Page 33 of The Lady and the Lion (Victorian Outcasts #9)

thirty

S amuel finished writing down the menu for the next few days. Whatever he asked, Potter would provide it, spoiling him.

Following Captain Jackson’s suggestions on how to improve Vivienne’s health, he’d ordered plenty of tangerines, oranges, strawberries, and fresh fish. The captain had said to buy all the food that cured scurvy, but Samuel didn’t understand what the scurvy had to do with Vivienne’s condition.

He watched the darkness covering the cobbled street. Uneasiness crept over him like the shadows spreading over London. A few more hours, then Vivienne would be with him forever, and no one would hurt her.

Since he had finished the menu list, he replied to unimportant letters. Sleep would elude him anyway.

Bernard entered the study and bowed. “Sir, Lady Vivienne is here,” he signed.

“Vivienne?” Samuel shot up from his chair. “She is here?”

He followed Bernard and stopped in the entry hall. Vivienne, pale and panting, leant against Dobkins who seemed about to fall under Vivienne’s weight.

He rushed to Vivienne’s side. “The captain,” he signed to Bernard.

Vivienne’s eyes started to roll backwards into a faint, and a raspy noise came out of her mouth.

“We had to leave.” Dobkins sighed when he took Vivienne in his arms. “Dr. Tucker came. Lady Huntington sent for him. He threatened to lock Lady Vivienne up in an asylum if she didn’t change her mind about marrying you. He said Lady Vivienne had tamed his lion .”

Samuel couldn’t sign to ask what the hell Dr. Tucker—the realisation hit him like a punch in the head. The shock caused his step to falter, and he had to thank his reflexes for not letting him fall.

Dr. Tucker had become Vivienne’s physician after the ice-skating disaster; he was an expert in potions and drugs; the circus didn’t perform anymore. Could he be Murdock?

He gathered Vivienne in his arms, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

Her breathing sounded shallow. Once upstairs, he laid her in the bed in the room that was supposed to be hers after tomorrow.

Dobkins wasn’t faring better. She was wheezing, too.

“Describe Dr. Tucker,” he signed angrily.

“Short, bald, piggish eyes, yellow teeth, and he walks with a limp.”

Even if Samuel could have talked, he would be speechless at the moment. He should have suspected something.

“Murdock,” he signed with effort as if his fingers were tied together.

Dobkins’s cheeks paled further. “But…it can’t be.”

“Only I’ve seen him. We need evidence, but I think it’s him.”

“Good Lord.” Dobkins wrapped her arms around herself.

“There should be a photograph of him in The Times of last Tuesday. I remember spotting him in the crowd of a group of Harley Street doctors for the inauguration of a new hospital in Chelsea.” Samuel pulled the call bell and waited for his servant.

“He’s like a disease that goes from one victim to another to find fresh energy.”

He caressed Vivienne’s cheek as a chilly shiver of fear crept down his back.

Murdock had been close to Vivienne for these past years, hurting her, and he was thousands of miles away and hadn’t done a damn thing to help her. The thug had found the worst possible way to punish him for leaving the circus.

Bernard arrived.

“Bring me last Tuesday’s issue of The Times .”

The butler left quickly.

“I’m here.” Captain Jackson strode into the room in his dressing gown.

Samuel moved away to give room to the captain. “She’s barely conscious.”

“Let me see.” The captain checked her pulse and touched her neck.

Vivienne blinked a few times as if she had trouble seeing. Captain Jackson checked her pulse again.

“Samuel believes Dr. Tucker is Murdock,” Dobkins said. “He wanted to take Lady Vivienne to an asylum.”

Captain Jackson whipped his head towards them. “What the hell!”

“Dr. Tucker’s description fits Murdock’s,” Dobkins said. “His timing in becoming Lady Vivienne’s physician is suspicious as well.”

“As if I didn’t hate the bastard enough.” The captain focused on Vivienne.

“How is she?” Samuel asked when he couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

“Too much excitement. But nothing that a good night’s sleep and a tonic won’t cure. Her pulse is slow, but I guess it spiked earlier. I’ll be back in a moment.” The captain left the room.

Samuel lit the fire. “How are you?” he asked Dobkins.

“Agitated.”

“Thank you for bringing Vivienne here.”

“I failed her all this time. It won’t happen again.”

“What happened isn’t your fault.”

Dobkins shook with a sob. “I should have understood Dr. Tucker was a fraud. He took advantage of the countess’s feeble mind and Lady Vivienne’s pneumonia.”

“The important thing is that Vivienne will be better.” He covered Vivienne with the quilt and caressed her hand.

She heaved a sigh and opened her eyes. A fleeting smile graced her lips. “Samuel.”

