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“Yes,” Nick answered. “It appears he is obsessed with this and controls the adult Dr. Stevens as much as he did the child.”
Edwin shook his head. The man Rayne thought was a loving, caring father was really a monster. He wanted an empty life for his daughter just
because he wanted her to follow in his footsteps.
“Do you know where Faulkner-Jones is now?” he asked.
Carter looked over at Nick who handed him another paper. “This is his direction. He rarely leaves, which is no surprise, so I am sure you will find him there.”
Edwin was overwhelmed. These men did not have to help him. In fact, Carter had once slammed his fist into his face and midsection because of how he’d acted toward the former Lottie Danvers—now his wife.
Almost as if he read his mind, Carter said, “I can’t say all is forgiven for what you did to upset Lottie, but she and her other friends asked us to help you because they love Dr. Stevens. As long as you stay on this path and don’t go back to the dissolute you’ve been for the past few years, we can accept you into our group.”
Nick added, “We’ve all made mistakes and made fools of ourselves. But we stick together. It’s a tough world out there and we need friends to have our backs.”
Edwin had never been so humbled in his life. These men had virtually saved his life. He now had the information to chase Faulkner-Jones out of England and Rayne’s life, and move on with his plans to marry her.
“I don’t know how to thank you. But know that if there is anything at all I can do to return the favor, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“We won’t,” Nick said with a grin. “That’s what it’s all about.”
* * *
Rayne came awake abruptly as Walter shook her shoulder. “Dr. Stevens, there are four women in the drawing room waiting for you.”
To say she was discombobulated was an understatement. She barely knew where she was and what day it was. She’d fallen asleep on her desk, her now very stiff arms supporting her head. She had no idea how long she’d slept in that position, but based on the pain in her arms, it had been a while.
Father.
“Have you checked on my father, Walter?” Goodness, her voice sounded as if she’d swallowed a frog.
“Yes, Doctor. He’s the same. Sleeping soundly.”
She rose and stretched the muscles in her lower back and rotated her neck to get the kinks out. “Thank you.”
She decided to take a quick trip upstairs by the back staircase and run a brush through her hair and rinse out her mouth. She checked the timepiece pinned to her blouse. Two o’clock. Since the sun was out, she assumed it was in the afternoon. Time and days were all mixed up in her mind since Father had collapsed in the middle of their argument about Mr. Faulkner-Jones.
She still felt dreadful about that. Not only had she never defied her father before, she knew her obstinance had been the cause of his heart attack. His doctor waved off that theory when he had visited him and told her it was only a matter of time before it happened because he’d spent too many years working too hard, not getting enough sleep, and not eating right. His mind and entire life had been dedicated to his medicine.
As much as she tried to push the thought from her mind, she couldn’t help but think if she did what Father wanted, and married Mr. Faulkner-Jones so she could remain tied to her medical practice, with no other life for herself, she would end up like him. Lying in an infirmary clinging to life with no family surrounding her.
Mary Beth and Natalie had both sworn once they married that they would have little to do with Father. He hadn’t been cruel to them, but completely oblivious to their existence. Rayne had always been the only child he acknowledged, and that was because he wanted her to be the son he’d never had.
Rayne had sent a note to her sisters when Father first collapsed and had yet to hear back from either one of them. She sighed. He might have been a wonderful doctor, but he was not a success as a father.
Yet I’m willing to throw away a chance for a lifetime of love and happiness to appease the man who had no use for his two older daughters and only showered his attention on me because of my affinity for medicine.
She quickly pushed that treasonous thought from her mind and hurried downstairs to greet her guests.
“How lovely of you all to come visit me.” She smiled brightly at the four women who had embraced her as a friend.
Addie stood and put her arm around her. “You know we all love you, but I must say, Rayne, you look awful.”
It was probably the truth with her lack of sleep the last few days, so she tried very hard not to feel annoyed at the comment. “I haven’t had much sleep recently.”
Addie and Rayne both sat.
“I see you managed to get Mrs. Foster to send in tea.” Rayne eyed the tea cart with a teapot, cups and saucers and an array of sandwiches and biscuits.
