It wasn't the incessant giggling between Kate and I that woke the Duke, but rather the loud knock at the door. Not hesitating after that knock, a fat, tall, and balding man came into the room. He was richly dressed, adorned in a matching deep violet doublet, and hose; dripping in gems from around his neck and on his fingers. He was one of the most wealthiest men I had seen in my entire life to be honest. His salt and pepper beard even trimmed to perfection, as carved as the Ruby studded cane he walked with. Even with the limp in his walk, he was a powerful man one could tell.
He walked straight past Kate and I, who had at some point stood and curtsied in a low fashion, and I quickly fell alongside her. Remaining bent, Kate and I looked to one another in confusion, and then back to the Duke as he sat up in bed. The huge purple man leaned over him, bowing low. Then very slowly he rose back to his regular hunched over posture.
"How are you feeling your Grace?" he said in German, somehow knowing we were outsiders.
"He is doing very well and we expect him to make a full recovery in the next few days," I said in his Native German tongue, taking everyone in the room by surprise. Consequently, nobody responded; simply looking at me with annoyance.
"If this is true, then this is good, I was praying for you for many days," he said to the Duke, still in his Native tongue.
"I am in need of some privacy, Anne, would you and your associate care to step outside for a moment?" the Duke asked in English.
"Of course your Grace," I said, my face filling with blood from embarrassment. We both curtsied again, leaving the room and closing the door behind us. I can honestly say I got out of there as quickly as I can, scolding my smart mouth in my head as I did.
"What was that back there? You know you aren't supposed to be talking back to these people, out here your ego doesn't matter, all that matters is that sample, and getting home," Kate said, her anger coming out.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't stand the way he just pretended like we weren't there. We saved that mans life, if it weren't for our medicine he would be dead right now. For all they know, I performed a miracle and it still wasn't enough to earn a little respect," I pouted, leaning up against the wall.
"You need to stop getting emotionally involved here, you've done fairly well about keeping your shit together emotionally speaking, but you are slipping as of lately and I am concerned," Kate said crossing her arms. I gave her a funny look, confused that I was the one to be worried about.
"I am not getting emotionally involved here, being kind to someone is not being over the top Kate, but I guess you wouldn't know that since everything is business with you. You just don't care about anything unless it's important to you and I am getting so very fed up with dealing with it."
She scowled at me, "you are so self righteous, thinking you know whats best for everyone, but you don't know whats best for me. Even if you did though, you aren't allowed to make that call for me, if I want to hurry and do what I can to get home then I can. Why you would even want to stop me is exactly why I said I was worried about you in the first place."
"Kate, of course the idea of kindness and general human decency would be lost on you," I said looking away. After a few moments of standing there in blistering silence, Kate turned to me. Eager to drop the conversation/
"Whatever, we will finish this conversation later, tell me what you think about Mr. Nutes, there's something off about him."
"I'm not sure, I think that was Mr. Nutes," I said, rubbing my chin, trying my best to let go of the irritation that was building up in my chest over her shitty attitude.
"What do you know about him?" she asked.
"He's the man he asked for this morning, after I mentioned his sister."
"His sister? What does she have to do with anything?"
"She is leaving for English court today, perhaps he wants to wish her goodbye before she does, you know the reputation Henry VIII has in other countries at this time."
"Yeah, not so good considering how many of his wives are already dead."
"And more to come," I said sadly, feeling bad for Katherine Howard, who was alive and well at this moment. Of course, Anne of Cleves was smart, and gave the King what he wanted when he said he wished to annul their marriage, and this is what kept her alive ultimately.
I wish there was some way I could let the Duke know his sister would be alright in the end, although if he's this worried about her I don't see why he's sending her in the first place. So much doesn't make sense here, but I hoped to find out if I could. Obviously, Kate wasn't going to be of much help here since her only objective was to get the sample back the the Inn, and send it back to our time. Apart from assisting in her spare time, and only when she takes a notion to, she wasn't going to do anything to help the Duke's situation. I thought long and hard about what I personally could do to help, but in the long run I knew I needed to listen to Kate and get that sample home ASAP. It was the number one priority here, not the Duke or his sister.
After a few minutes, the door opened once again, Mr. Nutes going by us in a bit of a hurry, and leaving the door open. Kate and I went back inside, seeing the Duke still sitting up in bed, an anxious look on his face that made me a bit uncomfortable. I walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, "is everything alright?" Slowly, he turned to look at me, his eyes doing their usual and holding my gaze intently.
