10. Happiness Around the Corner

Now that Violet’s birthday had come and gone, the festivities were over and we were forced to return to our regular routine.

Mother and Father Fisalis went home to Le Pied. Quince went back to his boarding school, and Tinctorius returned to the royal palace. It felt a little lonely to watch as our ranks thinned out.

The servants who had gone home for the holidays came back to the manor and took over the shifts of those taking a belated New Year’s break.

Then, one day...

I found Violet languishing on the parlor sofa after breakfast, which was strange. That little bundle of energy was always asking what we were going to play the second she’d seen Daddy off at the door.

That sofa must be awfully comfy! Okay, something tells me that’s not the reason.

She didn’t move an inch from where she lay flopped over the couch. I figured she was probably sleepy, but it was too early for her afternoon nap.

“Lettie?”

“Yeah...”

Her answer indicated that she was awake, but she sounded lifeless.

“Lettie’s acting strange today, huh?”

“Yes—I think so too.”

Even Mimosa and Daisy were looking at Violet with concern.

“Lettie? Are you sleepy? Don’t you want to play?”

“Mm... My head’s heavy. Can’t get up.”

“What?!”

Her head feels so heavy that she can’t get up?

I placed a hand to Violet’s forehead in surprise...and it was burning up!

“Mimosa! Lettie has a fever!” I announced, looking over my shoulder at the maid.

“Oh no! Let’s get her to her room right away!”

The parlor erupted into a flurry of activity.

“I’ll have Rohtas call the doctor!”

“I’ll get some ice from the kitchen!”

“We need a towel and washbasin!”

It was reassuring to see how quickly the maids swung into action.

“I’ll bring Lettie up to her room,” I said. “I’m counting on you guys to handle the rest.”

“Yes, ma’am!” everyone shouted back.

I left things in the hands of my capable servants and hurried to the nursery, cradling Violet in my arms.

* * *

“The fatigue must have caught up to her—it’s been one fun activity after another, after all. Once she ran out of steam, she must’ve caught a cold.”

The doctor had rushed over straight away, and that was his diagnosis after performing a full check-up.

The cold medicine he’d given her first thing must have done its job, seeing as she’d drifted off into peaceful sleep.

She got sick from exhaustion, huh?

That made sense. It’d been a non-stop marathon from the New Year’s holidays to her birthday. She’d been in a state of excitement the whole time, too, so of course she’d feel worn out once the dust had settled.

“So it’s not a serious illness or anything, right?”

“Not at all. If she gets some rest and takes her medicine, she should be better in a matter of days. I’ll leave you a second cure to try in the event her fever doesn’t go down.”

“Thank you.”

“The bug that’s been making the rounds lately tends to linger; her temperature might fluctuate through the course of the day, so be sure to keep a careful eye on her.”

“Got it!”

The doctor left us with the cold medicine and backup fever reducer and took his leave.

“She seemed so listless that I was worried she’d come down with something serious. I’m glad it turned out to be a plain old cold.”

I changed the towel on Violet’s forehead. Her fever had gone down, but her face was still pretty red.

She wrinkled her brow for a fleeting moment when I pressed the fresh, cold washcloth to her skin, but she didn’t wake from her slumber.

“You said it! Though I won’t stop worrying until she actually gets better,” said Mimosa, the look on her face a complicated mix of relief and concern.

“That’s fair. The doctor said it’ll be a few days before she’s recovered, so I’ll tend to her in the meantime.”

“What? But—”

“Who else is going to do it? We’re short on staff, so I know you’re all extra busy.”

Though we hadn’t quite lost half our servants to the New Year’s shift, we still had fewer people around than usual.

Lettie might have come down with nothing more than a mild cold, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t worried. I wanted to personally nurse her back to health. Besides, I was the one with the most time on her hands around here!

“Very well. We’ll provide support however we can, of course.”

I could rest easy knowing I had Mimosa and the rest of Violet’s maids to help me out.

The one most devastated over the news of Lettie’s sickness was Mr. Fisalis.

“Are you sure it’s just a cold? Is she running a fever? Oh, my poor baby!”

The second he got home, he made a beeline for the nursery, took Violet’s hands in his, and grieved like the world was coming to an end. And I’d literally just told him it was only a cold!

My husband looked like he was going to burst out crying any moment now. I put a hand to his slouched back.

“I’ll look after Lettie until she gets better,” I told him.

“You will? Couldn’t you leave that to Mimosa and the rest of the maids?”

“I could, but I’d be worried the whole time. Better to handle it myself.”

“I suppose so. I only wish I could do the same.”

“Not happening. You have to go to work.”

“I knew you’d say that! Fine—just promise me you won’t overdo it.”

“Sure thing!”

Now that I had Mr. Fisalis’s permission, I’d put my all into nursing Violet back to health!

* * *

Three days later, she hadn’t quite recovered. She still had a slight temperature, just as the doctor had warned me.

Sometimes her fever would get worse in the middle of the night, so the constant interruptions to my slumber had left me a tad sleep-deprived too.

