Page 25 of The Gentleman Physician

Virginia blinked and stared down at her sewing, then released a quick laugh. “Oh, I don’t know, Julia. I am afraid it’s been a difficult morning for me. It’s too quiet. Charles told me I could not sit with him while he sleeps. And he sleeps a great deal.”

“The laudanum?” Julia asked quietly, coming into the room and closing the door behind him. “Is his pain terrible?”

Virginia sighed and nodded, putting her hand up to her temple. “Without the help, yes. He says he feels as if there is a vise around his chest, tightening all the time.” She swallowed and raised her eyes upward, only allowing herself to focus on the ceiling as she brought her emotion under control.

“Would you like to speak of something else?”

“Please.” Virginia’s smile, obviously falsified, meant Julia must attempt the same.

She did have something she wished to speak about. “I have been thinking about what you said, about finding a position as a companion or governess. I think I should like to be a governess. The more time I spend with your boys, the more certain I become. Helping children to learn, to experience the world around them, entices me. “

Virginia brightened, at least a touch. “I feel the same when I am with them. There is nothing better than encouraging them to learn and go on their adventures. I think you could do well in that position. Except for one thing you may not have thought of.”

“What would that be?” Julia asked, sitting down at last, across from her cousin. “I have an excellent education, a great deal of patience, and I enjoy children’s games, conversations, and questions.”

The other woman laughed. “But Julia, you are too pretty to be a governess.”

“What?” Of all the possible protests she had considered her cousin, or anyone else, making about her decision, that was not what she thought would be said first. “Whatever do you mean? What have my looks to do with anything?”

“You may have a hard time finding a situation to suit, where a mother will not mind an unattached woman as pretty as you under her roof. I am afraid that thought occurred to me some time ago, but as we have not discussed the idea of employment, I did not voice it.” Virginia lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “I do not say it is impossible. Just that it will be difficult.”

Julia’s shoulders dropped and she groaned. “I did not think on that at all. But that is why governesses tend toward plainness, I suppose.”

“I am afraid so.” Virginia’s amusement kept her smiling. “But we may find something. We are in Bath, after all. There are more grandmothers in this town than you would believe, and who better to know a family’s situation than the matriarch? They can evaluate their sons and sons-in-law well enough to guess how you would fit into a house. I will make inquiries discretely if this is what you want.”

“It is.” At least, Julia wanted it more than returning back to her father, assuming he would ever allow her to come back. She liked it better than being a burden on Virginia.

“Very well.” Virginia folded her hands in her lap. “And you will stay with me until we find you a position?”

“Yes, if I can be of use to you.”

Virginia’s expression softened. “Dearest Julia, I do not know how I would do any of this without you. Especially now.” She stopped and looked down at her hands, which she clenched tightly in her lap.

Julia watched her cousin’s knuckles turn white.

“Gerard spoke with Charles this morning,” Virginia said abruptly. “And he’s gone now, to speak to a lawyer. He wants to change Charles’s will.”

Julia gasped. “He wants to what? Why?”

“He says I am not a fit guardian for the boys, that it should be he and not I who oversees the trust until Phillip is of age.” Virginia closed her eyes and leaned back against her chair. “And I don’t know what to do.”

Julia moved from her chair to stand next to her cousin, putting her hand on Virginia’s shoulder. “We will not allow that to happen, Virginia. I promise, I will help you in whatever way I can.” Though she spoke the words with determined firmness, Julia did not know how best she would fulfill them.

Her cousin nodded, but the gesture was half-hearted at best. Julia could only imagine how weary Virginia must be, but that fueled her desire to help even more.

Chapter Ten

Nathaniel entered the Baron’s house with as much cheer as he could muster and wondered if Julia would avoid him as she had on his previous visit. He brought with him comfits for the boys, to help ease Edward’s throat, which would be raw from his coughing. He also took the liberty of purchasing herbs to make a calming tea for Lady Heatherton. Seeing the dark circles under her eyes, and knowing all the pressure she bore, tugged at his heart. The woman needed all the help he could give her, as Julia had said.

After a short visit with Edward and Phillip, who were pleased that new sweets were to be given to them every hour or two, Nathaniel met Lord and Lady Heatherton in his chamber.

Lord Heatherton lay awake, and his skin radiated with heat.

“You must be truthful, my lord,” he said after his initial examination. “How are your lungs?”

The baron cast his eyes to his wife and spoke his answer to her, nearly gasping in between words. “Every minute it is as though I am drowning. I feel I am breathing water, instead of air.”

“You have felt this way before?” Nathaniel asked.