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“Elena, I am afraid you are stuck with me for life.”

She feigned mock horror. “How will I survive? You are so annoying.”

This made him chuckle, and the tension was laid to rest, for now.

Chapter Nineteen

Elena looked out the window as their trunks were loaded on top of the duke’s carriage. The sun always looked weak in the sky in London, like it was competing with the smog that seemed to hang over the city. Mrs. Wilcox was covering all the furniture again. It made it clear that they were really leaving.

Tomas came into the room and spoke softly to the landlady and gave her something. “Time to go, my love.”

“Yes. I am ready,” she said, picking up her bonnet. “What did you give Mrs. Wilcox?”

“I gave her the last of the rent and a little more besides. I wanted to thank her for keeping this room always ready for me. Now a new person will be living here.”

“She is a good woman. I am glad you gave her a little more. She has been very kind to me.” Even if Mrs. Wilcox had no idea what she had been trying to say half the time.

“I gave her my floral arrangement, and she was almost teary. Perhaps she has never been given flowers before.”

“I suspect she has not, so it was very nice of you to do so.”

“What good would it be to just leave them here? I did keep one bloom from my wedding bouquet, and I have it pressed in a book I found here.”

There was a knock at the door. “My lord, the carriage is ready.”

“Thank you. We will be right with you.” He picked up her father’s doctor’s bag and offered his other arm to her. “This will be the next part of our life together. I also got you a surprise. It is in the carriage.”

Elena had never really been fond of surprises, but she took one look at the excitement on Tomas’s face and decided she could take one surprise.

Once she got into the opulent carriage, she realized there was a warm brick for her feet and a blanket on the opposite side. A basket sat next to the blanket. Was this the surprise? The interior was all velvet, silk, and gold. The duke must be very rich indeed.

Tomas soon joined her, and he had something in his greatcoat. He sat across from her and smiled, passing her the coat.

The bundle was heavy; she raised her eyes to him.

“Open it,” he said.

With tentative fingers, she unwrapped the coat. There in the middle was a heavy tome.

“What is this?”

“It is a medical book. I know you will not be able to read the words yet but there are a lot of illustrations.”

“A medical book?” She opened the first page. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” She hugged him and then took his face in her hands and kissed him. “Thank you.” It was the best surprise she could have asked for. He still wanted to nurture her love of healing. The only other book she had was a botanical one.

“I tried to find a book written in Spanish, but I could not find one, but I have asked my contact in Cadiz to send some over.”

“This is maravillosa,” she said as she turned the pages. Everything she needed to know about the human body was in this book. It made her more determined to read English. “We must start our English lessons at once.”

“We have plenty of time. You can use my body, and I will tell you what each part of me is called in English.”

“That sounds diverting. You may have to be naked in order for me to know all.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “You may need to be naked also.”

“Perhaps we will need to wait until we are out of the carriage to do so.”

“If you say so. That never stopped us before,” he said, referring to their tryst in the carriage after their wedding. “But I am happy to oblige if you change your mind.”