CHAPTER 15 Atonement
Despite the heavy rain that normally would soothe her, Lisa had tossed and turned all night. The sky was still purple when she had gotten out of bed, bathed and dressed. Neither Kara nor her mother would awaken for at least 2 more hours, so she decided to take a walk outside in spite of the muddy mess the garden was sure to be and the chill in the air that signaled an early autumn. Lisa never minded, because there was always something fresh about the world after storm. She decided to start out the front door, but before she could disappear into the dense foliage something strange caught her eye. It looked like a pile of clothes had been tossed onto the driveway, but as she approached it her heart fell.
"Oh my god Gustave, what are you doing here?" she ran to where the boys silent body lay. Gently she turned him to face up and almost screamed at the sight. His face was ashen grey, his lips and eyelids were purple, and blood had collected on the stone beneath his head from a large abrasion where it had struck the pavement. Working only on instinct and calling forth all the strength she had, Lisa collected the limp body against her and moved as quickly as she could back to the foyer. When she reached it she yelled out for Kara with a voice so loud it startled her, but she didn't slow down and climbed the stairs two at a time until she reached the second floor landing. She kicked open the door of the first bedroom on her right and rushed the boy to the bed. Once she laid him down she ran back down to the front of the house to the telephone.
"Lisa, what in god's name is going on? Why are you screaming to wake the dead? Holy father, where did that come from?" Kara had seen the blood staining Lisa's shirt and lunged forward to check her.
"It's not mine, it's Gustave's. I found him outside on the pavement; he must have tried to climb the gate and fallen. He's in the first guestroom, go upstairs and check on him, I need to call Dr. Gilles." Kara didn't question her any further and moved as fast as she could to inspect the child. Lisa's hands were trembling as she lifted the receiver, but her voice was calm as she spoke to the operator and then the physician. When he'd given her instructions and promised to be there in just a few minutes, Lisa asked to be connected to Erik Destler. The pressure of her heart thudding in her chest was deafening against the silence as she waited to be connected.
"What do you want?" said the harsh voice that came on the line.
"Gustave is hurt." She sputtered out.
"What are you talking about? Gustave is here." He replied.
"No. He's here, I just found him outside in the driveway. He must have tried to climb the fence and fell. The fuses blew last night so it wouldn't have worked if he'd tried the buzzer. I've called my doctor and he's on his way. I think he hit his head, he's unconscious and there's blood on the pavement." Lisa rambled on, no longer aware of what she was saying. There was only silence from the other end of the line. "Hello, hello, are you there?"
"Yes, I'll be right there." His voice was much calmer than hers, and Lisa was suddenly maddened by it.
"But what happened, why is he here?" she demanded.
"We… we had a disagreement. It's my fault, all my fault. Please, I can't lose him. Not now, not like this." The voice became smaller with every breath until all Lisa could hear was the desperate panting of the man on the other end.
"Just get here as quick as you can." She replaced receiver without ringing off and opened the front door to see if the physician had arrived. Lisa ran back down the driveway, not daring to look at the red mark on the ground, and unlocked the gate. Just as she was about to turn back, a carriage pulled up and the doctor exited it. Not stopping for pleasantries they immediately headed into the mansion. Lisa ran up the stairs 2 at a time, leaving the middle aged man behind her. He was huffing and wheezing when he joined her on the landing. She took his hand and dragged him to the room where he rushed to his patient.
"How did you manage to get him up here?"
"I carried him." Lisa replied, surprised at his question. The doctor looked back at her briefly before continuing with his work. Kara had already removed the wet soppy clothing and wrapped Gustave in a thick blanket. Lisa hadn't checked for a pulse or breathing, refusing to even consider the horrific possibility that there would be none. She was now relieved to see that already some color had returned to Gustave's cheeks proving there was blood flow in his living body.
Every second seemed like an hour while Lisa watched the doctor examine the boy. He went through several instruments in his bag to assess the child's condition. Lisa than heard the telltale signs of another presence in the manor as the front door was flung open. She dashed to the first floor landing to see the frantic figure of Erik Destler looking around like a lost child. When he saw her appear he bounded up the stairs to meet her and she led him to where the others were.
Dr. Gillis was now standing, he looked up from the boy when she and Erik entered the room. He was surprised for only a moment at the site of the wild eyed masked man.
"Dr. Gillis, this is Erik Destler. He's Gustave's father. This is my private phys… "She tried.
"Is he alive? Will he be alright? What can I do?" stammered Erik. Dr. Gillis raised one silencing hand to be able to answer.
"He's suffered a mild head trauma, so he'll have to be closely monitored for the next several hours especially till he regains consciousness. And there might be an infection from the time he spent exposed to the elements, but his vital signs are strong and he is young enough that he should make a full recovery. I'll need to contact my office for additional equipment and to consult with a specialist."
Lisa escorted the doctor to the telephone. She looked back once to see the stricken face of the man looking down at his son. Kara moved off to attend and update Mrs. Aguilar as to what had happened. Once Lisa had situated the doctor with all he needed, she hurried back to the guestroom.
