22 December 1123

　　Matilda`s limbs ached from sitting in the cold for so long but Elizabeth helped heave her up from her log. Matilda hugged the friendly girl, grateful for the small kindness.

　　Margery had already barged into the hut and Ma promptly followed to check on her husband and mother. William passed next. He placed the family`s scythe under the building`s small awning with great reverence before wiping the rain off its long blade and gesturing for Matilda to enter the hut.

　　The poor boy looked exhausted. His face was grim and he avoided making eye contact. Matilda was relieved that he had relented and permitted her to join the family indoors. Sitting in the cold had given plenty of time to consider her strategy for mending things with William. There`d be a long, wet walk back to her cave if she failed. But William granting access to the hut was a positive step.

　　It was dark inside, the only window firmly locked to keep out the weather. It smelt terrible, the homely cooking aromas of her previous visit replaced with a revolting combination of stale sweat, bile and faeces. The family were either oblivious or had learned to cope. A smouldering log warmed the building`s single room. It was nice to be out of the rain but the heat was stifling. Rachel must have been trying to burn the sickness out. Or summon the devil.

　　Margery stood by the fire, drying her hair and talking to her eldest sister in hushed tones. Rachel knelt like a nun at the foot of Mama`s bed. Her head was bowed in prayer, though she conversed with Margery through a series of dignified grunts.

　　Ma took Matilda`s makeshift coat - her drenched blanket - and hung it by the fire. William closed the door with a bang, causing Rachel to jump.

　　"Be quiet, fool," Rachel hissed as she turned from Mama`s lumpy form. "You`ll wake them u&"

　　Rachel froze mid-scold when she saw Matilda. Her eyes burned with whitehot fury and she longed to scream but didn`t dare wake Mama. Rachel regained a touch of composure before speaking.

　　"What the devil is she doing in here?" Her voice was perfectly level but it failed to mask the manic look in her eyes. "I wasted precious time keeping her outside and you just let her in like some mangy cat?"

　　She directed her question at Ma and Elizabeth, ignoring Matilda and William altogether.

　　Like the rest of the family, Ma was exhausted and in no mood to argue.

　　"Rachel, please. We know you don`t like the girl but she`s here to help. Isn`t she Willy?"

　　William nodded.

　　"I don`t care!" Rachel cried. "I`ve been helping here all day while you`ve been out messing around in the fields. It was me that tended to them, keeping them fed and watered and warm. Now you want some stranger, some wicked stranger, to come and try doing it better?"

　　"You know better than anyone just how much Mama is struggling," Ma continued. "And we won`t finish everything in the fields without Pa. We need our family happy and healthy. So who are we to look a gift horse in the mouth? Here you are praying for assistance and we have a herbalist, who`s supposed to be in London," Ma glanced at Matilda with a raised eyebrow, "miraculously arrive at our front door. We should at least hear what she has to say."

　　Rachel crossed her arms and pouted but didn`t say another word.

　　"Well love," Ma said to Matilda, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "There`s no point waiting around. Fix my family!"

　　Ma gestured to a shape lying by her feet just behind the door. Matilda realised it was Pa rugged up on a low cot.

　　Seeing Pa was even more confronting than the hut`s smell. He was gaunt and his previously strong frame looked frail after weeks of wasting away in bed. He was covered in a sheen of sweat which felt wrong given the endless patter of rain outside. Matilda didn`t know how the figure before her was the same man who`d singlehandedly carried three sacks of grain.

　　"Is Mama the same?" Matilda asked no one in particular, trying to keep the concern out of her voice.

　　William nodded and Matilda walked to the other side of the room to inspect the grandmother. Rachel blocked Matilda`s path and belligerently stood her ground. Matilda tried to look unthreatening but it was only after a stern look from Ma that Rachel reluctantly stepped out of the way.

　　Mama somehow looked even worse than Pa. Her feeble chest shuddered with every breath and a trickle of spittle seeped from the corner of her mouth. She too was covered in sweat, despite Rachel`s efforts to wipe her brow. Alongside a pungent bucket of vomit by the bed, Matilda noticed a bowl of water perfumed with flower petals and a small square of silk, a surprising luxury that would`ve been incredibly difficult for the family to come by. Rachel had taken her tending duties very seriously.

