The Gentleman Physician: A Regency Romance (Branches of Love Book 2) Read online

  Rebecca Devon was to be molded into the perfect lady by Aunt Jacqueline, their father’s elder sister, over the course of the next two or three years. She would be made into a fit enough wife for a duke, and married to one without her consent, if their father had his way.

  Julia swallowed her anger and tried to keep her tone light.

  “Think of the lovely things you will be able to do and see in London.” Julia glanced up from her work to give her sister an encouraging nod. “There are lending libraries. And Aunt Jacqueline’s house is near Hyde Park. You will be able to explore and have adventures, like the heroines of your favorite novels.”

  Rebecca’s lips twitched upward. “Aunt Jacqueline does not approve of novels. I will have to read in secret if I wish to make use of the libraries.”

  “Which is exactly what you do now.” Julia crossed to her wardrobe and opened its doors with pursed lips. “The true tragedy is that we shall be apart while you are molded into a lady and I am sent into servitude.” Julia said the last dramatically, putting her hand to her forehead.

  Julia was to go to the relative most in need of an extra pair of hands, her cousin, Lady Virginia Heatherton. They were near in age and had been good friends before Virginia’s marriage, but Julia had only received a few letters since her cousin wed seven years ago.

  Rebecca scoffed, wrinkling her nose. But some of the light came back into her eyes. “You are going to Bath. And Cousin Virginia adores you. She will let you do whatever you please.”

  Pushing a lock of dark brown hair from her eyes, Julia realized she would get nothing done in the way of packing while her sister remained sulking in the chair. Though she resented their separation as much as Rebecca, Julia had long since learned to carefully choose her battles. She was well acquainted with her father’s burning censure, as like to be manifested in a callous word as it was to be in humiliating punishment. Charles Devon’s cruelty was often subtle, and always carefully wielded.

  According to him, Rebecca and Horace, his ten-year-old son away at Eton, would aid him in his desire to rise in society’s ranks. Julia he deemed a lost cause, knowing she would not bend to his will by making an ambitious marriage, and he had little more use for her than he did a housekeeper. At twenty-three years old, he declared her a spinster.

  “I will not allow you to encourage Rebecca to rebel against my wishes,” he had said after informing them of his plans for their separation, his cold eyes flashing in anger.

  “Oh, Rebecca.” Julia went to her sister and knelt next to her chair, looking up into the freckled face of her youngest sister. “It will not be as bad as you expect. London is wonderful.”

  Her heart ached at being removed from her sister. Their mother died before Julia’s London season, when Rebecca was but twelve years old, leaving Julia to act as mother, though she was only seven years Rebecca’s senior.

  Looking after her sisters in the most awkward years of youth forced Julia to mature quickly. Likewise, she had attended to their brother Horace’s needs until their father sent him away to school, determined the boy not grow soft by spending extended amounts of time with his sisters. The loss of little Horace still hurt. They saw him on rare occasions when school holidays overlapped with their father’s presence in the country.

  “I know it cannot be helped,” Rebecca said, bringing Julia back to the situation at hand and yet another loss. “Father must be obeyed. But I hate it, Julia.” Her brown eyes filled with tears. “I hate that I must lose everyone I love.”

  Julia gathered her sister in her arms, easing the girl down to the floor next to her, holding her close and smoothing back her dark curls.

  “I do too.” She would not let her own tears escape as her sister cried into her shoulder. She rocked Rebecca gently, humming a lullaby from better days, until the crying slowed and finally ceased. “There now. You will feel better for letting all of it out.” She set her sister back from her, gazing into her watery eyes as she spoke earnestly.

  “We must be brave and promise each other that we will not allow this to be a permanent parting. We will come together again, and soon I hope. Virginia will not need me forever, and you will eventually have to make your debut in society. Either I will come to Aunt Jacqueline, or you will make a splendid match and send for me, or else we will both be completely useless to our family and end up right back here to plague our father with our failures.” She smiled as brightly as she could, relieved when Rebecca started to laugh.

