“Mr. Peterson is fine. The morphine I gave him will keep him asleep for a while longer.”
Seeing no dignified chance of escape, Florian took off his surgical apron and tossed it into a large basket so it could be taken out for laundering. “She wants to donate her yearly allowance to us. To the hospital, I mean.”
“Well, that is marvelous!” Viola said. “Very generous of her.”
“Yes. Except she wants to get involved.”
“Can you blame her? It is her money, and as a duke’s sister, I am sure the sum will be immense.”
“I do not doubt it,” Florian agreed. “But that is not the problem.”
“Then what is?”
Florian hesitated sharing the details of his meeting with Lady Juliette, then gave up when he realized his friend would never let the matter rest until he did. “She knows about the typhus outbreak in St. Giles, and since she grew up there, she wants to help save as many people as possible.”
“And your issue with this is what, exactly?”
Still reeling from the idea of spending more time with Lady Juliette than he’d intended, he completely forgot himself and said, “It is naïve, Viola, perhaps even stupid for her to suppose that—”
“Florian!” Viola scowled. “That is unfair of you. Especially since you are always the first to get involved when a life needs saving. Don’t think I do not know about your charitable visits to St. Giles in recent days.”
“Would you have me turn my back on my patients?”
“No. Of course not. But you might have a lot more of them if you don’t start acting responsibly.” Crossing her arms, Viola boldly asked, “Can you imagine what would happen if you were to bring the disease back here with you?”
“You forget I had the disease years ago and survived it. I ought to be immune.”
“Forgive me, but ‘ought to be’ is hardly reassuring.”
“I am taking precautions.”
“And doing so has served us well thus far, but—”
“God damn it, Viola! I took an oath and that means something to me!” Puffing out a breath, Florian raked his fingers through his hair. “Nobody deserves to be left to die, no matter how poor or neglected they may be.”
“Agreed. Which is why I chose to support you when you wanted to donate treatment to those who cannot afford to pay. St. Agatha’s has backed you, giving you all the necessary supplies. But there is a limit to how long we can afford to do so and that is discounting the risk.”
He knew she had a point. The fortune her husband had left her had been put to excellent use in procuring and renovating the building constituting the hospital. But prosperous donors had been hard to come by lately. Other charitable organizations had started gaining more attention, like the Healing Hearts Orphanage in Holborne. Not that he thought the children there did not deserve donations, but it did mean St. Agatha’s was struggling more than it ought.
“I wash my hands with soap while my peers laugh,” he said, ignoring her reference to decreasing funds and focusing instead on the risk she’d mentioned. “I use alcohol to disinfect tools and I cover my mouth with a scarf to avoid breathing the same air as those who are ailing. Because of these rules and because we have also implemented them here at St. Agatha’s, this hospital has the greatest survival rate in the country. You cannot tell me that is coincidence.”
“Of course not.” Viola looked thoroughly vexed. “But this is typhus we are talking about.”
“And we are duty bound to protect the healthy while doing our best to save the sick. You know I am right.”
“And yet Lady Juliette’s involvement bothers you.”
The mention of the woman who’d faced him earlier brought a recollection of creamy skin with it. Florian dismissed the alluring vision and focused on his friend. “Would it not botheryou?”
“Why would it? We need the funds and it sounds like she is eager to provide them! If you ask me, her arrival is something of a blessing.”
He grimaced. “She will want to decide things. You realize that, don’t you?”
The dowager duchess seemed to ponder that for a moment, then said, “If she insists on helping, I think we should let her. And as far as her getting involved and you worrying about her wanting to decide things is concerned, I suggest you advise her. Be her mentor and teach her something useful the way you’ve taught me.”
Unwilling to reveal his real protestations regarding Lady Juliette, which had little to do with her wanting to help and everything to do with the sparks rolling over his skin whenever he thought of how right she’d felt in his arms when they’d danced, he said, “I gave her a copy ofDomestic Medicine.”
“Well then. I am sure she will be fine.”
