“Oh, Archie! More of Wedgwood’s Moonlight Lustre! You spoil me!” She caressed the bone china lid.
“Sent all the way from Staffordshire,” Dr Felix said quietly, watching his wife dab at tears in her eyes.
Alwyn thought the smears of mauve and gold in the dish’s finish looked like a gaudy watercolour, but his heart was warmed at Mrs Felix’s obvious fondness for the piece, and by the doctor’s thoughtfulness in giving it to her.
What might I present to Miss Everson to make her this happy?
“That is not all, my Aggie.” Felix cleared his throat. “For day after tomorrow, we’re off to Yorkshire for a visit, long delayed.”
Mrs Felix froze, staring silently at her husband. Then she began to weep in earnest. Moving to her, Felix took the basin’s lid out of her hand and set it gently down, then enfolded her in his arms.
Feeling very much like an intruder on the intimate moment, Alwyn quietly rose from his seat, intending to slip out of the door.
“Not so fast, dear boy,” Felix murmured.
“It’s been so long since I saw the Dales,” Aggie said wetly.
“Well, as I have a reliable man to stand in my stead, you shall see them again, and me there, right beside you.” The doctor looked at Alwyn. “I’ll need you to oversee the practice while we are away.”
The gravity of this honour hit Alwyn at once. As did its poor timing.
He can’t have forgot that I’m soon to sit for my examination.
As if reading his mind, the doctor said, “My patient roster is the shortest it’s been in years, so you’ll still have time to study and attend lectures.”
But what about riding out to Trippingham to see Miss Everson?Alwyn thought as Felix continued.
“When you go before the Court of Examiners next month, you can tell them that your master surgeon entrusted his practice to you for a few weeks’ time. Then their estimation of you will soar, especially as they will know thatDr Archibald Felixis your mentor,” he added playfully.
Smiling vaguely at the jest, Alwyn knew he could not refuse – Dr Felix had done so much for him. He nodded. “It would be a privilege, sir.”
“Good lad. I thank you. You’ll need to record each visit in the log on my desk, and drop the fees collected into the strongbox there. Here’s the roster and a key to the house. You are, of course, acquainted with all of the patients already.”
As Alwyn reached for the items, he recalled something. “Oh! I must tell you that I need to make a brief trip home at month’s end. I’ve long been expected and cannot put it off.”
“Very well. A few days’ absence will do no harm.”
Alwyn tucked the key into his pocket and repeated his thanks for dinner. Still overwhelmed, Mrs Felix merely fluttered her hand in farewell. He retrieved his coat and let himself out. Breathing in the summer’s evening air, he started down Harley Street. He knew Felix approved of him, but this new proof indicated something much more.
And when Miss Everson’s family hears of it, they’ll know I’m no fraud in spite of anything else they may learn about me.
Two Vastly Different Rôles
I MAY VERY well wear a groove in these cobbles.Belinda looked down with displeasure at the stones beneath her feet.
Out in front of the milliner’s shop was the best place to see anyone who was arriving in Trippingham via the road from London. This was the third time in nearly a fortnight that Lindy had situated herself there.
As she was pretending to admire the collection of cottage bonnets in the window, there was a scrape of footsteps behind her. Turning, she smiled acknowledgment at the Leighton sisters as they headed towards the shop’s door. The eldest looked as if she might pause for a bit of friendly natter, but the younger narrowed her eyes and pulled her sister inside without saying a word. Even though subtle shunnings like these happened often to Lindy, each one panged her anew.
The Everson Family was regarded asdifferentamongst the residents of Trippingham, primarily because of Belinda’s aunt, Rose Caspar. In her youth, Rose had been an actress on the London stage when she caught the eye of a very wealthy man. By marrying George Caspar, she had the means to elevate her family from their hardscrabble existence. When Belinda’s parents had wanted to marry, Rose had helped them find a cottage there in Trippingham where they might raise a family far from the dirty commotion of Spitalfields. But the Caspars’ generosity had not ended there.
Fond of her nieces and nephews, Rose had them to Whitehall, the Caspars’ home in Bevelshire, for weeks at a time. There, she had taught Lindy to read, and ensured her inquisitive niece had access to any book or periodical that might interest her. Through these means, Belinda had acquired a respectable understanding of world history, and was able to stay abreast of advancements in both art and science.
As the Eversons always looked hale and happy when returning to Trippingham, their neighbours assumed they had been cosseted alongside their wealthy cousins, as if they too were part of thebeau-monde.
Belinda herself was not immune to this line of reason, feeling that she had been cast in two different rôles since childhood: the refined, lady-like Belinda of Whitehall, and the artless, prosy Lindy of Trippingham. Though she played both parts well, she was not truly comfortable in either.
When she was sixteen, a young attorney, newly established on Trippingham’s high street, had started to show her especial regard. She had received his attentions readily, pleased that he had disregarded any rumours he may have heard about her. However, when she next came home from Whitehall wearing a velvet spencer and new boots, his visits suddenly came to an end. There were whispers that he had declared her spoiled, saying she would probably expect a new wardrobe at the start of every season. This stung deeply as Belinda was exceedingly grateful for everything that her aunt and uncle thought to give or do for her, never thinking she was owed any of it.
