Meridith, for one, had absolutely no time for thinking back on anything, much less regretting it after the fact. As soon as her foot had hit the ground level floor things had been thrown at her one after another. Sandra needed her black corset fixed. After hunting out the black thread and a decent unbent needle, Meridith re-attached the flopping lace and stitched the whalebone back into its pocket. Anne needed her transparent shift re-hemmed. This made Meridith go on another hunt for a different color of thread. After the shift was hemmed, Anne handed her another, in yet another color. With a muttered curse, Meridith found yet another color of thread and whipped the hem back to a reasonable length. Four stitches away from the end, Julia found Meridith doing her needlework on the stairs and pulled her away to peel potatoes. After finishing the last potato, she was sent off with the wine flasks to put in every room where Ashley grabbed Meridith's wrist and pulled her off to help tighten bodice stings.
"And I met this gambler on the docks," Ashley was twittering. "He's coming tonight, and he's overflowing in money!" Rolling her eyes, Meridith turned Ashley around and wrapped the bodice strings around her hands, bracing herself against the foot of the bed and pulling as hard as she could. Ashley's best feature, truth be told and as far as Meridith could see her only feature that was worth being proud of, was a nineteen inch waist. Meridith tied the strings in a jolly old knot at Ashley's waist that would send any sailor spinning in his hammock. Grinning at the irony of this thought, she gave Elise's strings a good yank, and then picked up her wine flasks and set off again to try to get the rooms stocked for the night's 'business.' Doubtless tomorrow night it would be the same as tonight and last night and the night before. With a sigh, Meridith finished pouring the wine into the last flask and left the room. As she got to the first landing, there was a knock on the door. *and it isn't even DARK yet..* she thought. *Someone's a bit eager.* Setting the flask down and wiping her hands on her skirt, she pulled the heavy oak door open.
The man standing outside was in every way a dandy. He took off his ostrich-plumed hat and bowed to Meridith, who stood there looking at him rather skeptically.
"I am Sir Henry Askens." he said by way of introduction. "I was told I could find the services of Ashley Montocant at this address."
Meridith opened the door wider to allow the silk-clad Askens inside. "I'll go see if Ashley is in tonight. Have a seat." She gestured him towards the ornate sitting-room and then trudged up the stairs to get Ashley.
It was always the same. The men came, some to remember, some to forget, they were taken away by the girls up the their entertaining rooms and the rest of the night was one chore after another for Meridith. The girls had decided that the best way to get what they wanted quickly was to stick their heads out their doors and screech at the top of their lungs, "Meridith! Fetch more wine!" Meridith, for her part, was obliged to run their errands and fetch their items. While there was a lull in the demands, Meridith spent her time curled up in the empty sitting room reading whatever had been left behind by the girls' customers. Tonight it was a dog eared copy of some romance novel set in America left by Ashley's gambler dandy, and the story was so improbable that Meridith found herself laughing out loud at parts. Finally giving up on the rather stupid book, she tucked her feet up under her skirts and watched the thunderstorm brewing outside. It was going to be a good one, she could tell.
"Meridith!" came a scream from the third floor-it sounded farther away than normal. "Fetch the hot water!" Sighing, Meridith pried herself out of the chair and went in search of the tin bucket.
As she was pouring the water from the cauldron over the fire into the bucket to take upstairs there was a piercing scream. Sighing, Meridith ignored it. Strange sounds in this house were nothing out of the ordinary on any give night. As she started up the stairs lugging the bucket there was another scream. This time it was a scream of terror and pain and slowly, it began to dawn on Meridith where the screams were coming from.
"Oh HELL." she muttered, and quickened her pace up the stairs. Another scream, and she dropped the bucket at the top of the flight, hoping that whoever it was who had yelled would have the presence of mind to come out and find it. Gathering her layers and layers of skirts up in her hands, she took the last two flights of stairs two at a time running and burst through the door as another scream split the air. Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower must have been having one of the worst dreams of his life. He was thrashing around, and had succeeded in kicking all the bedclothes onto the floor. The crate that did its duty as a bedside table had been overturned, and the jam jar with flowers in it had cracked on the floor. Hornblower was drenched in sweat and pale as a sheet, his hair loose and sticking to his face. Meridith was somewhat at a loss as to what she could do.
