Chapter XXVIII.

The next morning, with Eileen, Ruth and Agath up and awake with their parents, the only sister that was reminded in bed was Tamara. She didn't have the energy to get herself up and onto her feet.

The weakness she felt came in waves of cold, regardless of the fact she was still tucked into her bed. Her nose was blocked and runny, and her face had bags under her eyes. Signs of exhaustion. She knew it was from last night. She spent too much time out in the cold.

A knock came from the door, she opened her eyes only to see the door being opened. Through the gap that was made, she saw a familiar set of eyes set their gaze upon her. It was Ms Hope.

Her brows furrowed when she saw the state that Tamara was in. "Oh dear, are you okay, my dear Child?". With that, she rushed to Tamara before touching her head. "You're burning up... Oh dear...". She paused for a brief moment. "I better get Ms Clarke in here while I go and brew you up some tea.". And with that, before Tamara managed to add anything to her words, Ms Hope rushed out of the room.

Just like Ms Hope said, Annmarie entered the room a minute later. "Thank you, Ms Hope..." she dismissed Ms Hope before making her way to her ill-fallen daughter. Just as Ms Hope did, Annmarie also felt her daughter's head, adding more worry to churn in her stomach.

Then, Annmarie sat beside Tamara. "How are you feeling? Do we need to call in a physician?".

"No need for it, Momma" Tamara managed to let out before a cough caught up to her.

"Noah!" Annmarie called out. "Noah!!" she called out again when she heard no response.

Noah peered his head into the door. "Yes, you called me?".

"Can you call Dr Grant? Tamara has fallen ill.".

With a nod, he turned and left.

"I don't want to add onto your costs, Momma. The winter months are already harsh as they are," Tamara spoke out through her croaky voice.

"Don't be ridiculous, Tamara. You're not adding to any costs at all. When it comes to health, nothing is too expensive," her mother responded before keeping her eyes on her daughter. "Just you lay and rest up. Don't worry about money, my dear Tamara.".

At some point throughout the day, with Tamara having her family checking in on her, Dr Grant made his appearance in the house. Immediately, he went up to Tamara. He greeted his patient with a smile. "My sincere apologies for the wait. I had a busy afternoon.".

"What's important is that you've made it, Doctor," Tamara responded, smiling back before trying to sit up.

"Ms Clarke, there's no need for you to strain yourself to sit up," Dr Grant reassured her, holding Tamara by her arm.

"I'm okay to sit up, Doctor.".

He paused, looking at her for a mere moment. "If you say so...". With that, he sat down on the bed beside her.

Annmarie was by the door with Noah beside her as they both watched the doctor go to work.

"Tell me, Tamara, how do you feel? Do you have any pain anywhere in your body?".

"Not really... I feel a slight pain in my head, but what is bothering me is that I feel weak and cold.". Saying as such, she paused for a mere minute. "However, I do feel better in comparison to this morning.".

"Alright..." The doctor's voice trailed off as he looked into his big bag. He pulled out his stethoscope before placing it beside him. "I'll listen to your chest and back, but before that, I'll check your temperature.". He also pulled out a thermometer from his bag. Placing the thermometer under her armpit, he proceeded to put the earpieces of his stethoscope into his ears. "I need you to stay as still as you can, I'll check your breathing.".

With that, he examined her chest and back. "Your lungs sound fine to me, Ms Clarke. Have you been drinking anything throughout the day?".

"I've been making her tea today," Ms Hope, who was in the corner of the room, spoke up.

"That's very good," Dr Grant spoke up. "Teas are great for when you're sick, so keep it up.".

With that, Dr Grant took back the thermometer from under Tamara's armpit. Examining it, the reading proved his hypothesis correct. 39.6 degrees. A temperature.

"I can hear how croaky your voice is, and I can hear your stuffy nose. You have a common cold, however, you also have a temperature.". Turning to Tamara's parents and Ms Hope, he continued talking, "Usually with colds, you'll see a runny nose, and you'll feel weak. You'll have a croaky throat. But with a temperature, I'd say it's a slightly more severe occurrence of a common cold. But it's very curable.".

