How to Heal the Marquess by Sally Forbes
Chapter Seventeen
Daisy watched her father’s face, her aching heart beginning to soften. She was terribly wounded by his actions, to be sure, and her trust in her own father had been shaken. But it was clear the physician felt genuine remorse, which was causing him some measure of heartache. Even though she was upset with her father, she hated seeing the pain on his face.
In truth, she knew her father had a good point in what he had said to her. She was aware that she, as a woman, would never be able to practice as a doctor.
She had, however, thought she might take over most of the practice herself and then hire on a doctor of her choosing, who did not mind working with a woman. But she understood her father’s desire to protect her from what could well be terrible disappointment and heartbreak.
Unable to withstand the sorrow on her father’s face another moment, Daisy reached for his hand and gave him a wan smile.
“Of course, I forgive you, Father,” she said.
The physician’s eyes lit up, and he squeezed her hand tightly in his.
“Oh, thank heavens,” he said, his relief apparent. “I could not bear to see you so hurt.”
Daisy shook her head.
“I am hurt, Father,” she said. “I am hurt that you did not just tell me what you were planning.” As her father’s face began to fall again, she smiled once more. “However, I will recover. Rather quickly, I should think. And I do understand why you have done the things you have, as well as why you cannot allow me to have your practice. But please, promise me that, from now on, big or small, you tell me exactly what it is that you are planning when it concerns our little family in any way. Please? I will not make things difficult. I just like to know that you trust me enough with such important things.”
The doctor nodded. He looked thoroughly chastised but also glad. Daisy bit back a giggle at how almost boyish her father looked in that moment.
“That, I can absolutely promise you, Daughter,” he said, gazing at her fondly. “Sometimes, I do forget just how grown up you really are. And sometimes, I think you are more so than I.”
At this, Daisy did giggle. She put her arm around her father and shrugged.
“And sometimes, I think I have to agree,” she said.
The two of them laughed together, and it felt good. She could feel her own sorrow melting away, and she was glad she had agreed to speak to her father. She did not wish to remain angry with him after all.
When the physician looked at his daughter once more, there were tears in his eyes.
“Daisy, darling,” he said, once more serious. “You must never forget how proud of you I am. No matter what Society, or the world, thinks, I could never be prouder than I am of you.”
Daisy’s heart swelled with humility and joy. She hugged her father tightly.
“I know, Papa,” she said. “And that will always mean the world to me.”
Dr. Gibson patted his daughter on the back and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Now that that is settled,” he said, his voice sounding much more like his usual, cheery baritone. “Please, tell me how Lord Berbrook is faring. You have not yet needed to send for me, so I trust that means he is stable.”
Daisy’s face lit up, and all her previous sadness was forgotten. She took her father’s hands in her own and beamed at him.
“Oh, Father, it is nothing short of miraculous,” she said, her excitement almost too much to contain. “He looks a great deal better than before. And he even ate a full plate of breakfast this morning. He asked me to join him, and we ate and talked. He was so cheery that I nearly forgot he was my patient.”
The doctor chuckled and nodded approvingly.
“I suspected he would be in good hands with you,” he said, winking at his daughter. “And what of his fever and his cough?”
At this, Daisy’s heart dipped a little.
“His fever was gone for the entire day today,” she said. “But he still has that troublesome cough.” She paused, biting her lip to keep from rambling, as she was now afraid her father might change his praise to admonishment.
Instead, however, he nodded thoughtfully.
“Well, we cannot expect too many miracles in a single day, my dear,” he said. “I suspect, even as the duke mends, that the cough may linger for some time. You are doing quite well, it seems. My only additional orders are to continue giving the duke the tonic for his chest.”
Daisy’s heart rose once more.
“You mean I can call in on him again on my own?” she asked.
The physician laughed and nodded.
“Of course, my dear,” he said. “I would like you to call in on him again tomorrow morning if it pleases you.”
Daisy gave a small squeal of excitement. She hugged her father tightly and giggled.
“It would please me a great deal, Father,” she said. “Thank you again for your trust in me.”
Dr. Gibson pulled back from his daughter, giving her a quick, soft kiss on the forehead.
“You have more than earned it, Daughter,” he said. “Now, I shall leave you to dress for bed. You will want to be off early in the morning. Good night, my darling Daisy.”
