Seduced by an Irresistible Lady: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Henrietta Harding

  He used his sleeve to rub at the sweat that was forming on his brow. He had been working on that heart for the past three hours only for it to stop.

  Well that’s part of the process, even if I don’t know what could trigger a heart to return to normal beating when dying. I know what would definitely not help it.

  There was a knock on his door.

  “What is it, Frank?” he said.

  “Someone is here to see you, Sir. He says he’s from the Duke of Somerset,” Mister Frank said.

  “I am coming.”

  He was done anyway, at least for today. He removed his gloves and disposed them in the bin. Then he went to the sink at the corner of his laboratory. He used a small bowl to take some water from the bucket beside the sink and poured water on his other hand, washing away the blood and chemical stains on his left hand. He did the same to his right hand. Then he picked up a napkin on a table beside the sink and dried his hands.

  When he was done, he walked towards the door. At the door he eased the lab coat he wore off and hung it on the wall. He walked into the first room in his chamber before entering his sitting room. A middle-aged man was waiting for him. From the man’s dressing, he could tell he was sent by a peer.

  “Good afternoon,” Dr Frederick said.

  “Good afternoon, Doctor,” the man answered.

  He made to stretch his hand for a handshake then retracted it halfway. He looked at the doctor’s eyes as if asking if it was safe to shake him after whatever he was doing inside. Dr Frederick chuckled but didn’t raise his hand for a handshake. The man looked relieved and grateful.

  “So to what do I owe the honour of your visit, sir?” Dr Frederick asked.

  “I am not here on my behalf. I am here speaking on behalf of the Duke of Somerset. The Duke’s wife is ill. She has been ill for some time and is being seen by the family physician.” The man stopped midsentence to look back to Mister Frank who was arranging some books at the other side of the room. Dr Frederick waited for the man to return his gaze back to him.

  “So …”

  The man brought himself back to where he stopped, raising a finger as if to aid him to remember his last few words.

  “So … the Duke would like to know if it is possible for you to check her too, just to get another expert opinion,” the man said, before pausing shortly.

  “We know there might rules between you physicians, but we just need you for a short while. I was asked to remind you that you will be properly compensated,” the man continued.

  Dr Frederick had no problems checking on the wife of the Duke. He knew of no such professional rule that disallowed him from treating someone that had a doctor; in fact, there were none. He wasn’t going to allow the Duke to know that, though. It seemed that was his most powerful negotiating angle.

  “I can only be there for a short while. I wouldn’t like to spend too much time on another physician’s patient,” Dr Frederick said.

  “No problem sir.”

  “Where is she, the Duchess?”

  “She’s in the house, sir, at Somerset.”

  “What are her symptoms?” Dr Frederick asked.

  “She’s always tired sir, always in bed. And her feet get all swollen,” the man answered.

  Dr Frederick nodded his head. He opened his mouth to ask another question but decided to keep it in till he got there. The questions would be more aptly answered by the Duke or the patient herself.

  “Tell the Duke I am on my way,” Dr Frederick told the man.

  The man smiled. It was a small pleasant widening of his cheek that reddened the side of his face. Dr Frederick decided it had to be a smile, what did the man have to blush about?

  “I was given direct orders to bring you along with me, sir. I can wait for you to clear up whatever you were formerly doing,” he said.

  Dr Frederick was surprised. He pointed at the sofa so the man could take his seat.

  “I will be back very soon, sir,” Dr Frederick said before returning to his chamber.

  He went to his oven and opened its small door. A few of his tools were still inside, lying side by side in order of use. He had learnt working under Dr Terry that contagion was the greatest problem doctors had. He placed his tools in an oven he bought solely for that purpose. Every day after his rounds, he heated them up to baking temperature.

  Well, Frank did it today.

  He touched one briskly, trying to gauge if it was still hot. It wasn’t, so he slowly put all the required tools in his black box. He doubted he would need surgery tools, but he took them anyway.

  Less likely things have happened.

  Dr Frederick made to go out but stopped at the door. He walked backwards and sat on the bed. He remembered Dr Terry’s shaky voice advising him.

  “Never allow the mirage that physicians are always busy become less nebulous. Even if you are not busy, pose to be busy. We are a respectable sort, let them cherish the little time you give them.”

  He would pause then raise his eyes from his small frame to meet Dr Frederick’s eyes again. Raising a finger as if he just remembered something, he would add in his old shaky voice, “But never at the risk of losing a life. A patient’s life is more important that all the other business you could have.”

  He mentally revised through all the processes and reactions he observed throughout his work on the rabbit’s heart today. He was searching for any errors he could have made. He found none. He got up and walked out of the room.

  “Am I to come with you, Doctor?” Mister Frank asked immediately Dr Frederick came out of his chamber.

