“Very good.”
The glass shook in Amelia’s hand, and so did her legs when Colin’s gaze darted from the doctor to her, then back again. She knew that look. The slight lift of one side of his mouth. The rubbing of his thumb along the length of his jaw. He was scheming—a trait he’d perfected in the many years of dealing with their father.
“Then it is my greatest wish, Mr. Lambert, that you escort my sister to Mr. Peckwood’s presentation.”
Graham strode from the Balfours’ town house, feet pounding the pavement harder than necessary. Must Peckwood always commandeer the gig? But just as well. He needed air. Space. A chance to sort through the snarl of questions that’d coiled like snakes in a basket ever since Balfour had insisted he accompany his sister to tomorrow’s event. The man was more than amenable to the idea of him pursuing her. He’d made that abundantly clear. But why had she agreed to allow him to escort her? As her brother had intimated, did she truly return his hidden affections? Though whether she did or not, how was he to keep Amelia at arm’s length when everything in him cried out to draw her close and kiss those full lips of hers?
Amelia?
He kicked a rock. Wind and sea! Since when had he started thinking of the woman by her Christian name? A disgusted sigh huffed out of him. Just one more question with which to contend.
The stench of Redcliffe punched him in the nose as he turned onto Mrs. Bap’s street, but it was the wide-eyed, red-faced young lady barreling towards him that really turned his gut.
Emma, Mrs. Bap’s granddaughter, skittered to a stop in front of him, fear twisting her lips. “Mr. Lambert!”
He caught her by the shoulders. “Is your grandmother—?”
“Nay, sir! Oh, come quick.” She snatched his hand and whirled away, tugging him forward. “He’s right bad, he is.”
“Who?”
“Ratter.”
Emma led him past Mrs. Bap’s hovel to the neighbouring door, where a hair-raising howl pealed out. Graham pulled free of Emma’s grip and dashed inside, then immediately covered his nose with his sleeve. The place reeked of garlic and burned hair. “What’s happened?”
A man stumbled about, bent double, crashing into walls and bumping against a table, all while cradling his head and yowling like a banshee.
Emma’s footsteps stopped behind his. “Dunno what happened, sir. Gran and I heard a big boom, and ol’ Ratter’s been bawling like a stuck calf ever since.”
With a quick sidestep, Graham blocked the man on his next pass around the room. “Mr. Ratter? I’m a doctor. I’m here to help.”
“T’aint no mister,” Emma instructed at his back. “Heisthe ratter.”
On one side of his head, greasy grey hair hung in strings, waving back and forth like seaweed. The other was singed in patches to the scalp. He swayed on his feet. “Pain! Bloody awful. Can’t bear it.”
“Let’s have a look and see what may be done.”
No chair graced the room, just shards of pottery strewn everywhere and an overturned three-legged stool near a glowing red hearth. “Fetch the stool, Emma.”
The girl did so right away. Graham set down his bag then guided Ratter to the seat. He dropped to his knees and vainly tried to pry the man’s arms from his head. “I cannot help you, sir, if you do not allow me to examine what ails you.”
A great shudder shook through the man. Sweet heavens! Whatever had happened to Ratter’s face was not going to be pretty. Graham braced himself and forced the fellow’s arms down to his side.
Then hissed in a breath through his teeth.
God, have mercy.
The skin was burned away on one cheek, exposing a portion of raw muscle. And then it made sense. The smell. The broken clay crucible. What sort of rat poison had the man been concocting when it exploded?
“What is it?” Emma’s voice curled over his shoulder.
Graham shot to his feet and wheeled about, blocking her view. Digging in his pocket, he pulled out a coin then tossed it to her. “Go fetch a carriage. Make haste.”
“But—”
“Now!”
She flinched, but obeyed. Though he hated to be the cause of such a reaction, he had no choice. The girl would never recover from such a gruesome image of ruined flesh and bone. And unless he acted fast, Ratter might not either.
