Audrey unfolded the letter. Now that Julius was here, she wanted to learn who had written as quickly as possible. She had a friend to discuss the contents with, whatever they might be, so she did not want to waste the opportunity to have his support if it was bad news.
As soon as the letter was revealed, her eyes darted down to confirm it was from Lady Astley. Then she read the contents, her stomach clenching into a knot as her worst fears were manifested.
“That … that … that interfering shrew!” she cried out, throwing the page away from her onto the table in distress.
Julius spun around in alarm, following her gaze to the letter.
She sprang to her feet, her hands trembling with the force of her emotions. Audrey could feel herself spiraling into fear, her lungs tightening as she gasped for air, and her hopes of a quiet retreat to the village lay dashed in smithereens on the table from where Lady Astley’s poisonous ink taunted her.
“What is it?” Julius demanded, setting his plate down to stride over.
“That noxious old biddy, Lady Astley, informs me she has written to the vicar in Stirling so he will know I am a scandalous baggage!”
She could not breathe. Any hopes of returning to Stirling unscathed were obliterated. She could not remain in London, but she could not return home.
Audrey buried her face in her hands, breaking into hysterical laughter. She was doomed. Her plans were destroyed. She would have to start anew somewhere she was unknown.
Was Scotland in need of healers?
Was Edinburgh far enough away?
Lawk—must she brave the seas for the New World?
How far did she have to travel to outrun the damage to her reputation?
Her laughter turned to weeping, tears gushing down her face as she sobbed in horror.
She was vaguely aware of Julius snatching up the letter to read it as she collapsed back into her chair to bury her face in her arms. Her life as she knew it was over. There was nowhere to go! She would have to start over in a new country!
“Audrey!”
She had not thought her day could get any worse. No one would accept treatment from her if she was a fallen woman. Noone respectable, that was. She would face lewd suggestions from uncouth men. Decent women would shun her. Children would be ushered away from her presence as if she were a contagious leper. Her only choice was to find somewhere far, far away.
Her mind raced through possibilities, each seeming worse than the last.
“Cornwall?”
Would that be far enough?
“Audrey?”
She did not respond. Could not respond. Instead, she continued weeping, her shoulders heaving as her lungs fought for air. Exhausted from her sleepless night, grieving that she must part with Julius, mourning that she could not talk with her dear papa. She wanted to be brave, but the ground was collapsing beneath her feet.
“Audrey!” Julius tugged at her arm. “You must calm down! I have a solution, I swear it!”
Audrey attempted to calm herself from the blind panic. The tears slowed down as she sucked air into her lungs until she finally raised her face to look at him.
Julius was kneeling beside her.
“We are to wed,” he announced, taking her hand up in his.
Audrey stopped breathing, staring at him in shock. Hope trickled in as she took in the sincerity of his expression. Did Julius feel about her the way she did about him? Was he professing his regard?
“You can return to Stirling to treat patients as a married woman,” he continued.
She frowned, confused by the declaration.
“It will be a … marriage of convenience. You will have the protection of my name so you can pursue your goals.”