  “Do you want to come?”

  Mister Frank shook his head.

  “Then stay and finish what you are doing. Don’t worry. I don’t think I am going to spend long anyway,” Dr Frederick said.

  “I am ready to leave now, sir,” Dr Frederick said to the visitor sitting on the cushion. The middle of the man’s head was totally devoid of hair, a clean patch of skin that absorbed light. It would probably reflect light, but they were inside his small constricted house, and there was hardly any light to reflect.

  The man’s carriage was beautiful. The two wheels that faced them had a logo carved into their centres. Dr Frederick was sure it was the signa of Somerset. The wheels had golden rims, and the cabin had quite a special shape.

  The Duke of Somerset must be wealthier than I thought.

  Dr Frederick went in and sat on the cushion. The man went to the front of the carriage. He was the driver.

  “Are we good to go, sir?” Dr Frederick heard the man shout.

  “Yes, we are,” Dr Frederick answered.

  The insides of the carriage were walled by a soft papery material that Dr Frederick wasn’t familiar with. He soon found himself dosing. He allowed himself sleep since he was the only one in the carriage. When the carriage rode to a stop, he felt it and stood up. His right hand rubbed his eyes to remove the remnant sleep that lingered, and he pushed the door open and alighted.

  The compound of the Duke of Somerset was huge. There was a fountain right in the middle of the courtyard, directly facing the gate. The house was humongous.

  Dukes’ houses usually are.

  The driver had handed the reins of the horses over to a steward who ran from behind the house. He walked up the stairs, and Dr Frederick followed him up. He pushed the door open and stopped in the first room.

  “I’ll be back. Please let me get the Duke,” the man said to Dr Frederick, signalling him to stay.

  The man walked in quickly, closing a rather big door behind him. Dr Frederick had hardly sat down when the door opened again.

  The Duke of Somerset must have been on his way out for them to return so fast.

  The Duke was a big man, almost a giant. He looked as well-fed as a prize cow. His belly pushed his robe’s waistline forward, matching the thick rings of fat around his neck and the beefy look of his hands and fingers. Dr Frederick bowed stiffly, and the Duke extended his hand for a handshake. Dr Fred
erick was eager to break the shake immediately their hands clasped. He was not easy with the way his hand fit into the small of the Duke’s thick palm.

  “I hope we didn’t take too much away from your busy schedule, Dr Frederick,” the Duke said in a voice so deep Dr Frederick was caught off guard.

  This is the type of person you meet that leaves a permanent impression.

  “Not too much, Your Grace,” Dr Frederick said.

  The Duke started walking out of the room, and Dr Frederick followed him. He strode past the same door the driver had walked past the other time and down the short corridor. On reaching the door at the end, he walked in. Dr Frederick followed him.

  There was a bed at the end of the room with a woman on it. Dr Frederick saw that the woman was sleeping, but it was very light sleep because she kept stirring. Dr Frederick looked at the Duke’s eyes and saw raw anxiety on the striking man’s face. He was touched.

  The Duke, as daunting as he looks, has a weak spot lying sick on this bed.

  “What are her symptoms, Your Grace?”

  The Duke swallowed audibly before answering.

  “She’s just gotten progressively weaker since about five months ago. At first, I thought it was nothing, just a small illness because it never looked serious. But it’s never left. Our physician has tried everything he knows. He never told me this, but to be frank, I think he doesn’t know what is exactly wrong with my wife,” the Duke said.

  Dr Frederick nodded and neared the sleeping woman. He touched her and noted that she didn’t have a fever. He checked all her basics and was satisfied.

  “For how long has she been in this room, sir? Since she fell ill?”

  “Yes,” the Duke answered.

  “Your Grace, you have to move her out of here on a regular basis. You can take her to the garden or somewhere with lots of air and sunshine, those things help more than a little,” Dr Frederick said.

  The Duke nodded eagerly.

  “Does she have trouble sleeping?” Dr Frederick asked.

  The Duke shook his head.

  “Not at all, she sleeps like a baby,” the Duke of Somerset said.

  Dr Frederick put his hand into his box and brought out a small vial. There was a green liquid in it. He put it on the table behind the Duchess.

  “That should be added, one capful to her water once a day. Most preferably anytime she is leaving to just receive air. It’ll give her more strength to relax when she’s outside.”

  The Duke nodded his head.

  Dr Frederick faced the Duke and looked straight at his eyes.

  “She’ll be fine, Your Grace. Do not worry. I will need more time for observation to narrow down anything wrong with her. She will be fine,” Dr Frederick said.

  The Duke nodded again.

  “I am to host a ball by the end of this week. I would very much like you to attend,” the Duke said.

  “I would love to.”

  Dr Frederick bowed again.

