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“That’s what doctors are paid to do. Worry about our patients.”
“I’m not one of your patients,” she corrected.
“No, but you’re John’s patient, and I cover for him when he’s away. He’d take me out behind the woodshed if I failed to take care of one of his favorite patients. Ergo, you are my worry.”
She had to smile at the ridiculous image. “You are an incredibly stubborn man, sir. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“Frequently.”
“Well, there’s no need to be stubborn on my account,” she said, handing him a cup. “I will admit to feeling pulled about the edges these days, but it’s nothing that a good night’s sleep won’t fix.”
“John has mentioned that you carry a great deal of responsibility at the foundation.”
“I do, but the work is important. It’s also what my husband would have wished me to do,” she quietly added.
Kendrick’s gaze warmed with understanding and sympathy. At least she hoped it was sympathy and not pity. She’d had more than enough pity to last a lifetime.
“I’m sure your husband would be very proud of you.”
Her throat went tight. “I hope so.”
“From what I’ve heard, I suspect your husband would not wish you to wear yourself to the bone, either.”
Roger certainly wouldn’t want me hunting killers in Old Town.
Samantha ignored that massively inconvenient thought. Too bad she couldn’t ignore nosy Dr. Kendrick.
Do you really want to ignore him?
Another massively inconvenient thought.
“What my husband would wish is my determination to make,” she brusquely said. “Now, how can I be of service to you?”
He smiled, clearly impervious to snubs. “The opposite, actually. I was wondering how I might be of assistance toyou.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“John mentioned before he left town yesterday that another boy has disappeared from the orphanage. He was dismayed that his trip would leave you without any support in that matter and wished me to follow up with you. I had planned on sending round a note to you later today.”
Yes, another boy had gone missing, and it was incredibly distressing.
Also distressing was the fact that John remained convinced that she was searching for the missing children, and that she would step up those efforts in light of this new disappearance. He was right on both counts, of course. Why else would he put Kendrick on her trail?
Her heart suddenly seized at the thought that John might have revealed his suspicions about her to Kendrick. Would John truly betray her in that way?
She carefully chose her words. “Yes, the situation is most upsetting. What else did John tell you?”
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “According to John, none of the disappearances make sense. They were all biddable lads who seemed happy.”
She breathed out a shaky sigh of relief that John had not betrayed her. “He’s correct. I know those boys, and they were perfectly content. It beggars belief that they would wish to return to their former lives.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“It’s hard to give a specific date. There were a few who disappeared in the months before my husband died. He was beginning to feel concerned but only mentioned it to me a few times. That was before I sat on the board, so I wasn’t privy to many details.”
Kendrick looked startled. “It was that far back, and yet no one on the board besides you and John is concerned about it?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Hard to believe, isn’t it? With the exception of Arthur Baines, they’re as hardheaded and old-fashioned as one can imagine. They are very much of the spare the rod and spoil the child mentality.”
