Maybe looking tubercular had a certain cachet, but it's hard to believe those ladies were unaware of what the disease was really like. In the early stages, TB is symptomless. Gradually, however, the TB patient feels tired, may run a fever, have night sweats, lose weight. This wasting away, in which the body is literally consumed by the disease, is the reason TB was once called consumption. As the disease progresses, the patient may cough up blood-tinged sputum.
Chest pain is common, and shortness of breath develops when the lungs are heavily ravaged.
And if a lung cavity erodes an artery, massive hemorrhage can occur. Not exactly the stuff romance is made of.