Putting everything back into his bag, he looked through it for a second more before pulling out a small, woollen bag. "I'll give you this to give to Miss Clarke 3 times a day until you've finished the whole sac. One teaspoon per dosage. I do recommend taking it after you've eaten, Ms Tamara as no medication should be taken on an empty stomach. What you do with this medication is you dissolve it in water and drink it like a normal drink.". He took a small break to place the sac of medicine on Tamara's bedside drawer. "And remember, if your symptoms persist, please call me back so we can change your therapy. But for now, that should be all.".

With Dr Grant packing up his things, he stood up. "Doctor, thank you very much for your time," Annmarie spoke out as both herself and Noah walked the doctor out of Tamara's room. In it stayed Ms Hope and by the door, her sisters.

"How are you feeling, Tamara?" Eileen asked from the door a few minutes later.

"I... I am..." Tamara began before she paused. She took in a deep breath. "I am getting better, slowly but surely...".

---

*A few days later*

*Theodore POV*

With him sitting in the living room of his aunt's house, those who availed - these being Theodore - himself, Elisabeth and his aunt - Marissa - all listened to classical pieces that were played on Marissa's gramophone.

Diana was absent from the family circle as she had an errand to finish. And Victoria was elsewhere, she wasn't a big fan of music, so when she could she opted out of listening to any form of it.

Just as the tune on the gramophone concluded to an end, Elisabeth proceeded to speak up. "That's a really beautiful piece, one of my all-time favourites...".

"Is that so?" Marissa began, a smile forming on her lips. "I also like this piece a lot... I used to always hear it being played on the piano when I was younger.".

While the conversation went back and forth between Marissa and Elisabeth, Theodore all but spectated the two women, listening to their exchange.

With the beginning of a new piece, Theodore heard the main door open but instantly, a feeling of discomfort churned in the pit of his stomach. Seconds later, Diana rushed into the living room.

The conversation between the two women halted to a stop as their attention darted toward Diana by the door.

And out of everyone in the room, Theodore was the first one who spoke up. "Diana? Is everything okay?".

"I met Dr Grant while I was out finishing my errands.".

"Dr Grant?" Marissa spoke up, "I haven't seen Dr Grant in a little bit. Is he doing alright?".

"Yes, yes, Mamma. He spoke highly of his health, he is fine. But... he told me about poor Tamara Clarke.".

At the mention of Tamara's name, Theodore's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Ms Tamara?... What happened?".

"She has fallen ill...". Diana paused for a moment. "I must go a drop her a quick visit...".

"Oh, dear..." Marissa stood up before she strolled toward Diana. "I'll go and pack some goods for Tamara before you leave.".

Elisabeth kept her gaze on Diana. The news of Tamara falling ill made more of an impact on her than she anticipated. She felt slight sorrow churning in her stomach.

Then, Theodore standing up caught her attention. "May I make your company also, Diana?".

"Of course.".

Elisabeth felt a slight lump form in her throat at the sound of Theodore's request. With that, she sprung onto her feet. She caught the attention of everyone in the room. Wanting to say something, she failed to start. Instead, she cleared her throat before starting again. "May I come too?".

"Of course you can," Diana responded.

With that, she followed Theodore as he moved toward the hallway, where Diana stood. From there, with Elisabeth stationing herself by Diana, her eyes followed Theodore as he ascended the steps.

"Where is he going?" Elisabeth let her thoughts slip through her lips.

"I am unsure, but he better hurry up, the coachman is waiting on us," Diana responded.

Behind them, Marissa walked up to Diana with a folded cloth in her hands. "Give this to Ms Tamara and wish her a speedy recovery from me.".

"Yes, mama.".

And with that, steps were heard. It was Theodore, he emerged from the top floor with a folder filled with pages. Elisabeth noticed such but decided against asking what it was. And with that, they headed out before beginning their way toward Clarke residency.

---

*Tamara POV*

Tamara rested in her bed, the cold that predominated her body becoming nothing but remnants of what it used to be. She had a book of hers in front of her, she looked at it. She read the familiar words over again, examining the writing. It was one of Theodore's books.

'Or Matthew Brunswick...' She thought to herself as she looked at the cover of the book. 'His writing is beautiful... A man like him... I would have never guessed a man like him would spend his pastimes like this. Writing books.'.

But then, all of a sudden, a knock on her door kicked her out of her trance. The door opened and Ms Hope poked her head into the room, with a slight smile spread across her lips. "Ms Tamara, it seems you have a visit.".

"A visit?" Tamara asked herself, her gaze remaining on the opened door. And from there, Pavel's figure appeared by the doorframe. "Mr Pavel?".

