When the two had walked on, the blond man turned back to Anne and gave her a terse nod. “Again, my apologies, madam.”
He stepped around her and walked briskly away. She watched him go. At the corner he glanced back, and then his pace quickened anew as he disappeared from view.
Curiosity flickered at his reaction. Who was the man and what was he up to?
Anne returned to Yew Cottage in time to stow her outdoor things and help set the table before the first of their two guests arrived. She recognized Dr. Marsland, a broad, dark-haired man with a confident bearing, from his visits to her grandparents during their final months. He appeared to be in his mid-forties, near in age to Charlotte Newland.
He handed his hat to Dinah, who laid it on the hall table before scurrying back into the kitchen.
“Anne, do you remember my friend Dr. Richard Marsland?” Lotty asked. “Dr. Marsland, Miss Anne Loveday.”
“Can it be little Anne Loveday?” He regarded her in apparent wonder.
Lotty leaned close to him and said, “Told you she’d grown up.”
“Indeed she has. As I recall, your grandfather summoned me when you fell trying to walk across a sluice gate. Though that was many years ago now.”
“That’s right! I am surprised you remember, with all the patients you attend. Well, a pleasure to see you again.”
He looked past them into the parlour. “No sign of Finch?”
“Not yet,” Miss Lotty replied, unconcerned. “I’m sure he’ll be along any minute now.”
The doctor frowned. “That young man does not know how to make a good impression.”
“It’s all right, Richard, truly.” Miss Charlotte gave his arm a consoling pat. “Now, come and sit.”
Christiannames and touching?Anne thought with surprise. Her hostess clearly admired this man. Anne had always thought Charlotte Newland remained single by choice. Had she been wrong? Perhaps her mother’s old friend would not be a spinster forever.
A knock sounded.
“There, you see?” Miss Lotty said. “That’s him now, no doubt.”
Dinah hurried past and answered the door again. A few moments later, a tall, blond man of about thirty entered, hat in hand.
“Dinah, his hat!” Lotty hissed.
“That’s all right,” the man replied easily, laying it next to Dr. Marsland’s. “I’ll just set it here, shall I?” His gaze landed on Anne, and his easy smile fell. “Oh...”
It was the same man again, without parcel or toy rabbit this time.
He turned to their hostess. “Am I late? Pray forgive me.”
“Not at all. You—”
“You are,” Dr. Marsland said flatly. “Really, Ernest, you must endeavor to be punctual. Unless of course, a patient emergency delayed your arrival?”
The younger man’s brown eyes shifted to Anne and away once more. “Em, no. Again, I do apologize.”
“Never mind. I am just glad you are here,” Lotty assured him, and then performed the introductions. “Anne, I’d like you to meet Painswick’s new physician, Dr. Ernest Finch. Dr. Finch, please meet my friend Miss Anne Loveday.”
For a moment he looked at her, lips parted as though to say something, perhaps to acknowledge their former encounters. Instead, he abruptly bowed. “Miss.”
Anne curtsied. “A pleasure to meet you, Dr. Finch.”
His Adam’s apple rose and fell beneath his cravat. He pivoted again to their hostess. “And how fares your ankle, Miss Newland?”
“Come, you must call me Miss Lotty. Most everyone does.”
