Bride for a Duke

by Bryn Donovan

  “Doctor…” She let the word slide off in a question, which was unintended

  .

  “Parsons. Dr. Liam Parsons.” He extended his hand, which Ellie promptly ignored

  .

  “Dr. Parsons, I don’t know what you’re used to, but where I’m from a doctor doesn’t ignore a patient in need!”

  “And where are you from, Miss Fowler?”

  “Chicago.”

  “Really?” Liam’s mouth twitched a small smile

  . He wanted to ask if she knew his father but decided against it as her tirade continued.

  “I’m asking…no, I’m insisting that you come see my sister immediately!”

  Liam sighed carefully. The young woman seemed easily provoked. “Why don’t you tell me why you think this is an emergency?”

  “She’s lethargic and she complained last night that the baby isn’t moving as much as it was in the weeks before,” she counted off on two fingers.

  “That’s not uncommon in late-term pregnancy. There isn’t as much room in the uterus.”

  Ellie pursed her lips and fought the urge to flat out yell. This young doctor was just a pretty face. His medical expertise was obviously lacking.

  “Yes, that’s true; however, there is the issue of Eva’s swollen feet and ankles, and the fact that simply feeding chickens causes her to need a full blown nap. There have been headaches.” She held up three fingers, her crocheted gloves wrinkling with the effort

  . “That’s three legitimate concerns.”

  “How’s her pallor?”

  Ellie felt a surge of satisfaction. She finally had the man’s attention. “It alternates between pinkish red to pale white.”

  Liam regarded her for a moment. For someone as tiny as she was, she was a spitfire. “Alright, Miss Fowler. I have another patient to tend to, who will be here at any moment, and then I will be straight way to the Goodalls’ farm.”

  “Thank you.” She extended her hand and gave Liam a firm handshake before turning on her heel and marching back out the front door

  .

  “Odd,” he mumbled, his eyes alight with curiosity.

  Roy opted to stand silently in one corner of the bedroom as Dr. Parsons examined his wife. He didn’t care for the frown on the man’s face. He also didn’t care for his own guilt. He had been in the fields when Ellie had returned and told him the doctor was on his way. He hadn’t known that Eva had slept the entire morning. He still had a farm to run, yet it just seemed like Eva needed more and more care as each day passed. His eyes drifted to Ellie, who was writing in a little ledger with a stubby pencil. He was finally profoundly grateful that she had come.

  Liam placed the round end of the stethoscope on Eva’s belly and listened. “I can hear the baby, but the little one is definitely sleepy. Eva, your heartrate seems a little low.” He lightly pinched one of Eva’s ankles, his frown deepening

  . “The swelling is bad enough that your skin is discolored. Your circulation is bad right now.”

  “I’m not normally like this,” Eva breathed. “I’m just so tired…”

  “Should we give her a little coffee and force her up to walk?”

  Liam regarded Ellie as he took the stethoscope out of his ears and placed it along the back of his neck. “Now, it’s a little strange to me that you would mention that. I just read an article about that very thing in a medical journal last month.”

  Ellie smiled. “Yes, I did as well.”

  “You’re in the medical field?”

  “I’m a midwife.” She bounced her head from side to side

  . “I’m training to be one. I’ve so far delivered six babies. Three were my nieces and a nephew.” She hesitated

  . “I’m used to having someone other than myself around to make a final decision.”

  “Well, I’m here. And I would have to say that you’re already a midwife.” He turned to Eva and motioned for Roy to come out from hiding in the corner

  . “Let’s get her up. Ellie, please make the coffee.”

  An hour later and with one cup of coffee down, Eva laughed delightedly as her baby began to kick again. Her color and the brightness of her eyes had improved as well.

  “You certainly look better!” Ellie smiled as she brushed Eva’s hair back and began to braid it loosely.

  “I feel better,” Eva sighed.

  “I’m still concerned about dehydration and circulation. I need you to increase your water intake. Luckily you have a hand pump here in your kitchen. You’ll get plenty of exercise going back and forth to the outhouse,” Liam winked. “Either way, during the day, make sure you move around at least every hour if you can. It will help the circulation.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Parsons.” Roy held out his hand, a new respect for Liam written in his eyes

  .

