Khadija received the information with a grunt. “And what will the doctor lady do in return for the antidote?” she asked.
“I will go with her to Bir-ul-Malikat,” replied Georgia, “and do all I can to save the girl’s foot. Whether I find that amputation is necessary or not, I will remain in the house until the patient is fairly on the way to recovery, that she may have the best possible chance.”
The old woman nodded her head meditatively. “Thou wilt cure my Zeynab, and I will give thee the antidote. That is fair. Thou wilt come at once, O doctor lady?”
“I must make a few arrangements first. You are prepared to give my maid and me a room to ourselves, I suppose, as we shall be obliged to remain over the night? It may be necessary for us to spend four or five days with you.”
“Oh yes; the doctor lady shall be lodged in the best part of the harem, in the rooms of my Zeynab’s mother—may she rest in peace!—and the women of the household shall see to her comfort.”
“That is well,” said Georgia, as she left the room and went to seek Lady Haigh. Rahah followed her.
“It is not safe, O my lady. She will kill you if she can, and there will be many opportunities if you are staying in her house.”
“We must try to take adequate precautions, and baffle her, Rahah. In any case, the possibility of success is worth the risk.”
Nevertheless, as Georgia knocked softly at the door of the sick-room, the thought crossed her mind: “At any rate, I will make sure before I go that I shall be allowed to try my remedy if I succeed in bringing it back. It is a risk, undoubtedly, to go, and I shall hear a good deal about it from Dick if I ever return, so that I won’t enter on it as a mere speculation.”
“What is it, Georgie?” asked Lady Haigh, coming out. “Is anything fresh the matter?” for the repressed excitement in Georgia’s manner caught her attention at once.