Page 92 of Ruthless King

“Does she need the hospital?” Regent asked.

“No, boy. She doesn’t need the hospital.”

Boy?

Regent ground his teeth together.

“You’d swear that you’d never seen someone with the flu before, boy. Pretty sure the last time you were ill, I couldn’t even get you to take one day off.”

Regent brushed that away. He rarely got ill and he couldn’t afford time off anyway. But he wasn’t important.

“Plenty of rest, fluids, and medicine every four to six hours.”

“Do you think I’m going to be better by tomorrow? I’ve got to go to work,” she said.

“I think she’s delirious,” Regent said to the doctor, who was packing up his stuff. “She thinks she’s working tomorrow. Jilly, it’s Saturday. You don’t work on a Saturday, baby.”

“Do too. Doc?” she asked, looking up at the doctor sadly.

“I’m sorry, young lady. You’re not getting out of this bed for at least forty-eight hours. Rest is your friend. Understand?”

“Yes, Doc,” she said sweetly.

“You never listen when I tell you to do something,” Regent grumbled.

“That’s because you’re bossy.”

The doctor smirked at him.

“I’m not bossy. He’s bossy.” Okay, now he sounded like a child. “Why are you packing up? Won’t you need to stay and monitor her?”

Although, for some reason, he didn’t much like that idea.

Aren’t you going to stay? To look after her?

No. He didn’t have time for that. Even though he didn’t trust anyone else with her, he also had no clue what he was doing.

“I can’t, boy. I’ve got a cruise booked, remember?”

He did?

“A cruise?” Jilly asked hoarsely.

“Try not to talk unless you really have to, young lady,” Doctor Stanley told her, patting her hand gently. “At least while your throat is so sore. But yes, I’m taking Mrs. Stanley on a cruise to the Caribbean. It’s been booked for months.” He shot Regent a look.

Then Jilly shot Regent a look.

As though they were both disappointed in him for not having a clue what the old man was talking about.

“That sounds nice. Tell Mrs. Stanley I hope she has a pleasant trip. Who is filling in for you?”

“My nephew, Alister. Jardin vetted him. If it works out, Jardin said it could become permanent.”

All right. He trusted Jardin. And this did all sound vaguely familiar. Generally, he’d remember things like this, but he had other stuff on his mind at the moment.

Mainly the woman lying in the bed, looking like death warmed up.

Regent had a suspicion that she was keeping things from him.

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