We Are The Cure : The Plague Doctor's Tale.

Chapter 33

Rosalynn and Doctor were still standing on the corridor outside their rooms. She didn't know how to react to these words but it was certain Doctor was capable of feeling emotions. 

"Are you still cold, Rosalynn?" Asked Doctor suddenly.

"Just a bit. " She admitted and Doctor quickly went inside his room and came back with a blanket in his hands.

"Here, take this. It should do." He handed her the blanket which she took rather hesitantly.

"Oh, there is no need for me to take-" 

"Yes, there is. It would be quite unfortunate if you fell sick in the middle of summer, wouldn't it?" He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"I see. So I will take it then. Thank you, Doctor." She smiled and he felt something strange in his body. Like some kind of bugs were twitching inside his stomach. But it wasn't an unpleasant feeling, just strange and surprising. 

"What emotion do you feel now, my dear?" She was about to disappear in her room but his words make her suddenly stop. She looked at him with surprise but couldn't find suitable words. He noticed that her face was turning light red.

"Hmmm. I'm not quite sure actually." Rosalynn felt like she was on thin ice. Obviously, she liked Doctor and appreciated each moment they could share together, but she couldn't tell him how she felt about him. Not now. "Uhm. I think I'm happy that I was on a nice walk with you. And that we had a chance to have a proper conversation since a long time. And..." 

"Rosalynn, are you nervous?" He came a bit closer and tilted his head to the left. He didn't have a clue what the reason of her uneasiness might have been. After that question she became even more nervous. "And is that a rose fragrance?"

"No! I mean yes! I smell with roses and no, I'm not nervous at all." She protested quickly. "As I said, I'm glad that we spent the evening together. And now, if you excuse me, have a proper rest and goodnight!" The last thing Doctor saw before she closed the door was her reddish face. At first, he wanted to ask whether she was feeling alright but eventually decided to leave her alone. Rosalynn had herbs and potion so she could help herself out in case of any disease. 

...

Inside her room Rosalynn was still a bit nervous and confused. Did he notice? Did she act unusually? Rather not, he didn't seem to notice anything. He was his usual self. But what on earth caused him to ask all these questions about emotions? 

She was walking around her room trying to figure it out but couldn't find any suitable answer. All she could do at that moment was to go to sleep and prepare for tomorrow. She took off her clothes, put on the night dress and wrapped herself in Doctor's blanket. It was pretty warm and already smelled with lavender. She was glad he noticed the rose smell. 

She didn't even noticed when she fell asleep and started dreaming.

In her dream, as usually, she was standing in the woods and facing her mother. This time she seemed a little bit less sad. She was smiling gently and looking somewhere behind Rosalynn's back. Rosalynn turn around to check what it was but the dream changed and, to her surprise, she found herself in a twon she knew but couldn't recall its name. The streets were empty and outside of some house there were freshly dug graves. She looked around and noticed that outside of the rectory there were three graves but two of them were empty. The third belonged to Reverend Samuel, at least according to the inscription on the small wooden board. The two empty graves were unsigned. Before she managed to look inside the empty graves to make sure there is nobody burred there, she was again by the water sitting next to Doctor.  The sudden change of the scenery confused Rosalynn so much that at first she didn't even notice Doctor. He was telling her about strange medical cases and about the unconventional methods of treatment the sick when he froze up and looked at her. Then he asked her about something pretty quietly but she couldn't understand because of the sound of splashing water. Suddenly he grabbed the beak of his mask and lifted it up a bit to take some fresh air. Right in that moment she woke up suddenly with a remorse that she missed such important part of the dream. 

...

In the morning Rosalynn couldn't gather her own thoughts. She was still so confused with what she saw in her dream that it was hard for her to look at Doctor in the same way. What was the meaning of her dreams, especially the last dream. When she saw Doctor, she immediately got back inside her room saying she had to pack her things. Rosalynn was the last to leave the inn and after she joined them, they set off for Ipswich. 

The three reached the town before noon. It was a very nice place to stay for a short vacation. The sight of boats made a huge impression on Rosalynn who wanted to have a ride, or rather a swim. 

"I came on a similar boat here." Said Giovanni and she started to ask him about the sailor's life.

"Excuse me, Sir. We are looking for Lady Catchstone." Meanwhile Doctor was focused on their main objective which was finding their employer. He was asking one of the fish sellers about the lady that wrote to him.

"Which one?" Answered the seller and Doctor was quite surprised to hear that. He assumed the woman who wrote was the only one in the family who survived the plague.

"How many Lady Catchstone are there in Ipswich?" 

"Well, there are two of them and two of them are very unlucky." Said the man slightly irritated with Doctor's questions.

"They are perhaps looking for me." Their eyes landed on a fine woman who just got out of the carriage. She looked quite lavish and distinguished considering her beautiful pale face, long red dress and golden jewellery. " My name is Margaret Catchstone. It is a pleasure to meet you in person, Doctor." She curtsied lifting her dress a bit. In response Doctor touched his hat and bowed a bit. " I've heard a lot of positive rumours concerning your... person." There was a sparkle of confusion in her brown eyes which soon turned into friendly twinkling. She looked rather young but it might have been just her pale skin, slim posture and long curly brown hair which currently were chignoned. Also it was easy to notice she was pregnant.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Lady Catchstone." Doctor looked in the direction of Giovanni and Rosalynn who were conversing aloof. When they heard him cleaning his throat, they ceased their passionate conversation about boats and introduce themselves to their new employer. 

"To be fair, Doctor, I didn't expect you to have companions but it is not a problem. Let us discuss the details of your visit on the way to the mansion, shall we?"

They got into the carriage and travelled to Lady Catchstone's property.