Chapter 7
"Why do men always want to build a fire? Maybe it's just a caveman thing."
I was blowing on the tiny flame, thinking it wouldn't catch when the small fire grew larger as the burning paper ignited the tiny splinters thereby heating the larger pieces of fuel. In a few seconds a tiny fire was burning away, growing larger by the second.
Louisa stood across the room pouring champagne and making pithy comments.
"Actually good there was so much kindling." I got off my knees and sat back against the leather sofa which faced the fireplace, so I might keep an eye on it. Just then Louisa approached with the champagne. "The important thing is to get it as hot as possible as soon as possible - warm up the flue. Get it drawing to counteract the uhm, air sink."
Louisa was giving me a skeptical look. "Maybe caveman wasn't the right choice of word." She handed me a glass. "Cheers," she said to me.
Not being totally unaware of societal norms, I lifted my glass to her so we could clink them together.
Focusing on the nascent fire I set my glass off to the side. Perhaps later I'd take a tiny sip.
Louisa leaned close after taking a drink. "Remember the first day we met?"
That is the day it all started; from what I thought was an exile to a new way of living. "I do; acute glaucoma."
She grinned. "You made me wear an eye patch and I felt like a pirate."
"Mmm." When I came to Cornwall in disgrace, those who knew of my situation sent various gibes my way about becoming a pirate, for the Cornish coast was known for those some time back. Smugglers, and pirates, secluded coves and mysterious rendezvous spots, and hidden caves where the locals hid from the Crown's tax agents, but also the home of many famous seafarers who sailed the world's seas without bound.
Louisa was still grinning at me and the orange firelight made the planes of her face look seductive and mysterious. No mystery though for she was now my wife. Wife - mother of my son - my helpmate for better or worse. Chris Parsons could not attend our wedding as he, his wife Diana, and their children were on holiday abroad, but when we last spoke he'd cautioned me.
"Tying the knot, at last, Mart," he told me over the phone.
"Yes."
"Took you long enough. Better now than never," he chuckled but then his tone went serious. "How is… uhm, how is James Henry after the… uhm?"
"The kidnapping?" I grunted. "He's fine, but I have to say Louisa is still nervous about it."
"Well of course she must be! Poor woman."
"Louisa or Sally Tishell?"
He sighed. "Too true… both actually. But how are you?"
"I'm fine."
He laughed. "Typical Martin. Your son gets taken by a mad chemist…" he stopped. "Sorry Martin. Upsetting for all of course. Diana was shocked when I told her what happened."
I recalled Louisa crying into her pillow last night while I rubbed her back. "Then we're all upset. But we're… fine."
"Well at least he was unhurt and he won't remember the event. But sorry we can't be with you for the happy event."
"It's fine, Chris."
I heard him sigh. "You're to be married in less than five days and you sound like you're discussing the weather."
I cleared my throat. "I… I'm glad of course Louisa and I will be married this weekend."
"Glad?" he laughed heartily. "Well that is an improvement from fine." He chuckled into my ear. "Just…"
"Just what?"
"Just don't be too formal with her is all. This is a wedding and not a wake, right? Try to be…"
"Be what?"
He laughed. "Oh that inestimable Ellingham charm. Look Mart I've seen you step into a mucky surgical mess and fix it, without breaking a sweat. I've also seen you tight lipped with anger screaming at a registrar. Louisa, isn't… well she'd your partner, mother of your son, and now to be your wife… so…"
"So?"
"Listen Martin just try to be a little relaxed, right? Try to lighten up a little is all I'm saying. A happy day yes? Recall our student days?"
"I recall you spending far too much time at the pub drinking and playing darts rather than studying."
"Ah those were the days. Well you were there too - at first."
My turn to sigh. "I gave that up and so did you."
"Yes… thanks to a certain fellow student who tutored me endlessly. Got me through gastro and nephrology."
"Plus cardiology, pulmonology, neuro…"
"Stop!" he shouted. "I get it."
"And differential diagnosis."
We both fell silent as those days of medical school washed in. "Old times," he muttered. "Not all bad though."
I agreed. "No, not all bad."
"So, Martin you'll be married Saturday. Sorry we can't be there. But we'll be thinking of you."
"I'll tell Louisa."
"Speaking of Louisa, give her our love and say that we'll all get together when we get home. That good?"
"Yeah."
"Oh and one more thing."
I checked the clock. This call had gone longer than I thought it might. "Chris I have patients starting in three minutes."
"Doc Martin hard at work as always. Good. Best GP Portwenn will ever have. Here's the one more thing, my friend. With Louisa… try to be… uhm, well… softer. After all that's happened. Loosen up - try to be happier for her - tell her a few jokes."
"Jokes?"
"Yes, try to make light of something. You know how." He laughed. "Tell her a joke; break the ice. Bye Mart - all the best and congratulations!"
I rung off when Morwenna opened the door. "Doc? Mrs. Cooper is here and she's retching like mad so I moved her up. Here are her notes."
