Page 31 of Elixir of a Duchess' Passion
And by the time they came to the end of the examination, Elijah was more than ready to send the doctor on his way, feeling as though his presence had done nothing to help.
There was a time when he, like so many others, would have put all his faith into a man like Doctor Wallis. And yet, he had met so many men like the doctor these last few months that he found he could no longer do so. Not one of them had helped him nearly half as much in months as Lady Belmont had in a few days.
It is merely your attraction to her,Elijah told himself firmly, though deep down he was certain it was something more than that. The medicine he had taken shortly after Lady Belmont’s departure had already begun to help his stomach, and he was more at ease than he had been in weeks.
If not for Doctor Wallis’ presence, he might have been well rested and refreshed by now.
“I can give you something for the pain,” the doctor announced as he held up the handkerchief Elijah had coughed into during his visit. “Though there is little else I can do for you, I am afraid.”
Elijah didn’t really need to be told that. He knew well what all the blood on the handkerchief meant. It had started out as a pink spittle in the early days, but now it was a bright crimson, and whenever he coughed it up, his stomach twisted so painfully that he thought it might never untwist again.
“As I suspected, Doctor Wallis. I fear I have wasted your time after all,” Elijah said, hoping that would be the end of it. But instead, the doctor shook his head and reached into his bag for a medicine bottle.
“I would be happy to bleed you,” the doctor announced, looking at Elijah from beneath the rim of his spectacles. “The benefits of such things have been known to … prolong life in patients of a similar situation to yourself, My Lord.”
Elijah’s insides clenched at that, and he quickly shook his head. The thought of being bled after having already coughed up so much blood made him feel sick to his stomach. It would not be the first time he had been forced to endure such a thing. He had been willing to try just about anything in the beginning. But it hadn’t worked then, and he was certain it wouldn’t work now.
“No, thank you, Doctor,” he said coolly, forcing a smile. “I find I have made my peace with what is to come to me. I merely wish to be left to go quietly.”
The doctor raised an eyebrow at that, looking as though he might offer some protest, no doubt to try and continue to receive his employ and his coin for as long as he still lived. But instead, the doctor humbly nodded and placed the medicine bottle on the bedside table, removing his bag in the process.
Then, the bottle clinked against another, and the doctor’s curiosity was piqued. Elijah immediately scolded himself for leaving the vial Lady Belmont had given him where anyone could see it on the table beside him.
Compared to the clear, viscous liquid that filled the vial the doctor had just put down, the vial that had already been there was like looking into an inky black sky. Even in the dying light of the evening, Elijah could see the solid bits of matter floating inside the liquid.
“Might I ask what this is?” the doctor asked, picking up the elixir to hold it to the light. He scrutinised it slowly, turning it this way and that so the light caught the solid bits within.
The doctor’s face was quite unreadable, yet Elijah got the deep sense that the man was not pleased.
“It is nothing,” Elijah insisted. “Merely a herbal remedy to help me sleep, gifted by a friend.”
The lie fell easily from his lips, and he wasn’t at all sure that the doctor was convinced when he placed the vial back down on the bedside table beside his own.
“Lord Spurnrose, I would caution against taking anything given by thisfriendof yours,” the doctor stated, eyeing Elijah closely for a moment.
“And I shall take your advice under careful consideration, Doctor,” Elijah assured him, forcing yet another smile. He would be more than a little glad when the man finally went on his way and left him in peace.
“Do be sure to send word if you have need of more painkiller, My Lord,” the doctor said, bowing his head as though he had finally seen where he was no longer required.
“I shall be certain to do so,” Elijah said, “Please ensure that my cousin pays you on the way out.”
With another dip of his head, the doctor made his exit, and Elijah was left alone to think,if I need any help, it shall not be you that I send for.
The thought of calling upon Lady Belmont for her aid was far more appealing than it had been to call upon one of the London doctors. And though he had only known her a short while, he trusted her far more than he could throw any of them.
I shall have to have a word with Harold about inviting doctors to my home unannounced, Elijah decided, but for that evening, he was too concerned with his own aches and pains. His fall from his horse had certainly done a number on him, and he felt as though the damned thing had kicked him on the way down.
Perhaps Doctor Wallis’ medicine would not be such a bad idea after all. He thought about it only a moment before picking it up and putting it in the top drawer of the bedside table. He didn’t need it anymore. He had Lady Belmont’s remedy. Doctor Wallis had not been gone long before Elijah heard the knocking on his door.
At first, he cringed, immediately suspecting it was his cousin come to try to put him to rights again. He was certain the man would insist he take whatever heavy drug the doctor had prescribed. Likely something that would make him sleepy and groggy when he awoke, torn between taking more to numb the pain and avoiding it just so that he could actually live what little life remained to him rather than being a drug-addled mess.
“Leave me be, Harold!” he called loudly, deciding he would be better off not entering into such a conversation at all with his cousin.
When the knocking came again, it was much more feminine than one might have anticipated for his cousin. Perhaps it was the housekeeper or one of the maids bringing up some supper for him after his ordeal. It would be just like the cook to have something sent up without being asked.
Pushing himself into a better-seated position on his bed, he called, “Come in.”
When the door opened, Elijah was surprised to watch Lady Belmont slip gracefully back into the room. Sitting bolt upright, he cleared his throat and said, “Lady Belmont, I thought you had left hours ago.”
