‘No, Byrony,’ he said, looking at her tightly closed eyes, ‘please, just relax.’ His knowledgeable hands lightly roved over her belly. ‘That’s better.’ He decided to wait to examine her internally. Best to let her accustom herself to him first. He straightened her nightgown and took her hand. ‘Now, Mrs. Hammond, let’s chat a bit.’
Byrony was in bed by nine o’clock that evening. Saint looked at his wife and decided bed was the best place for her too. He felt a surge of desire for her, and frowned at himself. His hand, though, went around her waist, and she leaned into him, smiling up at him.
‘You know something, Saint?’ Brent asked. Saint turned toward him.
‘Never play poker, my friend. You’d lose.’ Brent chuckled, patted Jules’s arm, and took himself off.
‘What was that all about?’Jules asked. ‘Brent saw the lustful look in my eyes, think. He’s right, I’d never win at poker.’
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‘Would you care to play something else, Dr. Saint?’
‘What a wanton woman you are, Jules,’ he said. ‘I suppose I have no choice?’
‘None at all,’ she said, and dragged him upstairs.
AQO
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The child screamed at the top of his lungs, so loud Jules wanted to clap her hands over her ears. Instead she held the wriggling little boy down while Saint vaccinated him.
‘There,’ Saint said. ‘Stop your caterwaulin’, boy. You’ll live, I promise.’ He patted the boy’s woolly head and helped him up. ‘Now, you’re going to live forever – ‘
‘Yessir,’ the boy gulped. ‘Ma name’s Jonah.’ ‘That chile need a whippin’, Docta,’ the mother said, shaking her head fondly. ‘No guts atall.Yer little missis here is a real sweetie pie, yessir, she shoh is.’
‘Hi, sweetie pie,’ Saint said, kissing her the moment they were alone. ‘I’m about ready to drop, love. How about you?’
‘A nice strong cup of tea would put me to rights, I think,’ Jules sighed. She shook her head. ‘I think I’m temporarily deaf.’
‘Did I ever tell you that Napoleon had all his troops vaccinated if they had not already had smallpox?’
She blinked up at him and he grinned, adding, ‘I’ve done about eighty-five vaccinations today, and not a soul would have known AR1
who Napoleon even was. I had to tell that interesting fact to someone, just to keep my hand in.’
Jules clasped his hand in hers, silently studying the long, blunt-tipped fingers, the sprinkling of chestnut hair.
‘Now, I wonder where you think my hand should be in next?’
She kissed each finger. ‘This is a start,’ she said. ‘Now, you need to tell me how you managed to get enough supplies to vaccinate all the children.’
‘A mistake _’ Jules, a simple mistake, at least that’s what Sam Pickett told me. Some government fellow showed up at the hospital wanting to get rid of cases of what he believed were useless medical supplies. Needless to say, Sam nearly did a jig for joy, kept a straight face, and called me. And here we are and all the children are now protected, thank the Lord.’
‘You’re a perfect man, you know that?’ ‘That’s what my mother told me,’ Saint said, ‘but it was a number of years ago.’
He stopped a moment, and straightened her bonnet. ‘The sun is strong, love. I do love that one freckle on your nose, but I don’t know as I’d like to see more of the little fellows.’
She poked him in his ribs, laughing. ‘You JR9
know that isn’t a freckle on my nose – it’s a liver spot.’
‘I’ve aged you so quickly, hmm? I think I’d best do a thorough examination. If you have any more of these liver spots, I’ll just have to do something about it.’
‘What?’ Jules asked, taking a skipping step to keep pace with her husband.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear. ‘Michael!’
Jameson Wilkes stared at her from his post in the narrow alley. He was dressed roughly, a felt hat pulled low over his forehead. The scratchy wool pants increased his anger at Saint Morris. He hated having to appear like one of the black beggars in Brent Hammond’s town.