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Chapter Thirty
"What do you think is going on?" Eva asked Kit, as they sipped their tea in the surgery kitchen.
"Not sure," Kit answered. "They've never shut us out before. At least, until the other afternoon. They sent us over here then, too. Remember?"
"But why?"
"Mr. Gus and Miss Meg, and the doctor and Mr. Stratton, are trying to protect us from something."
"But, Kit...we've known about everything else. What could be worse than girls being kidnapped and forced into prostitution, a girl performing an abortion on herself, and several murders? Miss Miranda, along with us, even knew when they talked to the judge and about hiring the detectives. What else could there possibly be?"
"I couldn't say, Eva. But I think we can be sure it's something horrible and dangerous."
"But, what should we do?"
"I think the best way we can help is to do whatever they ask of us. That means we need to remember to keep the doors locked and anything else they say to."
"How does that help?" Eva asked.
"It will let them not have to worry about us, so they can worry about everything else."
*****
While Gus, Meg, Victoria, and Neil decided not to pass on this newest information on to Miranda, or Eva and Kit, they did tell the sheriff. He, in turn, instructed his deputies to casually check in on the saloon and tell him if or when the attractive, young woman who was Brumbell's new dealer disappeared.
After several days, Victoria couldn't stand it any longer, and decided to actually breach the sanctity of the saloon.
"Why, Miss...ah...Dr. Thorne," Mr. Brumbell loudly announced as soon as he saw her walk through the door. "I never expected to see you here—inside my establishment. To what do I owe this honor?"
"Well, several things, in fact. First, am I right in assuming that you own the building Mr. Harding currently occupies?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Why?" he asked, rather cautiously.
"Well, I was recently speaking to Mr. Harding, and he told me he might be leaving Manchester."
"He hasn't said anything to me about leaving." When she didn't speak again immediately, he repeated, "Why?"
"Well," she began, in as sweet a voice as she could manage when dealing with the horrible man, "since you didn't see fit to contribute either money or supplies during our recent health crisis, I thought that you might, at least, consider selling the building to the town, for a fair price."
"Why?"
"So it can to be used as a hospital."
"Who's asking?"
"Am I not standing directly in front of you?"
"Sorry," Brumbell said, sarcastically. "What I meant was are you asking to buy the building for the town? Or, are you representing the town in the purchase of the building?"
"Right now," Victoria admitted, "I'm asking for my own information. Should you be willing to sell, Mr. Gunderson and I might consider going to the town council with a proposal about it. However, if you aren't willing to sell, we won't bother to waste their time."
"Well, if—and that's a big if—Harding is, in fact, planning on leaving, I might consider selling. For the right price."
"Mr. Brumbell, while I haven't been in Manchester very much longer than you, I have, at least, chosen to fully support the town. And, that means helping its citizens. It would seem that the only thing you are interested in is money. And, I'm not at all sure how long the populace will accept such mercenary behavior."
"I pay taxes."
"As do I, Mr. Brumbell," the doctor argued. "As do I."
"Well, I've said I might consider selling. So, if that's all you wanted to speak about—"
"You know, you don't hold exclusive rights on the saloon business. I would think, if you, in fact, are planning to stay here, you might give that notion some consideration. Because, if you continue to be so self-absorbed, and someone comes along and opens a similar establishment, you might find that you lose a good portion of your patrons."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Are you threatening to open a competing business?"
"Me?" Victoria said, laughing. "No, of course not. However, I am not without resources. And, I suppose I could possibly partner with someone. So, it might be to your advantage, to be a bit more...ah...shall we say...civic minded."
"I'll think about it," Brumbell said with contempt.
"Fine," the doctor said, lightly. "Then I'll be on my way. Good day, Mr. Brumbell."
Most eyes in the saloon had turned to the doctor as she stood speaking to Brumbell. Near all drinking and card playing had come to a halt. And, Victoria realized why Brumbell was so anxious for her to leave. Before she turned around, she made brief eye contact with the young lady dealing poker.
