Moonshadows Read Online Free PDF

lay still in the early dawn as Janet started down the stairs. Lettie and Trent had stationed themselves outside the closed door of her grandmother’s room. They stood silently, their hands to their sides, and watched as Janet approached.
    “Has the doctor arrived?”
    Trent nodded. “He’s with her now.”
    “He’s been in there over an hour.” Lettie’s voice was hushed.
    Janet settled in beside them and leaned against the wall. “Maybe it won’t he much longer.”
    They huddled outside the door, waiting for word. It was less than five minutes when the knob turned and the door swung inward. Doctor Darby glanced at the three of them and shook his head. He dropped the tattered bag down on the floor beside his feet.
    “Janet, I’m glad you’re up.” He nodded toward the door behind him. “She’s in a bad way, I’m afraid.”
    Janet pushed from the wall. “Is it her heart?”
    The doctor nodded. “I suggested moving her to the hospital in Middlebrook but she flatly refused.” He took a deep breath. “Given her age, I really don’t think it would make a great deal of difference. I’m surprised she’s lasted this long.”
    “Grandmother has a lot of determination, Doctor Darby. She won’t give up without a fight.”
    “I appreciate that, my dear. But this is more than even she can handle.”
    “Can I see her?”
    “I don’t see what harm it would do, although she’s probably asleep by now. She’ll sleep most of the day, but when she wakes see that she remains calm and comfortable. I’ll leave her medication instructions with Lettie and see that Cook has her diet. I’ll stop by again in the morning, but in the meantime if there’s any change, call me right away.”
    “I will doctor, and thank you,” Janet said before she slipped through the doorway.
    The room was overly warm and smelled of sickness, of pain and age and futility. The tick-tick-tick of the wall clock reminded Janet of fleeting minutes, of used-up hours, the finality of time. And once it’s gone, she thought, there is no more . Only the long sleep of death, and the memories of the one who had died. The airless chamber resonated with the raspy pull of labored breathing. Her grandmother looked like a lost child in the center of the bed with its turned carvings and posters that nearly reached the fifteen-foot-high ceiling. She looked haggard and worn lying there against the elegant lace-trimmed pillows. Her eyes flickered open and she smiled at Janet. Blue veins stood out on her trembling hand as she reached up. Janet took the hand, shocked at its coldness.
    “I have to talk to you,” her grandmother murmured.
    “Sssh,” Janet whispered. “The doctor said you had to stay calm. We’ll talk later, when you’re stronger.”
    “Have to talk to you,” she insisted. “About the will.”
    The door opened and Lettie entered carrying a tray. “Time for your medicine, Mrs. Lancaster.”
    The old lady made a feeble attempt to protest but Lettie, ever efficient, gently propped her up with one hand and administered the medicine before a second protest could be made.
    “Doctor said it would make her sleep,” she said to Janet. “Why don’t you come downstairs and have your breakfast. Cook has it all ready for you.”
    Janet nodded. “Just as soon a she falls asleep.”
    Lettie adjusted the pillows and straightened the covers. Gently she smoothed back the silver hair and touched the patient’s brow before she turned and left the room. The knowledge that her grandmother was in such capable hands was reassuring to Janet. She had never doubted for a moment that the household staff was totally committed to the safety and well-being of their employer.
    The old lady did not try to speak again, but gave into the effects of the medication and was soon asleep. Janet’s bones, stiff from lack of rest and exercise, protested when she stood up. She stepped to the bed and kissed her grandmother’s cheek before tiptoeing from the room.
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