"Meridith!" It was the same voice screeching at her.
With a muttered oath, Meridith leaned over the banister "At the top of the stairs!" she yelled back, then closed her door so she wouldn't have to hear the girls' commands, leaning on it as she tried to gather herself back together. Horatio cried out again and threw his arms up in front of him as if to ward something away.
Crossing the room in two strides, Meridith took hold of one of his wrists and put her other hand on his sweaty forehead. He struck out with his free hand, catching Meridith and knocking her off balance and sprawling to the floor before catching his own wrist on the bedpost and howling in pain.
"Serves you right!" Meridith said indignantly as she picked herself up off the floor. If it was possible, he was hotter now than he had been before. It was high time that she got the fever brew into him, but if he was going to continue to be hostile, she wasn't sure if she wanted to risk either herself or one of Ms. Brummel's good earthenware mugs. Of course, once he woke up he might be a little more reasonable. Meridith finally decided that looked like the most promising avenue to take next. Sitting down on the side of the bed, she leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Mr. Hornblower?"
He jerked away. Meridith rolled him back over and held him there. "Horatio. Horatio!" He struggled, then lashed out and caught Meridith in the shoulder, making her lose her hold, and then rolled onto his side. Slightly peeved, Meridith let him be, retreating slightly. She turned the bedside crate back to its former position, and set the now cold herbal brew on top of it, then sat down on the trunk under the window. *Stubborn bugger* She leaned her forehead on the cold glass of the window and looked out through the raindrops. The rain was coming down fast and hard, and making a pattering noise on the windowpane. The thunder cracked once overhead, as if getting warmed up. Behind her, Horatio called out softly- a name.... Mariette again. He had his lanky body curled up near the edge of the bed with one hand trailing over the side and onto the floor. Meridith knelt on the floor so she was more or less at the same level he was and held the loose hand.
"Mariette... no.." he murmured. He was shaking all over, curled up as tightly as he could. Meridith put a hand on his face.
"Horatio... Horatio, wake up. Just wake up."
"No... she's not.. I'm not leaving.... no, Archie... no!" He was calling out in a hoarse voice. Meridith shook him gently.
"Horatio.. wake up. You need to wake up now."
"NO!" The scream was wrenched out of him. Tears dripped across his face from under long dark lashes and he started sobbing incoherently. Meridith did her best to calm him down, and eventually was rewarded with a heaving sigh. Slowly, Horatio's eyelids fluttered, and then opened, again leaving Meridith staring into chocolate brown eyes. She smiled at him.
"You were having a nightmare."
He sighed again and looked away from her as if embarrassed.
"No, don't worry. It's nothing to be ashamed of."
He looked back at her accusatorily and a single tear escaped from his right eye. He dashed it away angrily.
"It's everything to be ashamed of." he whispered. "It means I'm a failure. A complete and utter failure." He looked away again and another tear slid down his cheek before he took his hand roughly out of hers and turned weakly to face the other way.
"Oh, Mr. Hornblower..." Meridith trailed off. He obviously had the weight of some great losses resting on his shoulders. With a sigh, she climbed off the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. "Mr. Hornblower, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not going to tell you that everything is going to be fine, because obviously it's not, and whatever is making it that way is out of my power to change. What I'm going to do, Mr. Hornblower, is tell you that I will do what I can to rid you of your fever, and I will be a sympathetic ear if you want to talk. That's all I can offer." As she was talking, Meridith was smoothing the wet dark hair away from his face and gathering it at the back of his neck. With one hand she dug through her pockets until she found a thin black ribbon left over from the repair of Sandra's corset and tied his dark curls back. Meridith sighed and tucked both feet up under her, crossing her legs and leaning back against the headboard of the bed.
Slowly and quietly, Horatio turned back over to face her and rested his head on her thigh. She straightened the sleeve of his shirt, and that simple gesture was enough to choke him with tears again.
