Chapter 99 Daily Life of a Noblewoman 13 Disease and Fear
Heather and Lancaster had originally planned to announce their decision the next evening, when her brother would also have a private meeting with Lancaster.
However, plans cannot keep up with changes. An unexpected guest arrived at Longbourn at noon, exhausted. It was Evan.
Heather knew that during the two weeks that Lancaster was away from London, Evan sent expedited letters every day reporting everything the leader might want to know.
But today was an exception. He actually came here in person on horseback. Obviously, there was something important that he had to tell him in person.
Heather looked over worriedly, but Mrs. Bennett went forward before her.
Evan's face looked normal, not overly anxious. He was dressed formally, the kind of formal attire one would wear in parliament.
Evan was handsome, well-mannered and good at speaking. When Mrs. Bennet heard that he worked in the court, she immediately included him in her list of potential son-in-laws.
After obtaining the owner's consent, Lancaster took Evan upstairs and temporarily requisitioned a small study on the second floor.
Mrs. Bennett couldn't wait to grab Heather and asked, "Is he Mr. Lancaster's friend? How old is he? What do his parents do? Did you know him before? Could it be that God heard my cry again and sent me a new brother-in-law so soon?"
Heather looked at her sister, speechless. If Evan had heard her, he would probably have run away in fear. But this was understandable. Judges were much more prestigious than lawyers these days. No wonder Mrs. Bennett was tempted.
Heather absentmindedly answered her sister's questions, half-heartedly wondering why Evan had come. Had something happened at the courthouse? Or had there been some significant change in the situation?
About half an hour later, Lancaster came down from the stairs. He walked very fast, and the wind blew the hem of his clothes as he walked. The narrow wooden staircase of the country mansion seemed to have turned into the corridor of the parliament hall.
Heather sat on the sofa with her head tilted back, following him with her eyes, waiting for him to come over.
Lancaster walked straight over in everyone's gaze, went around to the back of the sofa, leaned on the backrest with his hands, and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
Heather looked at him stiffly. This was completely beyond the normal social distance. She didn't dare turn around to look at the expressions of other people in the living room.
But Lancaster's next words made her stop thinking about it.
"Sorry, I have to go back early. I just got the news that the Regent is ill. I don't think he will last much longer."
His tone was calm, but Heather's heart was pounding. She grabbed his hand and asked, "Are you in danger?" Would the next plot be about palace fighting, power struggle, murder and usurpation of the throne?
Lancaster guessed at once that she was using her strange imagination again, and he curled his lips and touched her hair.
"Don't let your imagination run wild. London has recently been plagued by an unknown disease that's been spreading from the northern ports to the south, with the slums and factory areas being the hardest hit. The death toll hasn't been high yet, and the cabinet hasn't taken it seriously or planned to take action. Unfortunately, that person has also developed similar symptoms. It's likely because he frequently sends people to collect actors and prostitutes to the palace."
Lancaster took out his pocket watch and looked at it, then closed it and placed it in Hazel's hand.
"I'll try to continue what we haven't finished as soon as possible. You'd better wait until the situation stabilizes before returning to London, okay?"
Heather used her body to block his wrist and quietly pinched it, whispering, "Hurry up and remember to write letters often."
After watching Lancaster leave, Heather turned around and saw a group of people surrounding her with burning eyes.
Oh no, she became the one being tried by the three judges.
Heather was uneasy at her sister's excited look, and even the Gardners didn't come to the rescue this time.
Mrs. Gardner complained, half genuinely and half falsely, "Well, Hazel, we saw each other every week when we were in London, and you never told me when there was any real change in your relationship with Mr. Lancaster."
Mrs. Bennett was happy but a little confused. "Are you sure you won't consider Mr. Evan anymore? Although Mr. Lancaster is more handsome, a judge has more status than a lawyer, right?"
Mary had seen through everything in advance and had accepted this potentially scary uncle after returning from Liverpool.
At this time, Darcy, who had been sitting in the corner with Elizabeth, suddenly asked: "Why did Mr. Lancaster leave so suddenly? Did something happen in London?"
Mr. Gardner also quickly asked: "Yes, we are planning to go back the day after tomorrow. Heather, won't you come with us?"
Heather frowned and hesitated, "It might be delayed for a few days. Brother, you'd better wait a few more days. Lancaster said that a highly contagious disease has appeared in London, and the number of infected people is gradually increasing. Gracechurch Street is densely populated, and children like Lily are prone to illness."
"Oh my God, it can't be the Black Death or something like that." Mrs. Bennet patted her chest exaggeratedly and tried her best to persuade her brother and sister-in-law to stay for a while longer.
Mr. Gardner was a little worried about his business. He had been away for too long and hadn't been able to handle many things in time. But in the end, he decided to postpone his return for three days to find out more about the situation in London before making any plans.
Meanwhile, Lancaster, upon boarding his carriage, ordered the driver to proceed at top speed, regardless of the cost. He knew the situation would only intensify and would not easily subside, and that a tough battle lay ahead.
"Is that person's condition really that bad?" Lancaster asked, leaning against the car wall with his eyes closed.
Evan realized that his boss had withdrawn from the gentle and gentle state and switched to workaholic mode.
He carefully chose his words and replied, "The emperor's close associates control the palace, and few outsiders are allowed to visit, so the specific situation is unknown. However, when I set out this morning, I happened to run into the Duke of Clarence. He is the second in line to the throne, and his haste to return must have been due to something important. In addition, the Duke of Clarence also asked about your leave."
Lancaster understood that London was in an unclear situation with internal and external troubles. At this critical moment, who knows how many people with different ulterior motives would surface. If the problem was not resolved quickly, chaos would break out.
