AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Not one to let things rest when he wanted something, once he’d finished his breakfast he called for his carriage and directed the driver to the infirmary. He hated the nervousness that he was continuously forced to push to the back of his mind as they made their way through the traffic.
The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that he wanted Rayne for his wife. Did he deserve her? No. Did that make a difference in his plan to pursue her? No. Not one whit of a difference.
He’d been miserable and doing everything in his power to destroy his life since Lydia’s death. When he opened his eyes in the infirmary and looked at Rayne for the first time, something moved inside him, as much as he hated to admit it at the time.
And those feelings grew over the time they’d spent together. He didn’t even miss his brandy, friends, and the debauched lifestyle he’d been engaging in. It was time to move on, and he would do his best to make sure Dr. Rayne Stevens was alongside him for the journey.
He nodded to Walter who opened the door for him. “Is Dr. Stevens about?”
“Yes, sir. She is in her office.”
Edwin nodded and limped his way to the office. Although his leg seemed better each day, as long as there remained a cast on his leg, he needed the cane for balance.
“Good morning.” He studied her carefully as he made his way to the desk.
“Good morning,” she answered. Then folded her hands on the desk and stared at him. “You are here early, today.”
“Yes. I might vacillate and say the reason is so I can get an early start on your weekly bills, but you would know it for a lie.” He shifted in his seat. “How did your meeting with your father and Mr. Faulkner-Jones go?”
Rayne leaned back in the chair and tapped the desk with the end of a pencil. “Not well, I’m afraid.”
He tried to tell himself the sinking feeling in his stomach was unnecessary since she did not seem happy with the outcome, which meant…
“What does that mean?”
“Father refused to listen to my reasons for not wanting to marry Mr. Faulkner-Jones.”
Edwin leaned forward. “I don’t understand. You are a grown woman. A doctor running your own business. Why would you allow your father to bully you into something so important?”
A sudden thought almost brought him to his knees. He licked his suddenly dry lips. “Unless you’ve decided you want to marry this man?”
“No.” She sighed. “I don’t know what to say.” She turned to stare out the window at the drizzling rain casting even more of a gloom over him. “Mr. Faulkner-Jones wanted the wedding in two weeks. I managed to put it off an additional week.”
“Why put it off, Rayne? Why not just step up and say, ‘no’?”
She turned back to him and he was stunned to see tears standing in her eyes. “You don’t understand. My father has been a major influence in my life forever. I was his third daughter and he was disappointed and disgusted that my mother had the audacity to present him with another girl.
“I wouldn’t exactly say he treated me like a son—I didn’t wear pants or have a short haircut, but he did treat me differently than my sisters. While they were allowed to buy fancy ribbons and new frocks, spend time doing watercolors and embroidery, and other feminine pursuits, I was told my brain was far more important than my body, and I should just concentrate on my studies if I wanted to be admitted to a medical training program.”
“And your mother permitted this?” He was disconcerted at the manipulation her father had done to her. Even more amazing was that she hadn’t rebelled.
She offered him a sad smile. “My mother passed away shortly after my birth.”
So that answered the question as to how her father got away with what he’d done to Rayne.
“He even named me Rayne because he said that name could be considered either a girl or boy, and it would help me get past the application stalwarts who would never admit a woman to the medical program.”
Even though he’d never met the man, Edwin already detested the elder Dr. Stevens. It was one thing to encourage a child to embrace a parent’s profession, but the fervor he had exhibited, and the planning apparently from her birth, bordered on the obsessive and almost fanatical side.
“It sounds like what you are telling me is you have never stood up to your father?”
“That would be correct. I have never done anything he forbade me to do, or not do something he ordered me to do.”
“My God, Rayne. You’re his puppet! This is incredible.” He shook his head, feeling totally helpless as a few tears escaped and slid down her cheeks.
Rayne drew in a shuddering breath. “You can see why it’s not an easy thing to simply say ‘no’ to my father.”
“I understand. However, you must take a stand one day. I want very much to marry you. I’ve gone from thinking it might be a good idea to not wanting to spend the rest of my life without you. After what you’ve told me, I believe you need me as much as I need you.”
