Mail Order Brides and The Doctor (A Western Romance Book)(COMPLETED)

Chapter 11

"You did what!" Irene shouted at the top of her lungs. Just when she'd begun to think that everything between her and Theodore was going better than she could have hoped, he'd suddenly come home and dropped the most horrible and shocking news on her.

"I had to," he said. "I had no choice in the matter. I did it for us." It was the standard reply of husbands everywhere when they'd done something they knew they should not have.

"For us?" she snapped. "Do you really dare try and tell me such a thing?" He hesitated, wisely sensing the dam that was about to burst.

"I... I thought so at the time," he said, "but now I realize perhaps I was being selfish." He licked his lips nervously and she nodded her head. "But I cannot give you the money I've promise you if she withholds it from me. And anyway, don't you want to know who has been telling Erma our secrets?"

"I don't care about the money," she said, but then thoughts of opening a little dress shop all her own came to her.

If only she'd known that her marriage to Theodore was secure now, unable to be broken by anything which might come their way, she might really not care about the money. As it was, she could not help but feel it wise on her part to concern herself with it just a little. Money meant the difference between living on the streets and living in comfort. She did not need a lot of it, just enough not to starve.

"Please, just come with me tomorrow night," he said. "I promise you that she will not insult you, and if she does, I will put a stop to it at once."

She let out a heavy sigh and agreed, though she made sure to let him know she was not happy about it.

"If ever there is anything I can do for you to repay you for this," he said, "just say the word and it shall be done."

He leaned in gingerly to kiss the top of her head, and though part of her wanted to pull away from him, a deeper part of her—that part of her that had become attached to him last night—refused to let her budge.

It was just her head that he kissed, but his lips lit a fire deep within her belly, one that she did not think would be easily put out. She caught a similar look in his eye and wondered if his thoughts could really mirror hers. She hoped they did. She wanted so much to know that the butterflies which had begun in her stomach upon their first meeting and had now turned to a bird's wings were reciprocated. They fluttered and beat against her, making her head dizzy.

When he took her hand and led her towards the bedroom, she did not try to stop him. She could not have squelched this desire in her any other way than to be with him.

The next day, Theodore arrived home early from work—he'd had four patients, he said, a significant improvement and one that gave them both hope—and helped to reassure her that everything would be fine. She kept her lips tightly shut, already on edge and not wanting to argue with him, especially about his aunt whom she had long ago deemed a selfish fool.

"It's just to be dinner, you said," she reconfirmed with him as they approached the house.

"Yes, and I cannot wait to find out who has told her about our plan."

"Who knows about it other than Lucy?" she asked. She would not even entertain the notion that Lucy had told anyone.

He shot a look at her just then, and she thought she saw a question in his eyes. He cleared his throat. "Speaking of our plan," he began as they walked along towards his aunt's. He'd wanted to take a coach, but given their financial circumstances, she'd pushed him for the exercise.

She looked at him and held her breath, hoping he might say what was already on her mind. "Yes?" she said prompting him to continue.

"Its just that I wondered if you might not like to... rearrange things a bit."

Her throat was dry and when she licked her lips, she discovered they were numb. She tried clearing her throat, but it failed to help. "Rearrange things?" she asked.

"Yes, I thought... perhaps... given how things between us seem to have changed, that maybe you'd like to, uh, stay after the thirty days are over."

She blushed deeply, watching their feet move in unison as they walked. "Stay?" she said, wondering why the idea made her so nervous. This was exactly what she'd been praying for.

"Yes," he said, then in a rush, "I mean, we can try it and see how it goes, and if it doesn't work out then return to our original agreement."

He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "I would love to stay," she told him, her heart fluttering.

"You would?" he asked, sounding surprised.

She nodded. "Yes."

He broke into a grin then, his eyes sparkling, and took her hand.

When they arrived at Erma's, she felt that nothing could come between them, not even his aunt. The door chimed and then opened, and they were shown in by her housemaid, who led them directly to the dining room.

"There you are," Erma said, remaining seated as they entered. "You are five minutes late. Punctuality is part of crafting a good meal, you know."

Irene looked at the clock hanging behind Erma. "Excuse me, ma'am," she said as politely as she could, "but we are five minutes early."

Erma's frown hardened as she looked at the clock. "Yes, well... a good guest would know to be at least ten minutes early, though not any earlier than that, or you risk being an imposition to your host."

Irene felt Theodore take her hand and squeeze it. When she looked at him, he still had the same love-sick look in his eyes she'd seen on their way here.

"Now then," Erma continued as if nothing had transpired between them but the happiest of hellos. "I have someone I wish for you to meet." Here, she did rise and summoned her housemaid. "Go and bring the gentleman in, if you would," she said. Her housemaid nodded.

Irene and Theodore waited, their curiosity piqued. Who else besides Lucy could have known or even guessed at their plans? And who would tell Erma?

A man entered the room then. He was near thirty but already had a bald head and a gruff face to go with it, the hairs on his chin looking unkempt and oddly out of place with the rest of him. His clothes were new and tailored, his shoes shiny. His overall appearance was a of a gentleman. Still... there were those hairs.

She looked at Theodore to get his take on things and saw that his jaw had dropped open. He stared at the man, then his eyes slowly shifted to his aunt. His face hardened in ways she'd never seen, and he looked as though he could kill if anyone said the wrong word just then.

"What... is he... doing here?" Theodore said through clenched teeth.

Irene could only look in wonder at the strained red face, the bulging eyes, and fear that he was having some sort of fit. If he got any redder, she would insist that Erma call a doctor.

"What's the matter?" Irene asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder. She looked at the man Theodore could not take his eyes from.

Erma smiled and said, "Mrs. Harcourt, may I introduce to you a good friend of mine... Mr. Maurice Greene."