  “That would teach all of them to meddle. Perhaps we ought to take up a cottage together and spend our days tending gardens, reading novels, and criticizing society.” Rebecca rose to her feet and Julia joined her. “Promise me you will write often? I don’t think I will be able to bear Aunt Jacqueline without hearing from you.”

  “I will write pages and pages to you,” Julia promised. “And it will not be as agonizing as you think. You will see. You will have adventures, and I’ll read every word you write, relieved that I am not as busy as you.”

  Rebecca laughed again but sobered almost at once. “I checked the maps in the library. We will be over one hundred miles apart. We have never been that far from each other.”

  “I know.” Julia pulled her sister close in another embrace. “But all little birds must fly the nest eventually.” She kissed her sister’s cheek. “It’s now up to you whether you soar above the clouds or go plummeting to the earth. Spread your wings, hope for the best, and I will do the same.”

  Rebecca nodded and forced a pleasant expression on her face. “Will you help me? I’m not sure what to take with me.”

  Julia called for a maid to assist her packing hours later, after soothing her sister’s fears and consulting with her about what to take to London. She had to dissuade Rebecca from taking half the library in her trunks.

  Though the two of them shared many common features, the same dark curls, a similar delicate build, they had plenty of differences too. While Rebecca had a fine bone structure, she had grown taller than Julia in the past year. Julia’s eyes were brown with liberal dashes of green, but Rebecca’s were dark as chocolate. They had the same dark hair, all curls and waves that snarled if not properly braided for bed.

  But their temperaments were the most different. Julia did all things in moderation, Rebecca often kept her opinion to herself, and their sister Christine regularly threw away caution to do as she thought best.

  Rebecca would leave the day after Julia climbed into her father’s coach. Everything had been arranged hastily, with letters travelling from London to Kettering as Aunt Jacqueline sorted out all the details. Before their sister and Thomas Gilbert even spoke their vows, the plans were underway for Rebecca’s reeducation and Julia’s exile.

  Julia did not know what the trip to Bath would bring for her. Aunt Jacqueline’s letters informed her that Virginia and her family were in Bath for the Baron’s health but included none of the details of his illness.

  Resolved to handle herself with dignity, and well-schooled in hiding her thoughts and emotions, Julia could at least promise herself that none would know how her heart missed her sisters or how she would worry for them.

  When morning came and Julia entered the carriage, her sister came to see her off. Their father doubtless worked in his study.

  “I will write as soon as I get to London,” Rebecca promised, giving her sister one last embrace.

  “As will I. Take care, darling, and behave yourself for Aunt.”

  Rebecca nodded and sniffed back her tears, putting on a brave face. But as the coach pulled away, Julia watched from the windows and saw her sister raise a hand to dash at her eyes.

  Julia felt lonelier than she had in years. As her father’s home and her sister’s tears fell behind her, she at last allowed herself a few moments of misery. No one was in the carriage with her to see her cry. Her father had not even give her the courtesy of a maid to guard her reputation, so little did he value her.

  This last sign of rejection from him hurt, as tho
ugh he’d slapped her across the cheek, leaving her bruised. Since the death of their mother, Julia had to be the comforter in the family, which left no one to soothe her own fears and sorrows.

  Her heart had not been this battered since her disastrous London season, five years past, when it had been broken because of a man with intelligent blue eyes and a gentle smile.

  Nathaniel.

  As she gave way to her feelings, Julia allowed herself to think on those eyes and their owner.

  Once, she well knew, her happiness could have been secured. If she had been brave and revealed more of what she felt—but instead, years of loneliness and heartache were her lot, both behind and ahead of her.

  As the wheels tumbled over ruts and bumps in the road, Julia took a deep breath and reconstructed the careful mask she wore. She put the broken pieces of her heart back into the fortified walls she had built around it. Those walls had stood since the day she denied her love for a man her father deemed unworthy, and they must continue to protect her.