As much as I wanted to dive face-first into my own soft bed, seeing Violet so woozy that she’d spent the whole day lying down made me feel bad for her (though maybe not quite as much as Mr. Fisalis), and I stopped feeling like my own problems mattered so much.

“Let’s go take a walk through the garden when you’re all better.”

“Mm...”

“Daisy’s waiting for your big comeback.”

“’Kay...”

She ate a spoonful of Cartham’s custom-made potage loaded with nutritious vegetables. The color was starting to come back to her face by now, so it was surely only a matter of time before she recovered.

But the moment I stopped to breathe a sigh of relief, the world started spinning around me.

“Huh...?”

Wait, it can’t be the room that’s spinning. I must be having a dizzy spell.

“What’s wrong, Madam?” Mimosa asked, noticing that I’d stopped feeding Violet.

“Nothing. I got a little dizzy, that’s all. Could you take over for a second?”

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just sleepy, if I had to guess.”

“Oh dear...”

I handed the spoon and the bowl of potage to Mimosa, then sat down on one of the chairs in the room.

Great! Now my lack of sleep is catching up to me!

I thought the symptoms would go away if I took some time to relax, but my dizziness only grew worse, and I was starting to get nauseous too. And then came the chills... Had I hit the limit of how long I could go without some shut-eye?!

Though I figured I was better off getting some rest, I was still worried about my daughter. I got so wrapped up in my internal conflict that I didn’t even notice that Violet had finished eating.

“Madam? You don’t look so well,” Mimosa said, gazing at me with concern.

“I think I’ve hit the limit of how long I can stay awake. I’m dizzy, I’m nauseous, and I’ve got the chills.”

“Oh no! That’s terrible! Let’s get you to your room right away!”

“But Lettie...”

“You can’t look after Miss Lettie in your condition. You can count on the rest of us to take good care of her, so please go get some sleep!”

Mimosa never gets this bossy. Do I really look that bad? Well, I guess Violet’s already on the mend, so I might as well take her up on her offer.

“Fine. I’ll go to bed.”

“Please do. I’ll call for Stellaria.”

At first I thought she was overreacting, but I was getting woozier by the second, so bringing Stellaria in had been the right call.

“You’ve stayed by her side for days now; it must have taken its toll on you.”

“Man, I really shouldn’t be pushing the limits of sleep deprivation. I’m too old for this.”

“Excuse me?”

“Uh, nothing!”

Please don’t glare at me with a smile on your face, Miss Stellaria!

“Shall I call for the doctor?”

“No—it’s fine. All I need is a few hours of sleep.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yep.”

Just let me catch some z’s already. I’m sure I’ll wake up good as new.

And so, I left Violet in the care of our maids and got some rest.

* * *

A few days passed.

Violet had made a full recovery, and she and Daisy were playing together with all their usual energy.

But as for me?

“I didn’t realize that a mere lack of sleep could do this much damage to the body.”

“Come on! It’s clearly more than that!” came Mr. Fisalis’s incredulous retort.

Yeah, you guessed it—I was still feeling under the weather.

I’d refused a visit from the doctor under the assumption that it was a simple case of exhaustion, but I wasn’t getting any better no matter how long I rested.

“Did I catch Lettie’s cold?”

“I could see that. You were with her twenty-four seven, after all.”

“Lettie’s all better, and I’m only getting worse... Does age make all the difference?!”

“You’re not that old!” he shot back, exasperated again.

Later, the servants called for the doctor (ignoring my opinion on the matter), and this was his diagnosis:

“Congratulations. It would seem your second child is on the way.”

“What? It’s not sleep deprivation?”

“Not at all. This is morning sickness.”

“No way!”

I can’t believe this! My second pregnancy!

The doctor had a laugh at my expense, wondering why I hadn’t recognized the symptoms my second time around...but hello? I hadn’t figured it out because it felt totally different from last time!

But moving right along...

The maids were overjoyed to hear the big news.

“He said I’m pregnant!”

“Congratulations!”

“We have to tell Mr. Fisalis...after he gets off work!”

“Yes. No doubt he’d abandon his duties and come running straight home.”

“And we can’t have that.”

“We should report this to Rohtas first.”

“Hee hee!” we all giggled.

Honestly, it’s kind of hilarious that Rohtas gets to hear the news before my husband.

* * *

When Mr. Fisalis got home from work, he was initially too overwhelmed by the double whammy news of Violet’s recovery and my pregnancy to react.

“What? Lettie’s better, and you’re pregnant? Huh? HUH?!”

Of course, once he’d registered what was happening, he was absolutely ecstatic.

“So that’s why you were feeling so sick?”

“Sounds like it.”

“I’m glad we don’t have anything to regret this time around.”

“You said it.”

When I’d found out I was pregnant with Violet, we’d just come galloping home from the far reaches of Rohze. At the time, Mr. Fisalis had been super worried that all that bumping up and down on a horse had been bad for me and the baby.

“He said the baby’s due later this year.”

“That’s good to know.”

We’d seen the year off to a wonderful start under a blooming cherry blossom tree, and now this.

This really was shaping up to be an amazing year!