　　Matilda bent down to get a closer look at her more desperate patient but Mama`s reaction was instant. Unable to make any intelligible sounds, Mama made an awful gurgling noise and attempted to roll her weak body away from Matilda.

　　Rachel`s response was equally visceral. She threw herself at Matilda with an earsplitting shriek, tackling her to the ground and dragging her away from Mama. She pulled at Matilda`s hair and scratched with her nails, causing Matilda to cry out in a mix of shock and pain.

　　William and Margery leapt in to pull the young women apart.

　　"Quiet! Both of you!" Ma cried. "Come now! You`re here to help, not make things worse."

　　The room fell silent again, except for Mama`s agitated rasping breaths.

　　"Sorry Emma," Matilda apologised. "I need to see what is wrong. I can`t help if I don`t know what`s causing this."

　　Ma gave a defeated sigh and threw her hands up in the air. "I don`t even know anymore! Do whatever you can. Please. But stay away from Rachel and Mama, they clearly want nothing to do with you. Even if it means fixing this whole mess."If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it`s taken without the author`s consent. Report it.

　　Ma sat down heavily at the table and started to weep. Elizabeth shuffled over and placed a comforting arm around her shoulder.

　　Matilda walked cautiously back to Pa for a more thorough investigation, rubbing a particularly nasty scratch above her elbow. She looked at the poor man with his wasted face and brow beaded with sweat.

　　"Rachel?" Matilda asked cautiously. "Why is it so hot in here if they`re both sweating so much?"

　　Rachel replied with attitude. "They both feel like they`re on fire yet complain constantly about being too cold. Whenever they can speak that is."

　　Almost on cue, Pa let out a wracking cough, his whole body shaking with the effort. Matilda placed her hand on Pa`s forehead. Rachel was right, he was burning. She felt Pa`s pulse and lymph nodes, recalling the years of medical training the Institute had drilled into all of its pupils. She placed her head on his chest and listened to his raspy breath.

　　"When did they get sick exactly? What happened?"

　　"Over a week before I asked you for help," William replied testily. "Pa was slowing down in the fields but thought it was just a cold. He was weary before the morning meal and completely exhausted by midday. A couple of days before I came to you he was completely bedridden. Said it felt like he`d been struck with a sledgehammer."

　　"Mama started later but got bad quicker," Elizabeth added.

　　"Has anyone else been sick?" Matilda asked.

　　"None of us," Elizabeth continued. "There`s talk that others in the village have been confined to their beds and Old Man Cooper died but we`ve been so busy with the harvest that we don`t really know what`s happening."

　　Matilda nodded and ran the symptoms against her mental checklist, discarding possible diagnoses and determining the most likely suspects. Without thinking, she pulled down Pa`s blanket and began to remove his shirt to inspect his torso.

　　The room erupted in protest.

　　"What are you doing!?" Margery yelled.

　　"You shouldn`t do that," William advised.

　　"I told you she was a whore!" cried Rachel.

　　Poor Ma was lost for words and just sat in place, crying and shaking her head.

　　"Sorry everyone, sorry!" Matilda called, raising her hands in apology as she quickly realised her mistake. "I meant nothing inappropriate. I need to see what`s causing this, if there are any signs on his chest or arms."

　　The family didn`t reply. Their faces relaxed slightly, though their expressions remained scandalised. Matilda took their silence as tacit approval to continue her investigation and lifted Pa`s shirt, bunching it around his head like a nun`s habit.

　　Matilda saw in the dim light that Pa`s chest was covered in red spots. Some of them had started to spread down his upper arms.

　　"Shit," Matilda exclaimed. "Typhoid perhaps? Or Typhus. It`s hard to tell."

　　Matilda didn`t know of any recorded outbreaks in the region and wished she could consult her bible. It would explain the darkness, the pair were probably both sensitive to the light.

　　"What`s that?" Ma asked, her voice equal parts concern and hope. Matilda smiled, simply knowing something`s name could reduce fear.

　　"It`s a disease, caused by dirty water or fleas. It can be quite curable, with the right&concoctions."

　　Matilda cursed inwardly. She`d brought a small dose of antibiotics with her from the future that would`ve been perfect but they`d been in the satchel that the Bishop had stolen. She had an antibiotic culture somewhere back in her cave but it would take weeks to produce a new batch of the drug. They`d have to settle for merely managing their symptoms and preventing anyone else from getting sick.

