“Still in with your mother.”
“I see.” Though from her wrinkled brow it was clear she did not. “Then why are you not with him?”
“It seems Dr. Webb feels that it would be more discreet, more comfortable for your mother, were I absent.”
“I am sure Mother said no such thing.”
“Of course not. It is assumed, I suppose. I gather the examination was of a delicate nature.”
“Delicate?”
Daniel had felt the blood heat his cheeks and silently cursed his tendency to blush.
“Your mother’s ailment is of a ... feminine nature, and being a man ...”
“Dr. Webb is a man.”
“Yes, but I am young.”
“Not so young. I understand his last apprentice was much younger.”
“Be that as it may, I must bow to Dr. Webb’s greater experience.”
“But however are you to gain such experience wandering about my mother’s garden?”
“An excellent question, Miss Lamb. Most perceptive.”
“I can only hope Dr. Webb is not away should I need a physician.”
“Yes, well ...”
“Forgive me. I meant no offense.”
“Of course. I understand.”
Daniel smiled grimly at the memory. Indeed, Charlotte would soon need a physician and Dr. Webb was nowhere near. He pushed through the foundling ward door and walked out into the garden, in time to see Charlotte bend over and begin pulling on a milkweed with great effort.
“Careful there, Miss Lamb. Do not overtax yourself.”
“Dr. Taylor, do please try to remember to call me Miss Smith.”
“I shall try, but we are alone here, so I thought it would be all right. May I ask what you are doing?”
“This garden is overrun with milkweeds, as you can well see. I understand gardening is not a priority in such a place, but—”
“You are quite mistaken, Miss Lamb. This garden is one of my priorities indeed.”
“There is little evidence of that.”
“Ahh ... that is only because you are looking at it with the wrong eyes.”
“Wrong eyes?”
“Yes, the eyes of a formal English gardener who adores box hedges and lilies and other lovely useless things.”
She opened her mouth, but he lifted a hand to ward off her rebuttal.
“Wait until you have heard me out. What do you know of milkweeds, Miss Lamb?”
