The doctor nodded. "Indeed. I believe some time with your sister will do you well, Amelia." He beckoned to the nurse. "I shall return in a little while, and then it will be time for your rest." He glanced at Veronica, and then turned away, holding the door open for the nurse to leave before him. The door swung shut behind them.
Veronica glanced around the room. The furnishings were sparse, but not unpleasant. It was obviously some sort of day room, a place for patients to come when they weren't well enough to join the others on the airing courts outside. The very fact that Amelia was here, instead of enjoying the fresh air, did not bode well for her overall health. Veronica looked at the spine of the book that the nurse had placed on the coffee table. "Jane Austen, eh? I'd have thought the library here would be full of far more turgid fare than that!"
Amelia smiled. "Oh come here and give me a hug, sister! It's so good to see you."
Veronica did as she was bade, taking her sister gently in her arms and kissing her lightly on the cheek. She cupped Amelia's face in her palms for a moment, looking her up and down, and then set about rearranging the blanket on her knees. Amelia slapped her away. "I'm not an invalid, Veronica!" She smiled. "At least, not yet."
Veronica lowered herself into the chair beside her sister. "Oh, Amelia, what am I to do with you?"
Amelia shrugged. "I had thought I might be getting out of this dreadful place, but now I'm not so sure. The episodes have been getting more and more frequent, and Dr. Mason is clearly concerned for my health." She laughed. "But then I suppose he's told you all of that already, hasn't he?"
Veronica nodded. She didn't know what else to say. She searched Amelia's face for a moment. "You were right, you know."
"What about?"
"About everything." Veronica sighed. "Everything you saw in your visions. It all came to pass. The airship crash. The automatons. 'It's all in their heads', you said to me, over and over again. 'It's all in their heads'." She shrugged. "It was, too."
Amelia looked puzzled. "What are you going on about?"
"Your visions, of course. Don't you remember?"
Amelia shook her head. She gazed at the floor. "We've talked about this before. I don't remember most of what I see during my seizures." She folded her hands on her knees, fidgeting awkwardly with her fingers. "I'm sorry."
Veronica shook her head. "Don't be." She paused, her brow furrowed. "I've got to help you somehow, Amelia. I'm going to talk to Sir Maurice, see if we can't find a better way to keep you well. There must be something we can do."
Amelia looked up. "How is Sir Maurice? After your last visit I was concerned…"
Veronica smiled. "He's fine. Well-he's recovering. He had quite an ordeal, if truth be told. We all did." Unconsciously Veronica turned her arm over on her lap and rubbed at her sore wrist. Amelia looked appalled.
"Veronica! Look at those bruises. Are you quite well? What the devil have you been up to?"
Veronica quickly covered her arm in the folds of her dress. "It's nothing. I'm well enough, thanks to Sir Maurice, anyway. He saved my life."
Amelia grinned. "Quite the hero, isn't he? Do tell."
Veronica blushed. "That's quite enough of that. Now, tell me, are you getting enough to eat? You're still so painfully thin."
"Stop avoiding the subject, you terrible sister! You can't tease me like this! You know it's bad for my constitution." Amelia beamed.
"Then what will I have to tell you about on my next visit? At least this way I can offer you something to look forward to."
Amelia laughed. "I suppose that's true, at least." She put her hand on Veronica's arm. "You must reassure me that you're looking after yourself out there, though. It wouldn't do for our parents to end up with two sick daughters, now would it?"
Veronica sighed. "All is well, Amelia. If you must knowI've had rather a thrilling adventure. And yes, you're right. Sir Maurice is rather a hero, after all." She laughed and looked out of the window, watching the trees blowing back and forth languorously in the breeze. "I'm not sure yet how I'll be able to go back to my desk at the museum after the excitement of the last few days. It all feels a little mundane at the moment."
Amelia smiled knowingly. "Oh, I suspect there's more adventure to come, Veronica. You always were the headstrong one. I can't imagine you'll be behind that desk for long."
Veronica sighed. The moment stretched into silence. She was just about to speak again when there was a gentle rap at the door, and both of them looked up to see Dr. Mason appear in the opening. "Ladies, I'm afraid it's time Amelia took a rest. It pains me to hurry you but I think it best we get her settled before the other patients return from their exercise."
Veronica smiled at Amelia sadly and then leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the cheek. She rose to her feet. "Take care, sister. I'll return in a few days to see how you're getting along."
Amelia nodded. "Until then."
Dr. Mason held the door open for Veronica as she left the day room without looking back, the stirrings of tears in the corners of her eyes.
The young man was still lounging idly on the wooden bench as Veronica made her way out of the asylum. She tried again to place him, but somehow his identity eluded her. She was convinced that she'd seen him before, in a different context. She took a few steps along the gravel path, and then, deciding that she'd be unable to let it rest, she turned back and accosted one of the nurses, who seemed both bemused by Veronica's sudden appearance beside her and annoyed at having her train of thought interrupted whilst gossiping with one of her colleagues.
"Excuse me, nurse. Can you tell me: who is that man?" She spoke in hushed tones so as not to let him overhear her words, indicating him with a wave of her hand.
The nurse looked over her shoulder and shrugged. "I have no idea ma'am. None of us do. He was brought in last night after lights-out and the night nurse was told to find him temporary accommodation. We think he must have been involved in an accident of some sort. His wounds had been dressed like he'd been in an infirmary, but they must have turned him out when he couldn't pay his bill. One of the locals found him by the side of the road and brought him in last night, figuring he wasn't a drunk and may have been a patient who had somehow found his way out of the asylum. Seems he can't remember his name or any of his family connections. Poor sod. He'll be collected and taken to the public sanatorium later this afternoon." She searched Veronica's face for an answer. "Why do you ask?"
Veronica frowned. "For some reason he just looks familiar…" She stared at the man over the nurse's shoulder, watching him as he gazed up at the sky, lost in a world of his own devising. Suddenly something seemed to click in her head. "Oh God! Jack! Jack Coulthard!" She ran towards him, realisation dawning behind her eyes. "You're Jack Coulthard!"
The man turned to look at her, his eyes searching; confused and unsure how to take this outburst from a strange woman he had no idea whether he should know. "I am?"
"I believe so, yes." She grinned, almost disbelieving the coincidence. "Your sister showed me your photograph. She's waiting for you to come home."
The nurse rushed over to Veronica. "You're saying that you know this man?"
"I know his sister, yes. She's been searching for him for a week. She's beside herself with concern." Veronica turned to face the nurse, who was looking as bemused as the patient. "Quickly, call for a cab immediately. We have to send for her now."
The nurse nodded and disappeared under the archway to fetch assistance, her feet crunching noisily on the loose stones.
Veronica took a seat beside the young man on the bench, almost bursting with excitement. "Oh, Jack, your sister is going to be so delighted to discover you're alive."