Page 11 of Caroline Saves the Blacksmith
“Dr. Hadley, if someone sees me entering his home, it could ruin my business. I would be run out of town.”
The doctor reached out, clasping her hand gently in his own to stare deep into her eyes. “Mrs. Brown, I assure you it is the right thing to do. You can approach the house from the alley and enter through his back door. Mrs. Bow is having her first child, and I must get to her side immediately. I know it is a lot to ask …”
Caroline rubbed her free hand over her chin. She looked out on the deserted street. Hers was the only light to be seen, which was evidently how the doctor had found her. It could not do any harm. No one was about to see. As long as she was discreet, she could help the doctor, and she did not have a good reason to refuse her help. Hesitantly, she nodded.
Dr. Hadley squeezed her hand in gratitude. “Thank you, Mrs. Brown. His cottage is near the end of the street, just past Mrs. Heeley’s. You will know you have reached her house by the broken tiles and ladder in her backyard. If you can just take care of him until tomorrow night, I swear to it that no one will ever know you were there!”
The doctor dug in his pocket, pulling out a page and thrusting it into her hand. “Here are my instructions for Mr. Jackson’s care. I will call on him on Tuesday morning and bring one of his apprentices along to take care of him then.”
With that, Dr. Hadley turned to run over to the wagon, his great wool coat flapping in the night air as he hastily raised himself onto the seat next to Mr. Bow.
The farmer tipped his hat in greeting to Caroline, then prompted his horse forward. She watched as they started down the street through the falling snow, hoping that John Bow was oblivious to the specifics of the doctor’s request or there would be too many people aware of where she was going tonight.
Locking the door, she read the doctor’s scrawling handwriting as she considered what she might need to take with her. Making a mental list, she gathered her things, put out the candles, and headed to the back to find her cloak. She suspected it would be a long night, what with her and the blacksmith spending Christmas Eve together.
Alone.
Was the universe throwing temptation in her path to test her will? Certainly by morning she would know if she had managed to transform herself into a chaste woman these past two years since her ill-advised indiscretions with Lord Saunton in the stables.
THE INVASION
William woke from a doze, shaking his head to clear the fog. His ankle was thrumming something fierce. He supposed the dull ache might be the cause of his fatigue, sapping his energy.
His front room was dark except for the glow of the fire which was dying out. He would be without light soon.
William sat up, setting off sharp twinges in his leg. Dr. Hadley had instructed him to recline on the settee and rest, promising to send over someone to assist him, but the doctor must have failed to locate anyone. William would need to get up and take care of himself.
He attempted to stand, then dropped back down with a torrent of expletives. Huffing a deep sigh, he tried to think what to do. The fire needed to be stoked, and he needed to eat if he was to maintain his strength, but his ankle was a fiery throb and Dr. Hadley’s admonition had been that he would take far longer to heal if he failed to stay off his feet.
It is obvious the doctor is not going to find someone willing to attend me on Christmas Eve.
For the first time, William considered if his life choices were questionable. He might have built a successful smithy, but he had no family and no close friends. Now he sat injured during the holidays without a solitary person to assist him. Not one person was thinking of him this evening.
His stomach growled, as if to contribute its sentiments to the conversation he was having with himself.
With a loud groan, William fell back onto the settee and raised his legs back onto the arm. He would rise and take care of the fire and find a meal in his kitchen, but he just wanted to lie back and scowl at the ceiling.
Slowly he drifted off, when the click of a door handle had his eyes flying back open. He heard the scrape of his back door opening and the sound of footsteps on the stone floor of his kitchen.
Someone huffed with exertion, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the oak table where he ate his meals. William frowned. The doctor had found someone to send over?
Was it one of the boys who lived in the cottage on the next street? Surely, it was not any of the men from the inn nearby. William muttered under his breath at this thought. Was his nocturnal visitor inebriated? The doctor had better sense than that … he hoped.
From the back, he could hear a candle being lit, a low glow of light seeping in through the doorway.
“Mr. Jackson?”
William struggled back up to a seated position, surprise causing his heart to beat like a drum. It was a woman! But who …
Oh, no! No, no, no…Please, Lord, assure me the doctor did not send—
“Mr. Jackson?”
It was her! Bathed in the light of the candle, she held a candleholder in her hand. The glow accentuated her blonde hair, casting her lovely face in attractive shadows and casting light on her delightful, rounded bosom. The woman he had been avoiding these past weeks now stood in his home, like a little ray of sunshine peeking through glowering clouds.
So much for maintaining my distance!
“Dr. Hadley sent me to tend to you. He said you are injured?”
