| Sick Woman, 1665, by Jan Steen |
" Marguerite, Marguerite-" Thomas was beside himself.
"What now dear one?" He took her pulse, " Steady and a bit slow-"
He paced a bit more, hands clasped behind his back. Then peered down at her head
resting on a pillow. " Eyes open and vacant-" He rubbed his chin. " Migraine
last week, tooth ache- ?" Is that what Mrs. Colbert had said this morning ?
He marched toward the door intent on finding that poor lady for confirmation.
*Sigh* It is too late now-she will have gone home...
He turned abruptly and struck something with his toe, it went skittering away
ending up under the bed. He followed and knelt down to retrieve it.
" What- ?" The brown glass bottle was stoppered with cork and empty. He opened
the container and sniffed. "WHEW!" he jerked the offensive vial away from his nose.
What-he racked his memory for a name and yanked up the skirt of the four poster bed
again, peering into the dim depths. "Ah-hah!" Three more bottles lay further underneath.
At that moment the door opened and a gentleman peered in.
Thomas got up." Peter-come in, please-" And turned as the elder man entered,
"Has Marguerite been well? I came to say good night and found her like this-"
He waved to indicate the lady reclining near him.
" She has been calling for medicine regularly of late-" Peter stood by the door.
"Why?"
" Her stomach I believe-"
Thomas blinked thoughtfully." Do you recognize this scent-?" He held out the bottle
The man came forward and took it from his hand.
His reaction was similar to Thomas's."How foul-" He shoved the bottle back.
" Pain or poison ?"
All the grey haired man could do was shrug."Good question-I guess we must
investigate,"He glanced at the sideways lady who had not moved. "Before it is too late."
18 comments:
Laudeman? Not sure of the spelling? Nice twist
ooo i like this bit of mystery....Holmesian feel to it...investigate we must...smiles.
She does look drunk... clever take and a bit mysterious!
Investigate... before the body gets cold ;-)
Kathe W., I think you are thinking of laudanum, and that was my first thought, too.
Clever beginning to a mystery!
Well, she had her own remedy in mind. And I was of a similar bent. May the mystery not be solved. Good Mag!!!
Oh, a little mystery for the kind Doctor to investigate ... I love it!
Mysteries involving doctors and drugs are always fascinating ... methinks Mrs. Colbert is a goner ...
Great. A detective story. More clues please, and a sequel. Poison. Wonderful.
The game's afoot, I see...a pulse is a good sign! More, please!!
Red Bull!!!
Oh, I love the air of mystery you've created, Izzy. The conversational clues you've described are as rich as the textures in the painting. Very well spoke! Thank you for sharing.
Excellent yarn , Izzy . Reminds me of a novel i once read " the lonely passion of judith hearne ", thanks
did i ever tell you i finished the documentary...really enjoyed it and it made me break out a book of his as well that i had picked up at the used bookstore a year ago and re-read it....
I loved your take. Very good writing....
healing power of the soul
Damn. That was intense. You should check out my band Terminally Ill on my blog that I wrote about them.
A wonderful mystery/detective tale here.
Now what did the bottle contain...
Anna :o]
"The sideways lady" indeed! This was a wonderful tale. Loved it, izzy.
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