Page 12 of The Gentleman Physician

“Miss Devon.” He bowed. She curtsied. “Out running errands?” he asked, his face devoid of emotion or true interest.

“Yes. I came to find some treats for my little cousins.” She held up the package to prove her purpose. She wished he didn’t appear so severe. While he could not care for her as he once had, it would be nice if he could be friendlier. But then, the fault was likely hers for pretending they’d never met. That set the pattern for their behavior as distant acquaintances, at best.

Julia remembered the way his clear blue eyes lit up when he laughed, when she’d known him in London. The remembrance made her heart ache. Things could have been different between them.

“Do you have a carriage or a chair waiting to return you home?” he asked, nodding towards the window and the downpour of rain.

“I’m afraid not. As scandalous as it is to admit, I walked here on my own, when the sun was out.” She didn’t lower her eyes at the admission, which she would have done in the past, but met his with as cheery a smile as she could. “And I’ve forgotten my umbrella.”

To her surprise, his lips twitched, as if he would return the expression, but he cleared his throat and looked down at his arm, where an umbrella hung. “I have mine. If you would like to borrow it, I may pick it up later this afternoon when I call upon Lord Heatherton.”

The chivalrous gesture startled her, especially given his cool treatment of before. But, of course, he had been shocked when he saw her at the baron’s house. He’d had time, since then, to get used to the idea of her.

“I cannot deprive you of your cover, sir,” she said, folding her hands over her package and bringing it to her stomach. “I will wait out the rain. It cannot last long.”

He raised his eyes again, meeting hers from beneath his fair lashes. “It can. And it likely will. Bath winters are often soggy affairs. Please, take my umbrella. Or let me hire a carriage for you. I insist.”

“Thank you. In that case, the umbrella will do.” She held her hand out, her eyes meeting his squarely. She must not let him see, under any circumstances, how she felt in his presence.

They both wore gloves, his black and leather, hers wool. When his fingers grazed hers, putting the umbrella’s handle into her hand, she should not have felt the warmth from his touch. But she did. And it unnerved her.

She and Nathaniel could never be. Not after what her father did. Not after what she said to him, at their last meeting in Hyde Park. At the time, she’d meant to spare him, spare them both, from greater pain.

She closed her fingers over the handle and stepped back. “Thank you, Doctor Hastings. I will take care you get it back.”

He tipped his hat to her, then opened the apothecary’s door, allowing her to step out and open the umbrella. As she walked by him, she inhaled the scent of pine trees and soap. His scent.

She hastened away from the shop, down the no-longer busy walks, going as fast as she could without giving rise to comment, trying to outrun her emotions.

Every drop of rain that fell onto the umbrella laughed at her, each one a reminder of his unexpected kindness which meant nothing, could never again mean anything to her.

Nathaniel had always been a gentleman. His behavior was above reproach. His generosity and compassion she well knew. On more than one of their meetings in London, she had watched him aid complete strangers. It was in his nature to help others, and the work of a physician suited him well.

Knowing he had achieved his goal, becoming a doctor in a town as affluent and busy as Bath, spoke highly of him. Virginia and Lord Heatherton both had nothing but praise for his work and care. Julia knew he must be proud of his accomplishments.

Nathaniel Hastings, a second son of a minor baron, had known from his childhood that he must earn his living. He’d told her that candidly, days before he walked away forever. He had always planned to be a physician. He wanted to help people, see to their needs. She’d admired his noble thoughts.

Now, Julia knew better. He wasn’t being noble, he wasn’t trying to impress her with his future plans. Nathaniel had been in earnest, telling her of the life he would have, making certain she understood, before he asked for permission to court her formally.

What a disaster that had been. He’d gone to her home without telling her of his intentions. If only she could have warned him about her father, or broken with him gently, before his feelings were exposed in the cruelest of circumstances.

But she could not change the past. It still hurt to think on those lovely days with him, when he had likely moved on with his life.

It occurred to her, when she was but steps from the house, that she did not even know if he had married.

“What does it matter?” she whispered out loud. “It can mean nothing to me. I only hope he is happy.” That decided, she entered the house, taking care that Thurston keep the umbrella safe until Doctor Hastings could come and claim it.

If Nathaniel could see through his dream of becoming a physician, Julia thought she might achieve her desired independence as well. Perhaps it was time she give more thought to her future. It was time for her to move on, as he had, from the past.

∞ ∞ ∞

Nathaniel’s unexpected meeting with Julia Devon stayed with him throughout the day. Every time he stepped out into the rain, he couldn’t help but remember his umbrella in her hand and the grateful expression that curved her lips upward. Her sincere thanks surprised him. Over the years, he’d dismantled his good opinion of her, diligently and carefully, convincing himself that Julia must be every bit as cold and prejudicial as her father.

In one smile, she nearly undid all his hard work.

“You are trapped in some cage of the mind, I think,” Lady Huntington told him, her tone more speculative than offended at his inattention. “And here I’ve been telling you the most diverting story about the Countess of Whitten.”

He chuckled and offered a slight bow. “My apologies, my lady. I’ve been lost in thought, it’s true. Dare I ask you to repeat the tale?”