Free Jack the Ripper Victims Series: The Double Event by Alan M. Clark

Syphilis who had lost her nose and lips, and she knew of other sufferers whose legs and arms had become so ravaged by ulcers the limbs were amputated.
    Halfway to Kurhuset, she felt unusually painful cramping. She thought perhaps her monthly flow had resumed, and had a small hope that she was not pregnant after all. By the time they arrived at Kurhuset, Elizabeth’s skirts were stained with blood. Although he clearly noticed the stains, Constable Lindquist had the courtesy to say nothing. She swallowed her pride, calmed her fears, and entered the building.
    Inside, the chill air increased her fretful state, giving her gooseflesh and occasional shivers. Echoes off the hard walls and high ceilings startled Elizabeth. She found the efficient and businesslike behavior of the staff intimidating.
    Steel yourself to endure their scorn, Liza said.
    Contrary to what her cynical voice suggested, Elizabeth was treated respectfully. In a small, unadorned office, a matron asked numerous questions and made notations of Elizabeth’s answers. Eventually, she was led by a red-headed female dressed in starched blue cotton to a small, clean room furnished with a table and cabinets along the walls.
    “Fru Gustavsdotter,” the assistant said, glancing at the piece of paper in her hand, “I am Fru Finberg, assistant physician. Please take off your clothes, put them in the basket in the corner, and wear this.” She handed Elizabeth a light cotton robe. “Then lie back on the table with your knees bent.”
    Elizabeth climbed onto the hard, wooden surface and tried to become comfortable, a difficult task as boney as she had become in recent months.
    Fru Finberg stood at the end of the table and spread Elizabeth’s legs. “You have an unusual quantity of blood flow,” she said with a frown, “Are you experiencing the beginning of your menstrual cycle?”
    “Yes, it always begins that way,” Elizabeth lied, feeling embarrassed. Again, she felt relieved to think she wasn’t pregnant.
    Fru Finberg cleaned the blood away. “The chancre is small and soft. The evidence is insufficient to make a determination of syphilis, but treatment should have a good effect.”
    A small hope peeked out from behind Elizabeth’s large fear. “I’m certain it’s an insect bite. There’s nothing else it could be.”
    Fru Finberg looked for a moment as if she might contest the statement, then simply shook her head.
    She will be able to cure your ills, Bess advised.
    If the cure doesn’t kill you first, Liza warned.
    The assistant physician applied an ointment to the chancre and the surrounding area, and gave Elizabeth a dose of a clear liquid to drink.
    “You’ll be given a quantity of the ointment and quinine to take with you when you return home,” Fru Finberg said. “You’ll also be given instructions on how the use the medicine and when you must return for another examination. You are required to present a report to the police after each examination. Your clothes will be burned, and we will give you fresh clothing to wear home. Your clothes and bedding at home should be thoroughly washed or burned. Please, climb down and I’ll give you clothing.”
    As Elizabeth slid off the edge of the table, she felt something slippery issue from between her legs. The texture was different from the ointment. She stood and turned to see a slimy substance, streaked with brown and red, clinging to the edge of the table. Abruptly, an amber liquid with an odd smell poured from her onto the floor.
    “Back onto the table, please,” the startled assistant physician said. She helped Elizabeth back up and began another examination.
    I’m coming apart! Elizabeth took sharp, short breaths, a panic welling up, along with a severe abdominal pain.
    “You are pregnant, Fru Gustavsdotter.”
    “No, I couldn’t be,” Elizabeth said with no conviction.
    “That’s often not for us to decide,” Fru Finberg said. “Are you experiencing pain?”
    “Yes, but it’s