"Go ahead and cry, Horatio." she murmured, and his tears fell. And he was crying for everything and for nothing. He was crying for himself and for the things Simpson had done and for Cleveland who had died for him and crying for Finch and for Bunting and for oh God, for Mariette and for Archie who might be dying because of him and he was crying and he was crying and oh God he didn't think he would ever stop. Then he felt Meridith stroking his hair and he sobbed even harder. "That's it, Mr. Hornblower," she was saying "Just let it all out, let it come out." And he was reaching for her and she was holding his hand and then he was in her arms and he was crying into her neck and she was telling him he would be all right, he would be all right. He stayed like that, the tears flowing for what seemed like ages, Meridith stroking his back and whispering words of encouragement the whole time. With a last heaving sob the tears slowed and Horatio lay exhausted in Meridith's arms. She helped him lie back down and then put one hand on his forehead. It was more than high time he had the fever broth. She stood to retrieve it and stirred it with one finger as she sat back down beside him.
"Mr. Hornblower, do you think you could drink this if I helped you?"
"What...?" he croaked, a bit leery of pouring some unknown potion down his throat. If it was anything like Dr. Hepplewhite's unknown liquids, the cure could be worse than the disease and he would regret it in a short time.
Meridith smiled. "Meadowsweet, willow bark and peppermint. It should help lower your fever. I'm afraid it's not warm anymore, but the peppermint should help disguise the willow bark." She held his head up and helped him tip the liquid concoction into his mouth. From the face he made, Meridith could tell that she should have added more peppermint. Setting the now empty mug on the bedside crate, she stood and gathered the strewn bedclothes off the floor. Depositing them on the foot of the bed, she set about straightening them out again. As she tucked the end of the sheet around the foot of the bed she paused.
"Bloody hell!" Meridith exclaimed. "You've torn my darning out again, Mr. Hornblower!"
"Horatio." he murmured, almost asleep.
"Hmm?" She looked up at him.
"Call me Horatio." As soon as the words were out of his mouth he questioned himself. Why on earth was he telling her to use his hated given name? What had possessed him?
Meridith was looking at him, paused in the motion of tucking the blanket in.
Something inside him was screaming, stretched to breaking, yelling *no, no, don't let her, tell her no!* But his lips were moving, forming the word yes.
"All right then, Horatio." She said the name as if tasting it, and then smiled.
*What did you DO?* Horatio's mental voice screamed at him. *As long as she was treating you as the superior you would have been fine! No you're both on even footing! With a girl! A meddling GIRL! And you remember Mariette, don't you? The *last* girl you let use that name. And now look. Look what you've set yourself up for.* There was a hand on his shoulder and he flooded back to reality, shaking. Meridith was standing over him, one hand on his shoulder.
"I... I'm sorry." he murmured, unable to meet her worried gaze. *And now you APOLOGIZE? She'll break your heart within a week, you spineless sniveling boy...* *Shut UP!* Horatio mentally screamed at the voice, which he had just realized sounded eerily like Jack Simpson. *Shut up and leave me alone!* The voice faded, laughing sinisterly.
"No, that's all right," Meridith was saying. "Are you cold? Do you want the blanket?"
"Yes. I think so... yes, yes please." The voice of Simpson had rattled him more than he wanted to admit, and he accepted the warm blankets gratefully as Meridith tucked them around him. Horatio sighed and closed his eyes. The sigh was echoed by Meridith , who ran her fingers through her hair and glanced at the door.
"I should probably go see what havoc the others have wreaked."
"Others?"
"The wharf girls. At least that's what I call them collectively."
"You mean you don't rent this room?"
Meridith shook her head. "Heavens, no.... well, I suppose I do rent it in a way. I work for Ms. Brummel and the girls, and in turn for that I get to stay here. Of course I have to buy everything I need except food, but I suppose it's better than it could be."
"The wharf girls.. they work for Ms. Brummel too?"
