His mouth worked, but no words came out.
“Thirty seconds.”
“Now see, here,” Shine finally began. “It wasn’t my idea. I merely provided a service.”
Teddy cocked his head. “A service? That’s an interesting way to phrase it. For whom?”
“Your cousin, Jonathan Arlington. He sought me out.”
“Did he indeed?”
“Indeed, sir.” The doctor seemed to have recovered a measure of his aplomb. No doubt, the fact Teddy had not actually added any of the noxious herbal mixture to the man’s brandy helped.
Shine went on. “Initially, he requested my advice in treating your unusual case. His main concern was for discretion, as per the earl’s request.”
Teddy grunted in acknowledgment.
“But, soon thereafter he requested something else entirely. He asked that I prepare a tonic for you, one that might render you…er…more malleable to suggestion.”
“Among other things,” Teddy added, with a feral smile for the doctor. “And you willingly obliged his request to drug the Viscount of Helmsley, and future Earl of Ainsworth?”
Shine flushed. “He was very convincing.”
“Oh?”
“After completing my apprenticeship in York, I received my license to practice from the Archbishop of York—all aboveboard, I assure you. But your cousin threatened to bring charges of fraud to the Royal College of Physicians in London. Well, I don’t mind telling you, as anew practitioner, a whisper of such a claim would ruin me.”
“I see. On the other hand, a large influx of cash would help establish your practice.”
The doctor sniffed. “He was quite generous, and I thought, what would be the harm? A low dose of henbane would cause little more than extreme fatigue. Added rest is, in fact, quite healthful.
“But then, he asked that I increase the dose. When I balked, he threatened to expose me for prescribing it in the first place. Surely you see my dilemma?”
Teddy sent him a flat stare.
“I did warn him that the herbal, given in sufficient quantities, could prove lethal. My lord, you must believe me, the very last thing I would want associated with my name would be the death of a patient—especially a high-profile patient such as yourself.”
Teddy flicked a glance at the doctor’s obviously well-made clothing and gleaming boots. “Naturally, he increased your fee for services rendered?”
“You’re missing the point.”
“Which is?”
“I didn’t want to prescribe the…er…”
“Poison?” Teddy put in, helpfully.
Shine huffed. “He forced my hand. He would have ruined me.”
“Why?” Teddy pondered aloud. His cousin had always been an amiable sort. And it wasn’t as if Teddy had ever mistreated him. Why would his mild-mannered, oft-times-shy, and socially awkward cousin suddenly stoop to such villainy?
“I got the feeling it had something to do with his lady friend.”
Teddy studied Shine. He hadn’t expected an answer. “Beg pardon?”
“The beautiful young lady frequently on his arm. Surely, only an inheritance of some magnitude would elevate a man such as your cousin to the status necessary to offer for a lady of her obviouspedigree.”
An inheritance? Try the bloody title should both Teddy and his father perish. Jonathan, as the son of his father’s late younger brother, was next in line for the earldom.
