Page 10 of Grace in Glasgow (Seduced in Scotland #3)

“F ive disappearances in this locale in the last month!”

A paperboy’s voice called out, bouncing off the brick buildings that lined the cobblestone street that led to Dr. Hall’s office.

The rain from the night before had stopped sometime during breakfast and the cool autumn sky had cleared, revealing a rare pale blue that was often not visible from within the city.

In recent years, the air in town had become heavier and James often noted the way his lungs seemed to feel weighed down whenever he returned from his visits in the Highlands.

It was rather humorous, he noted, even as he unlocked the black door of his office.

To catch himself longing for the wide-open spaces and brutal landscape of his birth.

As a child and young man, James had done little else but dream of the world at large, planning and plotting his escape from the unnerving calm and boredom that he had experienced as a child.

Not that he didn’t appreciate growing up there.

His aunt had never been cruel or unloving.

Quite the opposite, in fact. James had never wondered about her affection for him, but she was an eccentric and with little money and no prospects, James had very nearly fallen into some menial job that would have him trapped in Glencoe all his life had it not been for Dr. Barkley.

A tiny bell above the door jingled as he closed it behind him and shrugged off his coat.

He entered the spacious, long office and storefront with his usual vigor for work.

At the front of the store, on either side of him as he walked through, were two glass display cases, under which a number of medicines and herbal remedies were meticulously marked with what they were for and tagged with the price.

Behind the display cases were glossy black shelves, lined with medical books, glass cloches covering all sorts of things, and jars filled with dry herbs for James to work with.

The ceiling above was covered with tin ceiling tiles that continued into the next space, an examining room, where James hung his coat on a metal hook.

A small wooden desk with a lamp on it sat in the corner of the room, in front of yet another bookcase that was stuffed completely with envelopes and papers.

These were his patients’ charts, of which he kept a record to judge which medicines worked for certain ailments, as well as the progress of his treatments.

An examining table, that was really more of a cot on high metal legs, stood in the middle of the room, with a folded wool blanket on top.

There was also a woodstove with a teakettle and a water basin stand.

It was a humble office, but one James took great pride in. Not only was it clean, but it was all his and of all the things in Glasgow that he loved, this office reigned above all else.

The small bell jingled once more and James was sure it was Virgil, his assistant and shopkeeper.

“Good morning, Virgil,” James said loudly without peering out of his office as he bent over his desk to read the schedule. He had several patients coming today as well as a meeting with the Chief Constable of the Glasgow Police, Franklin Murphy, first thing that morning. “I’m in here.”

“So you are,” a familiar feminine voice spoke, sending a tingling sensation down his spine.

James immediately stood, forcing down whatever visceral reaction he seemed to have whenever Grace Sharpe was near him, and stalked out of the office.

“Miss Sharpe,” James said, not at all pleased with how grave he sounded. He pulled out a small silver pocket watch he kept in his vest pocket. Glancing at it, he spoke. “You’re not due here for another several hours.”

“Yes, I know,” she said as she began to peel off her kid gloves, before untying the silk ribbon that held her bonnet in place. She removed it, and James was appalled to be seized with another sensation.

Pleasure. Pleasure at seeing her shining eyes and pink cheeks, highlighted by the curls of her dark hair that were piled atop her head. But he couldn’t fathom as to why he should find pleasure in the way she appeared?

He blinked. Then cleared his throat.

“You know and so you disregard our set appointment time?”

“Well, now, I was thinking about it last night, and it seemed rather silly of me to wait until noon to come to this office. I know that I’m to be here every other day bright and early, and honestly,” she continued as she moved past him into the office.

“I couldn’t take yet another conversation about balls and soirées and the like over breakfast, so I decided to come early and provide whatever services I can.

Goodness,” she cooed, looking around the office. “This is lovely.”

James had to exhale slowly, ignoring the flutter of pride he felt at her last statement.

Not only was he far and away not interested in her services, but he had specifically requested she come at noon to avoid meeting with the constable.

The last thing James needed was the Glasgow Police to undermine him because he had a female doctor shadowing him.

“Miss Sharpe, I don’t need your assistance this morning, so if you would please.”