"In a way. If you could call it work, what they do, then I guess you could say they work for her." Meridith restlessly fidgeted with the empty mug.
"I don't understand." Horatio turned to face her.
She met his gaze. "As a sailor, you've never heard of the Brummel House?"
"Brummel... " He knew he had heard of it, but it wasn't focusing in his brain where. Then all of a sudden it hit him. "Brummel House... the brothel? The whorehouse?"
Meridith nodded sadly and set the mug down.
Horatio was in disbelief "You're one of them? The working girls?" He recoiled from her touch as she straightened the blanket. A wave of disgust passed over him and he struggled away from her.
"No, no.. I'm only the healer. Ms. Brummel keeps me on in case any of the girls get sick or hurt.. she wants as much money as possible on any given night."
The look on Horatio's face told her that he didn't believe a word of it.
Meridith shrugged. "You can not believe me if you'd like, but I'm not one of them. I'm only here until I can find somewhere else to support myself. Mrs. Glouster would take me in, but she's old and I don't want to burden her." Abruptly Meridith stood, picking up the mug and the pitcher. Good night, Lieutenant."
Horatio watched her for a moment. Something in the way she carried herself told him that she had been telling the truth. She couldn't be one of the wharf girls. In fact, he had serious doubts she had ever been courted by a man, much less been selling herself to them.
Meridith scrubbed the mug out with a corner of her apron and set it back down on top of the trunk holding her herbs and plants. The pitcher she held onto, and turned the handle on the door with her free hand.
"Wait..." Horatio whispered.
Meridith turned back around, holding the door open with her hip and looked at him.
"Could you.." he was hoarse and coughed to clear his throat. "Could you stay here? In case... in case I start dreaming again? I'm sorry.."
A look of sympathy flitted across her face and she let the door close, putting the pitcher down.
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't unload my troubles on you." Meridith sighed. "But that's beside the point. You need rest. Do you think you could get to sleep if I stayed here?"
Horatio nodded weakly and closed his eyes. He felt the bed shift slightly as Meridith sat down beside him and then her hand on his forehead. She made a clucking sound with her tongue.
"You're still burning up. But sleep now, and we'll see what morning brings."
Horatio sighed and nestled deeper into the welcoming warmth of the bedclothes. He hadn't felt this good in months, and it was definitely a welcome change. He had hardly had time to think this before he was deeply asleep. Meridith quickly followed, her head leaning against the battered oak headboard. Her words echoed through the silence
*We'll see what morning brings*
"And I met this gambler on the docks," Ashley was twittering. "He's coming tonight, and he's overflowing in money!" Rolling her eyes, Meridith turned Ashley around and wrapped the bodice strings around her hands, bracing herself against the foot of the bed and pulling as hard as she could. Ashley's best feature, truth be told and as far as Meridith could see her only feature that was worth being proud of, was a nineteen inch waist. Meridith tied the strings in a jolly old knot at Ashley's waist that would send any sailor spinning in his hammock. Grinning at the irony of this thought, she gave Elise's strings a good yank, and then picked up her wine flasks and set off again to try to get the rooms stocked for the night's 'business.' Doubtless tomorrow night it would be the same as tonight and last night and the night before. With a sigh, Meridith finished pouring the wine into the last flask and left the room. As she got to the first landing, there was a knock on the door. *and it isn't even DARK yet..* she thought. *Someone's a bit eager.* Setting the flask down and wiping her hands on her skirt, she pulled the heavy oak door open.
The man standing outside was in every way a dandy. He took off his ostrich-plumed hat and bowed to Meridith, who stood there looking at him rather skeptically.
"I am Sir Henry Askens." he said by way of introduction. "I was told I could find the services of Ashley Montocant at this address."
Meridith opened the door wider to allow the silk-clad Askens inside. "I'll go see if Ashley is in tonight. Have a seat." She gestured him towards the ornate sitting-room and then trudged up the stairs to get Ashley.
