“I’ve come to examine Mr. Rook,” he announced.
Rosalie was surprised.
“Did he send for you?”
The doctor hesitated.
“He has been my patient for many years.”
It was not an answer.
Still, Rosalie invited him inside.
Gideon was repairing a chair near the fireplace when the doctor entered. The moment he saw Silas Vane, Gideon went rigid.
His hands tightened around the wooden frame.
The doctor noticed.
“Still suffering, I see,” he said.
Gideon could not hear the words clearly, but he understood enough from the man’s expression to know what he meant.
He shook his head and pointed toward the door.
The doctor ignored him.
“Your condition is becoming worse. You should have come to town months ago.”
Gideon snatched his notebook from the table.
I did not ask you to come.
Silas Vane glanced at the message.
“You have never understood what is happening to you.”
Gideon wrote again, pressing the pencil so hard that its tip nearly broke.
