SWNOVELS Chapter Amber's Performance
Viola
My consultation with Dr. Gibbons proceeds without any unusual occurrences. He informs me that it’s still too early to determine if there has been any permanent damage to my sight. I watch as Dr. Gibbons scans the room before deliberately removing his gold-rimmed glasses and folding them. He looks me straight in the eye and takes a breath.
“Lady Viola,” Dr. Gibbons begins, sliding his glasses into his breast pocket. “No one has been able to tell me the cause of your injury. Now that you’re up and about, perhaps you can tell me how you suffered a blow that knocked you out for three days?”
“You’re an experienced physician, Dr. Gibbons,” I reply as I make my way over to the bar to pour myself two fingers of scotch. I never used to enjoy the drink until my father taught me how to appreciate it. Now, every time I have a drink, it’s in his memory.
“I don’t recommend you drink until the swelling goes down,” Dr. Gibbons advises. “Alcohol thins the blood and slows healing.”
“Duly noted,” I sip my Scotch, savoring its horridness.
“What does it look like to you?” I gesture to my face. “And be careful what you say, Doctor; these walls have ears.”
Dr. Gibbons’ brows knit with concern. If he’s tight-lipped about the printer’s daughter, he certainly won’t want to discuss such a sensitive topic about Lord Spencer’s new wife if there’s any risk of eavesdroppers. I trust Dr. Gibbons—he appears trustworthy and honorable. But given my track record of judgment, marrying an abusive man, and befriending a ghastly Daemon, I won’t be making any hasty decisions. I must tread carefully with how much trust I instill into him.
“Perhaps we should meet at my office tomorrow morning and discuss your case in a more private environment?” Dr. Gibbons suggests.
Just like that, I have a private meeting with the doctor who treated a blood-drained patient. If he knows how to restore someone in such a state, perhaps he can provide insight into how I might help Mr. Kane.
As expected, as I prepare to leave for my appointment with Dr. Gibbons, Mrs. Norris insists that Amber accompany me to the doctor’s office. I pretend to protest, but it’s been my plan to take her with me all along. I need her—Amber will create chaos if I require a distraction.
“A distraction? For what purpose, milady?” Amber looks at me, half confused and half excited at the prospect of a scheme.
I stop her before we get too close to the car, where Edmund, the chauffeur, patiently waits for us. “Depending on how agreeable Dr. Gibbons is, I might need to...borrow some of his equipment, but I’m not entirely sure yet.”
“Right. Perhaps I can faint?!” She beams, her eyes widen with excitement.
I can see her considering all the possible ways she can cause a scene. I’m just relieved she didn’t ask why I might want the doctor’s equipment, and we arrive at the doctor’s office without any more questions. It’s not as if I can buy what I need without arousing suspicion, and then there’s also the issue of funds—William may have inherited my father’s fortune, but he’s not sharing it.
I’m on guard as I sit down across from Dr. Gibbons in his office. I can’t afford any missteps here—his ties to William’s family likely run deep. I’ll stay silent and wait to see what he says before offering any information.
Dr. Gibbons sits across from me and leans forward expectantly on his desk.
“Lady Viola, your injury concerns me deeply. If you choose me as your physician, anything you disclose will remain confidential,” Dr. Gibbons says, pausing to let his words sink in.
He hesitates briefly. “I understand it must be difficult. Losing your father set you on a journey you didn’t anticipate. Just know, Lady Viola, you are not the first young lady to tread such a path.”
There it is—the implication that the first Lady Spencer must have been in this very office, confiding in the good doctor. Perhaps this is his way of alluding to her medical history without breaching confidentiality.
“Are you implying that my husband mistreated his first wife?” I inquire, probing for more information.
Dr. Gibbons’s expression suggests that I’m way off base.
“Oh no, William cherished her deeply, though seeing you like this does confirm my suspicions,” Dr. Gibbons responds, shaking his head as he leans back in his seat with a sigh. “I’ve witnessed a dramatic transformation in him. He used to be a loving and carefree young man. But when his wife passed away, I believe all the goodness within him died along with her.”
“May I ask how she died?”
I watch as Dr. Gibbons’s face changes as if in thought.
“I’m sorry. Is that all confidential?” I ask.
“No, actually, it’s all public record after the investigation,” he says matter-of-factly.
“Investigation?” My ears almost twitch when I hear that word, and it repeats in my mind until Dr. Gibbons speaks again.
“Lady Emily Spencer died in very horrific circumstances, much like the attack on that girl yesterday. She was drained of her blood, with not a single drop to be found anywhere near her body,” he says.
A Vampyre, it must be. Does that mean there’s another one running about town that attacked the printer’s daughter?
“What made the whole situation more despicable was that whomever, or whatever did this, could plainly see that she was also with child.”
“With child?” I hear myself whisper. “How awful.”
That might explain why William is the way he is—in one single day, he lost not only his beloved wife but also his unborn child.
Even then, I hardly see how it’s fair he should take out his anger and pain on me.
“The printer’s daughter, will she be all right?” I ask Dr. Gibbons.
