Aunt Irene was sick, very sick. In fact, Dr. Camlyn recommended that she not be moved for a time until she was more stable.
"I don't want Mrs. Stuart to go near her, though," the doctor warned. "I don't think she is contagious, but we don't want to take any chances."
"I suppose we can hire a nurse to take care of Irene," Dad began hesitantly. "Robin and Jane can return to Toronto, and I'll stay here."
"Oh no, Dad!" Jane cried. "You and Mother need to stay together."
"We can't leave Irene here alone, with only a nurse," Dad reminded her testily.
Jane hesitated, gulped, and took the plunge. "I'll stay with her, Dad," she said heroically. "And you and Mums don't have to go back to Toronto, either. You know the Fords wanted you to visit … I'm sure they'd be happy to have you stay with them until the danger has passed."
"Jane, we can't ask you to stay here all by yourself," Mother protested. Mother knew how difficult it would be for her to take care of Irene Stuart without any company to take the edge off, and she couldn't bear putting her daughter through that.
"I'll be fine, Mums," Jane lied through her teeth.
"Robin, maybe you should just go to the Fords, and I'll stay here with Jane and Irene," Dad suggested.
"No, Dad," Jane insisted. "I'll be just fine, honest. Besides, if you're here you'll just worry Aunt Irene. She'll think she needs to take care of you, and she won't get the rest she needs. Am I right?" turning to Dr. Camlyn, who had been watching this three-way exchange with an amused look in her green eyes.
"Absolutely," Dr. Camlyn backed her up. "Mrs. Fraser needs complete rest right now in order to recover, and the more people she has around, the harder that will be. If Jane …" already she was 'Jane,' not 'Miss Stuart,' "… is willing to take on the task, I think that will work nicely. In fact, I should be able to stop by every day to check on her, so I doubt you'll even need a nurse. Can you feed and bathe your aunt, turn her every hour to prevent bedsores, assist her in her personal needs, and give her medicine every hour?" she challenged Jane.
"Yes," Jane said stoutly. To be sure, she'd never done any of those things, but if it would get Mother and Dad away, she would do them all cheerfully and well.
"There you have it then. Mr. and Mrs. Stuart, I suggest you pack your bags and leave as soon as possible."
"I'll call Mrs. Ford," Jane offered, springing up.
As Jane had suspected, Mrs. Ford was more than happy to have Mother and Dad stay with her for as long as they liked. She even offered to have her brother from Glen St. Mary come check on Aunt Irene.
"Jem's a wonderful doctor," she said with sisterly pride. "I'm sure this woman doctor knows what she is doing, but I hear she's very young, and Jem's been doing this for years. Or my father could come! He's semi-retired now, but for a family friend I'm sure he'd be willing to … no? Are you sure? Very well then."
Jane appreciated the kind offer, but she already had unwavering faith in Dr. Camlyn.
In a remarkably short amount of time, Jane and the good doctor had Mother and Dad packed and in the car, ready to go to the Fords.
"Call us if you need anything," Mother pleaded.
"Call us every day with an update," Dad corrected.
"Stay safe."
"Take good care of your aunt."
"Don't wear yourself out, dearest Jane."
"For goodness sake, don't clean my study if you get the urge to tidy."
Jane stood there, framed in the doorway, a sturdy, laughing figure. "Go!" she ordered. "I will call every day, I won't clean Dad's study, I will take exquisite care of Aunt Irene and myself, and you are not to worry about a thing!"
Finally, they drove off, Mother looking back and blowing kisses until they were out of sight.
Jane looked at Dr. Camlyn. Dr. Camlyn looked at Jane.
"Well, Jane Stuart, do you think you can take this?"
Jane smiled and tilted her chin indomitably. "What do I have to do?"
Dr. Camlyn laughed. "I like you, Jane. I think we will make a good team."
"So do I," Jane said. Up until now, all her energies had been focused on getting Mother and Dad away. She hadn't, she realized guiltily, given much thought to the invalid upstairs. "Is Aunt Irene very bad?" she asked penitently.
"I'm afraid so," Dr. Camlyn said gravely. "We're in for a stiff fight, Jane."
Again that square chin rose in a manner the doctor would soon find very familiar. "Then we'd best get to work. Tell me what to do."
The two went back inside, where Dr. Camlyn wrote out a list of Jane's duties. She handed it to the younger girl upon completion, watching her face closely as she read it, looking for any signs of uncertainty or weakness. She evidently approved of what she saw, for when Jane looked up from the lengthy catalog, Dr. Camlyn seemed satisfied.
"If," she warned nonetheless, "you ever think you can't do all of this, call me immediately. Don't try to do more than you can handle. That will only make things worse in the long run."
"I understand," Jane said solemnly.
"And do you understand everything on the list?" Again those sharp eyes fastened on Jane's face.
"Yes," Jane said without hesitation.
"You're sure? This is no time to let false pride interfere with admitting ignorance."
"I'm sure," Jane insisted. "I wouldn't say it if I wasn't."
That sweetly charming smile broke over the doctor's face. "I didn't think you would," she said, "but I had to be positive. I'll be on my way now, but I'll stop back this evening with Mrs. Fraser's medicine. Would you like me to pick anything else up for you, since you won't be able to get away?"
"No, thank you," Jane said, thinking things through. "We won't need any groceries for a few days, with Aunt Irene only taking fluids and Mother and Dad gone. If I do need anything, I can just ask one of the Jimmy Johns to run and fetch it for me."
"Very well. I'll see you this evening, then. Remember, call me if anything changes or you have questions about anything." She walked down the stone path, accompanied by Jane, and got into her convertible.
"It's a good thing Punch can't see this," Jane murmured, patting the shiny green sides admiringly. "He'd want one for himself."
Dr. Camlyn laughed. "My father insisted on buying her for me when I graduated from medical school. I think he was hoping to use it as a bribe to keep me in the city, but nothing could stop me from becoming a country doctor … it's all I've ever dreamed of. So," caressing the steering wheel, "Jellia and I moved to P.E.I."
"Jellia?"
"Didn't you ever read the Oz books, Jane? I still do, every chance I get." Smiling, she started the engine. "By the way … now that we're colleagues of a sort, why don't you call me Cam? I know so few people here, and everyone calls me 'doctor' until I feel ancient."
"Cam Camlyn?" Jane raised an eyebrow. "Your parents had a funny sense of humor."
Dr. Camlyn … Cam … laughed. "'Cam' is from my last name. My first name is Ophelia." She grimaced. "Mum adored Shakespeare. Why she couldn't have named me 'Juliet' or 'Miranda' or even 'Hero,' I'll never know. But no, she had to call me Ophelia, after the girl who goes mad and drowns herself."
Jane couldn't help laughing at Cam's resigned tone. "I can see why you prefer Cam."
"Nobody's called me Ophelia … except my parents … since grade school. Honestly, do I look like an Ophelia?"
"Not a bit," Jane answered.
"Thank goodness! Your name suits you, Jane Stuart. Sensible, down to earth, honest, unpretentious … at least your parents showed some sense in naming you."
"You wouldn't have thought so a few years ago," Jane said. "Back then everyone called me after my grandmother … Victoria."
Cam shuddered. "It's better than Ophelia … but it's not you."
"Exactly."
Cam shook her head. "Well, I've wasted far too much time maundering on about my pathetic name. Goodbye, Jane."
"Goodbye, Cam."
'Jellia' whirred away, and Jane walked back into the house to begin the unenviable task of taking care of Aunt Irene.
Author's Note: Jellia Jamb first appeared in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz known only as the 'Green girl,' and was given a name and listed as Ozma's favorite servant in later stories.