This time undisguised suspicion sharpened the clerk’s eyes, and Wang wondered if he was going to withdraw the deal.
“Men and women’s baths are separate. Highly irregular to have a male servant attending a lady in her bath.”
“It’s a good thing that I am not her servant, then, but her doctor.”
“You are a doctor?”
“Indeed, I am. The countess is infirm. She suffered an accident that rendered her unable to walk. It is my hope that with hydrotherapy, she will regain the use of her legs.”
“Never heard of that. Once a cripple, always a cripple.”
Wang clenched his jaw so hard it ached. The effort needed to prevent himself from issuing a cutting retort was almost unbearable. Apparently, he could tolerate personal insults much better than hearing this weasel man call Esther a cripple.
“It’s a new form of treatment. The Earl of Hartfield himself is a doctor and has used it with some success. Just imagine, if the countess recovers after using your baths, how much more popular they will become.”
As he had expected, the lure of money was an effective antidote to the man’s ignorance.
“Fine then. Tomorrow at seven. You shall enter through the women’s baths. And whether or not the countess needs a maid, there will be a female attendant present the entire time.” That last seemed to be added to discourage any sort of untoward behavior.
Wang smiled. “Thank you.”
With a nod, he departed the establishment. He had sorted out the use of the facilities. If only he could sort his feelings with as much ease.
CHAPTER 3
“Whereareyoutakingme, Mr Wang?”
The countess, sitting across from him in the forward-facing seat of the carriage, peeked nervously through the drawn drapes that covered the windows to protect her privacy. He was gratified she had at least trusted him enough to allow him to carry her out of the house and into the coach. Her maid also accompanied her. The stout woman sat next to her mistress with quiet solicitude.
Night had fallen, but London bustled with activity. Carriages crawled here and there amid the clip-clopping of the horses’ hoofs as the city dwellers prepared for a night of entertainment. The Season was in full swing, and every night there was a ball, musicale, theater performance, or any sort of entertainment one could imagine.
He would have preferred to hold the therapies in the mornings, but this was the only time offered by the bath’s owner.
“I’m taking you to the Roman Baths on The Strand.”
She gasped. “A Roman bath? Aren’t they more like swimming pools? I couldn’t possibly. Besides, I don’t have swimming attire.”
“Are you wearing the garments I provided?”
Even within the shadowy confines of the carriage, her blush was more than evident.
“I am. Although I fail to see…”
“That is your bathing attire.”
Her eyes widened in alarm. “But I couldn’t possibly wear those in your presence. They are scandalous.”
“My lady.” Wang placed her hand on top of hers.
The contact was meant to reassure her, but he instantly had misgivings about the wisdom of touching her. Awareness seemed to radiate from the place they touched. Ridiculous, of course. He would have to touch her a lot more, and he was not a callow youth to be experiencing these uncontrollable urges.
Clearing his throat, he went on. “These garments are made from heavy satin. They will keep you modestly covered but are not as heavy as a fashionable bathing suit. I was afraid those would be too cumbersome, especially when wet.”
She opened her mouth, no doubt to ask more questions or voice more objections, but the carriage slowed to a halt in front of an unassuming door on a street off The Strand. The footman jumped from his perch at the back of the carriage and knocked on the door as instructed. The door immediately opened, and Wang jumped out, then reached in for the countess.
She looked from the door to him, with a frown, and for several heartbeats, hesitated. Was she going to lose her nerve and turn back now? But then her chin lifted, and she gave the briefest of nods, indicating she was ready. He wasted no time placing an arm behind her back and another under her legs. Her arm came around his shoulders with gratifying familiarity, and she leanedtrustingly against his chest when he lifted her out of the carriage and carried her through the dimly lit doorway.
Estherhadneverswum.In fact, she had never been in water deeper than a regular bath, where the water barely reached her chest while lying in it. Therefore, she found it really upsetting to enter what amounted to a small swimming pool in Wang’s arms. This amount of water would completely submerge her if she sat in it. What if she couldn’t stand? It was a terrifying thought.