  “It’s what I live for, Roy,” he winked. “Listen, I know you have a lot on you with Eva being so close to delivery. She really shouldn’t be helping right now. Things within the house are fine, just not things on the farm. The Baxter boy, Dennis, was in town looking for odd jobs.”

  “Has he tried the timber company?”

  Liam shook his head. “He’s young still; I believe he’s only twelve or thirteen, and it would be better if he could work closer to town. For his mother’s sake.”

  “She’s still not doing well?”

  “No, I’m afraid not. She still suffers the loss of her husband. Maybe he could help here. A little extra food to take home would be a big help to him and Mrs. Baxter.”

  Roy nodded slowly. “His father was a good man. It’s a shame what happened to him. Sure, tell him to come see me tomorrow morning.”

  “Thanks, Roy.” Liam lifted a hand to Eva

  . “Good day, Mrs. Goodall. Remember the water.”

  “I will, Doctor. Thank you.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” Ellie offered, and led Liam outside.

  Chapter Twenty

  The sun had hidden itself behind clouds and the breeze had picked up. It was a nice reprieve from the humidity of earlier in the day.

  * * *

  “Thank you for coming. I feel much better about Eva’s condition,” Ellie spoke quietly.

  * * *

  “I apologize for not coming sooner. I should have been more diligent.” The crisis had passed, and Liam had no interest in fanning the flame of discontent between Roy

  Goodall and his sister-in-law by mentioning all he had said at the office. “Tell me about your training.”

  * * *

  Ellie gave him the largest and brightest smile he had ever seen. “I studied under a midwife in Chicago named Avery Black. She is absolutely brilliant. She could be a fully-fledged doctor! I’ve seen her do more than just deliver babies.”

  * * *

  “Interesting. And what about you? Is

  midwifing your only interest?”

  * * *

  Ellie took a long, slow breath, her eyes moving to just above his head as she took her time to answer. I love all things medical, but midwifing is my passion.”

  * * *

  Liam’s mouth twitched. He had never encountered a young woman so definitive about her future, unless she was speaking of finding a husband and starting a family, but Ellie spoke about medicine as if the profession was her future spouse.

  * * *

  “What do you like most about it?”

  * * *

  She locked eyes with him. “It’s that first breath. It’s the first breath of that new life coming simultaneously with the mother forgetting the pain of only moments before. It’s something you can actually see. The mother’s face just light’s up.” She held her palms up and shrugged

  . “It’s beautiful.”

  * * *

  Liam’s whole body went still. He could hear his own pulse thundering in his ears. He had never met a woman like her. Beautiful. Smart. Articulate. He wanted to know everything there was about her.

  * * *

  “Do you have a h
usband back home?”

  * * *

  “No.”

  * * *

  “Boyfriend?”

  * * *

  Ellie’s smile faded. The conversation was turning too personal. The last thing she needed was some handsome doctor falling for her, or she for him. She didn’t need anyone falling for her ever again.

  * * *

  “Um, no…” She took a step back towards the house

  . “I’d better get back to Eva.”

  * * *

  Liam felt a moment’s panic. He knew he had stepped over a line with so many questions, but he couldn’t let her go just yet. “Wait. I was wondering if you were going to stay for a while after Eva delivers. I would love to have you work with me. I could use an experienced midwife. There are at least a dozen more women who are going to deliver before the summer ends.”

  * * *

  Butterflies in her stomach were a good indicator that she needed to think fast. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but she only wanted to see to her sister and her baby and then return to her studies in Chicago.

  * * *

  “I appreciate the offer, but I’m really only here for Eva. I’ll be returning home soon after the delivery.”

  * * *

  “Oh.” Liam fought and lost the battle to hide his disappointment

  . “That’s too bad. You would have been helpful here.” He turned to his horse and stepped into the stirrups, throwing the opposite leg over the light brown mare

  . “I’m experimenting with a cleaner way to suture stitches. One which will leave less scarring. I would have enjoyed sharing it with you.” He tipped his hat

  . “Have a good evening, Miss Fowler.”

