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“Sir Grisham assured me—”
“Sir Grisham is”—I bit my lip to calm myself—“very much mistaken on his course of treatment. You are quite fortunate to have survived. But as you can see, your body nearly fell victim to them last night. You took his tonic again?”
“Yes.” He frowned, and once more, I had to remind myself that he was the victim of a poor physician and not deserving of my temper. “I was feeling rather ill again, and Sir Grisham told me that should it happen while I was not in his care or able to call upon him, I should light a pipe but not smoke and inhale the aroma as I drank his tonic.”
He might as well have told him to cast a spell while he was at it.
“My lord, you do not know me well, and I cannot guarantee you will be cured of all ailments, but I can assure you that my treatments will do you better and will not require bloodletting or leeches, nor will I have you perform whatever other rituals Sir Grisham prescribed.”
He looked me over, his eyebrow arched. “Should one as young as you be so confident in your own abilities? You should have some humility and deference toward your elders. I am not as easily swayed as the newer faces of the ton. Sir Grisham is quite renowned and has been dedicated to—”
“Have you noticed you have stopped coughing, sir?” I interrupted to ask.
He paused, his eyes widening as he just realized. He placed his hand on his neck and took a deep breath, once, then twice, and then once again. “What in heavens have you done?”
“Allow me to treat you for a period of time, and if you do not feel better, you may continue with Sir Grisham’s practices.”
Again, he rubbed his neck before nodding. “Very well. I shall try your methods, but you are not to speak a word to Lord Monthermer. I am already greatly indebted to that family, and I do not wish to be any further burden.”
“Very well. Though it did not seem as if Lord Monthermer or his wife believed you to be a burden.”
“Of course not. They are too good people to think so, which only succeeds in making me feel worse for…” He paused as if he only just realized he was speaking so personally.
“Nothing you say of your health and well-being shall be shared with anyone,” I replied, but he still was a bit stiff and unconvinced. “As a bastard, I am a child of discretion, after all.”
He chuckled. “If that were the case, no one would know of your parentage.”
“If that weren’t the case, I could have caused far greater havoc too, for which I would be infamous. And yet all of the ton is probing stalwartly for more specifics of my background.”
“So, you are aware.”
“Always. This is why I assure you that, as my patient, I value your privacy.”
This time, he smiled and nodded. “I am starting to see what Charles meant about you.”
I did not know what he meant by that, but the guilt returned as I thought of the trust I breached during my time with Verity. I ignored the feeling, since the carriage had come to a stop outside his home, ending any further conversation on the subject.
I spent another two hours at his home before I finally felt comfortable enough to return to my own. I usually would not have taken his carriage but since I had arrived at the Du Bell estate with Henry and not my own horse, I had no other option. I could have walked, but I felt far too exhausted to exert myself further. However, I immediately regretted my decision upon arriving at the Crown Inn and seeing the looks of everyone outside as I stepped out of a lord’s private carriage.
“Well, tare an’ hounds! Now, who be this well-inlaid gent at my door?” was the first thing the innkeeper exclaimed, with a broad crooked smile, as I entered. “Movin’ up in the world, are we, Dr. Darrington? I have been hearing your name more than any trollop, gull-groper, or bounder of late.”
“Good afternoon to you too, Mrs. Howard,” I said politely. “Is there any mail for me?”
“In your room already, milord,” she teased as she curtsied low for me.
“Leave the man alone, you old hag, before he finds finer establishments to rest his dainty doctor head,” her husband called out from behind her, causing a few others to laugh.
“I shall remember that, Mr. Howard, should you need any further care for that rash,” I said loudly despite having never treated him for such an ailment. However, it thoroughly got his wife’s attention.
“What is he talking about?”
I quickly made my escape, going up the stairs two by two. Only when I was in my small room did I finally allow myself to breathe. I then fell onto the bed. My mind was a mess—one part thinking of medicine, another part thinking of her, and the last part thinking about my life.
