Jade Star - Catherine Coulter [126]
Mrs. Stevenson was a different matter, and Saint felt a stab of pity for Penelope when her mother fell on her, weeping.
“Leave go, Sally,” Bunker told his wife sharply. “The girl’s a married woman now and has lots of new responsibilities. And she looks happy as a tack.” He turned back to Saint. “A good man, my son-in-law,” he said, not bothering to lower his voice even though Thomas was within hearing distance. “He’ll make a fine doctor, I don’t doubt. Ah, yes, Saint, I’ll help him right enough. Next time I have one of these damned fool attacks, he’ll be here to get me over it.”
“I will miss Penelope,” Jules said to her husband as they got into the carriage. “She has changed so much. Even Chauncey said she was having to revise her opinions. Del just shook his head and said something about every woman being tractable if handled properly.”
“And what did Chauncey say to that?”
“Something about she would take care of him later.”
“I’m certain that she did,” Saint said.
“I’ll miss Thomas too,” said Jules.
“At least I won’t have to worry about clamping my hand over your mouth every night, love.”
She poked him in the ribs. “Do you never think serious thoughts? Elevating thoughts?”
“Maybe they’ll return in, say, five years.”
“Or so,” Jules said, tucking her hand through his arm. She gave him a sunny smile even as she felt a sudden surge of guilt over her new derringer. No, she told herself firmly, I shall be very careful this time. She wondered what Penelope would do with hers, and had the inescapable feeling that her sister-in-law would keep it safe, and a secret from Thomas.
She was not at all surprised to see three patients waiting for Saint when they returned home. She was surprised, however, and delighted, when Saint asked her to assist him.
28
It was the middle of the afternoon. Patches of sun came through the bedroom windows, unnoticed by either Saint or Jules.
“That,” Saint said many minutes later when his heart slowed a bit, “should probably be against the law. Debauchery, pure and simple.” Her muscles tightened at his words, and he groaned, kissing her.
Jules wanted to moan and laugh at the sound of the knock downstairs on the front door. “I should be a banker, like Del Saxton,” he said, slowly and very reluctantly pulling away from her. “Given the satisfied smile on Chauncey’s face, I wager they spend many afternoons like this.” He sighed. “I suppose I should count my lucky stars. That knock could have come ten minutes earlier.”
He rose and quickly dressed. “You, love, are in no shape to be my assistant this time. Just lie there and think about me.”
Before he left the bedroom, he leaned down and kissed her again, his hand gliding over her breasts. “You look utterly wanton,” he said on a strained laugh. He gently touched his fingers to the damp curls, then forced himself to straighten. “Don’t move,” he told her. “Perhaps I’ll be lucky and the patient downstairs only has a cold or a sprained thumb.”
But the patient, a Chinese worker, had been beaten and robbed. Saint was with him for hours.
“Will he be all right?” Jules asked him over dinner that evening.
“It depends, dammit! There might very well be internal damages, something we great doctors know next to nothing about and could do nothing about in any case. If he lives the night, he has a good chance. And no, the men who did this to him weren’t any of Limpin’ Willie’s friends. Strangers, his friends told me.”
He was perturbed, and Jules noticed he’d eaten next to nothing. To distract him, she began to talk about the time he’d saved her from a jellyfish when she was thirteen years old. Soon he was laughing, remembering how she’d yelped and how he’d had to straddle her to keep her foot steady.
It was over a cup of Lydia’s delicious coffee that Saint sat back in his chair and said, “Byrony is due to deliver in a week or so. I received a brief note from Brent today. Would you like to visit the new town of Wakeville?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes,