Page 27 of The Gentleman Physician

“Will you help us, Doctor Hastings?” the baroness asked, lifting a biscuit from her plate with a diplomatic, unconcerned expression.

Although he barely realized it, Nathaniel agreed to do what he could, and the baroness turned the conversation to the concert he had attended.

“Did you enjoy yourself? Was the music wonderful?” she asked, her eyes brightening somewhat.

“I thought it was, yes. There were several talented performances. I do not get to attend such things often, with my schedule.” The abrupt change in topic gave him no time to think on the commitment he’d made.

She nodded. “I often feel guilty for my cousin missing too much while she is here with us. Julia would never hear of leaving the house for so selfish a thing as her own entertainment.” The fond manner in which she spoke of her cousin said much of their close friendship. “And this is a very unique situation. But I wish she had a little time to herself, to enjoy the city and its entertainments.”

“That is a kind thought, and it is good of her to keep you company.”

“She practically runs the household presently,” Lady Heatherton admitted with a slight shrug. “As I said before, I could not do this without her.”

Nathaniel did not wish to start discussing Julia Devon again. Lady Heatherton’s eyes were too inquisitive when her cousin was the topic under conversation.

“I am afraid I must be going, my lady, but I thank you for the refreshment.” He stood and she rose as well. “I will make certain my schedule is correct with your staff, so you may find me again if there is any need. Otherwise, I will come back tomorrow, if you wish.”

“Yes, thank you, Doctor.” She walked him to the top of the landing, where she took her leave to return to her husband’s side.

The woman’s devotion, and her courage in the face of certain loss, gave Nathaniel a measure of hope for the family’s future.

After completing his business in the house, Nathaniel pulled his overcoat tightly around him and went out into the frigid air. Darkness would be falling soon, as he had stayed later than normal at the Macons’ townhouse, and he had more errands to run. But he had not gone far down the walk before he spied a familiar figure coming his way.

A maid walked with her, both of them smiling and carrying small parcels wrapped in brown paper. Julia laughed at a comment from the maid, and the sound nearly carried him backward in time, but he resisted the memories and set his shoulders back. He would tip his hat to her and go on his way. Her cousin’s words could not alter his perception and memories of her readily.

But when she saw him, only steps away, she stopped walking and her happiness disappeared. He reached up to the brim of his hat, not slowing his steps.

“Doctor Hastings,” she said, dipping a curtsy where she stood, making it necessary for him to stop and return the bow. “I am glad I did not miss you. Here, Emily, please take these inside. I will be a moment.”

He waited, astounded that she would even wish to be near him, let alone that she had wanted to see him. His heart attempted an abnormal flutter and he took in a deep breath to remind himself to be more sensible. She may wish to talk to him on any number of impersonal topics.

The maid took the packages, bobbed a curtsy, and hurried away.

“What can I do for you, Miss Devon?” he asked, doing his best not to sound too accommodating. He must have failed, for she stepped closer.

“Might we walk as we speak? It is dreadfully cold and standing still makes it worse.” She put her hands in front of her and fidgeted with her gloves, looking from him to the ground.

What could she want with him? He thought, given their conversation in the study, she would avoid him. It would have been easier on him if she had. Now he had to consider her request. What gentleman could possibly deny a lady such a thing as a walk in front of her house? Nathaniel extended his arm to her. She slipped her hand through the crook of it.

She began speaking slowly, each word tinted with her hesitancy. “I will not ask you how the baron does. Virginia will tell me soon. But I feel it is only a matter of time before he is gone. And I am afraid of what will happen after that.” Her conversation surprised him, but it shouldn’t have. The only other time she had been forthcoming since meeting him again was when she spoke of her cousin’s need for help. Her heart was in the right place when it came to the baroness, at least.

“I have been told that matters are well in hand, at least for the provision of her ladyship and the baron’s sons,” he said, wondering why she would not know of the arrangements made to care for her cousin. Really, it was none of his business.

“That was true yesterday.” Julia turned her face fully to him as they walked, a frown marring her loveliness. “But my cousin has cause for concern. You met his lordship’s brother only briefly, but I have spent several days in his company and I must tell you that he does not possess much gentleness.”

Perhaps she did not like him because he was a second son. Of course, according to Lady Heatherton, Julia was ready to embark on a career as a governess. This new information painted a picture of her that was quite the opposite of all he had told himself to believe over the years. Nathaniel shook those conflicting ideas away and focused on her words, deciding it would be best to study it out another time.

“What does he have to do with anything?” he asked, surprised she spoke with him so freely, given their last conversation.

“Mr. Macon has gone to see about having the will changed, claiming his brother is unfit to decide who should be the guardian of his sons and trustee of the estate,” she told him without hesitating, her tone firm and her brows drawn together. “Virginia is beside herself with worry. She already has too much on her mind and in her heart to have that horrid man threaten her in this way.”

“Threaten her?” he asked. He stopped walking and considered the woman at his side carefully, taking in the tilt of her head and the fire in her eyes. “You are in earnest. What has he done? What has he said?”

She shook her head. “It is more what he has implied. I have not spoken to him myself, but to say his brother cannot place Virginia as guardian to her own children has frightened her. Virginia is a good mother. She loves her children, but it is not unheard of for male relatives to receive preference over mothers when courts decide these matters.”

Indeed, it was not. He knew of at least one case where the children had been given to a grandfather to raise, at the protests of a widowed mother, because the old gentleman had the money and connections to take his grandchildren from her. It had been a terrible thing, and Lady Huntington, who had known the family, had spoken of nothing else for weeks. If the brother could make a strong enough case against the baron’s frame of mind, or Lady Heatherton’s unsuitability, he could gain control of the estate and the heirs.

Nathaniel could not, without knowing Mr. Macon, assign to him the nefarious character that Julia believed him to be, based on her concerns.