Bride for a Duke

by Bryn Donovan

  . His cheeks turned bright red. “May I help you onto the platform? I can help you with your bags.”

  * * *

  Ellie’s smile faltered. Ah, the main problem of her nineteen years: she looked like a deathbed patient. She was “terribly thin” as her mother put it, and “lacked in the normal and necessary God given endowments of a woman” as her aunt had so often lovingly remarked with a touch to each corner of her eyes with a handkerchief. The drama of it always drew an eye roll before Ellie could stop herself. The porter was sure to have thought her trip was to come home and die.

  * * *

  “No, thank you. That won’t be necessary,” Ellie assured him and reached above her head to pull her carpet bag from the overhead compartment. Her makeshift medical bag, not that it was a real medical bag, and drawstring purse had sat on her lap for the entire trip from Chicago. The porter backed away to let her out of her seat but hovered closely, not yet convinced she wasn’t pretending to be well and healthy enough to walk on her own.

  * * *

  Ellie stepped off the train and scanned the area just beyond the platform. Roy waved over his head and stood from his wagon seat so she could see him better. They grinned at each other as she came closer to the wagon, dodging people in the midst of reunions. He hopped down and took her bags, tossing them in the back of the wagon before embracing her in a bear hug.

  * * *

  “Let me look at you, Ellie.” He held her at arm’s length, his smile vanishing

  . “Sakes alive! What have you done to your hair?”

  * * *

  Ellie touched her shoulder-length hair self-consciously. “It was getting in the way of my work.”

  * * *

  Roy shook his head and led her to the other side so she could step onto the wagon. The two hitched mules looked over their shoulders curiously at her, as if to see if they could finally go home.

  * * *

  Roy climbed into the bench seat beside her and took the reins in his rough farmer’s hands. He whistled lightly and flicked the reins with his wrist. The mules began a slow plod as he directed them to turn towards home.

  * * *

  “You don’t need to worry about working. You’re nineteen years old…almost twenty.” His eyes cut to her

  . “You need to see about a husband, so you can start raising a family.” His eyes shifted to her again and he gave her the same

  quick assessment as the porter had. She watched the doubt creep into his eyes as he looked forward again.

  * * *

  “You act as if I’m already an old maid!” Ellie laughed, forcing her irritation down. The sun was warm on her back and shoulders, and the air was sweet with grass, wheat, and strawberries. Plus, she was about to be an aunt. Again. This child would be the fourth of her nieces and nephews that she herself had helped bring into the world. Being a midwife was her passion. So what if she never had kids of her own? Her last relationship had been her first and it had ended disastrously

  . Her back stiffened. She didn’t need a man if they acted like that. Unreliable was something like sin. She could rely on herself.

  * * *

  “Tell me how Eva is doing.”

  * * *

  Roy’s face darkened. “She’s a mite uncomfortable these days,” he replied quietly.

  * * *

  “Well, she is nearing her due date, and this heat doesn’t help.”

  * * *

  “It’s more than that.”

  * * *

  Ellie stared at him, waiting for him to continue. When he didn’t, she prompted. “Like what?”

  * * *

  He shrugged lightly, looking uncomfortable himself. He was obviously one of the husbands who felt that women’s business wasn’t man’s business, even if it did involve the birth of his child. “She’s hurting a lot. Her feet and ankles stay big, and there are a lot of headaches. She’s tired all the time too.”

  * * *

  Ellie felt her stomach tighten. It could be number of things routine and normal, but there were a couple possibilities which were anything but routine. “I’ll check her once we get to your home.”

  * * *

  Roy slid his eyes to her, choosing to nod instead of speaking.

  * * *

  Roy and Eva Goodall’s house was a three room structure that had a loft reached by ladder. The plan was to build a bigger home once the crops produced a big season. So far, they had farmed together two seasons and the crops had only sustained the farm and given them a meager amount for the rest of the year.

  * * *

  Eva was throwing cracked corn from a small sack and was smiling as the chickens darted and pecked the dirt. Her head lifted as she heard the wagon approaching and her face split into a wide grin. Ellie had always thought Eva to be the prettiest of the five of them by far. She didn’t have the dark hair and eyes of their father; no, she was blessed with the tawny hair and hazel eyes of their mother.

  * * *

  Ellie forced her smile to stay in place. She could see the swelling even before Roy helped her down from the wagon. Eva was wearing a white nightgown to her ankles, with an apron over it. Even though Ellie hadn’t asked, Roy explained.

  * * *

  “She’s most comfortable in that,” he said quietly.

  * * *

  “Of course. It’s about her comfort now,” Ellie

  replied, low enough so Eva couldn’t hear. “I want you to call on the doctor first thing in the morning.”

  * * *

  Roy’s jaw tightened. “You really think that’s necessary?”

