Page 58 of Bedding the Marquess
“Hardly,” the other woman said with a laugh as she placed the tray by the bed. “I am merely a conveyance for sustenance—that takes little talent and even less sainthood. Mrs. Green, thehousekeeper, should receive all credit for preparation. Cooking and baking are not skills I’ve mastered.”
“Your pies have become a touch more palatable over the past few months,” remarked Dr. McCullom in an unexpectedly light tone. Caroline was so caught off guard by his comment that she clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a bubble of laughter. The physician’s mien was so different from the previous evening—still mostly professional, still placing his patients’ care first, but he was lighter with his wife around. To be honest, Caroline felt the same way. There was something soothing about Lady Juliette’s broad smile, bright-blue eyes, and amiable personality. That the daughter and sister of an earl had fallen in love and married a Scottish physician—an utter scandal a few years prior—and that she was even enthusiastic about assisting at her husband’s medical practice spoke of a woman who was unique…someone Caroline would love to know.
The lady swatted lightly at McCullom’s broad shoulder. “You concentrate on doing your duties and I shall do mine, thank you.”
His deep chuckle resonated through the room and he turned his attention to Caroline. “How was your rest?”
“I hardly stirred.”
“And your contractions? Have they abated?”
“They are a great deal more improved.” She watched him check the water in the pitcher to determine how much she’d had to drink. It was nearly empty. Caroline had been parched from the ordeal and all the crying she’d done. Her body had felt like a wrung-out sponge and the draw to that cool, clear water was something she hadn’t been able to ignore.
This seemed to please the physician and he nodded. “This is all quite promising. Do I have your permission to perform a physical examination?” he asked, pointedly looking at Caroline and not her husband. Most physicians consulted only thehusband when making medical decisions, often not looking at or addressing the wife as if she were nothing more than a pet who had no bodily autonomy. Not that she for a second believed Gideon would deny her care, but she quite liked how McCullom treated her.
“Yes, of course.”
“Is there anything you require, my lord?” Lady Juliette addressed Gideon. The man stood watch at the foot of Caroline’s bed, arms crossed over his chest, his battered face turning all sorts of shades of yellow, green, blue, and purple. She had to give Lady Juliette credit for not shying away from his appearance.
“I need nothing other than to know my wife is well,” he replied gruffly, but not unkindly. Caroline’s heart fluttered in her breast.
“Take some time to care for yourself,” said McCullom as he rinsed the mineral-scented soap from his hands with a fresh crock of hot water he’d carried up from the kitchens. “I will perform the examination and retrieve you when I am done so I can look over your injuries.”
“If you care to wash, Mrs. Green has been boiling water, and there is a tub for your use,” offered Lady Juliette when Gideon showed no sign of moving.
“I will be fine,” Caroline reassured him.
Gideon looked about to protest until he caught a hint of his own odor. “Perhaps that would be for the best.” He strode over and planted a lingering kiss on her lips.
“I agree,” Caroline murmured when he finally pulled away.
He narrowed his eyes at Caroline for her quip in a silent, playful promise of retribution. “I will return in short order.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Though it causedhim no little amount of discomfort to leave Caro’s side so soon after their reunion, she had been right. He needed a bath. Badly. While his wounds had been cleaned the night before, there was nothing quite like a good long soak in a tub until one’s skin turned pink.
McCullom had offered him assistance down to the basement kitchen, but Gideon’s pride insisted that he manage it alone. His knee bothered him with every step, but he was certain he could handle this much.
Mrs. Green, the plump, pleasant-faced woman he encountered after following the scents of frying bacon and oatcakes, took one look at him and began clucking like a mother hen. “The lady said ye’d need a bath, and sure enough you do,” she tsked. Gideon was astonished by the speed with which she added boiling water to the wooden tub in the corner of the room. In preparation, it had already been mostly filled; the addition of the boiling water would balance with the cold to make it a pleasant temperature. “There’s some of the doctor’s special soap for ye. You’ll want to use it on all your cuts and scrapes to keep ’em clean.” She gestured to a yellow cake of the stuff set beside a crock pitcher for rinsing and a stack of clean toweling. “I’ll be leaving for errands now so you’ll have all the privacy ye need. Here,” she added, as she placed a tin plate of food on the small table. “I had a feeling ye’d leave all the food for your wife upstairs—a lady in the family way must fill her belly—so I made a little extra for ye. Fill that stomach when you’re clean.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Green,” Gideon said, his head fairly spinning with how she bustled to and fro.
“You’re very welcome, my lord.” Deep dimples were carved into her cheeks when she smiled back at him. With that, she ducked from the room and he heard the thud of the back door as she exited into the alleyway.
Shoving a thick cut of crisped bacon into his mouth, Gideon stripped bare and stepped into the tub. The water and strong soap provided stung his injuries, but the heat of the tub made him groan in pleasure. It soothed his sore muscles and the aching in his battered joints. Scrubbing the sweat and dried blood from his scalp went a long way toward making him feel more human. He’d bathe, eat more of Mrs. Green’s cooking, and return to Caro’s bedside. He needed to hear for himself that she and the baby were out of the woods.
“It would seemthat the group has gotten quite sloppy sincele General’s downfall,” said Ramsay.
The spymaster had paid a call at McCullom’s medical practice later that same afternoon, conveniently arriving less than an hour after Emily and Oliver had stopped by to personally check on Caroline and Gideon, and bring fresh clothing for them from Swanleigh House.
Gideon did not believe he’d ever forget the terror of discovering Caroline had been abducted, how close he’d come to losing her forever, but he had to acknowledge that Oliver was not to blame. As easy as it would have been to write a relationship with Oliver off as dangerous or not worth the risk, the man’s wife had also been in danger. He knew Oliver well enough by that point to say that, had he known of a serious threat to the women’s wellbeing, then he never would have allowed that dayto play out as it had. Oliver was nothing if not exceptionally protective of and devoted to his wife—a trait they had in common.
Presently, Oliver, Ramsay, and Gideon were seated in the small front parlor of the townhouse. The lower floor was dedicated to the physician’s study and his medical practice, as well as Mrs. Green’s kitchen. The main floor looked very much the same as any townhouse with a parlor and small dining room, while a couple of bedchambers were located on the topmost floor, where Caroline was resting with Emily and Lady Juliette to keep her company. McCullom was occupied tending patients down below.
Gideon felt markedly better after bathing. That, along with some willow bark tea, had gone a long way toward easing his aches. He could at least open his left eye now and confirm that the vision was intact. He’d recover, and he could not wait to bring Caroline home.
McCullom had reassured him that Caro’s condition was promising. There were still no further signs of early labor and both she and the babe appeared strong. Neither he nor Caroline cared for it, but they’d agreed to the physician’s recommendation that she remain abed there above his medical practice for at least a week or two to ensure there would be no relapse. He cautioned them that moving her too quickly might place undue stress upon her body. So, arrangements were made wherein Gideon would stay with her as much as possible until she was released.