  Chapter Two

  Julia stepped down from the coach with the assistance of a smartly dressed footman and an instant later found herself enveloped in an embrace, right upon the street, in front of her cousin’s townhouse. She barely had time to take in Virginia’s appearance before the exuberant welcome took place.

  “Oh, Julia, I am grateful you’ve come.” Virginia stepped back, maintaining a gentle hold on Julia’s arms, her forest green eyes bright. “It is a relief to have you here. And look at you, lovely even after an exhausting carriage ride.”

  Although taken aback by the enthusiasm, Virginia’s graciousness warmed Julia and the tightness in her stomach relaxed. Perhaps this visit would be an opportunity to rekindle their friendship instead of the drudgery or boredom her father had anticipated for her.

  “Virginia, it’s wonderful to see you again.”

  Her cousin was taller than Julia by several inches and giving birth to two boys had given curves to her once willowy figure. But her golden curls and lovely smile remained the same as ever.

  “Come inside and out of the cold. I have a pot of coffee waiting and a fire in my sitting room.” Virginia led the way through the front door and into the marble hall of her spacious entryway. The walls were covered in fine things, including a large gilded mirror which reflected Julia’s tired eyes back at her.

  A handful of servants stood in a row, along the wall, opposite the stair. The butler took her things and handed them to another footman. The housekeeper and maids curtsied.

  “I understood you could not bring a maid with you. I have asked that Emily wait on you during your time with us. I know you will find her service impeccable.” Virginia gestured to a young woman in a dark dress and apron. The maid curtsied, eyes downcast, but she looked pleased at the compliment.

  “Thank you, I am certain Emily and I will get on well.” Julia nodded, grateful for her cousin’s thoughtfulness.

  “If there is anything you need, you have but to ask Mrs. Fairchild or Thurston.” Virginia gestured to the housekeeper and butler respectively.

  The other servants were introduced and then dismissed to their duties.

  “Now, come this way while your things are taken to your room.” Virginia looped her arm through Julia’s and they went up the stairs and down the connecting hall, barely giving Julia time to take in her surroundings.

  The townhouse, adjoined to its neighbors, felt like any other fine home Julia had visited. The furnishings were fashionable, the paintings on the walls tasteful, the plush rugs luxurious to walk upon. Most of the trappings belonged to the owner, as a family leasing the property would not dress a temporary home in such elegant things.

  Virginia led the way into a light, airy room with cream-colored paper upon the walls and delicate furnishings in beautiful shades of blue. With the lace curtains tied back, light poured in from windows facing the street.

  “Please, do be seated,” Virginia invited, somewhat breathlessly as she took her own place upon a settee. “I am sorry to rush you, but I have been anxious for your company ever since my mother wrote of the decision to bring you here.”

  Moving more slowly, still attempting to gain a firm grasp of the house and situation, Julia nodded and lowered herself into a chair near the fireplace. “I must be truthful, Virginia. I did not think to find such a positive welcome. I was told of this visit two weeks ago and then sent upon my way. But to find you amiable to the idea relieves me on many accounts. I am an unexpected visitor.”

  Virginia waved a hand dismissively. “That is the way of our parents, I am afraid. They thrust their plans upon us and we adjust. I am only pleased Mother thought to send you instead of one of my relatives on Father’s side. I have many fond memories of you and our time spent together before my marriage.” Virginia’s lips pulled tightly closed and she glanced away, her throat constricting in a tight swallow.

  In that instant, a thought struck Julia with perfect clarity. Her dear cousin’s warmth, her eagerness, stemmed from deeper emotions she did not show to others. The baron’s illness must be more severe than Julia had been told.

  Though not anxious to confirm that suspicion, she needed to understand the situation in the home if she was to help. Julia spoke with gentleness.