He held his arm out straight toward the door, but Grace ignored him completely, instead tapping the schedule on his desk with her index finger.

“You’ve a number of patients coming in only a short time. Surely I can do something.”

“Miss Sharpe—”

Ring-a-ling!

Both James and Grace turned to peer out of the office doorway and see a young man with a limp enter. Virgil.

“Good morning, doctor!” the young man called out. “I see you’ve beaten me here this morning. Very well, but you shan’t win tomorrow! I’ve a plan, you see, foolproof to make sure that I… Oh,” he said, as the young man’s eyes widened to see Grace. “I didn’t know you was seeing patients already.”

“Miss Sharpe is not a patient,” James said, annoyed. “She’s the one I told you about.”

Virgil’s blue eyes shone with excitement.

“Oh! The lady doctor! How fascinating!” he said as he hobbled forward with an outstretched hand. Grace nearly shook it before he pulled back and with an expression of shock, bent his head. “Pardon me, my lady. I forgot that, well, it’s just that, I don’t meet many proper, society types.”

James watched as Grace bent down slightly and reaching for Virgil’s hand, she shook it as she pulled him back up.

“Please do not stand on any formalities with me, Mr.?”

“Virgil. Just Virgil.”

“Oh, well, just Virgil, I promise I’m not at all like what you’ve heard about society ladies. Unless you’ve heard that we’re all brilliant.”

Virgil laughed at the teasing, as did Grace while James rolled his eyes. Wonderful, he thought sarcastically. These two were going to get on swimmingly.

“Miss Sharpe, like I was saying, I’ve a very busy morning—”

“Which is why I’m here,” she said, with a firm nod at him, before turning back to Virgil. “Would you be so kind as to show me around so that Dr. Hall can ready himself for his first patient?”

“Yes, my lady!”

“You may call me Grace. After all, I know your first name and we are to be colleagues.”

Virgil actually blushed at her statement and James couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the flattery. She really could be rather manipulative when she wanted to be.

“Very well, Miss Grace!” Virgil said, turning as he limped toward one of the display cabinets. “Come, come.”

James’s mouth was pressed into a hard line as he turned his back on the two, seething for reasons he didn’t understand. Why should Virgil be able to say her first name? And didn’t she realize how ridiculous it was to call him a colleague?

A sensible voice in the back of his mind called out, telling him not to behave so boorishly, but he seemed unable to stop himself.

Grace was charming and bubbly, far more so than James had ever witnessed her to be during social situations.

When they were within her aunt’s home, Grace was reserved and somewhat quiet, but she would transform when the topic of medicine was brought up.

He had noticed it immediately and had smugly enjoyed being one of only a few people who could cause her eyes to light up as they did when the topic was touched upon.

Of course, that wasn’t the only time she was talkative. She had also been quite chatty when her brothers-in-law, Graham and Logan, were around. And even during their trip to the rookery, she had appeared far more attentive to their patients than with James.

He should like to ask her why she was so much more welcoming with others at some point, but as the tiny bell above the door sounded again, all his curiosities about Grace were pushed out of his mind.

Chief Constable Murphy was a stout, older man with a round face and very little hair, that encircled the bottom half of his skull. He was a serious man who rarely laughed, but one who was even tempered and dedicated to his job.

Removing his top hat as he entered, James waited, watching as the man noticed not only Virgil but Grace, who both came out from behind the display case.

“Virgil,” Constable Murphy said, though he kept his curious gaze on Grace. “And who might this young lady be?”

“Miss Grace Sharpe, sir,” she said with a curtsy, which seemed to chafe the constable. “I’m a student of Dr. Hall’s.”

James took a step forward, disliking the term.

“Ah, I’m afraid student is an unfair word. Miss Sharpe had been studying medicine for over a year now with my mentor, Dr. Barkley in Glencoe.”

“I see,” the constable said, though he appeared unsure. “A lady doctor?”

James gave him a tight smile, annoyed at how often he was likely to hear the term lady doctor over the next six months. Surely, people would eventually just call her Dr. Sharpe.

Wouldn’t they?

“Chief constable, if you would,” James said, heading toward his office. “We can speak in private in my office.”

“Ah, yes,” he said with a short bow to Grace.