How to Heal the Marquess by Sally Forbes

Chapter Twenty-three

 

“Daisy, dear,” Ambrose Gibson said, gently nudging his niece’s elbow.

Daisy flushed, giving her head a firm shake to bring herself back to the task at hand.

“Yes, Uncle Ambrose?” she asked, trying to sound bright and attentive rather than scatterbrained and distracted.

The apothecary chuckled, motioning to the bowl before Daisy, which was now nearly overflowing.

“I was merely wondering how much more water you intend to fit in there,” he said, giving her a teasing grin. “And where, precisely, you intend to put the rest of the ingredients.”

Daisy looked down at the mess she had very nearly made. Quickly, she began dipping some of the water from the bowl back into the basin, which held fresh water for making potions and tonics. Too late, she realized she had already added some of the cinquefoils to the water, making the entire bowl unusable.

With an agitated huff, Daisy reached for the bowl, intending to refill it with fresh water and begin again with her preparations for a tonic to aid in bringing down swellings. However, her fingertips brushed the foxglove flowers before she could add them to the bowl, tipping them all over the counter. The fire spread all over Daisy’s face as she forced herself to swallow a scream of frustration and abandon the bowl of water temporarily, to gather up the bell-shaped blossoms once more.

Ambrose, who was still chuckling to himself as he fetched the other ingredients needed for the concoction, ceased his task and turned to watch his niece struggle to correct her mishaps. But when she almost dropped the bowl outside the window as she emptied it, his bemused expression changed.

“Are you quite all right, dear Niece?” Ambrose asked, some of his humor melting away to concern.

Daisy nodded a bit too eagerly, and she gave her uncle a too-sweet smile.

“I am perfectly fine, Uncle Ambrose,” she assured him. “I seem to be a bit distracted today, that is all.”

And distracted indeed she was. Since arriving at her uncle’s apothecary shop that morning, Daisy’s thoughts had been far away from the creations through which he had been attempting to guide her. They had, instead, been utterly consumed by her encounter with Lord Penwell the previous day.

Any encounter with him was always an unforgettable one for Daisy. But she knew that, for as long as she lived, she would never forget his admission, out loud, that she was worthy of being a doctor.

Her embarrassment quickly faded, and her previous distracted giddiness began to return. She forced herself to concentrate on her uncle’s instructions as he began the lesson again, but her heart was thudding in her chest.

Apart from her father and the duke, who had said she was worthy of the medical profession, no one had ever said anything to affect her so greatly about her passion for medicine. She certainly never expected the marquess to say such a thing, but now he had, she could not get his words out of her head.

“Hello there,” came a familiar voice from the door to the apothecary’s shop.

Daisy and her uncle looked up, both smiling when Daisy’s father stepped inside.

“Good day, Brother,” Ambrose said, stepping from behind the counter and leaving Daisy to finish making the potion to give his brother a hearty embrace. “What a wonderful surprise to see you here this afternoon.”

Dr. Gibson released his brother to approach his daughter, who was mixing the ingredients for the potion properly this time. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder so as not to make her start or make a mistake because he had distracted her. If only he had seen me earlier today, she thought, biting her lip to stifle a giggle.

“You certainly look happy, my dear,” he said, kissing her softly on the cheek when she paused her work and turned to face him. “What are you learning today?”

Daisy beamed proudly at her uncle, then turned back to her father, her eyes sparkling.

“Uncle Ambrose is full of surprises,” she said. “Just when I think I have learned all he has to teach, he brings me something new to learn.”

The apothecary chuckled, gazing proudly at his niece.

“Well, I can hardly allow our time together to come to an end, can I?” he asked. “And I find that, in the process of teaching you, I learn new things myself every single day, which I then pass on to you.”

Daisy gave her uncle a fond smile. Then, she turned back to her father, who was now curiously inspecting the work she had before her.

“That is wonderful,” he said. “I am so glad to see the two of you are enjoying your time together.” He paused, pointing to the bowl and vials in front of his daughter. “What is it that you are working on here?”

Daisy’s face brightened more still. She glanced at her uncle with raised eyebrows, and Ambrose gently nodded his approval at her unvoiced question.

