The nurse spoke calmly, without any hint of haste. “Before we pick him up, ma’am, I need to know where you think he’s hurt.”
The woman had squatted next to her son and was stroking his hair. “He and that neighbor boy were horsin’ around in the barn loft. Fell out the window and landed on his arm.”
She looked up at Alice. Even in the inky night, Alice could see the love and desperation in her eyes. “He’s our only so he plays with that older boy. Probably too much, but I don’t’ want to keep him tied to my apron strings.”
Niall interrupted then. “Let’s get him into the office. If it’s just a hurt arm, we should be able to move him.” Then he paused. “You’ve moved him already. I suspect it won’t make any difference if I pick him up.”
The boy cried loudly as Niall gently lifted him. Alice could see he used care not to jostle the arm. Still, the child screamed in pain.
Behaving like a doctor in charge, Niall strode swiftly through the kitchen. Alice hustled to keep up with him, expecting they would head to the study. After all, he’d said they would go to the office.
Instead, he stood in front of a wall and waited for her. “Nurse Cordell, do you see that knot hole? Put your finger into it and slide the wall back.”
Wonder of wonders, the wall did move. Behind it, Alice found another door and opened it without being asked. She hurried back into the kitchen, grabbing the oil lamp from the table.
By the time she returned to the open wall, Niall had moved into the dark room beyond. She followed with the lamp and caught the gleam of jars and a white enamel sink when she lifted the light high. Why hadn’t she realized the house would have a doctor’s office? It made no sense for there not to be one.
“Bring the lamp here, nurse. I need light to examine this arm.”
In the dark, the child whimpered at the doctor’s words. “Don’t hurt me no more.”
Once Alice stepped close to Niall, he whispered in her ear. “You’d best mix some laudanum in cider and bring it here.”
Agreeing softly, Alice handed the lamp to the fretting woman. “I need to get some cider for your son. It’s a special part of the doctor’s cure.”
In the flickering lamp light, she saw the woman’s confusion followed by sudden understanding. With a bob of her chin, the mother took the lamp, freeing Alice to fetch what was needed.
She hurried back from the kitchen with the half-filled juice glass. A small, brown bottle stood in the pantry and she had the cider ready for the boy to drink without adding anything to it in front of him.
When Alice stepped into the office, the young one was explaining to the doctor. “And then he and I decided to pretend box.” Hiccups and small sobs interrupted the boy’s words. “I just got too c-c-close to the l-l-loft door.”
She interrupted. “My, what a story you’ll have to tell. Now, the doctor wants you to take this so he can fix your arm and not hurt you.” Alice held the small glass to the boy’s mouth with one arm under his neck, lifting him up enough to swallow.
He took a sip and grimaced. “Yuck. That don’t taste like my ma’s cider.”
Alice gave him a tight smile. “No matter. You have to drink it all, and quickly so you don’t taste it.”
Tipping up the glass for him, Alice watched, satisfied, as he swallowed the contents. “I don’t think the doctor’s stuff tastes goo—”
He was out, and Alice laid his head on the table. Niall began his exam, and Alice fetched items as he requested them. There was a bit of fumbling to find things since she’d never been in the room. Still, she was pleased with how well they worked together.
Niall must have felt that way, too. He smiled at her as she handed him items. When the arm was set and splinted, he even winked at her as he said, “Well, that’s our first patient taken care of. And a good job of it, I think.”
He explained to the mother what she needed to do. After answering her questions with a warm, reassuring voice, Niall carried the unconscious boy to the woman’s farm wagon.
“I’d suggest you move the blankets and put him at your feet. Not in the box of the wagon. Too bumpy.”
Before they left, the woman shoved two dollars into Alice’s hands. “For the doctor. When we come back, you can tell me if he wants more’n that.”
She drove off, with Niall and Alice staring after her. He broke the silence first. “I suppose we’ll need to discuss rates if you’re taking in the money.”
In the dark, he couldn’t see her nod. Softly, she agreed. “Yes, I have two dollars from the woman.”
“Sounds good. And five for delivering a baby. It’ll be a dollar for an office visit or four bits if they only see you.”
Alice knew that was customary, so she didn’t take offense at taking in a lesser rate. Even if a nurse was making home visits, she didn’t receive the fee due to a doctor.
“Now, let’s get back to my question.”
They’d moved back into the kitchen. Dark corners surrounded her on all sides. Niall’s face with its intense stare became the only thing truly visible in the room.
His voice held no hint of humor. She thought she caught a desperate note in it. “Are you going to marry me now that I’ve seen so much of you?”
Alice picked up
