It was October...

Chapter 3: The Sky turned purple

"Will he be alright, doctor?"
The physician was cleaning his gold rimmed glasses with a handkerchief.  He took his time.
"Well, Miss McAllister, that depends on how you determine 'alright'" he said with an air of annoyance.
Robert Cole, the footman who had come as member of the house's staff, had returned from his very early morning errands of collecting the orders from the baker, butcher, and green grocer's, without any of the items and in a state of deeply disturbed, frenzied upheaval.
The butler and the other servants had at first tried to calm him and get him to snap out of it, but his agitation had only worsened when Annabelle had come into the kitchen to inspect what the ruckus was about.
They had not been able to get much out of Robert, much less anything coherent: 
"We're all doomed" and "The sky turned purple" were the only intelligible things that had come out of him in hours.
When Annabelle had come into the kitchen she had observed the spectacle for a short moment and then promptly decided to call for a physician rather than trying to doctor around themselves with the likes of whiskey, laudanum and other standard cures.

Dr. Clapman had been summoned as the physician living closest to Portman Square, and had knocked on the front door not thirty minutes later.
He did seem somewhat dismayed that his medical talents were wasted on a mere commoner, but Annabelle was paying him well enough, so he didn't complain openly.
After examining the desperate Robert, who had to be restrained, as thoroughly as Annabelle would have expected, Clapman had administered an injection of paraldehyde to calm Robert down and let him sleep.

Annabelle stood by the drawing room door, looking into the room at the chaise lounge they had turned into a makeshift bed for Robert - the man had all but passed out only moments after receiving the injection.
She turned her sharp gaze on the physician.
"Doctor, Robert may be a commoner, but as a servant in my house he is my responsibility and I would have you treat him as well as ever you could", she said.
Dr. Clapman blinked at her twice before he collected himself, evidently not used to being spoken to by a woman with such a commanding edge.
He cleared his throat.
"Well, with cases of hysteria and insanity it is always rather tricky to predict. He could wake up and be perfectly well, or he could be unchanged. This could be a singular event, or turn into a regular occurrence, or - God forbid - a permanent state."
He seemed unsatisfied and after a moment added: "my colleague, Dr. Borman on Baker street, would be the one to call on for a more detailed opinion on anything related to afflictions of the mind, short of inquiring with the staff at one of the asylums."
"Very well. We shall watch over Robert and call on Dr. Borman, if he shows no sign of improvement. Thank you, Dr. Clapman, I appreciate your swift response this morning."
"My pleasure, Miss, and a good day to you", he gave a slight bow and followed the butler, who had been keeping himself discretely in the background but attentive, to the front door.

Annabelle turned back to the drawing room but did not move inside.
She studied Robert's sleeping form. What had happened, what had he seen?
In the short time she had known him Robert never made the impression of being easily shaken. He may be a little slow at times, especially in the mornings, but always steadfast and reliable. 
She thought back to her own, unpleasant encounter not two days earlier.
Could he possibly have had a similar experience?
The chamber maid had found Annabelle the morning after, still in her street clothes, over-tired and disheveled, but coherent despite her terror. 
And mere hours later, after a hot bath and hearty breakfast, Annabelle herself thought she must have overreacted and imagined things through a combination of anxiety and stress at being lost in an unfamiliar place.
But now she wasn't so sure...
'The sky turned purple', he had said.
She hadn't been up at the early hour and she doubted that anyone else would have been paying attention to the sky - people were busy in cities, even early in the day and it was still possible that Robert had been hallucinating after all.

Due to the morning's upheaval and the missed food collections Annabelle ended up not having breakfast at all, but instead asked the cook to prepare an early lunch. She had just put down her napkin after the excellent mulligatawny soup that had been served when Wendy, the house maid, knocked on the door.
"Yes, Wendy?"
"Madam, Winston sent me, he says Bob is awake." the young woman seemed relieved and so Annabelle suspected Robert to have recovered.
"That is excellent news, Wendy, I will be along immediately." she pushed her chair back, not waiting for the servant to assist her, and brusquely made her way to the drawing room.

Robert was sitting on the chaise, clutching a cup of what could only be strong, sweet tea possibly with added spirits.
Winston had drawn up a chair and was talking to Robert in a low voice when Annabelle entered.
The moment he saw her, the butler jumped up and gave a short bow.
"He seems to be over the worst, Madame", he said, and there was an even stronger sense of relief in his voice than there had been in Wendy's.
"So he seems! Wendy said he had come around." she smiled at the footman, who still looked shaky.
"Mr. Cole, do you remember what happened this morning?"
"Na Ma'am, couldn' tell ye. Las' fing I know I'm outside the butche's place and suddenly there's jus dark 'n' cold 'n' clammy, like the 'and o' def or sumfink..." he shuddered "Then next fing I know is Winni here wif a cuppa in me face."
Annabelle had felt her chest tightening throughout Robert's description.
She struggled to pull herself together.
"Well that sounds just awful! Whatever happened, I'm glad you're back with us and seem to be on the mend."
Annabelle managed a warm smile as she instructed Winston to let Robert off his duties for the day without docking his wages - the butler seemed oddly relieved at that.

Her smile fell the moment she left the drawing room and headed up the stairs.