Forever Yours Series Bundle (Book 4-6)

“I will soak it in a bit of warm water and, my lady, you will have to be off this foot for at least a week."

“A week! Dr. Astor,” her mother began, appearing considerably stricken. Henry looked as if he had been given a reprieve from the hangman’s noose, and Miranda wanted to do a happy twirl.

“That just will not do. My daughter and I have a house party to attend, and it starts tomorrow. We must be there! Please summon the master of this residence."

“At your service, madam.”

Her mother stared at him in apparent shock. It was unexpected for a physician to have such evident wealth and property. It was unusual, and Miranda stared at him with abashed inquisitiveness.

“Well,” the countess said, “I would like for you to have your best carriage ready so we may depart early tomorrow.”

Dr. Astor stood. "You are a great deal too injured to move. There might be a small fracture, and once the swelling reduces, I shall bind your ankle with linens. I daresay it may be a full two weeks before I would recommend any walking and another three for dancing."

He glanced outside into the sleeting rains. The doctor strode over to the window and stood looking out. After a few minutes, he said, "This weather will also not permit any traveling for a few days."

As if to support the doctor’s assurances, thunder rumbled, and fat heavy drops of rain descended from the sky, slapping against the glass like pebbles. Her mother was sorely vexed by this and did not hesitate to voice her displeasure.

“I shall have the three best rooms in the manor to lay our head,” she said with such arrogance Miranda winced.

She ambled forward tugging at her wet bonnet which was becoming an irritant. She untied the strings of her bonnet and removed it with a sigh of relief. Dr. Astor’s sharp intake of breath was audible for all to hear and Miranda flushed, appalled at the piercing pleasure which burst inside her chest. They stared at each other, and she was painfully aware that her mother and brother glanced from the doctor to her.

His regard skipped over her face slowly, as if he memorized her features. Her skin burned pleasantly where his gaze had touched, her pulse tripped alarmingly, and a flush rose on her skin. Noting her reactions, the doctor’s mouth curved in a slow, unsettling smile before his mien was rendered unreadable.

“Mamma is in pain, Dr. Astor. We shall thankfully receive whichever rooms are available.”

He considered her for several moments, his expression still carefully inscrutable. “It would be my honor if you would be my guests until you are both fit to travel, Lady Langford, Lady Miranda, and Lord Sutton.”

He rang the bell, and a maid appeared. The doctor was a bit curt with his instructions, and Miranda wondered at the change in his temperament. Not that he was overly pleasant before, but now he seemed downright uncivil.

"Dinner here is simple but quite appetizing. You may join me in the dining hall at seven or request a tray for your rooms. Whichever is preferred." Then he departed the parlor.

“Henry, you will go ahead with Miranda to Lady Peregrine’s—”

“I’ll not leave your side, Mamma,” Miranda said firmly. “And you shall not be able to convince me of it. The house party is lost to us, and you must recover so we can travel to Lincolnshire to be with papa.”

Her mother huffed her agreement, though her dismay was evident for all to see. Soon Miranda was comfortably fitted into an elegantly designed bedchamber. Her room was next to her mother’s, a bit smaller, but just as tastefully furnished. Henry had been placed further down the hall, but from the lack of complaint from him, she gathered he was pleased with the accommodations. A bath was delivered to her delight, and she soaked away the rain, mud, and travel from the day at her leisure. She was pleasantly surprised a maid had been sent up to assist her with her toiletries. Miranda slipped into her nightgown, too weary to head downstairs for dinner. At her request, a tray was brought to her, and she quickly consumed the delicious meal of roasted beef, baked trout, asparagus, and baked sliced potatoes in crème sauce. She also drank half the content of the decanter of sherry which had accompanied the meal.

The tray was left outside her door, and she climbed into the bed with a gusty sigh. The disaster of the house party had been averted. Folding her hand beneath her cheek, she turned onto her side and attempted to drift away into slumber.