"May I come in?" he voiced.

Tamara nodded her head. "W-what a surprise!".

"I heard you have fallen ill, so I figured why not give you a visit..." he responded as he walked into the room. Just then Tamara noticed that Pavel had his hands behind his back. And just as she was about to ask what was he hiding did he uncover the beautiful bouquet. "The florist had none which caught my eye, so I found these beautiful ones on a field I know.".

He looked where he could put them down and that was when Tamara spoke up. "Give them here, I'll put them on the bed for now.". Looking at the door and seeing Ms Hope was still there, she didn't even have to utter a word, Ms Hope was already on her way to get a vase for the flowers.

"May I?..." Pavel asked as he reached her bed, asking if he could have a seat.

"Of course...".

"How are you feeling, Ms Tamara?" Pavel asked and even though he was sitting on her bed, he turned himself around so he could look at Tamara.

"I am good. Feeling better now. The doctor gave me medication and it's working pretty well.".

"That's good to hear," Pavel responded. Lowering his gaze down to Tamara's legs, a brown cover caught his attention. A book. Taking a deep breath, he proceeded to ask. "Is this the book you told me about before?".

Looking down to see what Pavel was talking about, her gaze was met by Theodore's book. A second of silence ensued before she formulated a reply. "Yes, yes it is.".

"So this is the infamous... What was his name again?".

"Matthew Brunswick," Tamara responded.

"Matthew Brunswick..." Pavel muttered under his breath, his gaze remaining on the book. "May I?".

Tamara nodded her head as she picked up the book and handed it over to him.

Taking it into his hands, he looked at the front cover before turning it on his back. With that, he opened up the book before giving the first page a glance. Then, he closed the book and placed it back beside Tamara. "As I said, I am not too much of a reader," he spoke out before letting a small smile form on his lips. "But as I've said before, it's a wonderful hobby nonetheless.".

And just then, Ms Hope reemerged into the room with a vase filled with water for the flowers. Tamara placed them into the glass container before she placed the vase onto her bedside drawer.

Outside her door, mere steps and giggles were heard. Tamara immediately recognised them to be of her sisters'.

With that, Ruth peered into the room, just enough to see Pavel - the handsome man - sitting beside their sister. With that, she moved back before giggling, which caused the other sisters who were there to giggle alongside her.

Ms Hope exchanged her glance between Tamara and then to where she heard the giggles. Walking out, she found Agath, Ruth and Eileen behind the door. "What are you girls doing here?!".

Ms Hope's commotion was heard by both Pavel and Tamara who, at first, had their gazes on the open door before they looked at each other and cracked up into slight laughter.

"My sisters must always see what is going on," Tamara spoke out the smile remaining on her lips.

"They're just curious, nothing wrong with that. I also have a sister, she is the exact same," Pavel spoke out.

"You have a sister, Mr Pavel?... And you're only telling me this only now?" Ms Tamara teased, her smile only growing that bit more.

"Figured it would be the right time for me to talk of her to you," Pavel responded, the smile failing to recede from his lips also. "I believe I have had the honour of being introduced to your sisters. However, I am horrible with names...".

Tamara chuckled ever so slightly. "There's a handful of us Clarke sisters, so I can understand.".

"I've personally been in conversations with Ms Gertrude and Ms Abigail Clarke, however..." he paused as his eyes redirected themselves to the ajar door. "Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the rest of your sisters.".

"Agath, Ruth and Eileen are the names of the rest of my sisters," Tamara began as she also looked toward the door. "However, I don't think I can introduce you to then now as they must have gone off elsewhere now...".

"I'll have the honour of getting to know them all that bit more at some other time, I am sure of it," Pavel spoke out. "So don't you worry about that right now. You must focus on getting better.".

All of a sudden, Tamara and Pavel heard running up the hallway, and then Ruth peered into Tamara's room. "There's a carriage by the front...".

Instantly, Tamara looked at Pavel who widened his eyes. "It's not mine, I rode my horse to your residency.".

"I think it's Ms Diana Oxford..." Ruth added seconds later. And with that, just as she finished her sentence, Agath rushed into the room.

"Mr Theodore is here!!" Agath exclaimed.

Almost instantly, Tamara's gaze returned back to Pavel. She noticed the way he clenched his jaw ever so slightly. "Is everything okay, Mr Pavel?".

