The Apothecary's Daughter by Charlotte Betts Read Free Book Online

strings which held the mask in place. ‘It is not my intention to frighten people.
     I merely wear this mask as a precaution against infection when I visit the sick.’ He turned the mask over and removed a small
     muslin bag filled with charcoal and herbs. ‘This is to filter the air I breathe and I wear high boots and swaddle myself in
     this thick cloak to protect myself.’
    ‘You must be near dying of heatstroke! And you look so terrifying I’m sure anyone who comes across you in the streets will
     turn and run away faster than quicksilver.’
    ‘Is your father here?’
    ‘He’s tending to my stepmother. May I help?’
    ‘It’s not a medical affair.’
    She repressed a smile, pleased that he now seemed to take it for granted that she was knowledgeable about such matters.
    Dr Ambrose shifted from foot to foot and Susannah wondered what made him look so ill at ease.
    ‘My cousin Henry has arrived from Barbados,’ he said. ‘He has the intention of starting his own importing business and has
     asked that I introduce him to people who may be interested in his venture. He hopes to sell sugar, rum and tobacco directly
     from his father’s plantation. I know you stock those items.’
    ‘Shall I tell Father that you will bring your cousin with you next time you visit? If his prices are keen I’m sure my father
     will be happy to discuss business with him. Meanwhile,’ she said, ‘perhaps you will advise me?’
    ‘I am at your service.’
    ‘The children refuse to drink the infusion I have made to ward off the pestilence. They say it is too bitter and no amount
     of reasoning with them will make them swallow it.’
    Dr Ambrose’s face lightened with amusement and Susannahthought how different he looked when he shook off his usual dour and sombre expression.
    ‘The answer is right in front of you,’ he said. He pointed to the cone of sugar on the counter. ‘I have always found that
     children will swallow the nastiest medicine if it is well sweetened.’
    ‘That’s such an obvious answer that I feel cross with myself for not thinking of it before!’
    ‘There is another remedy that I find successful. Take some toasted bread and spread it thickly with treacle or honey and sprinkle
     over chopped leaves of rue. I promise you that it is irresistible to children and will disappear in the shake of a cow’s tail.’
    ‘I may try that myself. It is difficult to face wormwood before breakfast, don’t you think?’
    Dr Ambrose allowed the smallest of smiles to flit across his face.
    ‘And I shall ask Father to make a note of the recipe in the journals that he keeps.’
    The doctor had barely disappeared down the street when Susannah heard her father and Arabella on the stairs. Both their faces
     were wreathed in smiles and she wasn’t sure if she was happy or not to see that they were linked arm in arm.
    ‘Susannah, my dear, Arabella is recovered sufficiently to join us for dinner.’
    It was quite clear to Susannah as they ate their mutton pie and boiled carrots that her stepmother had succeeded in attaining
     her latest heart’s desire. Cornelius had conceded that he would not wish his friends to think he was a miser and that the
     yellow silk dress Arabella craved was entirely necessary to her well-being and to his reputation. Her megrim disappeared upon
     the instant and her terror of contracting the plague did not deter her from making a visit to her dressmaker that very afternoon.
     That evening she returned to Cornelius’s bed and, once more, Susannah had to sleep with the pillow over her head.

    Arabella’s sunny mood persisted over the next week and Cornelius lost the strained expression that had haunted him. Although
     it madeSusannah uncomfortable to see him fondling Arabella with a foolish smile upon his lips, she was pleased he was happy again.
     For herself, all she desired was to keep busy, well away from her stepmother’s presence.
    On the day that Arabella went to collect her new dress