Page 6 of A Sight to Behold
Pippa was flushedfrom the heat, or perhaps the intensity of the doctor’s gaze. She wasn’t quite certain. Plus, he’d called her something, a name she didn’t recognize. Pippa bristled. She’dbeen called too much already. Her father never defended her, and it gave the gossips of the Ton leeway to mock Pippa without restraint.
“What did you call me?” she asked with as much dignity as she could muster. She’d never brought a stranger into the orangery. And yet, the first time she did, he called her a Greek name and stared at her as if fascinated. Or repulsed, more the like. Her heart tumbled to her stomach; she’d been enjoying this young man and his company. He was kind, he was polite, he was smart…and he was handsome. Beyond that, he was different from the men of the Ton, who always seemed to make her uncomfortable. Until this moment, at any rate.
“You are farsighted. Hyperopia is a refractive error, not a name that I called you. What it means is that you—because of your condition—see nearby objects blurry.”
How did he guess her secret? “I see perfectly well,” Pippa said and put her hands on her hips. Perhaps not a ladylike posture, but certainly one which exhibited her dismay.
Nick shook his head. He seemed oddly delighted. “No, not when something is close. That’s why you didn’t see me at thepatissier’scounter. And it’s why you are feeling for your saplings and talking to a heap of soil instead of Truffles.”
She gasped sharply and took several steps away, her eyes searching for the bunny.
“See, that’s a coping mechanism. You step away from things to see them better.”
“How would you know?” She realized that exasperation pierced her voice, but she didn’t care.
He shrugged. She could seethatat least but decided that to point that out wouldn’t make a difference at this point. “I’m an oculist. It’s my job to diagnose—”
“I don’t need a diagnosis, Dr. Folsham. Thank you very much. I thought you were arealdoctor, for the body and such.”
“Eyes are part of the body.” Again, he shrugged.
She deliberately narrowed her eyes at him. Pippa didn’t like it when people spoke about her flaws. She’d had more of that than she cared to admit, and no tolerance left to stomach being mocked.
He didn’t seem to notice that she was unhappy with his line of questioning, or reasoning, or accusation, or whatever it was. “Tell me, Pippa, do you get headaches when you read for a long period?” He didn’t even wait for her answer. Instead, he continued, “I can see that you make up for the blurry vision with touch. It’s perfectly logical to compensate for the deficit of one sense with another.”
“Deficit?” She mumbled. She’d never wished to hear these words from a man as handsome as the one before her. “You find me deficient?” Her heart sank, and she could barely say the words. He’d be so kind and gentle. The fact that he didn’t know her family was an advantage, she’d hoped, because he didn’t realize the many nasty things she’d been called. Although Pippa had never considered mingling outside the Ton, the idea of being outside the circle of people who made her feel smaller than a speck of dust had appealed to her. It was the first thought on her mind when she’d fallen onto the handsome stranger’s lap. She had a scarf full of whipped cream but a clean slate with him.
“Don’t misunderstand me, please. A vision deficit doesn’t mean you are deficient in any way.”
His gaze washed over her, and she shivered. Nick—Dr. Folsham—made her feel things she and everyone she knew considered absolutely improper, but he hadn’t even touched her. But when he looked at her, a bolt of heat shot up her arms and through her chest until it settled deep under her belly.
“I’m sorry. I have to go; an important surgery is waiting for me.”
She nodded, speechless and mesmerized by him.
“But please. Come to my office any time and get fitted for a pair of eyeglasses. You’ll see so much clearer.” With these words, he handed her a white card, bid her goodbye, and left with his little dog following alongside him with a wagging tail.
Pippa fumed.
How dare he call her deficient!
Although, it would explain everything, wouldn’t it?
Realization fell heavily over Pippa like a hammer on an anvil.
She didn’t see well.
She needed glasses.
And the handsome doctor offered to help.
He could give her exactly what she needed.
Chapter Four
The next day…
Pippa sat atthe breakfast table in her family’s dining room with her cousin Bea, her father, and—she swallowed bile at the thought—her stepmother.
