Constance had not wanted to visit the young man too soon after him sustaining that bullet wound in that awful Main Street gun battle. He and the older man had been so brave, maybe too brave, to try and confront those Evergreen animals. Now the one was dead and buried, and poor Hector was lying in his own bed hopefully going to be able to recover. Constance had not known the other man but she had met Hector when he took her out to the Pike place. He was pleasant enough though to be honest her mind was on another at that time.
Now she stood at the front door of the Wigfall home, which also was the town boarding house. She came bearing a small crock of soup, just in case he was not able to eat regular meals yet. She really didn't even know the exact nature of his wound, it had all happened so fast but it had looked to her that horrible instant when Hector fell that he had taken a bullet full in the chest. He was lucky to be breathing at all, obviously it had not hit his heart.
She did not have any idea how this would all go? Would a visitor even be welcome given his situation? The mother was known to be quite...well, Clara said 'difficult' but then her employer was perhaps a bit too quick to ....umm, not like a few...make that some...quite a few folk. Would he be too much in the throes of suffering to even converse?
Well, come what may, she now gave a firm three knocks on the door and waited.
"Spare the rod, spoil the child"
The door was answered by Hector's sister Jemima - impossible to tell from her impassive features and flat voice whether Connie's visit was welcomed or not. The waitress was invited to sit in the parlour while Jemima fetched 'Nurse' to see if a visit was allowed, while an elderly gentleman informed Constance that he had seen 'a lot of it' in the war (men being shot in the chest, presumably) and that nurses were a sure highway to the grave as it was in their interests to keep you 'sickly like'.
Eventually a very starchy, skinny, and frankly, rather ugly woman appeared and asked Constance to join her in the kitchen, where Jemima had already rather unceremoniously deposited Constance's broth.
She turned and looked Miss Straub up and down.
"The girl informs me that you are the young woman whose rescue Mr Wigfall was attempting to effect when he was shot?" she asked rather sharply.
She listened to Constance's reply with a frosty and serious mien.
Then she gave a curt nod.
"I believe that a short visit from such a beautiful young woman would do much to revive Mister Wigfall's spirits." she announced portentously. "But please do not overexcite him..." Did the frosty woman glance at Connie's ample chest when she said that?! "... and speak quietly, I have only just got Mrs Wigfall off to sleep."
It was an unfortunate fact that Hector was a much more compliant patient than his hysterical wailing mother, who had been knocked flat by the misfortune that had befallen her only son, and caused Adelheid more trouble and fuss than the real injured party.
Well, they let her in anyhow. Turns out Hector's sister was the one answering the door, she practically yanked the soup crock from Constance's grip. Then she was told to wait and see what the young man's nurse might think about a visitation.
"Very well, if it is a bad time, I can always come back some other day," Constance did not want to in any way make a bad situation even worse for poor Hector.
An old man had to interject himself into the conversation, probably a boarder? His two bits did not build Constance's confidence any. Hopefully, this was not one of those cases.
Then the nurse showed up and ushered into the kitchen where the rather plain alright hideously ugly young woman looked Constance over like it was some sort of inspection before declaring, The girl informs me that you are the young woman whose rescue Mr Wigfall was attempting to effect when he was shot?"
"Yes, one of two actually. But yes, Hector...Mr. Wigfall was so brave to do what he did. I want to express my gratitude to him personally if at all possible," Constance answered.
"I believe that a short visit from such a beautiful young woman would do much to revive Mister Wigfall's spirits." the nurse announced portentously. "But please do not overexcite him..."
"Of course, I will make my stay a short one," assured Constance.
Did the frosty woman glance at Connie's ample chest when she said that?! "... and speak quietly, I have only just got Mrs Wigfall off to sleep."
Wait! What?
"Oh if he is asleep, I should not even do this. I can always come back some other time," Constance offered, how does one talk to a person asleep?
"Spare the rod, spoil the child"
"... and speak quietly, I have only just got Mrs Wigfall off to sleep."
"Oh if he is asleep, I should not even do this. I can always come back some other time," Constance offered, how does one talk to a person asleep?