*****
"You did what?" Neil hissed, trying not to attract too much attention on them from the other restaurant patrons.
"I went into the saloon."
"Why?"
"A couple of reasons," Victoria admitted. "First, I wanted to see Colleen for myself. And, I know she saw me and heard Brumbell call me doctor. So, she will at least recognize me as a friend. And, I wanted to ask Brumbell about Harding's building. He does own it. So I asked if he would consider selling it, for us to use it as a hospital."
"I thought we were going to wait to approach the town council about that."
"We are. I just wanted to know if he owned the building," she insisted, innocently.
"Really?" Neil asked.
"And, I may have hinted that if he didn't show more public spirit, someone might open a rival saloon, which the populace would probably flock to because of his more greedy, self-centered attitude."
"Victoria Rose Thorne!" Neil said in mock shock. But he laughed when he saw her face. "Did you, really?"
"I'm afraid so." She went very quiet, concentrating on her dinner.
"What aren't you telling me?"
"Nothing," she insisted. "I told you everything."
"Then what's bothering you?" Neil asked.
"Nothing. At least, nothing concerning our big problem."
"Then what?" Neil repeated.
"It's just...I've been wondering about Elise—for a while now. Tell me about her."
"What about her?"
"You were married to her—for a number of years. I want to know about her," Victoria said. There was a strange tone in her voice.
"We grew up together. We went to school together. When we were sixteen or so, we decided we were in love, and our families decided we should marry."
"But you said you loved each other. Are you saying now, you didn't love her?"
"No, not exactly," Neil answered.
"I don't understand."
Now it was Neil's turn to go quiet. After they ate in silence for several minutes, he asked, "What about you, Rose? Have you ever been in love before?"
"I don't believe so," she said. "I do remember my grandfather telling me I was infatuated with the boy next door. But, we were only four at the time. So, I suppose that wouldn't really count, would it?"
"No, it wouldn't," he said, laughing softly.
"So, did you love each other or not?"
"I was a sixteen year-old boy...I'm not sure I was in love as I thought I was...as, perhaps, I should have been. I think Elise truly loved me. And, I did care about her. We worked well together—until she insisted we move west with her family. I really didn't want to move. I worked with my father and uncle, and we had a house. It might have been tiny, but it was ours."
"What are you not telling, Neil?"
"Am I so obvious?"
"No, but I've spent enough time with you to know when you're trying to dodge an issue."
"Well, I reluctantly agreed to move west. I sold most of what we had, and my father gave me some money—he said it was my wages for working with them, and we took the train west, with the rest of her family that was moving. The plan was to get as far west as we could by rail, and then get wagon
s and supplies."
"But, the train goes further west, doesn't it?"
"Yes, but we were just leaving Chicago when Elise told me about the baby. That's when I dug my heels in—insisting we find a place here. Her family decided they'd stay with us—at least until after the baby was born. So, I bought the farm and as many of us as we could manage to crowd in, lived in the house for the winter, with the rest camping out in the barn and wood shed. I said all along I wasn't going to move further west—that we'd stay here and make a new home. I think Elise believed I'd agree to sell the farm and move on, once the baby arrived. But then she died."
"Do you ever miss her? Or, think of the baby?"
"I think about my son and wonder what he would have been like. I wonder if I would have been a good father. And, I didn't want Elise to die. It's just...now that I'm older...I'm not sure I was a good husband to her. I'm not sure if I was even ready to be a husband. I mean, if I'd refused to leave Harrisburg, she and the baby might have lived."
"You know that's not necessarily true, don't you?" she said. She looked at her hands for several moments, before she asked, "And, do you love me?"
"You know the answer to that. Yes, I do. Even if I've never come out and said it before. You are different. You make me feel different. Somehow, spending time with you makes me feel like I'm a man...I mean a grown man and not a boy anymore."
"I'm not sure I understand what you mean."
