“Another truth,” he could admit. “Eucalyptus is one. The oil in the leaves puts out a strong aroma that seems to help. Some mints can do the same.”
“These remedies were known by the locals first, correct?”
Ned had to smile. “I concede your point. Yes, often locals identify those healing qualities first. Still, I must offer two caveats. One is that the steam one is breathing probably does more than the oil from the plant. The second is that eucalyptus has been studied by men of learning. If something is worthwhile, it deserves intelligent review.”
“Which can only come from men?” Kate asked.
“Yes, of course,” he answered before he realized he was walking into a trap. He threw his napkin on the table and raised his hands. “All right. Correct me.”
She didn’t hesitate. “My sister is as good if not better an apothecarist than her husband, even though he taught her everything she knows. So perhaps Gemma has studied the cures she offers. Perhaps they have merit. Perhaps not all things come from London.”
“She has you there,” Balfour said, clapping a delighted hand on the table. “You yourself arefrustrated by the stranglehold London has on research and which scholarly papers should be chosen for presentation.”
That was true. The purpose of the lecture series he had started was to bring attention to those studies outside the mainstream of academic thought.
“I also think,” Kate said, picking up her teacup, “that a tea garden sounds like a lovely idea. It would be an ideal gathering place.”
“The Garland is a gathering place—” Ned started.
“But only for you men and just a few of you at that.” She set down her cup. “Come, Ned, your thinking is more independent than this. The Logical Men’s Society was never meant to be a serious idea.”
There was an uncomfortable truth in her statement.
Then she leaned forward and said, “As for the matter you brought up earlier with Mrs. Crisp and her ailment—sometimes a woman wants to talk to another woman. It has nothing to do with your capabilities as a doctor. We can be shy about intimate matters.”
“Are you shy around me?” Was that what she was saying?
She blinked at his questions and then laughed and shook her head. “No, I’m fine with you. And you have seen a good deal of me as of late. I’m just saying that country women have perhaps different values. Especially on personal matters.”
“I am discreet.”
“You are,” Kate answered with a small shrug. “But you are still male.” Then she added, “A handsome one, too. Yes, I can see some of the local women being very ill at ease.”
There it was again: talk about his face. He wanted to say he couldn’t help the way he looked or that it made some women... Well, he couldn’t quite define how it made them feel. However, he noticed Kate suddenly looked exhausted and that was a sign Ned needed to leave.
He stood and Balfour rose with him. “Thank you for dinner. I needed your friendship this evening.”
“You are always welcome at our table, Ned,” Kate said. Her husband helped her up from her chair. “Will we see you on the morrow?”
“Absolutely.” Ned understood why Balfour adored his wife. Kate was the sort of companion who would make any man proud. She was graceful, intelligent, and had courage.
She said her goodbyes at the door while Balfour went out with him to where Hippocrates waited.
Once they were out of earshot of his wife, Balfour said, “The baby... It isn’t hurting her, is it?”
“No,” Ned hastened to say. “It is just a chore to bring a life into the world. No small feat. It also calls for every bit of energy she has. She is tired. What will help is if she eats more.” He could also add that she needed to keep her fears at bay.
He was glad he kept quiet when his friend confided, “I had a dream last night. I dreamed shedied. It upset me. Thurlowe, if this baby takes her life—”
Ned held up his hand to cut his friend off. “You don’t believe in omens, do you?” Was everyone starting to grow irrational?
“Not usually and yet, the dream was very real. Too real.”
“Does she know you had this dream?”
“She woke me. She said I was distressed.”
Ned took a step toward his friend. “Listen, these last weeks of preparing for a baby can make one anxious. I can imagine how I would feel.” He couldn’t. Not actually. Ned knew how much was out of the control of mere mortals, and that was the way life was. “Your dream is not prophetic.”