Nurse Armentrout decided that girl, though pretty, must be either deaf or daft. "No, I said Mrs Wigfall is asleep. His mother, you understand? She has been somewhat excitable since the shooting and I have been perforce to tranquilize her with laudanum in order to be able to do my job properly treating her son." Adelheid explained. "Fortunately, the girl Jemima is quite capable of running the house unaided."
The stiff and starchy no-nonsense Nurse clearly had a rather low opinion of the highly strung Mary Wigfall.
She led Constance to the top of the stairs and gave her a curt instruction. "You will wait here, until called."
She entered Hector's room and there was the sound of quite murmurings, the creaking of a bed and a faint cry of pain and, eventually, that of the door creaking open again. Nurse Armentrout peered at the fair young waitress through her thick pebble glasses.
"You may now enter... I have the room next door, if Mr Wigfall shows any signs of distress, you will call me immediately. Do you understand? Good. Then enter."
Hector was propped up in bed and looked pretty dreadful, if truth be told. The bandage over his bare chest, though, was recently changed, so no blood was soaking through, and he was a little rosy cheeked in contrast to his general palour, either through the exertion of being moved by the nurse or because he had been told who was visiting him.
Still, he managed a genuine smile of pleasure as Connie entered the room and a wheezy "Hello"
He wished he could have said something more original, but he was still too weak and muzzy-headed and in pain to come up with brilliant witticisms.
There was an empty chair by the bed which was clearly earmarked for his visitor's use.
Maybe it was nerves but Constance certainly messed up the nurse's declaration about, it turned out, Mrs. Wigfall not Hector, her son. Just as well, Constance had no desire to see the mother, she had heard very little good about the woman. Not that one should believe hearsay. Once that was cleared up and no doubt the nurse thought her either deaf or an idiot, she was led upstairs to the young man's room.
The nurse gave her a curt instruction. "You will wait here, until called."
"Yes, of course," Constance nodded and stood there while the nurse entered the room.
There was the sound of quiet murmurings, the creaking of a bed and a faint cry of pain and, eventually, that of the door creaking open again. Nurse Armentrout peered at the fair young waitress through her thick pebble glasses.
"You may now enter... I have the room next door, if Mr Wigfall shows any signs of distress, you will call me immediately. Do you understand? Good. Then enter."
The nurse then left and Constance entered, very hesitantly too. At first sight, poor Hector did not look very well at all. He was bare chested though the bandage covered much of the torso, hands crossed. But surprisingly he managed a smile of sorts.
"Hello."
"Good day, young Mr. Wigfall," she honestly wanted to call him Hector as they had met and conversed on the way to the Pike farm. But she would hold off unless he invited her to use his Christian name.
"I hope I am not disturbing you because if this was ill-timed, no offense at all if you'd rather I leave and return at a more appropriate date," she wanted him to know.
There was a chair next to the bed but for now she stood there awaiting his decision on the matter.
" ... - - - ... "
"Good day, young Mr. Wigfall," she honestly wanted to call him Hector as they had met and conversed on the way to the Pike farm. But she would hold off unless he invited her to use his Christian name.
"Mr Wigfall?" he managed a smile "Getting shot's made me respectable, I'll have to do it more often" he wheezed.
"I hope I am not disturbing you because if this was ill-timed, no offense at all if you'd rather I leave and return at a more appropriate date," she wanted him to know.
He shook his head with a tight smile.
"Sit down, Penny, you don't know how wonderful it is to see you." he relaxed back in his pillows and just drank her in.
"They told me you were all right, but... well, I wondered if they just said that to..." he looked down at his hands. He had promised to himself never to say it out loud to her, how he felt about her. Instead he changed the subject to the main reason he wouldn't, couldn't say anything.
"How's Justus the Gibbon?" he asked, feeling an extra pain in his heart, as he mentioned Connie's boyfriend's name, to go with his chest wound.
"Mr Wigfall?" he managed a smile "Getting shot's made me respectable, I'll have to do it more often" he wheezed.
"That's quite a price to pay for respectibility," Constance had to smile. Least he felt well enough for flashing some humor.
"I hope I am not disturbing you because if this was ill-timed, no offense at all if you'd rather I leave and return at a more appropriate date," she wanted him to know.
He shook his head with a tight smile.
