'Oh God,' Amelia breathed, the color draining from her face. The three of them were silent with shared horror.
There was no other fever that burned so violently or spread so quickly. It provoked a brilliant red rash from the skin, imparting a fine, gritty texture like the glass paper used to smooth pieces of wood. And it burned and ravaged its way through the body until the organs failed. The disease lingered in the expired air, in locks of hair, on the skin itself. The only way to protect others was to isolate the patient.
'Was he certain?' Kev asked in a controlled voice. 'Yes, he said the signs are unmistakable. And he said-'
Win broke off as Kev strode toward her. 'No, Merripen!' And she held up a slim white hand with such desperate authority that it stopped him in his tracks. 'No one must come near me. Leo is at Laura's house. He won't leave her. They said it was all right for him to stay, and… you must gather up Poppy and Beatrix, and Amelia, too, and take them to our cousins in Hedgerley. They won't like it, but they'll take them in and-'
'I'm not going anywhere,' Amelia said, her manner calm even though she was trembling slightly. 'If you have the fever, you'll need me to take care of you.'
'But if you should catch it-'
'I had a very mild bout of it when I was a young child. That means I'm probably safe from it now.'
'What about Leo?'
'I'm afraid he didn't have it. Which may put him in danger.' Amelia glanced at Kev. 'Merripen, did you ever-'
'I don't know.'
'Then you should stay away with the children until this is over. Will go you collect them? They went out to play at the winterbourne. I'll pack their things.'
Kev found it nearly impossible to leave Win when she might be ill. But there was no choice. Someone had to take her sisters to a safe place.
Before an hour had passed, Kev had found Beatrix and Poppy, loaded the bewildered girls into the family carriage, and taken them on the half-day journey to Hedgerley. By the time he had settled them with their cousins and returned to the cottage, it was well past midnight.
Amelia was in the parlor, wearing her nightclothes and dressing robe, her hair trailing down her back in a long braid. She sat before the fire, her shoulders hunched inward.
She looked up with surprise as Kev entered the house. 'You shouldn't be here. The danger-'
'How is she?' Kev interrupted. 'Any sign of fever yet?'
'Chills. Pains. No rise in temperature, as far as I can tell. Perhaps that's a good sign. Perhaps that means she'll only have it lightly.'
'Any word from the Dillards? From Leo?'
Amelia shook her head. 'Win said he meant to sleep in the parlor, and go to her whenever they would allow it. It isn't at all proper, but if Laura… well, if she doesn't live through this…' Amelia's voice thickened, and she paused to swallow back tears. 'I suppose if it comes to that, they wouldn't want to deprive Laura of her last moments with the man she loves.'
Kev sat nearby and silently sorted through platitudes he'd heard gadje say to one another. Things about endurance, and accepting the Almighty's will, and about worlds far better than this one. He couldn't bring himself to repeat any of it to Amelia. Her grief was too honest, her love for her family too real.
'It's too much,' he heard Amelia whisper after a while. 'I can't bear losing anyone else. I'm so afraid for Win. I'm afraid for Leo.' She rubbed her forehead. 'I sound like the rankest coward, don't I?'
Kev shook his head. 'You would be a fool not to be afraid.'
That elicited a small, dry chuckle. 'I am definitely not a fool, then.'
By morning Win was flushed and feverish, her legs moving restlessly beneath the covers. Kev went to a window and drew open the curtain, admitting the weak light of dawn.
She awakened as he approached the bed, her blue eyes wide in her red-burnished face. 'No,' she croaked, trying to shrink away from him. 'You're not supposed to be here. Don't come near me; you'll catch it. Please go-'
'Quiet,' Kev said, sitting on the edge of the mattress. He caught Win as she tried to roll away, and settled his hand on her forehead. He felt the burning pulse beneath her fragile skin, the veins lit with raging fever.
As Win struggled to push him away, Kev was alarmed by how feeble she had grown. Already.
'Don't,' she sobbed, writhing. Weak tears slid from her eyes. 'Please don't touch me. I don't want you here. I don't want you to get sick. Oh, please go…'
Kev pulled her up against him, her body living flame beneath the thin layer of her nightgown, the pale silk of her hair streaming over both of them. And he cradled her head in one of his hands, the powerful battered hand of a bare-knuckle fighter. 'You're mad,' he said in a low voice, 'if you think I would leave you now. I'll see you safe and well no matter what it takes.'
'I won't live through this,' she whispered.
Kev was shocked by the words, and even more by his own reaction to them.
'I'm going to die,' she said, 'and I won't take you with me.'
Kev gripped her more closely, letting her fitful breaths blow against his face. No matter how she writhed, he wouldn't let go. He breathed the air from her, taking it deep into his own lungs.
'Stop,' she cried, trying desperately to twist away from him. The exertion caused her flush to darken. 'This is madness… Oh, you stubborn wretch, let me go!'
'Never.' Kev smoothed her wild, fine hair, the strands darkening where her tears had tracked. 'Easy,' he murmured. 'Don't exhaust yourself. Rest.'
Win's struggles slowed as she recognized the futility of resisting him. 'You're so strong,' she said faintly, the words born not of praise, but damnation. 'You're so strong…'
'Yes,' Kev said, gently using a corner of the bed linens to dry her face. 'I'm a brute, and you've always known it, haven't you?'
'Yes,' she whispered.
'And you're going to do as I say.' He cradled her against his chest and gave her some water.
She took a few painful sips. 'Can't,' she managed, turning her face away.
'More,' he insisted, bringing the cup back to her lips.
'Let me sleep, please-'
'After you drink more.'
Kev wouldn't relent until she obeyed with a moan. Settling her back into the pillows, he let her drowse for a few minutes, then returned with some toast softened in broth. He bullied her into taking a few spoonfuls.
By that time Amelia had awakened, and she came into Win's room. A quick double blink was Amelia's only reaction to the sight of Win leaning back against Kev's arm while he fed her.
'Get rid of him,' Win told her sister hoarsely, her head resting on Kev's shoulder. 'He's torturing me.'
'Well, we've always known he was a fiend,' Amelia said in a reasonable tone, coming to stand at the bedside. 'How dare you, Merripen?… Coming into an unsuspecting girl's room and feeding her toast.'
'The rash has started,' Kev said, noting the roughness that was rising up Win's throat and cheeks. Her silken skin had turned sandy and red. He felt Amelia's hand touch his back, clenching in a loose fold of his shirt as if she needed to hold on to him for balance.
But Amelia's voice was light and steady. 'I'll mix a solution of soda-water. That should soothe the rawness, dear.'
Kev felt a surge of admiration for Amelia. No matter what disasters came her way, she was willing to meet all challenges. Of all the Hathaways, she had shown the toughest mettle so far. And yet Win would have to be stronger and even more obstinate, if she was to survive the days to come.
'While you bathe her,' he told Amelia, 'I'll fetch the doctor.'
Not that he had any faith in a gadjo doctor, but it might give the sisters peace of mind. Kev also wanted to see how Leo and Laura were faring.
After relinquishing Win to Amelia's care, Kev went to the Dillards' home. But the maid who answered the door told him that Leo wasn't available.