  “Where will you be hosting the ball?” Dr Frederick asked.

  “Here, in the hall downstairs,” said the Duke.

  Dr Frederick looked again to the Duke’s sick wife.

  “I would advise that you do not host it at all, or host it here,” said Dr Frederick.

  The Duke raised both eyebrows. He was surprised.

  “The noise might be too much for her.”

  “I understand,” the Duke answered. “I’m calling it off now.”

  “Your Grace, your Gr …”

  The Duke had walked out of the room, presumably to tell his stewards to spread the news about the cancelled ball. Dr Frederick neared the sleeping woman and placed his stethoscope on her chest. Her heartbeat was strong.

  She will get better.

  Dr Frederick raised his head from her chest and was placing his tube back into his box when the Duke came back in.

  “Cancelled,” he said.

  Dr Frederick smiled and nodded.

  “So, Your Grace, just give her that,” he said, pointing to the vial on the table, “and allow her to receive lots of air and sunshine, not the stifling air of a bedroom. She will be fine.”

  The Duke nodded and opened the door as he walked out. Dr Frederick walked out after him. The Duke removed an envelope from his pocket and gave it to Dr Frederick.

  “For your troubles,” he said.

  Dr Frederick nodded and walked down the corridor back to the sitting room. The driver was waiting for him. The driver walked out of the house first, and Dr Frederick followed closely behind. The driver went to the front of the carriage while Dr Frederick got in. He opened the window of the carriage now; he wasn’t planning on falling asleep.

  The ride was steady. The driver wasn’t in any haste. Dr Frederick looked outside the window, appreciating the view. He hardly had time to look around him anytime he was on his steed. He was always rushing to meet up with something.

  This opportunity doesn’t always avail itself to me.

  The trip was longer than Dr Frederick had realised. They went past the market and a street with huge houses. When they got into the fields that stretched past Dr Frederick’s eyesight, he realised he had slept for far longer than he thought. After about an hour, they got back into familiar territory. The houses were petite with clean streets and a typical uncrowdedness.

  Strabolgi.

  Just as they were going past a huge tree between two houses, Dr Frederick heard a voice that reminded him of someone.

  Lady Helena Sinclair.

  “Driver, please stop,” he said.

  “Yes, sir,” the driver replied.

  Dr Frederick looked at the tree and saw a coach had stopped beside it. There was a couple under the tree, completely engrossed in each other’s attention. Dr Frederick felt the cold bite of jealousy, but he was determined to confirm if it was the fair lady or not. When she finally looked up, he realised why the voice had reminded him of the woman who he met once but who had become a persistent reminder of his manliness.

  “Dr Frederick,” the young woman said as she saw him. She excused herself from the ministrations of the young man she had been talking to and walked to the carriage.

  It was Miss Helena’s friend, the woman Dr Frederick had seen beside Miss Helena.

  “Good afternoon, my fair lady. I had to halt the driver because I just knew I recognised that voice,” Dr Frederick said.

  “Or you thought it was Miss Helena,” the lady said.

  Dr Frederick smiled, but he knew his cheeks would redden and convert his smile into a blush.

  The lady is blunt but correct.

  “Please, you will forgive my manners, but I am not familiar with your name,” Dr Frederick said.

  The man who the lady had left now stood up and drew closer. Dr Frederick saw him walk to them, confidently and with a straight gait. He was dressed in a shiny silver jacket and black breeches. Even his shoes were sparkly. Dr Frederick imagined that the lady would be very attracted to the young man.

  “I’m Lavinia Audley, the last child of the Earl of Albemarle.”

  Dr Frederick bent his head in a show of bowing and kissed her outstretched hand from the window.

  “And I am Dr Frederick Cooper as you are aware, only son of a timber trader now living in Bolton. It’s far more interesting than being the child of peerage,” Dr Frederick said.

  Lady Lavinia burst out laughing. Her male companion was now beside her, and she rested her hand on his shoulder as she laughed, using his shoulder as support.

  “This is my friend. He is Prince Drew McCallister. He’s from Ireland,” Lady Lavinia said.

  As she was saying that, she looked at Prince Drew and smiled. He smiled back.

  There’s something between these two.

  Dr Frederick nodded and extended his hand for a handshake.

  “Prince Drew, Dr Frederick Cooper,” he said.

  The Prince shook his head.

  “No, please don’t call me that. I’m Drew, Mr Drew is much better,” the Prin
ce replied.

  His voice was so thickly accented that it was almost melodious. Dr Frederick imagined he wouldn’t fancy talking too much in public.

  He’d be getting a lot of stares if he did that. And he’s not taken by fancy a title, that’s good.

  “Mr Drew then, forgive my initial mistake,” Dr Frederick said.