Daisy smiled sweetly at her father as she walked him to the door to her room.
“Good night, Father,” she said.
All the while she dressed for bed, her mind was filled with thoughts of her day with the duke and with how quickly her father had chosen to allow her to go back the following day after learning of her success thus far. But as she thought, she found her way back to thinking about this Henry fellow. He seemed nice enough, but her father knew almost nothing about him. Was she supposed to simply put her faith in the young man as blindly as her father had?
Before she knew it, she had tossed and turned for hours, thinking about the man her father had chosen to take over his medical practice. She remembered what her father had said about Henry being the son of another prominent physician. But that did not mean he had the same passion for medicine that she did. For all they knew, Henry could have dreams of sailing overseas and never returning to London. Or, perhaps, he would be one of the rare few of their station who married into a noble family, inherited a title, and became too good to continue his career as a physician. The more Daisy fretted over such things, the more she told herself that these were her true concerns and the real reason why she had such an issue with her father hiring the young man.
But as the hours continued to pass, she allowed herself to be honest, at least with herself. She was still hurt, despite her genuine efforts to be understanding toward her father and the choice he had made.
She was wounded because, whether her father had a valid point or not about the inability of society to accept her as a physician, he had still left her out of the process of making decisions regarding the future of the practice. She never wanted to think about losing her father, but she also knew he would not live forever.
And he knew she was as devoted to his medical practice as he was. She would have never dreamed that he would make such important decisions about it without her.
But as her thoughts continued to wander, she felt guilt rise once more. She loved her father, and she was being unfair to him with her anger.
He would never do anything intentionally to hurt her because he loved her dearly. And she knew he would never do anything he believed would be detrimental to his beloved practice. He had never steered her wrong, even when it had seemed he was struggling to raise her on his own. She knew, deep down, that he would not begin doing so now.
For better or worse, whether she liked it or not, she knew her father knew best and that he had the best interests of both her and the future of his practice at heart. At last, satisfied with her realization and too exhausted to continue fretting, she fell into a deep sleep.
When she awoke the next morning, Daisy planned to speak to her father and apologize to him for reacting so stubbornly to his decision. She also wanted to promise her father, more sincerely, that she would give Henry a chance to prove himself, rather than judging him so harshly.
She thought she might even personally invite Henry to join them for dinner one evening as a sign of good faith. She knew her father would approve, and perhaps it would show him that she was truly attempting to accept the situation as it must be. But when she went to the kitchen to begin her preparations for breakfast, she found a note on the table.
My dearest Daughter,
Forgive me for missing out on breakfast with you. I had to leave early this morning to get to the practice. I will be spending the day with young Henry, showing him how we have things set up and the way we do things, so he can begin acclimating to it all properly. I do hope you understand, Darling.
I would like you to call in on Lord Berbrook, as planned. I am very impressed with the progress you have made with him thus far. Perhaps, in your care, he will be well again before you know it. And, as always, if something should go wrong, send for me. Henry and I will be there straight away.
Remember, as I told you last night, just how proud of you I am. I love you with all my heart, Daisy. I hope you have a wonderful day.
All my love,
Father
Daisy bit down hard on her lip to swallow her teeming jealousy and disappointment. It felt as though her father had, once more, deceived her and gone behind her back. Of course, she knew he needed to teach Henry how the practice was run. But could he not have waited and told her what he was doing that day over breakfast, just as he always did?
Mustering all her willpower, Daisy fetched some eggs and pork and set about making herself a small breakfast. Though she was no longer hungry, she knew she must eat before she embarked on another day of caring for the duke.
As she ate, she reminded herself of the promise she had made to herself to give Henry a chance. He seemed like a nice enough young man. Perhaps if she warmed to him, she would see what her father saw in him.
Even though she felt considerably better by the time she departed from her home and headed toward Berbrook Manor, she still felt glad she would not have to see her father all day. It would be good for her to continue her care of the duke if only to repair her damaged pride. She could not think of herself, and her hurt feelings anymore.
She double-checked her medical bag to ensure she had all the supplies she needed. Then, she began making mental notes of all the things she planned to do for the duke that day, pushing away all thoughts of her father and his new apprentice.
