“Johannes, I’m better now.” She looked at her husband urgently. “I simply want to rest.”
“We’ll start with a bloodletting then observe whether your body cools down and relaxes a bit.” The doctor acted as if he hadn’t heard a word Madlen had said.
“No!” Madlen pulled her blankets higher.
“But oh, why so scared of a little bloodletting?” The doctor laughed.
“Johannes. Tell him to go!” she screeched.
“But Maria, he just wants to help you.”
“Now, now.” The doctor tried to pull the blankets away, so he could grab Madlen’s arm. She screamed in desperation.
“Stop it!” Johannes went around to the other side of the bed.
“What are you thinking? Didn’t you just come begging for my help?”
“My wife says she’s feeling better. She knows what she wants.”
“Her bodily fluids must be brought back into line so they don’t poison the baby. A bloodletting is the only way to accomplish this.”
“Such nonsense!” Madlen screamed. “Get away from me and my child, or you will live to regret it!”
“But Maria,” Elsbeth exclaimed indignantly, “he just wants to help. You’re in such an awful state.”
“I’m better now,” Madlen replied as calmly as possible. “And I want nothing more than to sleep and get my strength back. I will not allow you to stab me with that thing.”
“Many people are afraid of this treatment,” the doctor said jovially. “Believe me, after the first time, you won’t be afraid.”
“Tell him that he needs to go!” Madlen looked straight at Johannes.
“It would be better if you could go now.” Johannes pulled out a small pouch of money. “Please take this as my thanks for your efforts. If we should need you again, I will make sure to bring you back.”
“And the bloodletting?”
“Not today.”
The doctor shook his head in frustration, got off the bed, and took the money. “Your decision is not wise.” He tucked the pouch into his vest and began to collect his medical instruments. When he was done, he gave Madlen a serious look. “I hope for everyone’s sake that this doesn’t damage your child.”
She nodded but didn’t reply.
He said his good-byes to Johannes and Elsbeth, who apologized profusely for her daughter-in-law’s stubbornness and went to see him out.
“What in the world was that? The man is an experienced doctor who’s helped many people. You should have taken his help.”
“Isn’t that the same doctor who claims the cough can only be cured by bloodletting and prayers?”
“What do you mean? Why are you so angry with me? Is it because I didn’t tell you about my contract with the archbishop?”
Madlen knew she shouldn’t say anything. She was scared and desperate. But Johannes was right. She was angry. Angry at him, angry at this quack doctor, angry at everybody that she’d helped who had betrayed her.
“Maria.” Johannes sat on the bed. “This isn’t like you. Please talk to me.”
“I just want to rest.” She needed a way to escape this situation. “Please leave me alone.”
“But I just . . .”
“Please, Johannes.” She placed her hand over his mouth. “I don’t think it’s too much to ask to let me sleep now. I don’t feel well, and I need some peace and quiet.”
“Forgive me.” He stood up immediately. He’d never seen his wife like this; the look she gave him made him uneasy. Did he see hate in her eyes?
Madlen turned onto her side so that she didn’t have to look at Johannes’s face. She heard him blow out the candles and leave the room. She pulled the blankets over her mouth so that he couldn’t hear her sobbing.
Chapter Twenty-One
“You have to leave right now.” Agathe paced up and down the room.
Madlen had come early in the morning to tell her aunt what had happened. She sat, her face ashen, her shoulders drooping, nervously kneading her hands. “But where can I go?”
“I don’t know, but you can’t stay here. As soon as this Matthias shows up in Worms, Johannes will realize who the secret healer is. And even if everybody in Worms tries to protect you, you are still wanted for murder in Heidelberg. Matthias Trauenstein would have every right to drag you back there.”
Madlen shook even more violently. “I want to die.”
Agathe stopped cold. “Don’t say that.” She went to her niece and held her by the shoulders. “Don’t ever say that again. Do you hear me?”