So my Monday surgery started with a bang but I pondered all that week about what Chris had said about being softer. So I was not totally unprepared when Louisa mentioned feeling like a pirate. Yes a pirate; a very cute one I had thought on that Harbor Day. I'd thought often about her wearing the costume, her long hair blowing in the wind, waving over the heads of her pupils, while I admired her tall frame and the close fitting tights she wore. And her boots weren't bad either.
So, semi-prepared, I said to her, "Well, see the alternative treatment is to apply a parrot to your shoulder."
She chuckled at my words. "That was a joke Martin," she said grinning.
"Yes." My joke worked. She was smiling; happy and I was happy too, if that was possible.
She nodded. "Very good."
I was overwhelmed by this lovely creature, my wife, nestled close to me so I leaned in to kiss her and she came closer. It was… very nice… very… nice as our lips met and got serious. A wedding, a bride and groom, a cozy fire, and… bliss to come?
My hindbrain suddenly sensed an odor, perhaps a slight smell of offness. Was the leather sofa against which I leaned full of mildewed stuffing? Or had the mice been into the sofa or the bed itself? I'd taken a quick look for bedbugs and the thought of scanning the room for rodent droppings had occurred to me, but since I had not wanted to alarm Louisa I'd stopped myself.
Louisa broke away from our kiss,coughing deeply. "Sorry, Martin. It's not you…"
That's when I started to cough too. Smoke! The room was filling with smoke! "Oh God, the chimney's blocked!" I crawled to the fireplace where smoke was pouring out, filling the room.
"Did you open the damper?" Louisa prodded.
"What damper?"
"It's like a kinda flap thing with a handle!"
Now the smoke was getting really thick so I tried to breath in small sips. "I don't know what a damper is!"
I took up the fireplace poker and start driving it upwards into the maw of the fireplace, where I could see the smoke pouring in. Something was there, something metal, blocking the path of smoke. I jabbed harder and felt the point of the tool catch in a crack, just barely. I pushed on my makeshift lever and felt the barrier give, grudgingly, and I could sense the smoke was rising now; going up the chimney yet not fast enough. More was pouring into the room than out. We'd suffer from smoke inhalation and the dangers of smoke, CO2 and CO were manifold.
"Watch out Martin! You'll burn yourself!" Louisa cautioned.
Now the flames were grower high and I could feel the heat scorch me. "We've got to put it out! We need something to put it out!"
Louisa scurried around behind me. "There must be something!"
"See if you can find a fire extinguisher!" I turned and saw what I needed so I crawled quickly over to it after dropping the poker.
Now Louisa was running about, turning this way and that. "There must be something!" she shouted at me.
I grabbed the champagne bottle by the neck and scrambled back to the grate where now more wood had ignited and was merrily burning away, the smoke getting thicker and blacker. "Quickly!" I shouted then liberally sprinkled the flames with the wine until the bottle was out and so was the fire.
"Martin! That's our champagne!" Louisa shouted in dismay and I saw she now held a pitcher of water.
"Yes," I told her matter-of-factly but at least the fire was out and we were safe. I saw Louisa grimace for I knew she loved champagne but now it was gone;m all of it. Better safe than sorry, I thought as an excuse.
And that's when I heard a soft impact as something came down the chimney and the room faded behind a dark cloud. In the darkness I heard Louisa screech in dismay while the blackest, vilest, most evil dense cloud of soot and smoke made the world disappear.
Hacking and coughing, blinded by soot, I was shocked into immobility for a moment, but Louisa had a clearer head. I felt her grab my arm and pull me up. "Martin! Out!" she said through gasps while I struggled to get air. "Outside! Quick! Come on!" She pushed me ahead of her but at the door I slowed and got her outside first.
I was never so glad to see light as that grey and cloudy Cornish sky when we got out on the porch. A few good gasps of air and I felt better, while Louisa was bent over coughing like she had pleurisy.
"You alright?" I asked.
She looked at me and started laughing. "I'm sorry… sorry, it's just…" she wiped at my forehead. "You just have a little thing here." Her fingers rubbed something off my brow.
"Ah… got it?"
She stopped. "Yeah," she said but didn't sound convincing.
"Right." I went down the steps. "Come on."
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"That house that we passed? Find a telephone. Call Bert. We need our luggage."
"I'm not exactly dressed for a hike, am I?" she protested.
"Well we can't stay here! The place is awash with bronchial irritants! It needs to air!"
She shook her head. "Ah, look, it's getting dark, and look it's foggy. Please? Can't we just stay here?" She nearly begged.
I dashed back inside, trying not to breath to find what we needed.
"Martin? What are you doing? Martin?" I heard her say in confusion as I groped in the Stygian blackness. I found the three things we needed and got out of there.
I handed her her shoes. "Seriously?" she said in disbelief. "Okay," she said resignedly "Suppose a walk in the country might be romantic – sort of."
I had left the porch and was heading for the path at the edge of the front garden heading into the wood.
"Martin?" she called out as I walked away carrying a large electric torch I'd found.
"Buck up! Come on," I called to her. Let's not dawdle. The faster we could call Bert the faster we could be out of this mess.
I heard her scuffling and muttering along but at last I heard her steps on the path as she followed. Louisa was right, it was getting quite foggy, so we'd better hurry. I set a rapid pace down the path into the darkening wood while Louisa trotted along behind me.