　　She pulled Pa`s shirt back over his head and joined Ma up at the table.

　　"I can find some herbs that will ease their headaches and coughs. Perhaps Elizabeth could help. They`ll both need to drink plenty of water and replace the nutrients that they`re, ah, passing. And we need to make sure they`re eating well. A meat broth if you can manage it."

　　Ma blankly nodded her assent. The poor woman was shell-shocked. She picked up a knife and started shakily chopping root vegetables for the evening meal. Matilda reached over and took it from her.

　　"Here, Ma. I`ll take care of that for you."

　　Matilda began chopping as she continued to share her prognosis.

　　"I`d like to see where you get water for drinking and cleaning. You`ll have to start boiling it before using it for anything, not just drinking. You should probably tell your neighbours to do the same. We`ll also need to clean the hut and remove all possible nests for fleas and mites. The cats won`t like it but they`ll need a good scrub. We can make some soap. It could still take weeks for Pa and Mama to fully recover but if we can do all that, they should be healthy again in no time."

　　The mood remained uncomfortable but Matilda`s confidence injected some energy back into the room. Margery and Elizabeth helped Matilda prepare a stew for the family, chatting with Ma to make her feel included. William remained by the hearth, whittling a stick with Matilda`s knife and watching the strange scene taking place in his home. Rachel returned to wiping Mama`s brow.

　　When the meal was prepared and boiling by the fire, Matilda got up and collected her dry blanket.

　　"I`ll be back in the morning to see what more we can do for them."

　　Matilda walked over to the door and pulled it open. It was fully dark outside and the rain had only gotten worse since she`d arrived. She didn`t like the thought of the long walk back to her cave in such weather but also didn`t relish being trapped in the mournful house, surrounded by illness and people who would rather she wasn`t there. She`d already well and truly worn out her welcome.

　　"Like hell you will!" Ma called. "You`ll stay right where you are and eat some food. You can sleep here for the night and everyone will help you tomorrow. It`s the sabbath so we can`t work in the fields anyway."

　　Matilda started to rebut but was immediately cut off.

　　"Ma, we don`t have enough food for another mouth!" William protested.

　　"I won`t hear it," Ma said. "We wouldn`t have a clue what to do if it weren`t for this lady. The family`s fate would be in the Lord`s hands. Some worldlier intervention won`t hurt."

　　Matilda saw that there would be no arguing with the woman and settled in for the night. William continued to stubbornly refuse to acknowledge her presence and the others avoided conversation, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. Ma thrust a bowl and spoon at Matilda who ate sparingly before settling into her lonely corner to sleep.

　　Matilda listened to the sounds of the hut as she waited for sleep to claim her. Mama`s raspy breathing, William`s snoring, Rachel`s muttered prayers. Ma`s breathing suggested that she at least was sleeping soundly.

　　+++

　　Matilda woke early the next morning and quickly set about her tasks.

　　William and Elizabeth showed her the stream behind their hut where the family collected their water for washing, cooking and drinking. Cupping her hands, Matilda inspected the cloudy liquid. Sediment stuck to her skin and Matilda only had to look upstream to see signs that it was used by others in the village for disposing of household waste. Matilda was mortified.

　　Next, she asked where to find some specific herbs for Pa and Mama. Elizabeth gleefully led the way, taking Matilda by the hand and guiding both her and William deep into the forest behind the family`s hut. Elizabeth pointed out natural landmarks along the way. Odd trees with branches that jutted out at weird angles. Ancient trees that she swore were as old as the world itself. A patch of stinging nettles that would make an arm swell for a week. Matilda was impressed by the girl`s knowledge.

　　They returned to the hut with armfuls of herbs and Matilda taught them how to brew a tisane to ease Mama and Pa`s symptoms.

　　Rachel begrudgingly accepted Mama`s cup but refused to let anyone tend to her grandmother. The old woman spluttered as soon as the warm liquid touched her lips and Rachel pulled it away from her instantly.

　　"It`s too hot!" she protested. "I`ll give it to her later."

　　Pa downed his brew with gusto. He forced himself to lean up and swallowed the entire cup in a couple of gulps, challenging the disease to keep him down longer.

　　It`s a start, Matilda thought. And now we wait.