  * * *

  “What’s necessary?” Eva smiled tiredly

  . A sheen of sweat covering her pink face told the tale that even feeding chickens was becoming a strain.

  * * *

  Ellie looped her arm through Eva’s. “That we need to get you in the house and get those swollen feet and ankles propped up!”

  * * *

  Roy felt a nervousness creep through his belly as he watched the two women meander slowly to the house. He prayed Ellie was just being emotional and that there was no real concern for his wife and baby. Yet, days of watching his wife’s condition deteriorate nagged him. An owl hooted nearby, and a crow circled above his head. He crossed himself and said a silent prayer against the old wives’ tales of his youth before marching towards the house with Ellie’s bags. He would finish chores early so the three of them could have a quiet evening of catching up. In the morning Eva’s condition would probably be improved, and there wouldn’t even be a need for the doctor. He looked over his shoulder once more and spotted the crow still circling. Even though he was a Methodist, when it came to old wives’ tales one couldn’t be too careful. He dropped the bags and made the sign of the cross over himself again.

  * * *

  The next morning not only lacked improvement in Eva, but her condition had worsened.

  * * *

  “Dr. Hughes is a very busy man, Ellie, and I’m just not sure I trust this new doctor,” Roy hissed.

  * * *

  “You can’t be serious, Roy. She can’t even get out of bed today!”

  * * *

  Roy opened his mouth, but promptly snapped it shut again. She was right, to a point; Eva hadn’t been able to get out of bed. She had awoken with a headache and was currently attempting to sleep it off. This time she had become short of breath and complained of dizziness while lying still. Still, he didn’t want to appear to be the overprotective husband if it all turned out to be nothing. Besides, money was tight. Everything was tight, for that matter.

  * * *

  He ran a hand behind his neck. Why couldn’t things just be simple? Simple was like purity

  . “Fine,” he resigned. “I’ll hitch up the mules and go.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Roy sucked in a deep breath before he opened the door of the doctor’s office. One side of his mouth lifted slightly when he saw that it was still only Dr. Hughes’s name e
tched on the door. He didn’t have anything against Liam Parsons, per se, but he was young, and frankly green around the ears for a doctor. Levi Hughes had delivered more than half of the children in Clinton, including himself. He had set hundreds of broken bones and had treated dozens of other sickness and maladies. He had also been present for the accident. Dr. Hughes had paid a price for that one. Liam wasn’t local. He was from Chicago like Ellie and Eva. Eva was local now because she had married him. Roy would forever be grateful for the trip he had taken with his father to Chicago five years prior. He had met Eva, and all the other Fowlers on that trip. After a year of correspondence, Roy had returned to Chicago on the very day he had met his bride a year earlier and had married her. Their honeymoon had been the train ride back to his farm. Eva and Ellie were different from their three other sisters. He was also grateful to God for that as well. Eva and Ellie didn’t need fancy this or expensive that. They were simple. Roy shook his head to clear it of the memories. As simple as any woman could be, he supposed.

  * * *

  Liam stepped out of the back examining room when the bell hanging on the door rang as Roy opened and closed the door.

  * * *

  “Hello, Roy.” Liam smiled

  . “What can I do you for?”

  * * *

  Roy took off his brimmed farmer’s hat and ran a hand through his reddish hair. “Well, my sister-in-law is here visiting and she’s a mite worried about Eva.” He glanced around

  . “Is Dr. Hughes in?”

  * * *

  “No, he’s taking care of a couple patients outside of Clinton. He’ll be back tomorrow. I can possibly come out later today if you like?”

  * * *

  Roy nodded. “Sure.” He nodded his head slowly

  . “It would put my sister-in-law at ease.” He cleared his throat nervously

  . “I don’t really see anything wrong with Eva.” He spread his arms slightly, the grip on the rim of his hat tight

  . “Ellie’s…well, she’s young. Excitable.”

  * * *

  Liam stared at Roy for a moment, trying to picture what Roy Goodall would be like when he was an old man. He was twenty-six years old but behaved and spoke like someone much older.

  * * *

  “Right. I’m busy here, Roy. I mean, you’re her husband. If you don’t feel like I need to come today, then maybe it can just wait until later this week. Maybe Dr. Hughes can come instead. I get the feeling you might prefer him.”

  * * *

  Roy visibly relaxed, placing his hat back on his head. “No offense to you, Liam. That sounds good to me. You have yourself a good day.” He held out his hand and nodded as Liam shook it

  .

  * * *

  Liam. Liam was rarely called Dr. Parsons in Clinton. Most took Dr. Hughes’ lead, and Dr. Hughes hardly ever called him doctor either.

