Page 15 of A Touch of Charm
“Wait!” Andre started, barely able to fathom what had just occurred. “I have work to do; I’m the only one here until—”
“Wendy and Felix will be back tomorrow, so you won’t be alone at the practice.” Stan took on a commanding tone.
“I’m not a royal guard; I’m a doctor.” Surely that argument ought to convince Stan that it was absurd to make Andre responsible for the princess.
Stan gave him a stern look and arched a brow.
Andre swallowed hard.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
Andre nodded reluctantly. When had he agreed to this?
“This means much to me, Andre. I shall be in your debt,” Stan said.
Chapter Six
Thea was gladthey were staying at Andre’s practice that night and not only because she knew Stan might need the doctor at night but also because she didn’t want to be far from him. Stan was going to sleep in the apothecary’s room, right next to Thea. It had been lived in but seemed abandoned now, with no personal items left, except for a shelf full of books about botany, herbs, medicinal plants, and alchemy. They were all upstairs, but she heard Andre moving around downstairs, perhaps cleaning his treatment room or doing something else terribly smart and alluring.
Thea and Stan kept their voices low.
“I have to send Mary’s parents a note,” she started, looking around the room.
“And explain what exactly? That you are a princess on the run, in hiding, in the aftermath of an attack, a kidnapping, and in London?”
Thea pursed her lips and crossed her arms.
“Please, not at this hour. Let’s tell them that Mary’s safe tomorrow morning. We should sleep a little,” Stan said as he winced and let his arm hang from the freshly sutured shoulder.
“Where?” Thea eyed the bed in the room, a chair behind a desk. It was neat and well-lived in, but most certainly not a large bed.
“Well, we can’t stay here at the practice. You won’t bring Mary to the Langleys’, or will you? It’s where I’ve been staying.”
“You can take Nick’s tonight if you wish. I’ll sleep just upstairs,” Andre offered.
“She’s not sleeping in his bed, Andre. Thank you, but it’s out of the question.”
Andre reddened at the implication.
“I need to keep an eye on her; she’s bound to run away again,” Stan added.
“Oh, am I being kept captive like an animal?” Thea seethed. “Threatened to jeopardize my virtue by sleeping in beds that have been left behind by married men?” True, it wouldn’t be proper to sleep in the bed of the oculist, but it probably wasn’t as bad as what she was imagining it would be like to sleep in the bed of the dashing orthopedist, whether he was in it or not, but she wouldn’t let her brother keep her caged either.
With his good hand, Stan rubbed his eyes and let out a frustrated groan. “Andre, could you leave us, please?”
“Certainly,” Andre said with a curt nod. “Let me know if you need anything; I’ll be downstairs.” With those words, he left.
When the door clicked shut, Thea heard Andre’s footsteps, and saw Mary turning in the bed across the hall, but she didn’t wake up.
“Do her parents not know who you are?” Stan whispered, giving Thea a frustrated look.
She narrowed her eyes. “It’s not your business to pry.”
He narrowed his gaze. “As your elder brother and the only one here, I’m responsible for you.”
“No, thank you. You delegated the task to the doctor even though I’m quite capable of being responsible for myself.”
“By working as a governess to a merchant’s family? A princess of your standing?”
