Did he think Grace wouldn’t take her studying seriously? She frowned, just as Penguin’s little black and white form caught the corner of her vision. She made the smallest of sounds and instantly the cat came running toward her. When she glanced back at the doctor, he had an expression of disgust on his face.
Did he not like cats?
“Oh, but you must make yourself available to us once or twice. For introductions, and for, well, your own pleasure of course.”
“I assure you, Miss Arabella, my pleasures are rarely found in the company of ballrooms or theaters.”
“Where can they be found then, Dr. Hall?” Grace asked.
For a moment, no one spoke. Arabella looked expectantly at the good doctor, who seemed irritated by Grace’s question. He was practically glaring at her, although she could have sworn for a moment she saw something in his eyes. Something primitive.
He opened his mouth as if to answer, when Aunt Belle suddenly appeared in the doorway.
“Ah, there you are, Dr. Hall. Come, I believe I’ve been feeling somewhat feverish since my arrival.”
The doctor stood and made his way toward her, as Grace followed.
“Have you? Why didn’t you mention it to me?”
“Because, my dear, as brilliant as you are, Dr. Hall is still a doctor and you are a student.”
Grace didn’t like her answer, but then she really didn’t like the condescending smirk that flashed across Dr. Hall’s face before disappearing.
She took a step forward.
“You still should have told me.”
“And what would you have done for her, Miss Sharpe?” Dr. Hall asked.
“I, I would have checked to see if she was warm and if she was, I would have sent her to rest.”
“Nothing else?”
Grace looked back and forth between her aunt and the doctor before realizing that this was exactly how Dr. Barkley spoke to her when she would visit with him to see patients that were too sick to come into his office for a visit.
Diagnosis was her specialty.
“Yes, and observe her for twenty-four hours.”
“You wouldn’t use Walburg Tincture?”
Grace’s eyes widened. She knew of the secret fever tincture, and had learned about it in one of Dr. Barkley’s letters with the German doctor and she had discussed it with him at length. She really shouldn’t be so surprised that Dr. Hall knew about it, but rarely did she discuss medical knowledge with anyone except for her former mentor.
“No, as Walburg Tincture is really more for tropical fevers. Besides, since Dr. Walburg refuses to disclose what is in his tincture, it’s deemed unreliable here in the United Kingdom and wouldn’t be a viable treatment, especially without having first made a complete list of symptoms the patient would be exhibiting.”
The small jaw muscle twitched again, but this time Grace found that she rather enjoyed it. He was annoyed again, probably having expected her to fail his questioning and she took perverse pleasure in proving him wrong.
Without a word, he turned back to face Aunt Belle.
“When did you first experience feeling warm?”
“Just before we arrived,” she said, her voice oddly pleased. “But as I’ve likely overdone it with traveling and rearranging my study into a bedchamber—”
“I beg your pardon?”
“—why don’t you stay for luncheon? Then we might have a better idea of what the next few months may bring.”
“Ah, while I appreciate the offer—”
