“I’d better see him now,” Daniel said. He needed to tell his father to get as far from this place as possible. Best to leave London entirely. “Impress upon our new recruit the importance of setting up the trays properly, please.”
Jeffers nodded, but before Daniel could quit the room, Jeffers stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Dr. Gibson?”
Daniel waited with raised brows, inwardly wincing. Usually, he wasn’t this curt. Jeffers deserved better treatment, but Daniel had been brisk with everyone lately.
“You should know there’s a lady with him,” Jeffers said in an undertone. “She looks fierce.”
His mother would never set foot in a hospital. That left only… Daniel manufactured a ghost of a smile. “I know who she is. Thanks for the warning.”
“Would you like me to ask for you in a few minutes?” Jeffers mimed panic. “‘Mr. Hamilton’s stitches have ruptured, Doctor. Come at once!’”
Halfway through an automatic headshake, Daniel reconsidered. “Only if you hear things breaking.”
Though he knew who awaited him, it was still a jolt seeing his father and Aunt Wilcox ensconced in the shabby armchair and the chair behind the desk. His aunt sat imperiously in his place, riffling through a few of the papers left on the desk.
“This is a surprise,” he said before either could speak. “I’mafraid I haven’t much time to spare.” He folded his arms to keep from fidgeting. “And it’s not safe for you to be here.”
“We’ve come to see if you’ve any sense left in your head whatsoever,” his aunt scolded as she held up an envelope to read the return address. “Last week it was only in one paper, but today it’s in all of them.”
“Do you mean the cholera?” They’d lost him entirely and they hadn’t even begun.
Aunt Wilcox slammed a newspaper onto the desk and slid it toward him. “Your wife. Praise the Lord, Dr. Adams didn’t mention names, but it hardly takes a detective…”
Daniel lifted the paper, Aunt’s words blurring as he scanned the headlines.
Royal College of Physicians Warns the Public of Those Spreading Death
His eyes flew through the words, collecting dread like his fingers collected the newsprint ink.
“This is that story Harry told me about. The woman dead from a shamster midwife. That’s nothing to do with Nora,” he said as he neared the middle of the article. Aunt snatched it and pointed to the next column.
“Well, I was interested in the mention of acertain unconventionaldoctor withforeigncredentials who refused to sign a petition seeking to disallow meddling midwives. The mysterious doctor even argues these women should be trained and used more extensively.” Aunt arched her eyebrows. “What is this, Daniel? Are you a glutton for scandal?”
He looked to his father for help, but worry rested so heavily on his brow there was no place left for sympathy.
“I don’t know anything about this midwife case,” Daniel admitted with an expression both innocent and cautious.
“A mother and child died in a ghastly manner. But what’s just as alarming is the news that your wife seems to be positioning herself opposite the entire Royal College once again.”
Daniel schooled the muscles in his cheeks. He’d love to tell her she was wrong, but he couldn’t.
Aunt Wilcox huffed, not appreciating his silence. “What a pair you are.” She pursed her lips. “I offered her a respected position. A place she could continue her work in more acceptable ways and be a benefit to society. She turned me down, Daniel.”
Her voice rose in disbelief, and Daniel nearly shuddered, imagining what she’d say if she knew their secret—that Nora was still performing surgeries while two months along.
“There is a time for a man to put his foot down,” Aunt Wilcox said with cold finality. “I noticed you had the sense to sign the petition. Why don’t you demand she do the same?”
She’d clearly missed her calling as an army general; she dropped commands as effortlessly as handkerchiefs. “Dr. Adams has volunteered to treat our women prisoners several times. I can’t be connected to this controversy. It could affect donations to the Ladies’ Reformation Society.”
“As I said, I didn’t even hear about this case—” Daniel started.
“Now you have,” Aunt interrupted. “Tell your wife to accept my offer. It will put her on a path that will draw her away fromthe unpleasantness of surgery. She can work as a philanthropist instead. Still using her prodigious intellect, of course.”
“My wife has a name,” he said through closed teeth. “It’s Nora, as you well know.”
“Daniel!” His father threw off his stony quiet and rose with a scowl.
Daniel held up a hand. “Forgive me. You caught me in the middle of some important preparations. It’s hard to disengage my attention from the surgery ahead of me, and for the sake of my patient, I think it’s best not to try. My patient’s life depends on my clear head.”
