The feeling of being watched didn’t go away, though. If someone is bored enough to waste their time spying on me, there’s no reason to make it easy for them, he thought. Increasing his pace, he broke into a run and didn’t slow down until he had reached Eric’s house.
The feeling stayed with him until he was almost there, before vanishing as mysteriously as it had appeared.
Chapter 4
Winter came and went, boring and uneventful, with little to do and even less to talk about. During the cold months, Will’s mother’s work was limited to tending the sick and the occasional childbirth. Unless a patient showed up on their doorstep, there was no relief from the tedium for him, for she rarely took him with her when she went to someone’s home.
Spring was a welcome relief when it arrived. Will didn’t even mind the rain and mud, so long as he was free of the confines of four walls, hemmed in by the unforgiving cold. Spring meant freedom. Once the garden was planted, there wasn’t much to do other than watch the plants grow, and there were few colds and illnesses, so Will was free to visit Eric or roam the woods as he pleased.
Except today. Becca Taylor had gone into labor, and Will’s mother had been called to her home to oversee the delivery. That meant Will was tied to the house, in case anyone else showed up wanting to buy a remedy.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if one of his friends had been able to visit him, but they were all busy helping their own parents. At thirteen, most of them had begun working nearly every day. Will was the only one that still had a modest degree of freedom and leisure.
He was sitting in front of the house, staring up at the sky through the slender branches waving in the wind, when his day became a lot more interesting. Several people came down the path from the road, moving in haste. It only took him a second to recognize them. It was Tracy and Joseph Tanner, who lived in the village.
The young couple was a relatively new addition to Barrowden, having moved there only four years ago. Erisa had delivered their first child, a boy named Joey, only two years past. Joseph was carrying their young son in his arms as they hurried toward Will’s house.
“Where’s your mother?” called Tracy as soon as she saw Will, a tone of desperate urgency in her voice.
Will jumped to his feet. “She’s at the Taylors’, delivering a baby. What’s wrong?”
“It’s Joey,” answered the young mother. “He’s got a boil on his leg.”
“We wasted our time,” said Joseph, giving his wife an angry glance. “It’s a half day’s walk to the Taylor house.”
Will had relaxed slightly when he heard the word ‘boil.’ At first, their faces had made him fear it was something more serious.
“Do you have anything that might help?” asked Tracy, ignoring her husband’s complaint.
“You’ll need a fresh poultice to draw it out,” Will informed her. “But I know how to make one. Bring him in the house and I’ll do what I can.”
The father glared at him. “He’s just a boy. We should go home. He’ll only make it worse.”
“It can’t get much worse, Joseph,” declared Tracy. “Everyone trusts Erisa. Her son must at least know a little about these things.”
Will didn’t like the sound of that, but he opened the door and ushered them in, directing them to place their son on the small bed he called his own. When Tracy drew back the blanket to show him the small boy’s leg, he almost hissed in alarm.
That’s no boil, he realized. It’s a septic wound. There was a large, puss-filled abscess on the child’s thigh, surrounded by red and inflamed tissue. Tentatively he pressed on it, noting the thick, yellow fluid that oozed out at the slight pressure. Red streaks ran up and down the boy’s leg.
“When did it start?” he asked, trying to hide the tremor in his voice.
“Two days ago,” answered the boy’s mother. “He came in after playing and had a small scratch. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but it’s gotten steadily worse.”
Will was hardly an expert, but he knew enough to know the boy’s chances were poor. Putting one hand against Joey’s forehead, he noted the heat there. He already has a fever. This is bad. Short of removing the boy’s leg, Will didn’t know of anything that would