The Seahorse and the Spice 🪼🎩✔

6: Noble Doctors and Wounded Nobles

We pulled up to the manor and the boys looked at it in awe. I paid the carriage driver a fee and pulled down the trunk that we had at the top of it. I expected some of the butlers to be here but I guess they were all fired too. I was about to pull it off myself when I saw someone walk up and upon seeing us, he ran over to us.
"Oh, may I 'elp you with your bags, ma'am?" he said in a thick Cockney accent.
I nodded and he began to pull the bags off of the carriage.
"Thank you... Who are you? I've never seen you before?"
"Name's Lorado, I'm the stable boy. I guess you be 'earin' 'bout the duke firing everyone from the 'ouse. I ain't got a place to go so I said that I'd be staying. Plus, the duke don't go to the stables much anymore. I think 'e's got something wrong with 'im."
"So I've been told... have you checked on him?"
"Aw, I don't go in there. Old Uma's been taking care of 'im since 'e fired everyone. I ain't got no need to go in there 'cept to sleep since she let me 'ave one of them nice bedrooms. It's real fancy-like... Are these your sons?"
"Technically. I've raised them since they were babies but they are my blood nephews."
"You're them magical kids, right? The ones that got them abilities?" he asked, making a gesture with his fingers.
Bastion made a face and crossed his arms.
"We have names."
"Bastion, don't be obnoxious... How do you know about us?"
"'ear talk of ya all the time. Been told 'ow ya look so no one will get near ya. I don't think your bad, just interesting. What do ya do?"
The boys looked at me for permission to talk about their gifts and I nodded.
"I'm Bastion, I grant wishes." He said in a mumble.
"I Eadric, I shoot heat from my eyes!" he said, pointing to his eyes.
Xerxes was shy and ran to me, hiding behind my skirts.
"And this one is Xerxes, he can turn invisible."
Lorado nodded. "Well, isn't that some fine abilities? I think you'll be at 'ome 'ere. If ya need me, I'm working with the cook as well so I can 'elp you out if need be."
"Thank you, Lorado, I appreciate your help."
"Anytime..." he pointed at me for my name.
"Oh! Um, Minerva."
"Right-o..."
He waved us off and went away.
Bastion turned to me with a horrid glare.
"If you fall for that guy, I will hate you."
"Why?"
"He's stupid. Besides, his hair was messed up something else."
I rolled my eyes and took the three inside.
When we got in the foyer, the three boys were enthralled with the majesty of the manor.
"Go find some rooms to sleep in. None too far away from each other."
"Wait, we get to pick our own rooms?" Eadric said with wide blue eyes.
"Yes, sir."
He grinned and ran up the stairs with the others behind him.
I smiled at them and went to go find the duke.

***********************************

I found the door to the duke's room and gave a knock. There was no answer and there was a tray of uneaten food left from earlier today at the door. I sighed and turned the knob, walking in. The room smelled horrible, full of musk and sickness. There was no ventilation in the room... I walked over to the bed and relit the lantern beside the duke's bed. I gasped, for the man was stark naked and half in and out of the covers. His body was covered in sweat and there was a nasty looking gash on his leg.
I touched his arm to turn him over and it was like touching hot coals. No wonder he was hardly eating but what about this cursed thing? I turned him over and yelped at what I saw. I could understand what Uma was saying... His stomach looked as if it were with child. I'd seen Bernadette's stomach when she was pregnant each time and they looked exactly like this. The duke was... pregnant. How and why and when were all irrelevant because this made things even more crucial. I felt the duke's head and he moaned, lolling his head to the side.
"Hey, Mum, we found our- What are you doing?" Bastion asked, walking into the room.
I turned to him. "I need a bowl of cold water and a wash rag. Go!"
He nodded quickly and I went to look at the gash on his leg. I moved it and made a face at the lack of care about it. It was swollen with pus and was green from infection. I touched it softly and the duke yelled out, jerking his leg away from me. I knew this was going to be a task because the cut needed to be drained and I would have to take the dead skin off as well. I wouldn't be able to do anything though until I got something to keep the pain away. I looked around the room and saw a decanter of some sort of alcohol. Whether it was brandy or whiskey didn't really matter to me.
"Here you are, Mum... Dear god, what's wrong with his stomach?" Bastion asked, making a face.
"Does it matter? Just start dipping that rag into the cool water and wiping his head with it. We need to get that fever down."
Bastion grumbled but went ahead and started. Eadric and Xerxes came in and Xerxes tugged on my skirt.
"Mummy, I wanna help."
"Do you? How about you and Eadric go get the nice stable boy that greeted us and have him come here?"
He smiled and ran to Eadric, grabbing his hand to leave.
I shrugged at the decanters and grabbed the whole thing.
"This guy must be an idiot if he can't even take care of a little scratch to this degree." Bastion said, wiping the sweat off of the duke's forehead.
"I'm sure there's a logical explanation other than his stupidity. He's also of a higher class, haughty at that, so I'm sure he didn't care to take any interest in learning how to care for himself."
"I can't believe you worked for this guy... and what's with his stomach? Was he always this fat?"
"I believe that's not just fat, Bastion. From watching your mother grow with each of you, it looks as if he was pregnant."
"Pregnant?!"
"Look at him and tell me I'm not that far from the truth." Bastion looked at him and made a face. I took the top off of the decanter and gulped. "I'm going to need you to hold him down while I pour this on his leg."
Bastion's blue eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"I have to disinfect his leg or it will be beyond saving. Please hold him down."
He nodded and put the rag back in the basin and grabbed a hold of the duke's arms.
"Are you ready?" Bastion nodded. "Here it goes..."
I poured just a little bit of alcohol on the duke's leg and he yelled out, thrashing about. He almost whacked Bastion in the face with his head but Bastion held strong to him. While he was preoccupied with me disinfecting the wound, I decided that I should get the infection out as well so I squeezed the wound together; but that sent the duke into even more hysterics and he actually did crack Bastion in the mouth with his head. Bastion let go, making the duke flail and he kicked me in the chest.
I fell to the floor, gasping for air as Bastion held onto his mouth, where he was bleeding slightly.
"Are you alright, Mum? I'm sorry about that."
"It's alright, love..."I looked at the duke as he breathed heavily from all of the movement. "We need a doctor to help us. I don't have the proper tools to help him."
Lorado came in and gasped, stopping at the doorway.
"Lord Jesus, what's that there on 'is stomach? Looks like 'e be carrying babes."
"I don't quite know, Lorado, but can you help me? Do you know if there is any laudanum about or even morphine. We need to clean this wound."
"I can go get the doctor that comes 'ere. Lord 'iggaby don't live that far away and can get 'ere double quick with a doctor."
"Please do that. But do you know if there is anything here?"
"I be thinkin' some of the maids 'id some laudanum somewheres in 'ere... Per'aps the duke got some 'imself. I'd check the drawers."
"Thank you and one last thing, if you could, just find me a knife. I need to drain this wound and I can't because it's too swollen."
"Right-o, ma'am."
He left and I ran my fingers through my hair, looking at the duke. He surely was an idiot but this idiot needed my help and I wasn't going to leave him alone like this.