It was always the same. The men came, some to remember, some to forget, they were taken away by the girls up the their entertaining rooms and the rest of the night was one chore after another for Meridith. The girls had decided that the best way to get what they wanted quickly was to stick their heads out their doors and screech at the top of their lungs, "Meridith! Fetch more wine!" Meridith, for her part, was obliged to run their errands and fetch their items. While there was a lull in the demands, Meridith spent her time curled up in the empty sitting room reading whatever had been left behind by the girls' customers. Tonight it was a dog eared copy of some romance novel set in America left by Ashley's gambler dandy, and the story was so improbable that Meridith found herself laughing out loud at parts. Finally giving up on the rather stupid book, she tucked her feet up under her skirts and watched the thunderstorm brewing outside. It was going to be a good one, she could tell.
"Meridith!" came a scream from the third floor-it sounded farther away than normal. "Fetch the hot water!" Sighing, Meridith pried herself out of the chair and went in search of the tin bucket.
As she was pouring the water from the cauldron over the fire into the bucket to take upstairs there was a piercing scream. Sighing, Meridith ignored it. Strange sounds in this house were nothing out of the ordinary on any give night. As she started up the stairs lugging the bucket there was another scream. This time it was a scream of terror and pain and slowly, it began to dawn on Meridith where the screams were coming from.
"Oh HELL." she muttered, and quickened her pace up the stairs. Another scream, and she dropped the bucket at the top of the flight, hoping that whoever it was who had yelled would have the presence of mind to come out and find it. Gathering her layers and layers of skirts up in her hands, she took the last two flights of stairs two at a time running and burst through the door as another scream split the air. Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower must have been having one of the worst dreams of his life. He was thrashing around, and had succeeded in kicking all the bedclothes onto the floor. The crate that did its duty as a bedside table had been overturned, and the jam jar with flowers in it had cracked on the floor. Hornblower was drenched in sweat and pale as a sheet, his hair loose and sticking to his face. Meridith was somewhat at a loss as to what she could do.
"Meridith!" It was the same voice screeching at her.
With a muttered oath, Meridith leaned over the banister "At the top of the stairs!" she yelled back, then closed her door so she wouldn't have to hear the girls' commands, leaning on it as she tried to gather herself back together. Horatio cried out again and threw his arms up in front of him as if to ward something away.
Crossing the room in two strides, Meridith took hold of one of his wrists and put her other hand on his sweaty forehead. He struck out with his free hand, catching Meridith and knocking her off balance and sprawling to the floor before catching his own wrist on the bedpost and howling in pain.
"Serves you right!" Meridith said indignantly as she picked herself up off the floor. If it was possible, he was hotter now than he had been before. It was high time that she got the fever brew into him, but if he was going to continue to be hostile, she wasn't sure if she wanted to risk either herself or one of Ms. Brummel's good earthenware mugs. Of course, once he woke up he might be a little more reasonable. Meridith finally decided that looked like the most promising avenue to take next. Sitting down on the side of the bed, she leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Mr. Hornblower?"
He jerked away. Meridith rolled him back over and held him there. "Horatio. Horatio!" He struggled, then lashed out and caught Meridith in the shoulder, making her lose her hold, and then rolled onto his side. Slightly peeved, Meridith let him be, retreating slightly. She turned the bedside crate back to its former position, and set the now cold herbal brew on top of it, then sat down on the trunk under the window. *Stubborn bugger* She leaned her forehead on the cold glass of the window and looked out through the raindrops. The rain was coming down fast and hard, and making a pattering noise on the windowpane. The thunder cracked once overhead, as if getting warmed up. Behind her, Horatio called out softly- a name.... Mariette again. He had his lanky body curled up near the edge of the bed with one hand trailing over the side and onto the floor. Meridith knelt on the floor so she was more or less at the same level he was and held the loose hand.
"Mariette... no.." he murmured. He was shaking all over, curled up as tightly as he could. Meridith put a hand on his face.
"Horatio... Horatio, wake up. Just wake up."
"No... she's not.. I'm not leaving.... no, Archie... no!" He was calling out in a hoarse voice. Meridith shook him gently.
"Horatio.. wake up. You need to wake up now."