"Sit down, Penny, you don't know how wonderful it is to see you." he relaxed back in his pillows.
Ahhhhh, so he remembered that conversation. And used her nickname. She was impressed. It was also an unspoken invitation to use his Christian name.
'Why thank you, Hector," she sat and smoothed her skirts.
"They told me you were all right, but... well, I wondered if they just said that to..." he looked down at his hands. He stopped.
Constance was pretty sure she knew what he meant so she interjected, "Both Mrs. Lutz and I were fine. I only wish the cost of our rescue had not been so heavy."
"How's Justus the Gibbon?" he asked out of the blue.
Why did he care about him? Constance didn't get it.
"He's good I guess. He doesn't get in town much being a cowpoke and all. I don't see him all that much," Constance answered.
" ... - - - ... "
"How's Justus the Gibbon?" he asked out of the blue.
"He's good I guess. He doesn't get in town much being a cowpoke and all. I don't see him all that much," Constance answered.
"Oh well, 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder' as they say" Hector smiled. He was really thinking of the other old adage: 'Out of sight - out of mind'
"How do'ya like my new girlfriend" asked Hector jerking a thumb to the wall, behind which was Nurse Armentrout's room. He instantly regretted it and gave a sharp "Ow!"
He quickly recovered himself, wanting to appear brave in front of Connie.
"Y'know, when I eventually woke up after the operation, and saw her standing there, I wished Mother had hired a prettier nurse, someone beautiful, like you... but you know what, Penny?... I wouldn't swap her for the world now. She's wonderful. And besides, a feller doesn't want a pretty girl seeing you like she's seen me the last few days: cryin' like a baby and screaming like a banshee when she has to clean my wound... not to mention embarrassing stuff like bed pans and bed baths... honestly, it's like being a baby again, lying here. But Adelheid... er, Nurse Armentrout, she's just no-nonsense, gets on with it..."
He settled back in his pillows, that little soliloquy had taken it out of him.
He pointed a fey finger to a little occasional table nearby, surmounted with an odd assortment of flowers, fruit and knick-knacks.
"I've had lots of visitors" he said proudly "Miss Grimes was here, she was holding my hand while I was 'out' as Adelheid calls it. And Sally Cutts, and some of them Patterson Forde girls... not sure which ones, they all kinda look the same, Jake's sister Lee, Arabella, well, Adelheid had to tell her to stop coming because she was always making me laugh and it hurts awful when I laugh, even Anæsthesia descended from her lofty perch to visit with me yesterday. And have you ever heard of a girl called Stephens Colquitt? Me neither, but she came, brought me those peaches. You want a peach? I don't like 'em. Fuzzy skin. Anyway, I don't even know her, but her and her sister came." He looked rather pleased with himself - news of his shooting, and the gallant cause of it, had clearly struck chord with some of the fluttering young female hearts in the town. Or fluttering brain, in Miss Mudd's case.
He looked at Connie.
"But I didn't care about any of those girls. It was just you I wanted to see." he sighed.
"Oh well, 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder' as they say" Hector smiled.
Constance nodded, "So they say." She had not come to talk about Justus and her.
He then asked about his new girlfriend? His gesture was painful though, Constance tensed but said nothing.
That segued into the young man talking about his admittedly homely young nurse currently caring for him. He was happy with her and his point was valid. Looks should not enter into something like caring for the sick or injured. She was happy for him the nurse He then pointed to some get well gifts and acknowledgements he had already received mentioning quite the list of visitors, all females too. Interesting.
"I brought you a tureen of soup. I didn't make it, it's from the diner but it's very tasty I assure you," she wanted him to know.
Seemed he did not care for peaches, she smiled,"They are good with cream over them or in pie."
He looked at Connie.
"But I didn't care about any of those girls. It was just you I wanted to see." he sighed.
Oh? That took her by surprise, he had just given her quite the local roster.
"Really, that's flattering. I am not sure why but fine. I came to not just see how you are faring but to offer my sincere gratitude to risking your life for me and Mrs. Lutz."
Then she tacked on, "And to tell you I owe you one. Not a life saving sort of thing but some favor some day when you are up and around or even if you need something done you cannot do yourself. "