"I feel comfortable in my own skin. I don't feel like a boy, pretending to be an adult—while allowing others to manipulate me and make the decisions I should make on my own."
"You understand that if we were to marry, I'll not stop practicing medicine. I might be Mrs. Stratton at home, but I'll stay Dr. Thorne, too."
"Yes. I've always known that. Although, I was hoping you'd agree to just be Mrs. Stratton for a week or so, if and when we had a baby."
Blushing crimson, but smiling, Victoria nodded, and said, "I think I could agree to that."
Neil looked at her, and asked, "Have you finished your dinner?"
"Yes, why?"
"Because, after tonight's conversation, I believe we should take a walk together—alone and in the dark."
"What if someone notices?"
"We'll just ignore them. Come on, just down to the new surgery and back. We might even go inside for a minute," he said, tugging on her hand. "Or two," he added, with a devious grin.
Chapter Thirty-One
"Well, to what do I owe such an early visit from you?" Meg asked as she put a bolt of fabric back in its place on the shelf.
"I've been wanting to look through the new fashion magazines," Victoria answered. "And, since I didn't seem to have any patients this morning, I decided to come over and do that now. Besides, Kit is there, doing one of her thorough cleanings. And when she's doing that, it doesn't seem to matter where I try and go, I still just get in her way. She'll come for me if someone shows up," the doctor said as she settled into one of the wing chairs.
Meg brought over several magazines and handed them to Victoria, before she looked over to Eva and said, "Are you at a spot where you could stop working, and go make us some tea?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Thank you," Meg said in Eva's direction. Then she sat in the other wing chair, gave the doctor a critical eye, and asked, "Are you looking for anything special?"
"Ah...special. No, no," Victoria insisted. She flipped through several pages, and then looked up, and asked, "What about you? Are you making some fabulous wedding dress in secret?"
"No. I've decided to wear the blue silk...for...ah...sentimental reasons. Why?"
"No reason. And, are you all going away for a honeymoon?"
"We've discussed going to Chicago for a few days." Margaret stared into her friend's eyes and asked, "Victoria, what is going on?"
Meg watched as Victoria's exposed neck flushed, and the color continued to move up to her face. After several moments of uncomfortable silence, she answered in a dropped whisper, "Well, I'm not at all sure, but I might be engaged. I think I might be...kind of."
Meg took the magazines from the doctor's hand, and said, "Come on into the back. Eva's probably got the tea about ready. And she can mind the workshop until we're finished."
Leading her friend through to the back, she called out, "Eva, we've decided to talk back here, so I'll finish the tea. I need you to take charge of the front."
"Yes, ma'am. I've just poured the water. So, it's pretty much ready."
"Thank you, Eva. But if at all possible we don't want to be interrupted."
"Yes, ma'am." Then the younger woman returned to the workshop.
Once the connecting door was shut tight, Meg turned to Victoria, who'd dropped the fashion magazines on the table, and was now gathering up cups and saucers, and the tea pot. Meg grabbed a couple of spoons, and the cream pitcher, and set them on the table. Then, as Victoria got settled in a chair, Meg filled their cups with the tea, before she sat down across the table and waited.
And waited some more.
In fact, she was forced to wait a good amount of time.
Finally, after Victoria had finished two cups of tea, Meg asked her outright, "What do you mean 'you think you're engaged?'"
"Well..." the doctor began, "it's just that things took a decided turn last night after dinner, and I believe Neil and I now have an understanding."
"Could you please explain this a bit better, Victoria?"
"Well, that awful day we found the girl outside," she began, nodding towards the back door, "later, Neil found me crying."
"Why?"
"Because I was—well, I still am—afraid I'll be forced to leave Manchester."
"Again," Meg asked, "why?"
"It's like I explained to Neil, for hundreds and hundreds of years, women who meddle in medicine have been labeled 'abortionists.' It's only been recently that women can be apothecaries. And, I believe it's still against the law for a woman to practice medicine in England. If the town finds out about that poor girl and her abortion, I'll have to leave town."