"Yes, of course. I wish to prolong my sisters leaving is all. I hear there is more bad weather coming, and I must insist that she not leave for another week."
"This is good news then? You get to see your sister before she leaves court," Kate said from across the room, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yes, I have much to say to her before she leaves for England. She is to be it's Queen," he said.
"Then she will be very well taken care of, I am sure. I hear your sister is very smart, and gentle- a virtuous lady indeed," I said.
"She is indeed a gracious lady, and I wish her to have the world," the Duke said, staring off into space.
Kate and I looked at each other, giving each other that knowing look. We knew how this story ended, and it wasn't all bad for her, but it certainly wasn't the life he had envisioned for her either. The poor Duke truly loved his sister by the looks of it, it was so sad to see a man so wracked with guilt over having to send her so far away for the best of his country.
A few hours went by before we were brought more food, a stew with bread and cheese for us, and more the bland diet for the Duke. He remained quiet for a long time in his bed, staring off into the distance before randomly snapping out of it. He truly was a strange character, but I truly love caring for my patients. Not only that, but the medicine I gave him was very powerful stuff, and also something that I did not have much of, so it would be a shame to see it wasted just for him to die or suffer in another way. After what seemed like forever of me glancing at him and worrying, he spoke out; breaking the silence.
"I can't wait to not have to eat this slop," he said from his bed, "it's utterly tasteless."
"It will give you strength, which is what you need right now. You don't need to be forcing down food that could end up making your delicate stomach reject it," Kate responded for me as I popped the last bite of a peach tart into my mouth.
"How much longer do I have to lay here like this, and eat this rubbish?"
"If you can hold that down today then you can get up and go back to business tomorrow if that is what you wish, as long as you take it easy," I warned him.
"So just for today then?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," Kate said.
He seemed to relax at that, and tried to finish off his food with more vigor now that he knew he wouldn't be eating it for long. I had high hopes for him, and so he had the servants assign us our own room across the hall from him and the Duchess's chambers. With guards posted outside his room, and us checking on him throughout the night he should be perfectly fine.
The rest of the day was rather boring, Kate and I played cards while the Duke brooded in his bed. At one point Mr. Nutes came back, kicking us out of the room for nearly an hour this time before leaving in a hurry yet again. That evening, the Duke complained about his dinner, being glad that it was his last meal on this awful diet, and Kate scolded him that there were some people that didn't have any dinner at all- much to the dismay of the Duke and myself. He sat back into his bed, not saying a word, however.
That night, we checked his vitals, and for any signs of a fever, once we were sure that there were none, we went to bed ourselves. The room they had given us was luxurious, with a massive canopy bed with fresh linens, and goose feather stuffings. The view from the window showed us the courtyard, in which people would be walking about during the day. At night, it was desolate, and dark; to say we slept bad would be a gross understatement.
In the Duke's rooms, it was warm and pleasant feeling, here it was cold, despite the roaring fire, and I had the most unpleasant feeling that something or someone was watching us. I had spun around looking for signs of anyone hiding, but found none. Content that Kate had no worries and was already taking her clothes off and getting ready for bed.
"Kate," I said, unlacing my dress and stepping out of it cautiously as I heard Kate fall back onto the bed behind me.
"What?" she asked, sitting up on her elbow.
"Does this room give you the creeps?" I asked, stepping out of my dress and placing it across the chair next to our bed.
"No, why? Does it you?"
"Very much, it just doesn't feel right," I whispered, scanning the room again, even as I unzipped my corset, throwing it on top of my dress.
"You're afraid of everything though, and a real hypochondriac too- especially for a doctor."
I slid out of my kirtle, leaving me in nothing but my chemise and stockings, and slid into bed with Kate, turning to my side immediately. I felt her creep up behind me, throwing her arm around me and pulling me close.
"Kate?" I asked.
"I just need the contact sometimes, yanno? I hope you don't mind. I didn't think you would anyway," she said from behind me, her voice growing sad again. The familiar depression that I had heard in mine at some point everyday for the last year.
"It's okay, Kate. I don't mind." I said, even snuggling into her closer. I think its what I needed, to be here, and touch starved is a hard thing to go through. To be away from one's family, and everything you've ever known is even hard, and to add the two together is hell.
We ended up taking turns again, checking on the Duke every 4 hours- and each time he was sound asleep. There it was, then. He was going to be okay, there would be no need for us to stay another night. Tomorrow we would go home, and send the results back to the lab in 2111. I had a really good feeling about this one. In a matter of days, we could be going home.