ridiculous," Emma maintained.
"Is it? Mam met a man from Trinidad who swore drinking bat's blood could make you invisible."
"Ugh! How nauseating," Emma said with an expression of disgust.
He smiled at her repugnance over the bat.
"Where is the rest of the bat?" she asked.
Ignoring the question, he poured the mixture he'd made onto one of the plates and wet it with some of the milk he'd brought in. Taking scissors off the dresser, he went to sit beside the boy sleeping in the bed and snipped off a half inch of his blond bangs.
"I think you've gone mad," Emma commented as he sprinkled the hair into the brown, reeking concoction he now cupped in his palm. She looked to the other two soldiers for confirmation of this, but they simply shrugged as they poured milk on their oatmeal.
"Wake up, Kid," Jack said, shaking the boy gently. "Doctor Magic is here to fix you up. Soon you'll be right as rain."
Almost as if his words had brought it on, thunder clouds abruptly dimmed the light. Raindrops splashed against the windows. Jack laughed, delighted. "It's what I'm sayin'--right as rain!"
The next day, the British and Canadian soldiers were taken to a separate room. Emma guessed it was her old bedroom by the direction and distance of the footsteps and the closing door. Colonel Schiller allowed Kid to stay in the room with Emma and Jack probably because they were taking care of him so well.
Astoundingly well, Emma thought with amazement as she sat in the big chair one afternoon with her copy of Wuthering Heights in her lap. Jack's disgusting salve applied over Kid's wound had stopped the bleeding entirely. By the next morning the injury was no more than a raised, twisting, red mark.
"It don't even hurt, Jack," Kid said now, sitting up in bed and gazing at Jack with awe and gratitude.
"Lucky thing the bullet passed right through you," Jack noted as he sat on a hard-backed chair and watched the rainstorm continue to pound the windows.
"I'm sure glad I came upon you here," Kid told him. "Most of the guys in the fields don't run into doctors as good as you. I sure was lucky."
Jack smiled before turning his attention back to the rain-soaked window. Emma turned in the big chair and put down Wuthering Heights to observe him; he watched the rain as if entranced by it. What was he thinking about? Surely he was crazy as a loon.
"How are you doing this?" Emma asked him once Kid had fallen off for a nap. "How did you learn all this ... I don't know what to call it ... folk medicine?"
"My mam was the queen of healin' magic in our parish and she taught me all she knew," he replied.
"How are you getting out of here?" she asked.
"More magic."
"Be serious."
"Maybe I'm drinkin' bat's blood and turnin' invisible."
"Stop! I thought we were going to be friends," she reminded him. "Friends don't keep secrets."
"Sometimes they do," he disagreed. "Some secrets are too powerful to share--or too dangerous."
"I don't know if we can be friends if you feel that way," she said.
"Fine by me, sug. Truth be told, it's not only your friendship that I wanted. If I can't have your love, I can live without your friendship. Who needs it?"
"You are so arrogant!" Emma shouted at him, and then lowered her voice to a fierce whisper in deference to Kid's need to sleep. "You want me to love you? Right now, I don't even like you! I was only trying to abide by my promise, which I made only to get my locket back. Do you think I could love a superstitious fool who believes in all this nonsense magic?"
"You would love me if I wanted you to," he came back at her angrily. "Don't you think I learned to make love potions? There are more methods than the one Pliny the old Roman knew. There are hundreds of different kinds, and my mam taught them all to me."
Emma looked at him, stunned. She didn't believe him--yet she'd seen firsthand how his potion had healed Kid.
Could he really make her love him if she didn't want to? Did she believe he had that
"Is it? Mam met a man from Trinidad who swore drinking bat's blood could make you invisible."
"Ugh! How nauseating," Emma said with an expression of disgust.
He smiled at her repugnance over the bat.
"Where is the rest of the bat?" she asked.
Ignoring the question, he poured the mixture he'd made onto one of the plates and wet it with some of the milk he'd brought in. Taking scissors off the dresser, he went to sit beside the boy sleeping in the bed and snipped off a half inch of his blond bangs.
"I think you've gone mad," Emma commented as he sprinkled the hair into the brown, reeking concoction he now cupped in his palm. She looked to the other two soldiers for confirmation of this, but they simply shrugged as they poured milk on their oatmeal.
"Wake up, Kid," Jack said, shaking the boy gently. "Doctor Magic is here to fix you up. Soon you'll be right as rain."
Almost as if his words had brought it on, thunder clouds abruptly dimmed the light. Raindrops splashed against the windows. Jack laughed, delighted. "It's what I'm sayin'--right as rain!"
The next day, the British and Canadian soldiers were taken to a separate room. Emma guessed it was her old bedroom by the direction and distance of the footsteps and the closing door. Colonel Schiller allowed Kid to stay in the room with Emma and Jack probably because they were taking care of him so well.
Astoundingly well, Emma thought with amazement as she sat in the big chair one afternoon with her copy of Wuthering Heights in her lap. Jack's disgusting salve applied over Kid's wound had stopped the bleeding entirely. By the next morning the injury was no more than a raised, twisting, red mark.
"It don't even hurt, Jack," Kid said now, sitting up in bed and gazing at Jack with awe and gratitude.
"Lucky thing the bullet passed right through you," Jack noted as he sat on a hard-backed chair and watched the rainstorm continue to pound the windows.
"I'm sure glad I came upon you here," Kid told him. "Most of the guys in the fields don't run into doctors as good as you. I sure was lucky."
Jack smiled before turning his attention back to the rain-soaked window. Emma turned in the big chair and put down Wuthering Heights to observe him; he watched the rain as if entranced by it. What was he thinking about? Surely he was crazy as a loon.
"How are you doing this?" Emma asked him once Kid had fallen off for a nap. "How did you learn all this ... I don't know what to call it ... folk medicine?"
"My mam was the queen of healin' magic in our parish and she taught me all she knew," he replied.
"How are you getting out of here?" she asked.
"More magic."
"Be serious."
"Maybe I'm drinkin' bat's blood and turnin' invisible."
"Stop! I thought we were going to be friends," she reminded him. "Friends don't keep secrets."
"Sometimes they do," he disagreed. "Some secrets are too powerful to share--or too dangerous."
"I don't know if we can be friends if you feel that way," she said.
"Fine by me, sug. Truth be told, it's not only your friendship that I wanted. If I can't have your love, I can live without your friendship. Who needs it?"
"You are so arrogant!" Emma shouted at him, and then lowered her voice to a fierce whisper in deference to Kid's need to sleep. "You want me to love you? Right now, I don't even like you! I was only trying to abide by my promise, which I made only to get my locket back. Do you think I could love a superstitious fool who believes in all this nonsense magic?"
"You would love me if I wanted you to," he came back at her angrily. "Don't you think I learned to make love potions? There are more methods than the one Pliny the old Roman knew. There are hundreds of different kinds, and my mam taught them all to me."
Emma looked at him, stunned. She didn't believe him--yet she'd seen firsthand how his potion had healed Kid.
Could he really make her love him if she didn't want to? Did she believe he had that
Similar Books