"NO!" The scream was wrenched out of him. Tears dripped across his face from under long dark lashes and he started sobbing incoherently. Meridith did her best to calm him down, and eventually was rewarded with a heaving sigh. Slowly, Horatio's eyelids fluttered, and then opened, again leaving Meridith staring into chocolate brown eyes. She smiled at him.
"You were having a nightmare."
He sighed again and looked away from her as if embarrassed.
"No, don't worry. It's nothing to be ashamed of."
He looked back at her accusatorily and a single tear escaped from his right eye. He dashed it away angrily.
"It's everything to be ashamed of." he whispered. "It means I'm a failure. A complete and utter failure." He looked away again and another tear slid down his cheek before he took his hand roughly out of hers and turned weakly to face the other way.
"Oh, Mr. Hornblower..." Meridith trailed off. He obviously had the weight of some great losses resting on his shoulders. With a sigh, she climbed off the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. "Mr. Hornblower, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not going to tell you that everything is going to be fine, because obviously it's not, and whatever is making it that way is out of my power to change. What I'm going to do, Mr. Hornblower, is tell you that I will do what I can to rid you of your fever, and I will be a sympathetic ear if you want to talk. That's all I can offer." As she was talking, Meridith was smoothing the wet dark hair away from his face and gathering it at the back of his neck. With one hand she dug through her pockets until she found a thin black ribbon left over from the repair of Sandra's corset and tied his dark curls back. Meridith sighed and tucked both feet up under her, crossing her legs and leaning back against the headboard of the bed.
Slowly and quietly, Horatio turned back over to face her and rested his head on her thigh. She straightened the sleeve of his shirt, and that simple gesture was enough to choke him with tears again.
"Go ahead and cry, Horatio." she murmured, and his tears fell. And he was crying for everything and for nothing. He was crying for himself and for the things Simpson had done and for Cleveland who had died for him and crying for Finch and for Bunting and for oh God, for Mariette and for Archie who might be dying because of him and he was crying and he was crying and oh God he didn't think he would ever stop. Then he felt Meridith stroking his hair and he sobbed even harder. "That's it, Mr. Hornblower," she was saying "Just let it all out, let it come out." And he was reaching for her and she was holding his hand and then he was in her arms and he was crying into her neck and she was telling him he would be all right, he would be all right. He stayed like that, the tears flowing for what seemed like ages, Meridith stroking his back and whispering words of encouragement the whole time. With a last heaving sob the tears slowed and Horatio lay exhausted in Meridith's arms. She helped him lie back down and then put one hand on his forehead. It was more than high time he had the fever broth. She stood to retrieve it and stirred it with one finger as she sat back down beside him.
"Mr. Hornblower, do you think you could drink this if I helped you?"
"What...?" he croaked, a bit leery of pouring some unknown potion down his throat. If it was anything like Dr. Hepplewhite's unknown liquids, the cure could be worse than the disease and he would regret it in a short time.
Meridith smiled. "Meadowsweet, willow bark and peppermint. It should help lower your fever. I'm afraid it's not warm anymore, but the peppermint should help disguise the willow bark." She held his head up and helped him tip the liquid concoction into his mouth. From the face he made, Meridith could tell that she should have added more peppermint. Setting the now empty mug on the bedside crate, she stood and gathered the strewn bedclothes off the floor. Depositing them on the foot of the bed, she set about straightening them out again. As she tucked the end of the sheet around the foot of the bed she paused.
"Bloody hell!" Meridith exclaimed. "You've torn my darning out again, Mr. Hornblower!"
"Horatio." he murmured, almost asleep.
"Hmm?" She looked up at him.
"Call me Horatio." As soon as the words were out of his mouth he questioned himself. Why on earth was he telling her to use his hated given name? What had possessed him?
Meridith was looking at him, paused in the motion of tucking the blanket in.
Something inside him was screaming, stretched to breaking, yelling *no, no, don't let her, tell her no!* But his lips were moving, forming the word yes.
"All right then, Horatio." She said the name as if tasting it, and then smiled.