He closed his eyes to rest, and when he opened them again, London was already close.
Evan asked his boss if he could go directly to the cabinet meeting.
Lancaster hummed, then said, "Go from the neighborhoods where the situation is most serious."
Evan immediately ordered the driver to re-plan the route.
Passing a street next to a civilian community, Lancaster couldn't help but frown. A small riot was taking place there. Several men surrounded a house, trying to nail the doors and windows shut with wooden boards. The people inside fought back desperately, rushing out with knives raised. In the end, the men outside were unsuccessful and left cursing.
Evan volunteered to explain, "The most widespread rumor about this disease is that it's miasma brought by Eastern European sailors. This view has no basis; the only thing that makes it true is its high contagiousness, yet this very fact has convinced many people. Recently, some severely infected districts have begun spontaneously organizing restrictions on patients and their families from leaving their homes."
The carriage passed through the central street of Chelsea. The doors and windows of the rich people's houses were closed, only sporadic figures could be seen on the street, and the air was filled with an unpleasant smell mixed with vinegar and sulfur.
Evan continued, "Recently, several wealthy areas, including Mayfair, have been protesting, hoping to introduce policies to prohibit people from the East End from crossing the border to the West End, trying to isolate the disease this way. But that person also has the same disease, and they can't just throw Carlton Palace out as well."
The car stopped and Lancaster got out without saying a word. He strode forward with his signature cold expression that said "keep out of reach".
Evan chased after him and almost bit his tongue: "One more thing..."
Lancaster kept walking: "If you have something to say, please say it quickly."
Evan took a deep breath. He had hoped that his boss would be tolerant and kind after finding love, but when he got back to business, he still felt the familiar sense of oppression.
"Workers generally live in residential areas, and factories are close together, so the disease spreads quickly. However, there are a few areas near factories where the number of people infected is significantly lower than others, such as those near the brewery and the industrial area at the junction of the east and west districts. I sent people to investigate, and those areas all have common characteristics.
That is, many workers in these areas have strange white cloths on their faces. I asked them about the masks you mentioned at the questioning meeting.
Lancaster paused and looked back at him. Why didn’t you tell him such an important thing earlier?
It was Heather who proposed the idea of masks. Regardless of whether they were really effective or how effective they were, once people found out about it, she would be completely dragged into this mess.
We cannot allow others to make groundless speculations and take advantage of us; we must take the initiative.
Lancaster was thinking about countermeasures, but he did not show any seriousness on the surface.
When he reached the last corner, he was stopped by the man waiting there.
"Duke Claren, are you waiting for me?"
Duke Claren read suspicion from his undisguised sharp eyes: "I just guessed that you would rush to attend such an important meeting today no matter what. Don't think that I have nothing to do but monitor you. Don't you know what kind of person I am?" He might as well do something serious with this time, such as inspecting the sugar factory or catching a few doctors to study the infectious disease.
Lancaster said nothing, but looked at him to ask what he wanted to do.
The Duke of Clarence felt that he was easier to talk to than when they last met in Liverpool, but he had become more cunning once he returned to London.
"Okay, I want to discuss a cooperation with you. The upcoming meeting has been canceled at the last minute because two cabinet ministers were summoned to Carlton House, so the meeting has been rescheduled. How about coming over to my place?"
Lancaster thought for a moment and agreed to the other party's proposal.
Three days passed before Heather received a long letter from London explaining the specific situation to her. The letters from the previous two days were just short and hastily written letters reporting safety, which did not contain any information.
The symptoms of this disease are obvious. Initially, it is just mild diarrhea, as if you have eaten something wrong. After a few hours, the situation will take a turn for the worse, with violent vomiting and muscle cramps following. However, doctors are helpless. They have tried traditional treatments such as bloodletting and calomel, but to no avail. A person who can walk normally in the morning may become a cold, shriveled corpse due to dehydration by the evening. Panic has become a more serious destabilizing factor than the disease itself.
After Lancaster described the symptoms directly, he seemed to be worried about scaring the other party, so he interspersed some good news in the middle as a compensation, such as the weather in London was not too bad recently, at least it did not aggravate the panic-stricken social atmosphere; for example, good news frequently came from the battlefield, perhaps victory was not far away; for example, the Environmental Cleansing Act had come into effect, and factories had begun to transplant plants one after another.
"After several days of investigation, I'm convinced that areas where the basic protective suits you mentioned have been widely used have experienced much milder cases of the disease, and the spread has also been much slower. Perhaps you know the reason behind this?"
Lancaster concluded his letter with his usual statement that he was in good health and had no symptoms, and advised her not to return to London at this time.
Heather read the letter twice, sat down at the desk with her legs crossed, picked up a pen and began to scribble on the paper.
Diarrhea? Dehydration? The symptoms sounded like the cholera epidemic that had recurred in the early 19th century. She had no idea how to treat it, but judging by its speed of spread and common sense, she could guess it was caused by some kind of bacteria spreading through the environment.
The protective kits that Mary helped contact Rudy to distribute were originally intended to help workers prevent pollution, but by chance they happened to be of some help.
Cold tinctures only have a psychological effect, at best boosting immunity. Masks can reduce the spread of droplets, but they're not necessarily effective. Tar soap may have accidentally played a significant role. Regardless, washing hands frequently during this epidemic is undoubtedly the right thing to do.
Heather stood up quickly, the chair scraping against the ground with a sharp sound. She didn't care about anything else, she just picked up her skirt and ran down the stairs.
"Mary, where are you! And Lizzie, please call Mr. Darcy for me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