He eyes me. If I were anyone else, he would tell me to mind my own business, but as a Lady, I’m not just anybody. Maybe being William’s wife has its bonuses.
“She’s in recovery now. Though I can’t say for sure, it’s all up to her now.”
“For a moment, I thought you might say it was up to God.”
Dr. Gibbons chuckles and shakes his head. “No, milady, God abandoned these parts long ago, about the same time that Kane fellow showed up.”
My heart stops. “Who?”
“This was before your time here. A Mr. Kane showed up a few years ago around the same time people started going missing. Some thought he was the one responsible for all the exsanguination and murders, including Lady Spencer herself.”
“Really?” I might need to rethink my befriending Mr. Kane.
“No need to worry, Lady Viola. Mr. Kane is long gone,” Dr. Gibbons tries to reassure me, but little does he know he’s shackled up in my current place of residence.
Now’s my chance to ask him the one thing I came here to find out.
“Dr. Gibbons, how does one treat someone who has lost copious amounts of blood? I’m not asking about the girl specifically. In general, as a physician, how do you do it?”
“Well, in most cases, a blood transfusion is necessary to restore what was lost. Then the body can begin to heal and produce more blood to replenish what was lost.”
“Fascinating,” I say.
It’s time to tickle his ego—everyone has one—let’s hope the doctor likes to talk about his work like most men do.
“Your work is quite intriguing, Dr. Gibbons. How does one collect blood to give to a patient who needs a transfusion, and what exactly is a transfusion? You must possess the incredible skill to perform what I imagine to be a delicate and complex procedure.”
To my relief, Dr. Gibbons explains the procedure is quite simple and when I express more curiosity, he proceeds to show me everything—including the instruments required to collect blood. Unfortunately, the only thing I don’t get to witness is the actual insertion of a needle into a donor’s vein—probably the most important and delicate part of the entire process.
As I follow Dr. Gibbons down the hall, I start to wonder if I could ever perform a blood transfusion on myself. Could I manage to insert a needle into my vein to feed a Vampyre that murdered a pregnant woman? The whole idea seems preposterous.
My thoughts are interrupted when Dr. Gibbons opens a cooling chest, revealing a collection of glass bottles filled with human blood neatly labeled with various information.
Without hesitation, I glance at Amber and shoot her a discreet wink—a signal for a distraction.
Amber’s eyes narrow at me as if to double-check whether I sent her “the signal” or just blinked in an odd fashion.
I can’t help but smile and wink at her more obviously, and Amber responds almost instantly.
“Oh, I… I think I’m…” she mutters, fanning herself.
Amber loudly slams her hand on the table to grab attention and steady herself. She dramatically drags her hand along the tabletop to swipe a whole tray of instruments and gadgets crashing onto the floor. Wow, she’s fantastic!
Her fainting so enraptures me that I almost forget my part of the plan until Dr. Gibbons brushes past me to get to her.
While he and a nurse check on Amber, I quietly open the cooling unit, take a bottle of blood, and hide it in my skirt pocket. It never occurred to me until now that a female thief has quite an advantage. With all these folds of fabric to hide things in. If I were to add a few secret pockets, I could steal all the bottles from this fridge! God help me. I’m insane.
They assist Amber in sitting up, and I catch her looking my way to check if I need more time. I nod at her, a sign that all is clear, and she immediately begins to recover.
“I do apologize, I didn’t eat breakfast this morning. I didn’t mean to cause a scene,” Amber says breathlessly while fanning herself with her hand.
Throughout the ride home, Amber wears a proud and cheeky smile. I doubt she gets to do crazy things like this regularly.
With my hand placed over the bottle of blood in my pocket, I look out the window, hoping that all of this was worth it. After discovering that Mr. Kane killed a heavily pregnant woman, I doubt I’m making the right decision by helping him. I have a long list of questions to ask him—I can use the blood I’ve stolen from Dr. Gibbons as leverage for information. Surely, in his condition, it’ll be enough to motivate him to answer some tough questions.
If I can empower him and release him, he could wreak havoc on Lord William Spencer without my going against my nature—I’m not someone who can harm others, so while I may not be able to exact my revenge, a Vampyre with godlike strength and a natural inclination to prey on men can handle William without exerting much effort.
It doesn’t matter if my plan fails and William ends me—I’d rather perish in the midst of a flawed plan than allow this way of life to persist. The longer this continues, the greater the risk of becoming pregnant with William’s child. I’d sooner throw myself off a rooftop than carry a piece of him within me.
Every time William is inside me, it’s my one and only fear. I don’t much care for myself or my body—I’ve discovered that I can disconnect myself from the situation entirely. I’m no fool about how these things work—I’ve read the necessary medical journals and seen all the diagrams.
When William empties himself inside me, I pray to whatever all-mighty being is out there that my body doesn’t conceive—not for him. I pray that my body is broken in some way—that I’m infertile and defective and unable to carry.
If I became pregnant, it would extinguish any hope of escape. Regardless of William’s monstrous nature, I would love that child wholeheartedly. I could never subject them to an unstable life on the run if I escaped, and I could never leave the child to grow up with William—I would be forever tied to him, bound by blood.