"So let him in. He's already seen it all."

Unable to argue, Martha went out. Aliya quickly hid the book under her bed. Judging by the quantity of dust, it had been twenty years since anyone even looked under the bed, and it would be another twenty before they peeked under there again. It seemed like a safe hiding place.

She was nervous about talking to the doctor. He couldn't know much about real medicine, but he wouldn't be a complete fool, either. This would be harder than talking to Martha, who was so happy to have her favorite little girl back that she ignored the strange things she said and did.

Aliya pulled the piglet-pink blanket up to her chin. The door flew open. Jerk. Didn't even knock.

Medicus Craybey presented himself to Aliya-Lilian in an outfit of tight brown pants, a carrot-colored tunic, and a short brown cape. His high boots were made of pale blue leather and were filthy, and he had a large bag strung over one shoulder. Aliya concluded that this was the typical male garb for that world. She glanced at the doctor's long hair. It was pulled back in a ponytail, tied with an orange ribbon and sprinkled liberally with something that looked like powder. Some of the powder had fallen on the man's shoulders. So much for local fashion.

"Good day, Countess," he greeted her.

"Good day," Aliya nodded.

She did not extend her hand to be kissed; he could stay right where he was. She wondered if he would climb up on her bed in those dirty boots to do the exam.

"How do you feel?"

"Fine." Aliya wanted to send him packing, but she exercised self-control.

"Do you have any pain? Bleeding? Sharp or burning sensations? Has the fever returned?"

"No, it hasn't."

Aliya tried to stay calm and keep her replies brief. This was her first test. If the doctor noticed anything strange about her...

But Craybey (Is that his first name or his last name?) gave a broad grin. "I'm very pleased. I knew your body could defeat the illness. I simply followed my teacher's instructions by letting out the bad blood and giving you cleansing treatments. You'll be fine. I always knew that my teacher was a source of wisdom."

Aliya's eyes were opened. Under all the power and show of importance, she saw a kid who was just twenty or twenty-five years old—a loser like many of the guys she went to school with

"Do you mean your teacher told you to treat miscarriage by letting a woman's blood and then giving her emetics and enemas?" She spoke quietly to keep from screaming. Her self-control had abandoned her. It was the satisfied smile on the kid's face that did her in

"But you're alive! I did everything correctly. If..."

Poof!

A pillow hit him in the face and landed on the floor. Another pillow followed, but it hit the foot of the bed and exploded, covering the doctor in a cloud of feathers.

"If you come back here, I'll have them set the dogs on you! Get out, fool!" Aliya had forgotten all about being cautious and keeping a low profile. To hell with it all! I'll bury this idiot!

By the time Martha came running in, Aliya had regained her calm demeanor.

"Take that away," she said, pointing at the feather-covered doctor. "Don't let him in here again."

Martha didn't bother arguing. She simply dragged the doctor out of the room. Ten minutes later, two snickering servant girls came in to clean up the feathers.

Aliya gave them a cannibalistic smile. Still riding high on her bad mood, she issued more orders: wash the windows, take down the curtains and the bed canopy and wash them, dust the shelves and under the bed.

The girls followed her orders to the letter. For a while, she sat back and watched them. She decided that the time had come to get up and go outside. Her nanny didn't see anything too outrageous in her behavior, and the servant girls obeyed her.

But since her heart was still racing from the doctor's visit and it looked to be about five in the evening, judging by the sun, and she believed mornings were the best time to start important projects (except for Monday morning), Aliya decided to start her new life the next day.

For the moment, she would put the book back and think about where to begin.

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