She was not at all surprised to see three patients waiting for Saint when they returned home. She was surprised, however, and delighted, when Saint asked her to assist him.
28
It was the middle of the afternoon. Patches of sun came through the bedroom windows, unnoticed by either Saint or Jules.
‘That,’ Saint said many minutes later when his heart slowed a bit, ‘should probably be against the law. Debauchery, pure and simple.’ Her muscles tightened at his words, and he groaned, kissing her.
Jules wanted to moan and laugh at the sound of the knock downstairs on the front door. ‘I should be a banker, like Del Saxton,’ he said, slowly and very reluctantly pulling away from her. ‘Given the satisfied smile on Chauncey’s face, I wager they spend many afternoons like this.’ He sighed. ‘I suppose I should count my lucky stars. That knock could have come ten minutes earlier.)
He rose and quickly dressed. ‘You, love, are in no shape to be my assistant this time. just lie there and think about me.’
Before he left the bedroom, he leaned down and kissed her again, his hand gliding over her breasts. ‘You look utterly wanton,’ he said on a strained laugh. He gently touched his fingers to the damp curls, then forced
himself to straighten. ‘Don’t move,’ he told her. ‘Perhaps I’ll be lucky and the patient downstairs only has a cold or a sprained thumb.’
But the patient, a Chinese worker, had been beaten and robbed. Saint was with him for hours.
‘Will he be all right?’ Jules asked him over dinner that evening.
‘It depends, dammit! There might very well be internal damages, something we great doctors know next to nothing about and could do nothing about in any case. If he lives the night, he has a good chance. And no, the men who did this to him weren’t any of Limpin’Willie’s friends. Strangers, his friends told me.’
He was perturbed, and Jules noticed he’d eaten next to nothing. To distract him, she began to talk about the time he’d saved her from a jellyfish when she was thirteen years old. Soon he was laughing, remembering how she’d yelped and how he’d had to straddle her to keep her foot steady.
It was over a cup of Lydia’s delicious coffee that Saint sat back in his chair and said, ‘Byrony is due to deliver in a week or so. I received a brief note from Brent today. Would you like to visit the new town of Wakeville?’
She nodded enthusiastically. ‘Oh yes, I
should love it. I was hoping we’d be going soon. I can’t wait to see what they’ve done.’
Saint nodded, then shrugged with a show of elaborate indifference, saying, ‘We’ll leave first thing in the morning, then, before it’s light.’
Jules wasn’t fooled for a minute. ‘You believe Wilkes has someone watching the house?’
‘I doubt it,’ Saint said, lowering his lashes so she wouldn’t see the gnawing worry in his eyes, ‘but I won’t take any chances.’ He saw that she would protest and said quickly, ‘Jules, I don’t like sneaking about like thieves in the night, but dammit, I won’t take any risks with your safety. Now, I need to make arrangements with Dr. Pickett to take over my patients, and you, my dear, need to write notes to Thomas and your friends. Lydia will continue as if we were here.’ But Saint was thinking to himself. Please show yourself, you vermin bastard! I want to put my hands around your damned neck. I want to destroy you as I would a mad dog.
‘Thackery will accompany us?’Jules asked, pulling him from his violent but very satisfying thoughts.
He nodded. ‘Now, why don’t you pack for us and I’ll be off for a couple of hours.’
It was drizzling before dawn the following
A 7 1
morning, the fog thick and heavy. Ranger Tyson from Hobson’s Stables had provided a carriage and two horses. ‘He still owes me,’ was all Saint said.
Jules felt the chill seep through her thick cloak and moved closer to her husband in the dark carriage. The seats smelled of old leather and tobacco smoke. And, she thought, her nose twitching, the carriage smelled of sex. It was a rather large one, she mentally added to herself, and grinned.