Summer hugs her tightly and slips it in the pocket of her travel skirt. “Thank you, but we will be traveling as cousins. I have discussed it with Mr. Yates, and we understand each other. I shall cherish it as a reminder of how kind you have been. You saved me, Mrs. Evert, without you I was headed for the workhouses. I shall never forget that!” Summer struggles not to cry and embarrass herself.
“There now, maybe you shall save each other. They need you, and if you allow yourself the chance to hope, you may find all your dreams coming true. Rest assured that I will deliver your package today, enjoy your trip.” Mrs. Evert hugs her and runs inside before they see her cry.
Summer turns and finds the boys staring at her. Victor and Jonah stare at her with matching grins, and her heart sighs. Inside, she hears her mother's voice saying, ‘trust your instinct.’ Her smile spreads as she walks towards them. Jonah grabs her hand as Victor guides her inside the carriage, and they begin their journey together.
Chapter 20
Dr. William Ellis sighs as he looks over the reports of the dead and infected from the SS Kharon. He removes his spectacles and rubs his eyes only to jump when a loud knock sounds out. His secretary, Janet enters.
“Forgive the intrusion, Dr. Ellis, but there is a woman here who insists on seeing you directly.”
“I can’t possibly…” he starts to pronounce, but the older woman pushes her way past the secretary.
“Please excuse the distraction, Dr. Ellis, but I promised Miss Denning that I would speak to you personally.” Mrs. Evert isn’t going to be swayed.
At the name Denning, Dr. Ellis rises to his feet and steps around his desk. “Did I hear you correctly, you said Miss Denning?”
“Quite right,” Mrs. Evert smiles and leans forward, “Summer Denning, daughter of the late Dr. Charles Denning.”
“Janet, please bring tea. We will be a little while.”
“But sir, your one o’clock meeting….”
“Can wait. This is important.” He guides Mrs. Evert to a seat by the fire, and Mrs. Evert sighs in satisfaction.
“I won’t keep you long, sir. I made a promise to Miss Denning that I would get this package to you.” She reaches in her bag and pulls out an envelope. “This letter should explain everything.”
Dr. Ellis takes the offered packet and stares at it, “I don’t understand. Summer Denning died during her quarantine. You are sure it is the same person?” She pats his hand.
“Yes, truly. Her letter will explain everything. Summer is on her way to New York. She was hired by Mr. Victor Yates, the Architect to tutor his son.” Janet has pushed the door open quietly walking to the table between them and places the tray down. She leaves as quietly as she came being sure to leave the door cracked, so she can listen.
“New York? Are they traveling by train?” Ms. Evert pours tea for the two of them and sips on hers.
“No, they are traveling by wagon. I imagine it will take a week or so for them to arrive. We are in the process of closing the Boston house for the winter. Miss Denning asked that you look for her brother, Alexander Denning. He is on his way to New York and then here, to tie up his personal affairs and collect Miss Denning. I really can’t stay much longer, everything you need to know is explained in the letter. Thank you for your time.” Mrs. Evert leaves as quickly as she arrived and Dr. Ellis hurries to his desk to open the letter.
Thirty minutes later he yells to his secretary, “Janet I need you to ring for the board members, now. I will be in a private meeting the remainder of the day, cancel everything else.”
“Yes, sir.”
William Ellis, President of Harvard Medical School, Thomas Hiller, Vice President, and three other esteemed members of the board are in a private meeting. With hushed voices, they gather over a letter delivered from Miss Summer Denning whom they were told died in the epidemic along with her entire family.
“Can it be true?” Thomas asks loudly, only to be hushed. “How could one man expect to get away with something this horrific?” His bald white head is flushed as his pale cheeks, showing the true nature of his distress.
William's hands tremble as he holds the letter and rereads it. “The only thing to do is to check out her claims. We must go to the house and find these trunks. Dr. Denning’s work must not be lost! We can compare it to this letter and then to the journal Dr. Rudolph is in possession of and finally to this third protocol.” William smooths a wrinkled hand through his lush white hair and removes his spectacles.
“William, if Miss Denning's claims are true, this borders on genocide!” Josiah Day shouts. “It would mean he willingly infected an entire ship of people that was headed to a highly populated city!”
Janet listens through the vent in the closet. She has been the secretary for three years and quickly learned to keep her ears open and her mouth shut. These men are used to being in positions of power and Jung had made her a great many promises over the last few weeks.
The men can only stare at each other and let that sink in. William goes to the door and asks the secretary to have a carriage brought round. “This must not leave this room! We will figure out what to do about this if it proves to be true. First things first, however. I took the liberty of speaking to the host
