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“Yes, dear”
“Well, then” Bertie’s eyes grew very bright He rubbed the, like I told you Mean to say, Cat, it ain’t all right, exactly Very sick-ainst the wall But rims ain’t killed any of our lot yet” He clapped Dorian on the shoulder Then he took Dorian’s hand and pued Gwendolyn Then, red-faced, he broke away “By Jupiter A baby, by gad Godfather Megrims Well I’m thirsty”
Then, frantically rubbing his eyes, Bertie hurried on to the house
AN HOUR LATER, while Bertie was recovering his e cha Mr Evershae lumber down the drive
“We e by appearances, and young doctors have a difficult tie will indicate a profitable practice If people believe he’s greatly sought after, they’ll be less likely to doubt his competence”
“You think of everything,” Gwendolyn said “But it is your protective streak—which I a to suspect is a throwback to the Ca after all his people”
“Don’t be silly,” he said “I’h to do between doctoring and supervising the hospital construction, without having to prove hiet involved with local rivalries and politics”
“Yes, dear,” she said dutifully “Practical”
“And you will have enough to do, without having to leap to his defense a dozen tinancyall of Dartmoor”
They watched the carriage round a turning behind a hill and descend out of view “The sun is setting,” he said “The pixies and phanto for the night’s revelries”
His gaze returned to her “Will you ith me?”
She tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and walked with hiarden He took her to the stone bench where he’d found her quietly waiting weeks earlier He sat, taking her onto his lap
The sun hovered over a distant hill Its glow set fire to the clouds scattered about like goose down pillows on a celestial bed of blue and green and violet
“Do you still want to build in Dartmoor?” he asked
She nodded “I like it here, and so do you And Dain and Jessica are near”
“We’ll need a larger house if we’re going to raise a falanced behind hi It would not be very grand But Rawnsley Hall was grand and it felt like an iet out of there At present, in fact, I aet about repairs and raze the whole confounded pile”
“You don’t like it, but your heir ive it to hiift”
He lightly caressed her belly “Are you sure you’ve a boy in there?”
“No, but we are bound to have one eventually”
“Even before I realized there would be an ‘eventually,’ I knew I should be just as happy if it were a girl,” he said
“Ah, well, you have a soft spot in your heart for females,” she said “But you also seem to have a ith little boys, and so I a, devoted papa Which is a good thing,” she added with a little frown, “because the woent , you see, which is distracting”
“Then I shall look after the children,” he said “Because I should like a great many, and you will have the additional distraction of hospital matters”
She stroked his hair back “You have a gift for thinking ahead”
“I’ve been blessed with a great deal to look forward to,” he said “Watching the hospital rise fro what modern medical ideas and principles can and cannot achieve The possibilities The limitations” He shook his head “It amazes me how much I’ve learned aboutit turns out to be It even has a sort of poetry to it, and its own logic and riddles, like any intellectual pursuit And there is the sa of discovery as mysteries are solved I felt that today, when Eversham explained where your notes had led you” He kissed her forehead “I’m so proud of you”
“You should be proud of yourself,” she said “You did not put obstacles in h you wanted to—to protect me from myself Instead, you tried every possible way to helpfor Eversham”
“Eversham is not like any other doctor I’ve encountered,” he said “He certainly does have his own ideas While you ashing your face, I asked hiue He told me that in olden times, women were the healers in norant folk, seeic, which was associated with the Devil And so they were reviled and persecuted as witches” He chuckled “And so I realized I had been right froht, too, for you are a healer You’ve healed ”