Page 49 of Prescription for Sin

“Or what?” Everett’s voice was dangerously soft.

“Or I’ll be forced to take official action. It would be such a shame to see her talents wasted.” His father sighed. “She’d never practise medicine again, in any capacity.”

Everett’s hands clenched. “You’re asking me to deceive her. To use her feelings for me to manipulate her.”

“I’m asking you to protect her. To give her everything she wants: legitimacy, respect, the freedom to do what she wants. And in return, all she has to do is leave London’s problems to those better qualified to handle them.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then I can guarantee her demise. If not personal, certainly professional.” Dr Moreland picked up his papers again. “The choice is yours, my boy. But remember. Sometimes love means making difficult decisions for those we care about.”

“You are willing to sacrifice an innocent woman and my happiness because you made the mistake of putting all your eggs in one basket! Is this all you’re capable of?”

Dr Moreland’s composure cracked slightly. “Watch your tongue, my boy. I know you’re emotional, but do not panic. Take care of Brown, and I shall keep everything else under control. She is the only variant unaccounted for.”

“My God.” Everett felt the blood drain from his face. “Do you truly believe you can safeguard your secret by purchasing properties along the contaminated pipelines? While people are dying, you haven’t thought to stop them from drinking the sewage.”

“The finest medical minds still believe cholera spreads through bad air. It’s the accepted theory. No one else has made the connection except for your Miss Brown.”

Everett laughed bitterly. “You are mad.”

“She’s too close,” his father said, apparently unable to consider any other factors beyond his coverup. “Do you understand what such a discovery would mean? The panic? The lawsuits?”

“You have to take responsibility,” Everett said, his voice hardening. “Replace the faulty pipes. Ensure no more people die.”

His father gawked at him. “With what money? Fixing the pipes would bankrupt us. The company would collapse.”

Everett stared at his father in horror. “You taught me to heal, to do no harm. You must tell people to boil the water! It’s a solution at no cost to you!”

“That would mean admitting to our errors and making ourselves accountable! I will become a laughingstock, risking my position as the Royal Physician.”

“If you won’t, I will!”

“Go ahead. See how the medical community punishes you for your radical ideas. You won’t achieve anything without my support, Everett. Not even if you exposed me before the world. You’ve always been just my son,” the elder man scoffed. “My boy, you are ignorant of how the real world works.”

Everett shook his head, disappointment and despair weighing on him. “If Mother could see you now…”

His father flinched at the mention of his beloved.

“She used to tell me what a great man you are. Little she knew you would become this monster. I’m grateful she passed away before she could see you like this.”

His father erupted. “Everything I’ve done has been to secure your future! Marry the girl! Take her away from all this. Give her the life and legitimacy she deserves!”

Everett left without responding, his mind reeling from his father’s revelations. The enormity of the deception, the lives at stake… How could he marry Emma under such false pretences? How could he use her love to manipulate her away from uncovering the truth?

And yet…he did love her. Their connection was real, despite the lies that had brought them together. He’d seen the way she looked at him, felt how perfectly they fit together. She challenged him, inspired him, made him want to be worthy of her brilliant mind and passionate heart.

What would be the harm in marrying her, taking her somewhere she could work freely as a physician? They could be happy together, build a life far from London’s corrupt politics and deadly water supply.

But even as he considered it, Everett knew Emma would not wish to marry him under false pretences. Would she marry him simply for love? Even with her trust in him fractured, he believed she could love him. The question was, did she know it? Perhaps it was time he revealed her own heart to herself.

Chapter fifteen

Jealousy

Emma entered the ballroom on her brother-in-law’s arm, acutely aware of the stares that followed them. Garlands of holly and mistletoe draped every archway for the Christmas Ball, while the scent of mulled wine and roasted chestnuts wafted from the refreshment tables. Arthur Salisbury cut an impressive figure; tall, elegantly dressed, with an air of easy authority that made even the most pompous peers defer to him.

“Tell me, dear sister,” he said conversationally, guiding her through the crowd, “what exactly were you hoping to discover when you removed that painting in my secretary’s office? The one concealing your favourite eavesdropping spot?”