Lisa's eyes found Erik next to the bed. He'd fallen to his knees and buried his face in the pillow next to his son's head. He was quietly sobbing, and his shoulders shook as he wept. Lisa didn't know what compelled her to go to him. She lowered herself down on the floor to his left and extended one arm to drape around his shoulders. He reacted immediately to her touch, taking a sharp inhalation of breath and lifting his head to stare at her. He said nothing, and just looked at her as if she were a ghost that had materialized next to him. Lisa gazed back, suddenly feeling kindred with this man. They may have been at odds over Gustave, but in that moment they shared in each other's dismay.
Their attention was only broken when Lisa noticed movement from the bed. Gustave was lethargically trying to open his eyes and turn his head towards the sound of the people next to him.
"Gustave, can you hear me? I'm here; you're going to be alright. Please, speak to me." Pleaded Erik, in a voice so raw it clutched at Lisa's heart. Gustave was still fighting the heaviness of his eyelids, and blinked like he was trying to clear his vision. Lisa rose off the floor and rushed to find Dr. Gillis. In a few minutes they returned and he settled on the other side of the bed to inspect the boy.
"Father, what happened?" he finally managed to say with a very raspy and slightly slurred voice. Erik couldn't help but smile down at him.
"You're as stubborn as your mother. You ran away and hit your head. Lisa found you and called me." He made his voice as gentle as he could.
"Lisa?" Gustave's head swiveled to find her standing at the foot of the bed, and then turned back to his father with a worried look. "Please don't be angry. It's not her fault. I was just being stupid."
"I know, calm yourself. Don't worry, I'm not angry. I'm just happy you're alright. We're both here and we're both concerned only for you." The masked man spoke reassuringly to his son, but it was a lie. He was indeed furious, though he couldn't tell if he was more upset with Lisa or himself.
Lisa moved to fill the space Dr. Gillis left as he'd stood and stepped back from the bed. She reached up and stroked Gustave's cheek as she spoke to him.
"It's alright Gustave, we're both here. We just want you to be alright." Lisa's voice caught as her fingers instinctively moved to feel around the child's face and neck. When she'd brought him upstairs his skin had been so cold she feared he was already lost, now it seemed like a fire had been lit in his flesh. "Dr. Gillis, he's got a fever." The doctor nodded and gestured for both Erik and Lisa to join him across the room. Reluctantly, they both rose to join him.
"His body is reacting to the shock of his injuries and that's why he has a fever. His immune system has also been compromised. It's best he remain stationary until he's in better shape, perhaps a week or two." Both Lisa and Erik heaved a heavy sigh, causing the doctor to raise an eyebrow.
"Is that going to be a problem?" he questioned.
"Of course not," Lisa replied, sounding a bit more sharply than she meant to. "Mr. Destler is welcome to stay here as well while Gustave recovers. The room next door is empty and always ready for visitors, so he can be close by. I'm prepared to do anything for our friend." Erik glanced over to her fleetingly, noting how she responded in the singular, Dr. Gillis than looked at him for acknowledgment.
"Yes, anything for my son's well-being." He responded in a forced whisper. "And money is no object, whatever he needs I can pay for." Erik emphasized to the physician. The doctor nodded at the man, but gave a silent wink to Lisa as he continued. Dr. Gillis was very well paid already from the Aguilar family estate to be on call for them. He served only a handful of clients from the richest families in the city, so his payment would never be in question. Lisa suspected this might be a point of pride for Erik and was thankful Dr. Gillis knew better then to pursue the topic.
"I need to ask you some questions about his family history. Is there any history of respiratory problems or any other… hereditary conditions?" Dr. Gillis glanced briefly to Erik's mask to emphasize his meaning. Erik immediately tensed and gave the doctor a blank stare. Lisa had returned to Gustave's bedside, but she listened intently to every word spoken between the pair.
"I'm sorry doctor, but I know nothing of either my or his mother's family history. We were both orphaned at a very young age. I can only tell you about my own health and his mother's from about the age of 9." When Erik had given all the information he could, he returned to his spot at Gustave's shoulder. It wasn't much for Dr. Gillis to go on, but it was enough for him to be very optimistic about Gustave's prognosis.
The doctor could see that the boy's father seemed to be in good health, except for whatever he hid under that mask. The boy also seemed to be an ideal specimen with an excellent constitution. That he'd regained consciousness so soon after such a traumatic incident was a very good sign.
The fever was Dr. Gillis' immediate concern. Though he had medicines he could prescribe, he knew that Kara had a collection of herbs that would help Gustave's quick recovery. Having been the physician for the family for a decade and a half he'd witnessed the medicinal properties of her homeopathic skills, so he would look to her for help if she wasn't already down stairs brewing something up. He'd never admit it to his peers, but the doctor believed that some of the old ways were still the best ways for cures and rehabilitation.
Dr. Gillis had another reason to be apprehensive. He didn't like the idea of this strange man being left alone with the 3 women for an unspecified amount of time. And the fact that Lisa didn't seemed too thrilled by the circumstances made him more concerned. She wasn't the kind of woman to open her door for every lost soul that crossed her path.
When the doctor had learned a few weeks earlier that she'd befriended the boy, he knew it was only because of her extreme loneliness. But to accept a full grown masked man into her home was perhaps too much of a stretch. A man like that was bound to have a dark history.
He would have to keep a watchful eye on them all while he supervised the boy's recovery. He would do whatever he had to make sure the ladies were safe.