She narrowed her eyes. “A woman could never be a physician, could she?”
“No,” he replied simply. “It is far too taxing.”
?
??You pompous ass,” she said as she rose. “You have no idea the number of lives I have saved.”
“Purely accidental.” He had no idea why he continued to verbally spar with her. Perhaps it was the fact that he could. In London, the women would never disagree with anything he said. But they all wanted the same thing from him: marriage.
As she walked away, he realized how much he’d enjoyed taunting her, watching the color rise to her cheeks in anger, and the way her eyes flashed emerald.
Dear God, his brother was right. He needed a woman.
Chapter 4
The next afternoon Selina arrived at the duke’s home with a different tactic in mind. She would not attempt to engage the narrow-minded man in any form of conversation, especially none concerning what she did at the estate. She would check on his foot and then leave. And she most certainly would not caress his foot or leg in any manner.
As she approached the enormous house, she wondered if this visit was even necessary. He was able to walk to the pond yesterday. Surely, by today he would be even more capable of putting weight on his ankle.
Perhaps she should forget checking in on him and go see Mrs. Thomas. The woman was already due to deliver any day. Selina paused on the gravel-lined drive and thought about the matter at hand. Her mother would have told her to perform her duty whether the pompous ass wanted her assistance or not. Still, she could go visit Mrs. Thomas and then come back to see the duke. Having made her decision, she turned to walk away until a low chuckle stopped her.
“Don’t tell me Dr. White is leaving without checking on her patient?”
She whirled around to see the duke leaning against a tree with his arms folded over his chest. Her breath caught as the breeze fluttered his black hair. She wanted to slap that arrogant look off his face. But since she could not do that, she would force him to put up with an exam from her.
“I thought I had forgotten something but I was wrong.” She walked closer to him until a hint of sandalwood drifted by her nose. “We need to go inside so I can check on your foot now.”
“My foot is fine and I would like you to leave now.”
Her heart pounded, not just at his attitude but far more likely at his nearness. Spying the cane leaning against the tree, she said, “I see you are still using the cane. Therefore, I insist on examining your foot again today.”
“Indeed? Exactly how do you propose to do that when I am standing on my foot?”
“You really should not be on your foot, Your Grace. If you promise to go inside and prop your foot up, I will not touch your foot again.”
He gave her a half smile. “Touch? Or caress?”
Mortification heated her cheeks until they burned. “I did not caress your foot.”
“Yes, you did,” he whispered, leaning in closer to her. “Even Mr. Roberts noticed.”
Oh, dear Lord. This man was a dreadful person for mentioning such a thing to her. “I am leaving now, Your Grace. Good day.”
She turned back around and noticed Randall running toward them. He at least wouldn’t notice anything between her and His Grace.
“Miss White, Mrs. Thomas needs you now.”
“Who is Mrs. Thomas?” the duke asked from behind her.
“She is the wife of one of your tenants. She must be ready to deliver.” Selina opened her small valise to make certain she had everything she would need for a birth.
“Oh,” he said in a stilted voice. “You must be off then.”
“Off? I will need to run to make it on time. After four babies, this one may come before I get there.” She closed her valise and raced down the drive.
Colin watched Miss White rush from the estate. His stomach suddenly ached. He strolled to the large reflecting pond where two swans paddled. Sitting on the concrete edge, he watched the birds swim.
Turning around, he stared up at his ancestral home. Built two hundred years ago, it was a massive structure with more rooms than he would ever need. His mother used to hold large country parties here and filled the numerous bedchambers.