He kissed her knuckles. “You’re safe.”

“I know.”

“Here we are.” The captain came back, twirling a spoon in a large glass containing an amber-coloured liquid.

“Vivienne, you’re awake. Good. Drink this.

There are ginger, lemon, turmeric, dittany, and a lot of activated charcoal.

I can’t guarantee the taste is good, but I can guarantee the effect is great. ”

Samuel held her up and helped her sip the tonic, worried about her pale complexion.

She scrunched up her face after a few sips. “Horrid stuff.”

“You caught me unprepared.” Captain Jackson clicked his tongue. “I’ll prepare something sweeter for tomorrow. Now drink it up.”

She did as told, her cheeks flushing red. “Its strength is the disgust. I already feel better.”

“Excellent.” The captain checked her pulse again. “It’ll take time, but your strength will come back, although you’ll need to drink that tonic every day.”

She sagged against Samuel, and he welcomed her weight, vowing to take care of her.

Dobkins hadn’t failed her. He had.

Vivienne swallowed hard. “I’ll force myself to feel better just not to have to drink this anymore.”

“You should rest.” The captain glanced at Dobkins. “So should you.”

Bernard came back with the newspaper. “A few pages are missing because the flame-keeper uses them to start the fire.”

Samuel flipped through the pages and stopped at the article about the inauguration of a children’s hospital in Chelsea.

There was Murdock. Polished, with fine clothes, but with the same evil eyes. “Bloody hell.”

“It’s Dr. Tucker.” Dobkins pointed at a man in the first row of doctors.

His blood seemed to freeze, and the phantom pain of Murdock’s cane stung his back. “It’s him. Murdock.”

Captain Jackson cursed under his breath.

Vivienne’s eyes flared wide. “Dr. Tucker…”

“That thug.” Dobkins tottered on her feet and grabbed the bedpost.

“Careful.” The captain steadied her.

The back of Samuel’s mouth grew tight as if a hand were choking him.

Dobkins rubbed her temples. “It was an exhausting evening.”

“I’ll ask Bernard to prepare the room next to this one for you,” Samuel said to Dobkins.

“I’ll do it.” Dobkins walked on unsteady legs. “I think I left the luggage downstairs.”

The captain was next to her in a moment. “Let me help you. A footman will bring it up. And I might need to check on you as well.” He took her elbow and led her out.

Samuel touched Vivienne’s hair.

She put the glass on the nightstand and squeezed him tightly, as much as her energy allowed her.

“I felt it, that he was…evil, but I didn’t listen to my instinct.

He saved my life when I got sick after the fall into the lake, and that muddled my judgement.

But deep down, I knew he wasn’t to be trusted. ”

“I’m responsible for all the pain you endured. Murdock targeted you because of me.”

“No, please. Don’t say that.” She pressed her face against his chest. “Please don’t feel guilty.”

He scattered kisses on her cheek. “Drink your tonic.”

She let out a dramatic sigh. “Fine.” She finished the tonic and scowled at it. “Every day to have to take this awful drink. But it serves me right. Dr. Tucker’s potions have always tasted delicious. That alone was suspicious.”

“I’ll ask Mrs. Foster to help you get ready for the night.”

“Thank you.” She took his hand.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“I wanted to leave my house, and you helped me.” She snuggled closer to him. “I’m looking forward to being your wife, feeling better, and travelling with you.”

“Where would you like to go?”

Her cheeks had regained their colour, and her eyes shone more brightly. “May I choose any place?”

“Of course.”

“Anywhere? Even Bath?”

“Bath?” It was his turn to scrunch up his face. “You can choose any place on Earth, and you want to go to a glorified spa?”

She laughed. “It’s lovely and ancient.”

“I was thinking of Paris, Rome, Madrid, New York City…or something less crowded, like Malta.”

Her smile was broad and brightened her face. “I would love that.”

“Malta?”

“Everything. It’s a dream.”

“No. It’s a plan.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. Her muscles lacked strength, and once again, he suppressed a flare of anger against Murdock. But she was safe in his arms, and he didn’t want to think of anything else but her.

“I’m scared,” she whispered, pressing her face to his chest.

He had to disentangle himself from her embrace to sign. “So am I. Money can do a lot of things, but not protect you from the pain of losing someone you love. I’m glad the captain is here to help you.”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

He wanted to talk about a few things regarding their imminent wedding.

Dire circumstances had brought them together, pushing them towards a hasty marriage, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care about her.

She would have complete freedom as his wife, which included her choice about their being together.

Discussions for another time.

He kissed her forehead and gently disentangled himself from her. She fell asleep in a moment, breathing softly.