indeed , through his tears when he left the room , he took no notice of how the doctor , silently and stealthily packing his potions away in his bag , reached across the table to pick up a bottle , revealing on his left forearm , as his sleeve slid upwards , a nasty looking tattoo of a coiled snake chapter twenty-eight the death of his de facto wife and newborn son was the cruellest of body blows to william shakespeare .