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After tugging her cuffs into place, she smoothed a few errant curls behind her ears. “Do I look respectable?”
“Neat as a pin. The guid doctor will never suspect ye were sneakin’ about Old Town only a few hours ago, up to yer ankles in muck and corruption.”
“Let’s hope not. Please bring some fresh hot water and towels to Donny’s room. Oh, and where is Felicity?”
The last thing they needed was her sister-in-law stumbling into the middle of this.
“Upstairs. Hercules somehow cut his wee paw, so I told the lass to keep him in bed with her. I’ll bring her some breakfast as soon as I fetch the water and towels.”
Samantha pressed fingers to the lurking headache behind her right temple. “An injured cat. Just what we need at the moment.”
“At least it’ll keep the lass up in her room.”
“All right, I’ll fetch Dr. Kendrick and join you.”
With a brisk nod, the housekeeper disappeared down the stairs.
Samantha suddenly became aware of her thudding heartbeat. She was about to put herself and the entire safety of their household in the hands of a man she barely knew. The fact that something inside her instinctively trusted Kendrick didn’t make her feel any better. She couldn’t afford to trustanyone, not even handsome doctors whose jade-green eyes seemed to see right through to the heart of who she was.
Romantic nonsense, old girl.
Kendrick was just an ordinary man, and couldn’t see through to anything. It was one thing to be careful, it was another to be paranoid.
She opened the door and calmly walked into the room. Kendrick, dressed for riding, stood in the window. The clear morning light flowed around him and did a splendid job of showcasing his broad shoulders and his long, muscular legs, garbed in breeches and tall boots.
As he turned around, a smile lit up his features.
And very handsome features they are, too.
Ignoring the part of her brain addled by fatigue, Samantha came forward with an outstretched hand.
“Good morning, Dr. Kendrick. Please accept my apology for calling you out so early.”
He bowed over her hand. “Actually, your timing was perfect, since I was about to set out for an early morning ride. I usually take one first thing before the traffic builds.”
“And I pulled you away from that. I’m so sorry.”
He kept hold of her hand, his sharp gaze darting over her. “No need to apologize. And how areyoufeeling this morning, my lady?”
Drat.
She mustered up a smile, hoping it didn’t look as ghastly as she felt. From the uptick of his eyebrows, she’d obviously failed to impress.
“I’m perfectly fine.” She gently tugged her hand away. “As I mentioned in my note, one of my servants suffered an injury. I’m terribly afraid that he’s broken his ankle.”
Anxiety shook her like a rattle. When she was a young girl, one of their neighbors had taken a tumble from his horse and broken his ankle. It had healed badly, and the poor man had forever been crippled by the injury.
If that were to happen to Donny, she would never forgive herself.
“And when did this happen?” Kendrick asked.
“Sometime in the early hours of the morning.” She adopted an exasperated expression. “The foolish man didn’t wish to bother anyone, so he waited until the kitchen maid was up before calling for help.”
“Then let’s get to it. If it is broken, then the sooner it’s set, the better.”
“If you’ll follow me.”
Kendrick retrieved his satchel, which he’d set by the door, and followed her out. “What is your servant’s name?”