"Well, I don't see why you'd think that, but let's get back to our current discussion. Why do believe you might be engaged?"
"I'm trying to tell you," Victoria answered, in an exaggerated voice.
"I apologize. Go on," Meg said.
"Well, I'm afraid I was in the midst of a crying spell, and it took him a minute or two to get my attention. Finally, I answered to Rose. He calls me Rose sometimes," she explained, with a sanguine smile. "Anyway, after I told him what I was afraid of, he said that if the people here wanted me gone, he'd load up all our things and we'd find another town, where I would be appreciated. He even spoke about moving to Montana, because women can vote there."
"All right..."
"And, ever since then...well...it's seemed like we had a kind of understanding."
"Okay..."
"Then, a couple of weeks ago, I said something about how maybe Neil should expand his business, and I offered to be his partner."
"Yes..."
"And he acted kind of hurt, and said that he wanted for us to be partners, but that he was still a man, and how he'd have to feel as though he could take care of me."
"And..."
"Well, after that we didn't say anything more. Until...well...until a few days ago. I'd taken lunch to the new building for Jake and Neil, and...well...for some reason, as I was leaving I said something kind of flirty."
"What did you say?"
"That's just it, I don't quite remember." Victoria reached for the teapot, poured herself more tea, and then looked towards Meg. After she nodded, the doctor refilled her friend's cup, and then just fixed her own tea, and sat there, silently sipping.
Meg tried to be patient, but it seemed the doctor had gone mute. So, she finally, asked, "And..."
"And then, last night..."
"Yes..."
"Well, I've been wanting to ask him about Elise, his wife. And, for some reason, last night I asked him if he lov
ed her. And, he spoke about how they'd grown up, and some other things, and ended by telling me how he likes himself when he's with me. That he feels like a grown man. And...and then...he said he wanted me to be Mrs. Stratton. We even discussed how I would still be Dr. Thorne. Only, he said he expected me to be Mrs. Stratton for a while when we had a baby. And then we took a walk—to the new surgery. And...oh Meg...we went inside for a few minutes. And then we kissed."
"But, Victoria, you surely must have been kissed before. At parties or church socials...didn't some boy ever maneuver you into an obscure corner and steal a kiss?"
The doctor thought for several minutes, before she answered, "No."
"Never?" Meg questioned.
"No. But, I didn't go to parties or socials. I went to church every Sunday, but not the socials. I was always very verbal about intending to become a doctor, so...I'm afraid I was an outcast."
"All right," Meg said. "How was the kiss, then?"
"That's just it! I don't know."
"Well, my friend Susan used to say that there were two kinds of boys and kisses. The first ones were shy and their kisses are kind of quick, hard, and dry. The other boys are the ones you need to worry about. Their kisses are long, persistent, and wet. Now, the kisses you are looking for are the sweet, firm kisses that are reasonably dry, but tender. Kisses that make you just want the man to keep kissing you—forever. So, what were Neil's kisses like?"
"Well, they definitely weren't sloppy and persistent, or quick little pecks. No, I'd say it was the sweet, firm one." She sighed and ended with, "And, to be honest, I didn't want him to stop—ever." Then she poured herself another cup of tea, fixed it, and drank it without looking at her friend, as her neck and face flushed.
"It's all right, Victoria. My friend Susan and her fiancé, John, kissed. Eva and Brian kiss. Although, neither of us should probably mention that to Ma. But, I've seen them. Even Gus and I kiss. That's what people do." Meg chided her, adding, "Even your grandmother and grandfather kissed."
Victoria blanched so white at this last truism, Meg was afraid she might pass out. So she got up and put on another kettle of water and gave her a chance to consider their conversation. When she returned to the table, the doctor had picked up one of the magazines, and flicked through it.
Miss Thorne Blossoms Page 18