*********************

Bastion
I don't know why my mother is helping this idiot. He fired her over looking at him wrong and yet here she is, tending to his needs like he was a long lost brother or something. I think she secretly likes the duke but doesn't want us to know. I watch her as she cares for him and she has the same looks as she does when one of the kids are sick and she's taking care of them. I walked out of the room and walked down the hallway to see what kind of place I was going to be living in when a piercing throb went through my head to the back of my eye. I hissed, covering my eye and bending over. It hurt really bad but it was gone just as quick and I stood up.
I shook my head when I heard someone coming up the stairs and came face to face with a guy a little older than me with long blonde hair pulled back and dressed quite casually.
"Who are you?" he asked with a lift of his eyebrow.
"Bastion. Who are you?"
"I'm Salem's friend, Andrew Higgaby... Where is he?"
"My mum is in there with him. Where's the doctor?"
"I have sent for him. I'll be taking care of him until he gets here."
"You don't look like a doctor." I said with my arms cross. "Prove it."
The guy sighed angrily and tried to pass me but I stopped him.
"Boy, get out of my way."
"Prove to me that you're a doctor."
"Oh, Dr. Andrew." Lorado said. The Andrew guy gave me a look so I let him pass but I followed him. "Thank goodness you're here."
I followed him into the room where he yelped, dropping his bag.
"Good god! What the hell is that thing?!"
"It doesn't matter." Mum said with a frown. "Do you have anything stronger than whiskey for this wound?"
"He don't look like no doctor." Eadric said, eyeing the guy suspiciously. "He looks like a preppy nobleman."
"Uh huh." X agreed, even though he doesn't know what's going on.
The doctor looked at us all and frowned.
"You all don't believe that I'm a doctor?"
"You look like you know how to open up that bag and that's about all." I said, leaning on the wall.
"You'll have to excuse my boys, they are not used to noblemen, milord." Mum said with a slight curtsy.
I rolled my eyes at the way she just let people run over her. I felt like kicking this guy's ass for making Mum have to be all formal with him.
"I don't think I caught your name, ma'am."
"It's Minerva."
"Minerva... how did you end up caring for Salem?"
"Uma came to me after seeing his stomach and said that she couldn't take care of a man who was cursed. She felt I was better suited to deal with him."
The Andrew guy frowned. "Uma left him like this?"
"Precisely."
"I never liked that old hag... Well, for everyone's information, I'm not a certified doctor but I know how to maneuver around a medical bag. I can definitely help with this... I don't know why this idiot didn't send someone over to help him."
"Boys, please leave while we care for the duke."
We nodded and all got out.
As we headed down the hallway, Eadric turned to me.
"Can I make a wish?"
I shrugged. "Do whatever you want."
"I wish the duke get's better and doesn't have to lose his leg."
I felt a tug on the inside of my body and looked back at the room. I don't know how things will be done, but the duke will still have two legs by the end of this.