Chapter 9
Week 4, Instructor Calendar, February 1896
Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care.
II.iii
Concordia sat beside Mary’s bed, straightening the rumpled covers. Even in a laudanum sleep, Mary was curled up tightly, protectively, around her abdomen, as if bracing herself against spasms of pain.
When in good health, she was a pretty, blond-haired young woman, with a heart-shaped face and a mild temperament. Her illness, however, had furrowed her brow, made her complexion sickly and her hair lank and dull against the pillows.
Concordia wrinkled her nose. The stuffy room smelled strongly of carbolic acid, despite the lavender the maids had tucked under the mattress and carpets. She wished she could open a window.
She reached once again to wring out wet cloths for her s