*What did you DO?* Horatio's mental voice screamed at him. *As long as she was treating you as the superior you would have been fine! No you're both on even footing! With a girl! A meddling GIRL! And you remember Mariette, don't you? The *last* girl you let use that name. And now look. Look what you've set yourself up for.* There was a hand on his shoulder and he flooded back to reality, shaking. Meridith was standing over him, one hand on his shoulder.
"I... I'm sorry." he murmured, unable to meet her worried gaze. *And now you APOLOGIZE? She'll break your heart within a week, you spineless sniveling boy...* *Shut UP!* Horatio mentally screamed at the voice, which he had just realized sounded eerily like Jack Simpson. *Shut up and leave me alone!* The voice faded, laughing sinisterly.
"No, that's all right," Meridith was saying. "Are you cold? Do you want the blanket?"
"Yes. I think so... yes, yes please." The voice of Simpson had rattled him more than he wanted to admit, and he accepted the warm blankets gratefully as Meridith tucked them around him. Horatio sighed and closed his eyes. The sigh was echoed by Meridith , who ran her fingers through her hair and glanced at the door.
"I should probably go see what havoc the others have wreaked."
"Others?"
"The wharf girls. At least that's what I call them collectively."
"You mean you don't rent this room?"
Meridith shook her head. "Heavens, no.... well, I suppose I do rent it in a way. I work for Ms. Brummel and the girls, and in turn for that I get to stay here. Of course I have to buy everything I need except food, but I suppose it's better than it could be."
"The wharf girls.. they work for Ms. Brummel too?"
"In a way. If you could call it work, what they do, then I guess you could say they work for her." Meridith restlessly fidgeted with the empty mug.
"I don't understand." Horatio turned to face her.
She met his gaze. "As a sailor, you've never heard of the Brummel House?"
"Brummel... " He knew he had heard of it, but it wasn't focusing in his brain where. Then all of a sudden it hit him. "Brummel House... the brothel? The whorehouse?"
Meridith nodded sadly and set the mug down.
Horatio was in disbelief "You're one of them? The working girls?" He recoiled from her touch as she straightened the blanket. A wave of disgust passed over him and he struggled away from her.
"No, no.. I'm only the healer. Ms. Brummel keeps me on in case any of the girls get sick or hurt.. she wants as much money as possible on any given night."
The look on Horatio's face told her that he didn't believe a word of it.
Meridith shrugged. "You can not believe me if you'd like, but I'm not one of them. I'm only here until I can find somewhere else to support myself. Mrs. Glouster would take me in, but she's old and I don't want to burden her." Abruptly Meridith stood, picking up the mug and the pitcher. Good night, Lieutenant."
Horatio watched her for a moment. Something in the way she carried herself told him that she had been telling the truth. She couldn't be one of the wharf girls. In fact, he had serious doubts she had ever been courted by a man, much less been selling herself to them.
Meridith scrubbed the mug out with a corner of her apron and set it back down on top of the trunk holding her herbs and plants. The pitcher she held onto, and turned the handle on the door with her free hand.
"Wait..." Horatio whispered.
Meridith turned back around, holding the door open with her hip and looked at him.
"Could you.." he was hoarse and coughed to clear his throat. "Could you stay here? In case... in case I start dreaming again? I'm sorry.."
A look of sympathy flitted across her face and she let the door close, putting the pitcher down.
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't unload my troubles on you." Meridith sighed. "But that's beside the point. You need rest. Do you think you could get to sleep if I stayed here?"
Horatio nodded weakly and closed his eyes. He felt the bed shift slightly as Meridith sat down beside him and then her hand on his forehead. She made a clucking sound with her tongue.
"You're still burning up. But sleep now, and we'll see what morning brings."
Horatio sighed and nestled deeper into the welcoming warmth of the bedclothes. He hadn't felt this good in months, and it was definitely a welcome change. He had hardly had time to think this before he was deeply asleep. Meridith quickly followed, her head leaning against the battered oak headboard. Her words echoed through the silence
*We'll see what morning brings*