Dark blue eyes, and sharp cheekbones teased behind her eyelids. The way he had inhaled as he stared at her, yet his eyes had given nothing away. Did you find me beautiful? Her body trembled in reaction to the awareness she wanted him to find her attractive. Miranda felt sure she would expire from the shock.

Her eyes flew open, Miranda lurched upright in the bed and touched her cheeks and below her throat. “I am not fevered,” she muttered with annoyance. “Then why am I thinking of a gentleman I’ve met for all of five minutes?”

It shocked her to realize she was not impervious to the doctor’s charm. Any such attraction to a man her family would never consider to be a good match would surely be perilous and silly, yet she could not deny what she had felt. Perhaps that ache in her heart and fluttery feeling low in her stomach had been an aberration, and in the morning when she saw the doctor, her pulse would not tremble at all. For all she knew the man could be odious in his character, an ogre with no redeeming qualities. She closed her eyes, recalling the tender and kind way he had assisted Mrs. Denniston and her son, the way he had treated Mamma despite her arrogance and sense of superiority. No, the doctor was a kind man…and perhaps with many more layers to his character. Miranda drifted to sleep wishing she would eventually know all of them.

Chapter 3

The doctor’s manor was a lovely, spacious, sixty-room building which sat on several acres of land with the most beautiful lake set in the grounds of the property. Based on Miranda’s cursory inspection after breaking her fast, the ballroom which folded into the large drawing room had been converted to a hospital of a sort, with several small beds, and sofas with many cushions in the rooms for patients. She had peeked around the door, and had seen the young lad, Tommy, resting with four other children, three girls and a small boy, each slumbering on separate beds. Miranda had slipped away, astonished at the doctor’s generosity.

Her mother had hobbled from her room with Henry’s help, despite the doctor’s order that she should remain off her feet. Mamma had regretted it and had managed to hurt herself more. Dr. Astor had once more soaked her foot in warm water and had gently rubbed a pungent-smelling ointment on her mother’s extremities. Then he had lifted her in his arms, mounted the stairs with such ease, and deposited the countess to her room. It had amused Miranda to notice her mother blushing and staring at the muscles of the doctor's arms.

The sky remained overcast, so any long walk would not be wise, and Miranda found herself out of sorts and perplexed with what to do with her time. She had spent an hour touring the grounds of the estate before the threatening rains had forced her indoors. Slipping into the room the housekeeper indicated was the library, she faltered on the threshold, gasping with surprised pleasure. His library was wonderful! Elegantly shelved walls of books rose in splendor. The library was decorated in antique red, blue, and gold, with four soaring windows facing the rolling expanse of the estate grounds. Mahogany bookcases lined the walls and rose beyond the second floor extending to the vaulted ceiling. There was even a ladder to climb for fetching and returning books, and there was a staircase for the higher levels. Her feet sank into plush Aubusson carpet as she glided across the expanse of the room, truly struck by the beauty of the library. It was at least three times the size of the libraries in each of her homes, and Cheswicks did everything impressively.

Miranda plucked a gothic romance from the shelf, surprised to see such a title there. Holding it in her hands, she did a slow tour of the lower shelves, noting the dozens of medical journals, mostly on rare diseases and anatomy. Dr. Astor appeared to be very interested in his field of study and was serious in his pursuit. She wondered what had inspired such dedication. On the carpeted floor by the low burning fire, four books were scattered about. Three were various medical books, one a gothic mystery. Miranda grinned, liking they had a common reading interest. Her father and brother forever berated her on the deplorable books she read, yet there was an intelligent and learned gentleman enjoying the same stories.

The door swung open, and she whirled around, clutching the book to her chest.

Dr. Astor only noticed her after closing the door and strolling halfway across the room. This morning he was dressed with neatness and propriety if not in the first stare of fashion. His hair was still a little over-long, and there was a shadow of a beard along his jawline.