  * * *

  Liam returned to the back-examining room to finish the supply inventory, only to sigh heavily when the doorbell rang again. If the inventory wasn’t ready for Dr. Hughes’ trip to get more supplies, it would be Liam’s hide.

  * * *

  Robert Parsons stuck his head in the doorway. “Doctor, I need help,” he said in a croaky voice.

  * * *

  “Yes, mental help.” Liam chuckled at his brother

  . “What are you doing in town? I thought you would be working today.”

  * * *

  “I was, but my leg is acting up and it was throwing the boys behind.” He shrugged casually, but Liam could see his eyes darken

  .

  * * *

  “Want me to look at it?”

  * * *

  “Nah. It’s the same old thing. Pain. Stiffness. It’s hard to cut down trees and haul timber when you’re unsteady on your feet.”

  * * *

  “Robert…”

  * * *

  He changed the subject. “I came by to ask you how it was going with Dr. Hughes. Any improvement?”

  * * *

  Liam leaned a hip on the one examining table and folded his arms. “No improvement.”

  * * *

  Robert sucked his teeth and gave his head a half shake. He grabbed the straight back white chair that sat in the corner and dragged it closer, wincing as he sat down.

  * * *

  “Why don’t you just go home? You were learning a lot from Dad.”

  * * *

  “Yes.” Liam nodded in agreement

  . “I can also learn a lot here and offer help. I want to bring the new things of medicine here to better help this community, but Levi just wants to do things the way he always has.” He sighed heavily

  . “There’s another thing, since you brought up our father. Do you know how hard it was to live in the shadow of Dr. Joseph Parsons?”

  * * *

  “Probably about as hard as being the son who ran away, refusing to be a doctor like his father and younger brother.” He made a pinched face and fanned himself with his hand while batting his eyes

  . “Oh, that Liam Parsons, he’s the spitting image of his father. He’ll make a wonderful doctor and husband one day. Just like his father.” He shook his head and stopped fanning and leaned forward

  . “But that Robert!” He gave a dramatic eye roll and began fanning again

  . “He left home without so much as a goodbye to go and cut down the wilderness for the railroads! What a waste!”

  * * *

  Liam threw his head back and laughed. “Is that supposed to be Mom’s friends?”

  * * *

  “Yep.” Robert’s shoulders shook from a final chuckle

  . “But really, I wanted to talk to you about you just splitting from Dr. Hughes. Start your own practice. The town and surrounding counties could use a whole other practice. It’s growing here, and he won’t even hire a nurse.” Robert leaned forward with one elbow on a knee

  . “He’s honestly a little too old to be trying to handle this kind of patient load on his own.”

  * * *

  Liam shook his head. “He’s respected and loved here in Clinton - and elsewhere, for that matter. Just because he’s coarse with me doesn’t mean he’s coarse with everyone else. I’m just a living, breathing threat to his old ways.”

  * * *

  “Then go start a new practice and let the people decide. You think most of the people don’t like you, but it’s not true. They do like you, but Dr. Hughes is the one they’re used to. You would be surprised how many think he’s not up to par anymore. You just have to keep earning their trust.”

  * * *

  Liam shook his head again, but more slowly. “No, I would never earn their trust if I appeared to be competing with him. I would be forcing them to choose.”

  Ellie couldn’t believe Roy. How could he allow the new doctor to dictate what a patient needed without that doctor even assessing the situation for himself? She flicked her wrist and forced the mules along faster

  . He had even had the audacity to tell her that she couldn’t use the wagon! It was only when she had threatened to walk that he relented

  . Ellie realized as she drove the mules from the yard that Roy thought he was coming with her. He yelled her name several times before giving up. Ellie had been in no mood for his company.

  She had to ask where the doctor’s office was before she found it, and that was unfortunate. It was already noon, and she needed to get back to Eva. Correction: she and the doctor needed to get back to Eva.

  A little bell, hanging on a short amount of twine, banged lightly against the wood of the front door as she let herself into the office.

  “Hello?” Ellie called out.

  A door opened across the small expanse of the waiting area and a tall man with sandy blonde hair led a small, plump woman out by the elbow. Her gray hair was up in a loose bun and she smiled warmly up at the man.

  “Thank you, Liam. I had my doubts about you before, but you seem to be quite capable.” She patted his hand.
>
  “You’re just a good patient, Mrs. Thornton,” he smiled.

  The woman patted his hand again and made her way to the door.

  “How can I help you?” he asked, his attention moving to Ellie.

  “My name is Ellie Fowler. I’m Eva Goodall’s sister.”

  Liam’s smile vanished. “Yes, her husband was here earlier and mentioned you might have concerns for your sister’s health.”

  Ellie’s eyebrows shot upward, and her mouth flew open. His tone was the most condescending thing she had heard since arriving, and she had often been patronized by men in Chicago. She knew what it sounded like.