So True a Love (Daughters of His Kingdom 2)

Tears pressed at the backs of her eyes. Her voice cracked, though she strained against it. “Thank you, Thomas.” So many words begged for revelation. So many strivings yearned for unveiling. I will do my best to keep you and Eliza safe.

She released her grip and sat straighter. “Speaking of Liza, where is she?” By this time yesterday she had already been up to plait Kitty’s hair and talk of the happy duties they would acquaint themselves with as the day stretched before them.

Thomas’s cheeks reddened, but he quickly smiled and turned his head toward the door. “She... she isn’t feeling herself this morning, but it’s nothing serious. I’ve taken it upon myself to make sure you are well enough to get out of bed. If you are well enough.”

“Oh I am, most definitely.” Worry needled into her stomach and she ached at Eliza’s absence. “You’re sure nothing is the matter. She isn’t ill?”

“Nay,” Thomas said, “I assure you, your sister is quite well.” A dreamy look captured his eye before he blinked it away. “If you are feeling recovered then, I suppose you may get out of bed and make yourself useful.”

The tease in his voice coaxed a laugh from Kitty’s throat. “So that’s what this is about. You wish to put me to work.” She giggled again as he got up from the bed. “I do promise to make myself useful, Thomas. If there is ever anything I can do, please let me know.”

Thomas stopped near the door. “Now that you mention it, there is something I am in need of.”

“Aye?” The idea of finally escaping the confines of her bed and getting her mind away from the dreadful memories revived Kitty’s lagging spirits. Saturday was still four days away, perhaps in that time she could come up with a solution, a way to avoid the deed that Cyprian pressed her into performing.

Thomas pointed downstairs. “There’s a bundle that needs to be returned to Nathaniel. Eliza mends his shirts. He says he is down to only two wearable ones—and, I fear she won’t be able to deliver them any time soon.”

Kitty fumbled desperately for an excuse not to execute his request. The last person she wanted to see was Nathaniel. “Thomas, I’m not sure...”

Half of Thomas’s mouth lifted while his eyes squinted. “Only a few moments ago you couldn’t wait to help. Not going back on your word, are you?”

Kitty pursed her lips when every rebuttal fled her mind. Finally, she shrugged and displayed a grin. “As you wish.”

“Excellent.” Thomas motioned behind him with his thumb. “You’ll want to go to the back door. Nathaniel reserves the front for patients or strangers. If you knock several times with no answer, you may be certain he’s left for the day. He usually gets an early start so I expect the house will be empty. Eliza has made a habit of leaving the bundle on the kitchen table. Rest assured there is nothing untoward about you entering his house in his absence.”

Mercy! Go into his house? “I understand. Thank you.”

Thomas started out the door then paused and pivoted, looking over his shoulder. “You know, Kitty, ‘tis about time someone else started mending Nathaniel’s clothes for him.”

He winked and darted down the stairs before Kitty had time to respond, or to smother the dream of a future her heart so longed to nourish, but one that would never be. Foolish, foolish heart.

Chapter Seven

Bundle in hand, Kitty marched down the street and around the corner, her grip tightening as Nathaniel’s home came into view. Mercy! She hadn’t known her heart could beat like this. She pressed a hand to her breast and felt the rapid thumping. Gracious. No need to be so nervous. Yet, she was.

Approaching his home as one might a den of lions, Kitty’s palms began to sweat. ‘Twas a simple task. Knock, leave the clothes on the table and escape to the safety of the road. He would not even be home, so why worry?

The clean spring air infused her lungs with a solid coating of courage as the scent of blossoming trees brushed past. Not a single cloud cluttered the brilliant blue sky. The warmth of the sun gently massaged her back and the cheery song of the birds almost made her forget her worries, until her shoes rested on the back step of Nathaniel’s two story home.

A minute passed. Then two. The longer she stared at the door the more it seemed to loom higher and wider as if it hoped to frighten her away.

Kitty inhaled and shook her head until the childish imagining vanished. With bravery securely in place, she rapped her knuckles against the door and waited. Tapping her fingers against the bundle in her arms, she looked around. No answer, not even a sound from within. She knocked again, this time warily peeking into the partially open window beside the door. A

fter another full minute passed and when she was sure not a sound emerged from the house, she sucked in a deep breath, twisted the door’s cool, bronze handle in her clammy palm and entered.

Instantly the scent of a day-old fire and fresh soap stole her attention. So this was how Nathaniel lived? The tidy house was warm and inviting. The richness of the furnishings startled her almost as much as the way her heart seemed to find rest the moment her feet tapped against the floor.

A peculiar tickling sensation started in her chest. What did the rest of the house look like? How did he keep his parlor? Did he hang paintings of family on his walls? Clutching the bag closer, Kitty sighed. Curiosity was natural, but hazardous. Focus, Kitty.

Instead of heeding her own wise counsel, she stepped further into the room, her eyes scanning the masculine space. A few moments wouldn’t hurt. How could it when no one was home?

Gathering her surroundings, she surmised the room she stood in must be his study. A large bookcase hugged one wall, while a stern fireplace occupied the other. Medical books of every width and breadth were strewn hap-hazardly atop a large desk, as were diagrams of human anatomy that reminded her of the ones she’d seen as a child on Father’s desk. A large chair waited, ready to receive its master. Her imagination began a healthy exercise and she smiled. How many hours in the evening did Nathaniel read in that chair with his cravat untied and rugged whiskers scattered across his jaw? A robust fire in the fireplace, a glass of cider on the table perhaps? Did he like living alone? Did he ever get lonely?

Did he ever wish for a wife?

Silly girl! Quickly locating the kitchen, she deposited the bundle on the table next to a sack of dried apple slices and silently made her way to the back door through the study, then stopped.

Nathaniel’s desk whispered to her in Father’s own warm tone. Her throat thickened at the bittersweet memory. How many hours had she spent at Father’s side asking him about conditions, why the body did this and that and what would help? So many. The desire to study medicine and assist patients had burned within her like an unquenchable fire from the earliest days of her youth. But she knew she would never attain her wish. Medical school was not a place for a woman.