot about her. Others claim that she was jealous of their beautiful sons as Mr Durant didn't have any offspring. Or that Young Blight is her son...However, there is one more theory..."

"Tell me more!" Giovanni encouraged her while Rosalynn looked at Doctor who partially lost his interest in the story as he wasn't fond of any supernatural stories. 

"So... It is said that the ghost might seek for revenge. It was strange that she died so suddenly and some people suspect that someone from Blight family murdered her and now, Dorothy's ghost haunts the poor boy." 

"Enough nonsense for today." Doctor stood up annoyed and grabbed a plate with food. "I will be in my room." He left them and disappeared in his bedroom. 

Rosalynn also felt tired so she decided to go to her room as well. From behind the closed door she was able to hear the conversation between Annabelle and Giovanni, who asked her to tell Dorothy's story in more detailed way.

Similarly to Doctor, Rosalynn wasn't particularly interested in ghost stories although she didn't neglect the fact that ghosts exist. She believed that sometimes poor souls are lost and need human guidance or at least some prayers to help them cross the other side. 

She opened her bag to check how much medical supplies she already used. It was enough for few more patients but soon she had to collect more herbs. Thinking of herbs she reminded herself of Agness and Jon, and felt a little sting in her heart. She missed them so much and wanted to go back to Eyam to meet them again but she knew it was impossible at that moment. Rosalynn was curious whether Agness still had problems with her insomnia and then the strange boy came to her mind. He was also suffering from sleepless nights like her friend from Eyam. 

Rosalynn decided that she might help him with that. She opened her bag again and searched for a bottle entitled Lavender. When she found it, there wasn't much of it so she left her room and asked Annabelle if there were any lavender fields nearby.

"Lavender?" Asked the maid surprised. "I'm not quite sure if it grows somewhere near. I'm sorry, Miss."

"I can help you look for it tomorrow." Giovanni gave her a warm smile and Rosalynn came back to her room. 

Once more she took a look at the bottle with purple dried herbs and assessed what could be done with such little amount. She decided to prepare a very small jar of ointment. She also took out a mortar and a bottle of other dried herb. That was melisa as it possessed calming properties. She placed the two herbs into a mortar and began to pulp them into a powder. When it was done, she took some olive oil, wax, and saucepan from her bag and moved all her herbal workshop into the kitchen where Giovanni and Annabelle were still sitting and talking. 

"Oh, you're still awake?" Asked Giovanni but when he saw all her equipment he frowned. "Wait, don't you tell me you're going to cook an ointment right now? Dio mio*, Rosalynn. It's time to go to bed, not to cook..."

"I think it may help someone who needs some sleep. Now, if you excuse me." She reached the tiled stove and put a saucepan on one of the stove lids. The she put some olive oil and wax inside and waited until the wax melted. Occasionally stirring, she added powdered herbs and mixed them with the mixture. It smelled very nice although lavender was hardly smellable. Rosalynn promised herself that she will add more of it tomorrow unless she wouldn't find it. She put the saucepan aside and came back to her room to garb a jar and poured the mixture into it. 

She didn't even notice when she was alone in the kitchen. It looked like Annabelle came back to her home and Giovanni was resting in his room. The silence was annoying so she started humming one of the songs she knew from her childhood.

When Rosalynn was about to leave the kitchen, suddenly Doctor left his room with an empty plate in his hands. He wanted to return the plate and come back but as he saw her cooking, he decided to talk to her.

"Are you preparing an ointment?" He tilted his head the the left a bit. It was a sign that he got interested. 

"Actually it's a calming ointment with lavender and melisa but the lavender scent is very weak." She smiled and touched the jar. She forgot that the jar was still hot and quickly drew her hand back shrieking. 

Doctor came closer to her in no time and had a look at her hand. 

"Under water. Quickly." He grabbed her hand and rushed her to the basin filled with well water which was placed on the kitchen counter. He put the plate aside and was now focused on keeping Rosalynn's hand under cold water. 

Not long after that, Giovanni popped out of his room confused.

"What's going on? What are these screams?" When he looked at them gathered by the basin with Doctor still holding Rosalynn's hand, he blushed and decided do go back to his room and act like nothing had happened. 

"It's not what you think it is!" Shouted Rosalynn afraid that he might had wrong idea of whole situation.

"Do not bother yourself with Giovanni. You'd better be focused on your burnt hand."  She nodded and they remained like that for a while. She could feel his grip on her wrist and his chest pressing to her back. The only hear was her heart beating so fast and the sound of water. 

Although it wasn't the first time when Doctor was so close to her, she still felt nervous when he was so close to her. Instantly she came back to the memories when he was applying an ointment on her ribs and she blushed involuntarily. 

"I think it should be a bit better now." He said suddenly and wanted to have a closer look at her burn but accidentally he hit her head with his beak.

"Ouch." With her uninjured hand she touched her hurting head. She didn't expect his mask to be that stiff. 

"Oh my. I did not mean to... Are you okay?" He decided to step next to her to not cause any more accidental harm. There was a concern and surprise in his voice. 

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. It hurts a bit but it's still nothing compared to the burn on my hand." She tried to smile but it was hard due to the pain in her hand. Having heard that she is okay, he leaned to assess the burn. It wasn't very bad as he initially thought although almost all her palm and fingers were red and swollen. 

"Come to my room. I have some camomile ointment you gave me earlier." 

...

When she received a proper treatment and her hand was wrapped with bandage, she came back to the kitchen to take the jar but Doctor insisted she came back to her room. He offered himself  to bring the jar for her. At least he was wearing leather gloves so his skin was safe. 

He put the jar on the windowsill in her room and when she was resting in bed, he said his goodnight and closed the door. 

After she closed her eyes she had another dream. From time to time she was dreaming of her mother. Each dream was almost the same. Her mother was standing somewhere in the forest looking gravely at Rosalynn. Each time she was saying lavender and then the dreams ended. Rosalynn still couldn't get what she meant by that. 

The dream she had tonight was a bit different from the previous ones. She was still standing in the forest but this time she was also facing the boy from before. He seemed lost and depressed. His brown hair were messy and his brown eyes were looking for a way out of the forest. 

At first, Rosalyn tried to speak to him in vain but soon she decided to grab his hand and show the way out but found it impossible. Anytime she was trying to do that, her hand wouldn't reach the boy's hand. The boy looked confused at her and suddenly the scenario changed. She was on the field covered with camomile. In the ocean of white flowers she noticed her mother who was picking the flowers into the basket she was holding. Rosalynn felt a nice warmth in her heart as she remembered that day when her mother took her for flowers picking. 

She woke up early in the morning with her eyes filled with tears.

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*Dio mio = My God