  “I have happy memories of our time together, too. I hope we will be able to make more while I am here. However, you must know I have not come to be an added burden upon you. I am not seeking entertainment. You have always been one of my dearest friends and I wish to help you. Please. Tell me. How are you? How is your husband?”

  Virginia tipped her chin up, a carefully constructed, cheerful expression in place. “He is having a very good day today.”

  Julia moved to sit next to her cousin on the settee and put her hand upon Virginia’s arm. Though Virginia was five and twenty, Julia had often found herself in the role of adviser to her cousin in years past.

  “And how are you, Ginny?” The pet name slipped out naturally.

  Virginia’s smile faltered, and she bit her bottom lip. Then her facade melted away completely and sorrow manifested itself in her eyes and the downturn of her lips.

  “I am miserable,” she whispered. Tears filled her eyes and she slumped forward, covering her face with both hands.

  Julia took a deep breath, forgetting about her desire to rest in a comfortable bed, and put an arm around her cousin’s shoulders.

  “Tell me,” she said, keeping her tone gentle. “You need not fear I will tell tales to anyone else. I am here for you, Virginia. Let me help if I can.”

  For half an hour, Virginia spoke in halting words of her husband’s illness. Consumption, the dreaded killer. The doctor had no hope for the baron. The children were not permitted to be in the same room with him above a few minutes, lest they become ill as well. The household functioned, but Virginia felt empty and spent at the end of each day, and fully alone.

  “I am to lose my husband,” she said, dabbing delicately at her eyes with a handkerchief. “What will become of me? Of the boys?” A bittersweet expression quirked her lips upward. “Oh, I know there is an inheritance for them. A stipend for me. But they will not have their father to mold them, and I will be without his companionship, his care. A widow.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “And he bears it with courage, making arrangements for his own funeral.” She shook her head and a humorless laugh escaped her. “He is the best of men. Charles is a good husband and father.”

  Julia nodded and listened, only murmuring words of sympathetic encouragement when her cousin faltered in her speech. Truly, she did not know how best to offer comfort, but she hoped being present and willing to listen would be enough to start.

  “You said doctor. Is there only one? Aunt’s letter made it sound as if you had an army of them.”

  “At present, there is one.” Virginia admitted, albeit shakily. “There were many when we first arrived. I think I had every physician in Bath call on us. But their promises were ridiculous and some of their
methods even more so. The blood-letting didn’t work. Some only tried to administer treatment our apothecary, in the country, attempted. One dosed him on mercury, which only made Charles weaker.”

  She shuddered, then continued. “Our current doctor, he is a wonder. He told us, with complete frankness, that the illness is too far progressed. Nothing can be done, but we may ease the symptoms and give solace in the time we have left. Charles has always admired honesty and frankness. We dismissed the other doctors and retained Doctor Hastings.”

  Julia’s hand stilled where it had been lightly patting her cousin’s hand and her spine tensed.

  “Doctor Hastings?” The name came out strangled and she cleared her throat. “He sounds like a fine man indeed.”

  A fine man with blue eyes, perhaps? And a smile that melted a woman’s resolve to act with polite indifference? It could not be her Nathaniel. Hastings was a common enough name, and she did not know that Nathaniel had actually become a doctor, though he’d begun his medical studies when she met him. No. She refused to allow the baron’s physician to be the same man.

  Virginia’s words pulled her from her thoughts. “Yes, and he has such helpful ideas and treatments. Charles slept soundly through the night for the first time in ages, thanks to Doctor Hastings. And he insists we keep the sickroom clean and that everyone wash upon entering and before exiting, something he learned in Scotland. No one else has fallen ill following his advice.” She dried her eyes thoroughly and attempted a confident tilt of her head before continuing.

  “But these are things you need not worry about at present.” Virginia’s voice no longer held false cheer, but determination. “I have detained you in this room long enough. You should freshen up, rest before dinner. If you are up to it, after all the burdens I have cast upon you, I would love to introduce you to my sons. They are excited to have a new person to show all their tricks to.”