Blue Damask Read Free

him over on his side.  The brass buckles were on the back.
         Marshall hauled her up from the carpet by her arm.  “No!” he shouted.  There was a noise in the hall and the door burst open.  The two orderlies looked first to Sonnenby.  When they saw their patient was inert, they looked to Marshall for instructions.  Doctor Engel stood with his arms crossed over his chest and raised an eyebrow.  Elsa rubbed her arm and glared at the Englishman.
         “You will not touch me without permission, Mr. Marshall,” she said to him.
         Marshall sniffed as he released her, “I have saved you from possible injury, madam.”
         “He is unresponsive and in a straightjacket. I am unlikely to be injured.”
         “He has feigned unconsciousness in the past to escape the restraints.  He could come alive very quickly. I assure you.”
         Doctor Engel came around the sofa and knelt at Sonnenby’s side.  “How long is he usually unconscious like this?”
         Marshall picked up the file from the floor where it had landed when he grabbed Elsa.  He straightened the papers before answering.  “He is reported to have instances of various stages of…catatonia,” he answered carefully.  “Difficult to say.”
          Doctor Engel lifted a hand and Marshall gave him the folder.  The doctor flipped through the pages looking for what he wanted.  He stopped.  “It says here he attacked three orderlies.  He put two in hospital.”
         “Yes,” Marshall gave Elsa a look.  “He was a decorated soldier. He knows how to kill. He is dangerous to himself and to others, hence the restraints.”
         There was silence in the room as the doctor read the file.  The two orderlies stepped forward to flank Marshall.  Elsa felt the first stirrings of interest in this patient as she watched the doctor’s expression while he read.  Doctor Engel seemed to be intrigued, and she recognized the rapid blinking of his eyes that meant he was processing the notes at great speed.  He only did that when there was a difficult challenge set before him.
         He snapped the file shut and looked up at Marshall.  “Nowhere does it say he has committed a violent act against a woman.  None of the nurses have been harmed.  Even the ones administering hypodermic medication.”
         Marshall frowned.  “What do you imply, doctor?”
         “I say that Fraulein Schluss is the perfect therapist for your patient.  She graduated at the top of her class and has spent three years during the war as a surgical nurse in a field hospital, deeply involved in the treatment of the war wounded.  In the three years since she has focused on the treatment of mental trauma in veterans.  Her dissertation will be presented at the College of Psychology at the University of Vienna.  I have worked closely with her for two years and can say with extreme confidence that due to the patient’s obvious conflicts with male authority, he must absolutely have a female therapist if he is to regain his stability to support British interests in the Levant.”  Doctor Engel stood up and handed the file back to Marshall.  “That is my medical opinion.  If you do not agree, then I will wish you a good day, sir.”  He nodded to the orderlies then looked pointedly at Lord Sonnenby’s body stretched out on the carpet.
         Marshall’s moustache twitched.  He looked long and hard at Sonnenby, then Doctor Engel, then finally Elsa. She stared back at him.  He represented everything she detested in a man: arrogance, entitlement, bigotry, and lack of imagination.  Doctor Engel had not discussed taking on this case with her before offering her services to this stranger which was very unlike him.  She looked at him and tried to catch his eye but he was also staring intently at Marshall.
         Marshall said slowly, “I must get Lord Sonnenby to Damascus as soon as possible.  His treatment must be