Her insides shivered and her limbs grew weak, and it took a moment for her to realize she hadn’t responded. “No, um...” She glanced away, into the darkness, and said the first thing that came to mind. “You’re an incredibly skilled physician.” A pregnant pause made her realize she’d stated the obvious, so she hastened to add, “The way you saved those three boys from drowning last month, after another physician pronounced them dead, was remarkable. However did you do it?”
“By employing the methods advocated by the Humane Society. Their work pertaining to the resuscitation of drowning victims is incredible and has been effectively implemented for decades. One of their members even developed an electrical apparatus which can deliver a shock to the heart if breathing into the victim’s mouth and adding pressure to their chest is insufficient.”
Astonished and wanting to know more, Juliette asked, “Is that how you saved the boys? With such a device?”
“Partly.” He paused before saying, “Only one of them needed it. The other two recovered quickly enough when I held their noses and set a billows to their mouths.”
“They were fortunate to have you there,” she said. “As fortunate as Lady Ingram was when you decided to cut into her womb and extricate her baby.”
“I have performed several caesarian sections, my lady.” His tone suggested he was back to his signature frown. “The procedure is not very complicated.”
“Then how about the operation you performed on a living man’s heart a few months ago?”
Florian drew to a halt and released her arm so he could turn to face her. With the path as narrow as it was, his face was now but a few inches away, so close she could see the glow from the nearby torches casting his eyes in a dazzling display of color. “As much as I appreciate your admiration, you ought to know that I did not operate on the heart itself, but on the pericardium which surrounds it. All I did was copy the Spanish surgeon, Francisco Romero, who accomplished the exact same feat twenty years ago.”
Juliette stared at him. “Why do you insist on belittling your achievements?” She truly wanted to know, because as far as she was concerned, he was amazing.
“Why are you so interested in my work?” he countered.
Disliking the shift in attention, she shrugged and lowered her gaze. “I read the newspapers. Articles relating to people I know are of particular interest to me.” Glancing back up, she was shocked by the intensity with which he now watched her. She felt her cheeks warm with the sort of heat that could burn the sun. “I am not obsessive, if that is what you think, but the more I have learned about you, the more my esteem has grown. I—it is the reason why I wanted to make my funds available to you in the first place, because I believe you to be the best physician there is.”
“Really?”
Worried he might misconstrue her meaning, even though he’d be right to do so, she pressed on, hoping to distract him from what she’d revealed. “I know you think me naïve and out of my depth with regard to the typhus epidemic.” He opened his mouth as if to argue so she hastily said, “And you would be correct.” He closed his mouth, which gave her the chance to continue. Needing to move while she spoke so she could escape the intensity of his gaze, she recommenced walking while he followed close by her side. “I lack your experience, so if you believe asking soldiers to shoot anyone who attempts to flee St. Giles is the best course of action, I will not argue that point any further.”
“By the way, I never said they should shoot to kill.”
“You’re right,” she agreed. “I made a foolish assumption.”
His hand found her arm right above the elbow, and although he was wearing gloves, the contact still sent a wave of heat crashing through her. The tempered pace at which they were walking, the soft glow of torches and gentle evening air produced an intimate atmosphere ripe for romance.
Wait.
What?
Her heart stuttered in response to that unbidden thought, and yet there could be no denying the way she was feeling. Her entire body was humming with expectation and all because of his touch. Though, to be fair, this particular touch was rather startling with added pressure now as his fingers curled tighter, drawing her back up against him. The sensation only increased when he said in low tones, “I do not think you’re naïve, my lady. At least not any longer.”
She gazed up at him, momentarily stunned by the comment. “‘That’s very honest of you.”
“Have you known me to be anything else?”
She shook her head. His hand still lingered against her arm as though he’d forgotten it there. “No.”
His nostrils flared and he leaned in closer, crowding her with his much larger size. “I have always striven to be as practical as possible. When I work, I deliberately push emotion aside, allowing me to be critical, logical and ethical. It is a rare occasion when I lose my temper and yet you have managed to make me do so. Publicly, I might add.”
“I am sorry.”
He winced. “I am nothing more than a man, and like most men, I have my flaws, as I’m sure you’ve already realized. So, with this in mind, I urge you to ignore your compulsion to place me on a pedestal on which I do not belong. We are simply two different people, neither more nor less deserving of admiration than the other.”
“I—”
“Allow me to finish.” His thumb started stroking her skin in a manner no doubt intended to soothe. Instead it produced a series of sparks that skittered across her flesh.
Halting the motion, he recommenced walking, guiding her carefully onto a shorter path that would take them straight back to the house. “You haven’t had an easy life,” he said, “yet experience has not diminished your kindness. Rather, it has turned you into a woman who wants to save people with a desperation I have never witnessed before. Does this mean you do not need guidance? Of course not, but this can easily be acquired. What matters most is the drive with which you face adversity, for indeed this is something that cannot be learned. It is either in you or it isn’t.”
“Thank you.”
They walked a bit more in silence before he added, “You ought to know that I have tremendous respect for you, my lady.” Reaching the stairs leading back up to the house, he glanced up at the terrace as if to ensure they weren’t being watched. He released her arm and took a step back. “You also ought to know that it’s the only thing stopping me from kissing you senseless.”