“This is a potion containing cinquefoil and feverfew,” she said proudly. “We are experimenting to see which other herbs work best to control swelling in just about any part of the body. This is the basic mixture Uncle Ambrose has taught me to make, and we will gradually begin testing different herbs to see which ones work and which do not.”

As she spoke, she glanced up at her father, who was watching her with proud approval. Daisy’s heart filled with glee. Nothing made her happier than to see her father proud of the things she accomplished. Added to her previous excitement over the marquess’s words, she felt as though she was walking on clouds.

“That does sound like quite an asset to medicine,” he said, giving her another kiss on the cheek. “Perhaps, once you get Lord Berbrook through this illness of his, you will get the chance to try out your new discovery on him some time.”

Daisy looked at her father, hope rising in her chest.

“Are you saying you wish me to tend to him again?” she asked.

The physician nodded.

“I am,” he said. “In fact, I told the marquess that you would visit later this afternoon. I trust you are not too busy.”

Daisy put her hands over her heart. She never guessed her father would ask her to call in on the duke again, and now he had Henry acting as his apprentice and assistant. In fact, she had pretty well resigned herself to never seeing any patients herself ever again, unless Henry happened to be ill or otherwise unavailable. She had to force herself to remain calm and not seem too eager, though she could not help clasping her hands together with her overflowing excitement.

Not only would she see the duke and continue helping him, as she had grown so attached to doing, but she would see the handsome Lord Penwell again. His words returned to her thoughts, and she felt the familiar sensation of floating once again. For the first time since her father had told her about his new assistant, Daisy felt genuinely and completely happy.

“Darling, are you all right?” Dr. Gibson said, looking at his daughter warily.

Daisy blinked and beamed at her father.

“I am perfectly fine, Father,” she said truthfully. “I was just thinking about what I will need to take with me when I see the duke.”

The physician nodded, accepting his daughter’s explanation.

“There’s my girl,” he said. “I must warn you, however, that the duke is showing only a slight improvement. All we can really do now is continue to monitor his condition.”

Daisy nodded, but she barely heard her father. Even if he was only showing marginal improvement, she was confident she could build on that and hope for a full recovery. She had, after all, get him well enough to leave his bed. She was certain she could get him back on the mend in no time.

“I understand,” she said, smiling sweetly. “And I shall do the best I can to continue with his care.”

Dr. Gibson gave another satisfied nod.

“Well, I shall not rush you here,” he said. “But you are expected at Berbrook Manor when you are ready.” He looked at her and winked. “And I do believe your presence will be most welcome.”

Daisy wanted to ask her father what he meant by that. But he bade both her and his brother farewell before she could ask. Anxious to get to the Manor, she finished her lesson with her uncle. Then, she gathered her things, plus a few herbs and vials filled with various potions her uncle had gifted her. Then, after hugging her uncle goodbye, she headed for Berbrook Manor.

The butler greeted her upon her arrival, and he seemed quite pleased to see her.

“It is good to see you again, Miss Gibson,” he said. “Lord Penwell and Lord Berbrook have been expecting you.”

Daisy smiled sheepishly, noting she was likely quite a bit later arriving than they might have thought.

“I do hope I am not running too late,” she said.

The butler smiled warmly and shook his head.

“Not at all,” she said. “Though the masters of the house are very anxious to see you.”

She blushed, allowing the butler to lead her inside and escort her up the stairs. She took a deep breath, surprised at just how thrilled she was to be back in the Manor. She felt pity for the people of London who did not enjoy their jobs as much as she did, and who did not like the company of their employers as much as she did her current ones.

Just as the butler was about to lead her to the door of the duke’s bedchambers, she saw a figure step out into the hallway just ahead of them. As they drew closer, Daisy could see who it was, and her heart stopped.

“Good day, milord,” the butler said, stopping to bow to his master. “Miss Gibson has arrived to tend to Lord Berbrook.”

Lord Penwell stepped into clear view, and Daisy felt sure she would swoon. He was dressed not in his usual black outfit but in a midnight blue suit with a matching cravat. The suit was perfectly tailored to fit him, and the color complimented his own perfectly. His eyes sparkled as they settled on her, and he bowed deeply, smiling.

“Hello, Daisy,” he said, his voice full of warmth and welcome. “It is so good to see you again.”