Chapter 116 Just In Time
After returning to Swallow Garden, Patrick told Maria what had happened.
She immediately went upstairs to pack some of Genevieve’s things without saying a word, then left the house with him.
Genevieve was the only person she wanted to care for, so she would go wherever the former was.
While taking Maria to Regality Gardens, Patrick received a call from Steven asking whether he had brought Genevieve to the hospital to get the burns on her legs treated.
“No,” Patrick replied, pressing his lips together as he thought about the injuries on Genevieve’s legs. “She detests the disinfectant smell of the hospital.”
“That’s because Mrs. Faulkner’s grandmother passed away suddenly while in the hospital,” Steven explained.
Patrick added as he continued driving, “Steven, they’re serious burns. The doctor said if we don’t get them treated and wait too long, they could easily leave behind unsightly scars. Genev doesn’t want to stay at Swallow Garden either. She purchased an apartment at Regality Gardens, so I’m taking Maria there now so she can look after her.”
“All right. I’ll inform Mr. Faulkner about it later. You stay with them and watch over Mrs. Faulkner. Think of a way to get her to the hospital as soon as possible and get her injuries treated.”
After murmuring an acknowledgment, Patrick could not refrain from asking, “How did she get those burns on her legs?”
And they’re bad burns, too. It’s as if someone grabbed a flask of boiling water and deliberately splashed it all over her legs.
For a brief moment, Steven fell uncharacteristically quiet. Then, he quickly replied, “That’s for Mr. Faulkner to handle. Your duty is to take good care of Mrs. Faulkner. All right. I’m hanging up now.”
Steven ended the call without giving Patrick a chance to respond.
Maria had vaguely heard Patrick’s side of the conversation from the backseat, and she asked with a frown, “What burns? Is Ms. Rachford hurt?”
Seeing that there was no way to keep it hidden from Maria since she was going to take care of Genevieve, Patrick revealed what had happened.
After arriving at the apartment, Maria felt a pang in her heart when she saw Genevieve slumped on the couch while resting, her small face looking as pale as a sheet.
She had worked for the Rachford family for years, yet it was the first time she had seen Genevieve suffering like that.
As her gaze traveled to the angry red burns on Genevieve’s legs, Maria said in a distressed tone, “Ms. Rachford, let me take you to the hospital. It wouldn’t do for your beautiful legs to get scarred.”
Genevieve finally felt a sense of security as she hugged Maria, but tears still stung her eyes. “I’m not going. I hate the disinfectant smell in hospitals,” she muttered dully.
After getting treated by a professional doctor and applying ointment twice to the burns on her legs, the pain was only a slight twinge at that point.
However, the pain in her heart that seemed to suffocate her still persisted.
Noticing Genevieve’s low spirits, Maria could only coax her to lie in her arms and sleep for a while. She also wrote out a list of groceries for Patrick so that he could go out and get them.
Maria prepared many of Genevieve’s favorite dishes that evening. She chatted to Genevieve after they had eaten, recounting some of the memorable events in the latter’s childhood that she had forgotten.
Eventually, Genevieve started smiling again.
Around eleven o’clock at night, Maria brought Genevieve a glass of water. And as instructed by Patrick, Maria had dissolved half a sleeping pill into it.
They waited until Genevieve was fast asleep before quickly taking her to the hospital.
The director of the dermatology department was a friend of Timothy’s, and he had waited at the hospital ever since he learned a patient could be coming in in the wee hours of the morning.
The doctor’s expression turned grim after checking on Genevieve’s legs. “It’s a good thing you sent her here just in time. If you’d waited until tomorrow to bring her in, her legs would surely end up scarred.”
“Doctor, we’re counting on you,” Maria pleaded with reddened eyes.
While the doctor and a few nurses tended to Genevieve’s injuries in the operating room, Maria and Patrick waited outside quietly.
It was three o’clock in the morning when the doors to the operating room finally opened.
Taking off his surgical mask, the doctor said to Maria, “Ms. Rachford’s legs should be fine now. She needs to rest and recuperate for the next few days. Don’t get water on her legs, and remember to apply the ointment I’ve prescribed every day until the scars fade.”
Both Maria and Patrick were relieved when they heard that.
