Free An Honest Heart by Kaye Dacus Page B

turned to pay her fare, and her face drained of color. She shoved the bundle into Alice’s arms, hoisted her skirts, and rushed toward them.
    “Mother, are you unwell? Dr. Stradbroke, what happened?” She reached for her mother’s free arm, wrapping her hand around the thin wrist, but Mrs. Bainbridge shook her off.
    “Nothing is wrong. I visited Mrs. Howell, as I told you I would. Dr. Stradbroke called in just as I was ready to leave, and he graciously offered to escort me home.”
    Not quite how he remembered it happening, but he did not contradict her.
    Miss Bainbridge’s blue eyes bored into him as if mining for the truth. He pressed his lips together and adopted a devil-may-care expression. At least, he hoped he did.

    Caddy opened the front door of the shop, then held it open for Dr. Stradbroke and her mother to pass through in front of her. She sent Alice to the workroom with the dress, but couldn’t tear her eyes away from the spectacle of the doctor assisting her mother out of her cloak. The gentleness he exhibited was incongruous with his massive size. He towered over Mother by a foot at least, and his broad shoulders and heavily muscled arms contrasted with her frailty, giving her a waiflike appearance.
    He held the woolen double-cape toward her, but instead of taking the garment, she wrapped her tiny hands around his large ones. “Doctor, I cannot thank you enough. Will you not stay and take tea with us? I am certain Agnes will have laid out plenty of food. Caddy and her girls work so hard all day, they need more than just a morsel at teatime.”
    Neal glanced over Mother’s head and caught Caddy’s eye. If the burning in her cheeks was any indication, he no doubt saw the blush that glowed from her face. He seemed to want her to make the decision for him, but she would not oblige. She tried to keep her face impassive and will her cheeks to cool.
    “Thank you for the invitation, ma’am, but I must be getting home. I have been out on calls all day, and I promised young Johnny Longrieve to tutor him in reading in the evenings. As the only doctor in the immediate vicinity, it is better if I am home should anyone need me.” He laid the cloak over the cutting table, made a slight bow to Mother, then moved toward the door. “Miss Bainbridge, will you see me out, please?”
    Caddy’s breath caught in her throat. She nodded and moved toward the door—but he accelerated to get ahead of her and open it before she could.
    She waited until it closed behind them before whirling on him. “I knew something was wrong. How ill is she?”
    Dr. Stradbroke held up his free hand, his gaze sympathetic. “There is no cause for immediate fear. Your mother’s heart is weak. But I believe a daily regimen of fresh air and exercise may be beneficial in her case. She is not to exert herself, however. No more than a stroll, and not alone. She may go as far as the greengrocer, but no farther, and only if she has promise of a quarter hour’s rest once she arrives there. She should stay indoors in foul weather, especially when it is cold. Of course, this daily exercise should not interfere with any treatment her regular doctor has prescribed. I will call on her again next week and see how she feels.”
    Caddy listened in fascination. He was such a young man to be so serious and so knowledgeable—surely no older than she, who still had almost two years until she turned thirty. And handsome. She hadn’t failed to notice how every woman on the street slowed or paused to get a good look at him. Being seen with him, deep in conversation, filled her with a strange sense of pride. She wasn’t certain why—he could do nothing for her or her business. Perhaps it was the interest he’d taken in Mother’s case. Yes, that must be it.
    “Miss Bainbridge?”
    “Sorry. I was . . . thinking. So, a daily walk to the greengrocer, and you will call in a week to see how she fares?” Caddy forced herself to pull her gaze away from the