As if kicking him out of his trance, Pavel shook himself back to reality. "Yes... yes, everything is just fine...".

A few seconds later, from downstairs, Tamara heard the front door open. From there came a flood of familiar voices, those being of Diana and Theodore. It only took them a mere minute to navigate themselves to Tamara's room.

She saw Diana and Theodore enter her room, but when she saw Elisabeth there too, she felt astonished. She was one of the people she expected the least to see in her room.

Elisabeth looked up and toward Tamara who lay in her bed. Tamara kept her orbs looking at Elisabeth.

Elisabeth kept her gaze on her for a mere second before looking away.

"Tamara... my sweet Tamara..." Diana began, taking Tamara's attention as Diana took a seat where Pavel sat only seconds ago. Pavel was now standing, only meters separating him and Theodore. "My mother sent you these along with wishes to recover very soon.".

In response, Tamara couldn't help but smile in pure gratitude. "Your mother is a sweet angel, Diana. Thank you very much. Please send her my gratitude.".

Diana nodded to her words, a smile forming on her lips too. She looked at Tamara as she began unboxing what she received from Diana's mother.

There, she found four more separate sachets. She opened one of them before taking a peek inside and found cookies inside it. She opened another sachet, there she found some herbs. When their scent hit her, it made it obvious that they were used for tea.

Having an idea of what the rest of the sachets contained, she proceeded to fold the sachets back into the fabric that they were carried in. "Once again, thank you very much, Diana.".

From the door, where Ms Hope stood, she walked up to Tamara. "Give it to me, Ms Tamara and I'll bring it down for you if you'd like?".

"Sure, Ms Hope. Thank you.". With that, Ms Hope took the package and turned swiftly around.

Just as she was about to leave the room, she stopped herself before turning her head toward Tamara. "Ms Tamara? Would you like me to make you another cup of tea?".

"If you don't mind, Ms Hope, I would highly appreciate that.".

Ms Hope smiled at her. "Don't be ridiculous, dear Child. One tea coming right up... and it'll be the one that Ms Oxford brought in for you!".

"Sorry, Ms Hope?" Diana called out, causing her to stop once again. "I'll come along to help if needs be, this tea that Momma packed up, it's not the usual tea.". And without further ado, Diana and Ms Hope were off toward the kitchen.

All while Elisabeth, Theodore and Pavel all remained in Tamara's room. It wasn't until the mere second of silence came and went that Pavel uttered anything. "I better get going now," he said. "I have some errands to finish myself. However, it was great to see you, Ms Tamara. I am glad your recovery is only but moving forward.". With that, he approached Tamara once more before taking her hand into his hand and kissing the back of it.

Theodore had a clear view of this and he couldn't help but let his hands turn into fists. He felt a rush of something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Or perhaps... simply didn't want to.

He was jealous, deep down he knew he was jealous. Jealous against his own will.

But he tried his best to subside his emotions just as Pavel stood up and walked by him. They exchanged no looks. And Theodore was glad they didn't.

Both Tamara and Theodore looked at Pavel as he walked out of Tamara's room.

On his way out, Pavel looked to his right. A figure standing by another door, ajar, caught his attention. It was Eileen, though he didn't know that.

They both exchanged glances before he let a small smile grow on his lips as he bowed his head - a salutation.

Eileen responded with a smile of diffidence before pointing her eyes to the ground. The allure his demeanour carried resulted in such a reaction of hers.

Pavel's smile only further grew for a second more as he left his gaze on her before turning around and letting himself out of the Clarke residency.

He looked back at the house, admiring its build before he continued making his way to his horse.

Back inside the house, Theodore has his eye out the window, spectating Pavel as he walked further away from the home. Returning his gaze back to Tamara, he was met with her gaze on him.

But a second was all it took before her gaze travelled elsewhere, nevertheless, it caused a small smile to appear on his lips.

With him dropping his gaze too, his eyes were met with a brown book - a familiar cover to his eyes.

It took him a second to realise it was his book. She was reading his book, or so it seemed.

And behind them, Elisabeth spectated them both. She saw the pile of pages he had in his hands, behind his back.

And as he began to approach Tamara, she figured out what he was about to do with them.

"Ms Tamara..." Theodore's voice shot off the walls of Tamara's room. "I wanted to give you something from myself...".