  * * *

  Ellie lifted her hand halfheartedly. “Good evening.” She watched him ride away while attempting to mentally convince herself that she had no interest in learning a better technique for sutures

  . One which would leave less scarring.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ellie wiped the sweat from her face as she finished the last of the washing. The immediate area of the creek where she had been working had temporarily looked like a mud pit. Farmers surely had a better way to stay clean! She found a tree with low-hanging branches and began to hang the clothes and handkerchiefs on it and on some flat rocks by the creek

  . She hoped Eva was still feeling well so she could sneak back into town. The excuse would be for twine, which she was sure Roy had plenty of, to create a clothes line; but the real reason was that she truly was falling in love with Clinton, Iowa. The fact that it sat on the Mississippi River’s banks was another plus. Ellie loved water and everything that came with it, including the occasional paddle boat that Liam had promised would come this week. He said many boats came through.

  So far, she had met Liam, his brother Robert, the general store clerk, and the other doctor whom Ellie had begun to call Scrooge behind his back. Liam had assured her the man’s demeanor had nothing to do with her, but everything to do with him.

  Liam seemed to be some sort of mind reader, and the couple of times she had visited the town, he had popped up wherever she went. She would have to be more cautious. A dead-end courtship was nothing she was interested in. Sure, she eventually wanted a family, but first she wanted to establish herself as a midwife. In Chicago. Not in Clinton, Iowa.

  Ellie picked up voices on the breeze as she neared the house. She rounded the corner from the back near the woodshed and stopped when she spotted a young woman of about thirty sitting on the porch with Eva. A girl of maybe six years sat at her feet, playing with a rag doll.

  Eva’s head turned her way. “There you are!” Eva exclaimed. “I almost thought you might have fallen in the creek with the dirty clothes!”

  The woman stood and offered Ellie her hand. She was lean, with long black hair pulled away from her face with beautiful mother of pearl combs. Her skin had a dusky complexion and her eyes smiled before her mouth did. Ellie liked her immediately.

  “Ellie, this is my dear friend Mary Parsons.”

  “You’re related to the doctor?”

  “Yes. I’m married to his brother. I heard you met him yesterday in town.” Mary laid a hand on the shoulder of the now standing girl

  . “This is our daughter, Carrie.”

  Ellie smiled and nodded, holding up a finger to pause the conversation so she too could retrieve a chair. She took one of the two left from the dinner table and brought it outside.

  “Yes, I had the pleasure to meet Robert,” she continued. Ellie turned her attention to Carrie. “And it’s an even bigger pleasure to meet you.”

  Carrie blushed and pulled her rag doll in to herself, her head dropping bashfully.

  “So, how do you like our little town?” Mary asked

  . “I’m sure it’s tiny compared to Chicago.”

  “Actually, it’s a little bigger than I expected. I’m already rather fond of it, even after only a few days.”

  Mary and Eva shared a knowing look which Ellie picked up on right away.

  “Oh no!” she started. “I’m only here for maybe a month, and then I’m boarding the train and going right back home.”

  “Pity,” Mary said, and picked at an imaginary piece of lint on her skirt.

  “Yes. Pity,” Eva echoed, raising a tin mug of water to her lips.

  “Alright. I’ll bite.” Ellie laughed

  . “Why is it a pity?”

  Mary tilted her head, still playing with the fabric of her skirt. “Oh, you know…you’re a midwife, and apparently this town is unusually fertile. Liam could certainly use the help.” She lifted her eyes

  . “Aren’t his green eyes just so beautiful?”

  Ellie laughed out loud and waggled her finger at the two women. “You two are shameless!”

  “We are,” Eva giggled.

  “The truth is that I do like it here,” Ellie shrugged. “I love Chicago, but sometimes I miss Eva.” She reached for her hand and squeezed

  . “Of my sisters, she and I are the closest. It could be that we are the closest in age. Even though our sisters live in Chicago and the surrounding area, I really don’t see them very much. Holidays, mainly.”

  “Then why not consider staying?” Eva asked quietly. “Is it Mother?

  Father?”

  “No. They’re busy. Father with his business and Mother with her charities and endless church duties.”

  “So, you will consider it?” Eva asked hopefully.

  Ellie gave her sister’s hand one final squeeze. “I’ll consider it, but don’t get your hopes up.”

  Eva cleared her throat. “You know, Liam is really a kind man. He isn’t going to charge a thing for any more of my visits just because Roy agreed to hire young Dennis.”

  “Oh yes!” Mary picked up. “Liam has a heart of gold, and he’s a talented doctor.”

  “And smart! Mary was just telling me that he practically taught himself! He reads all the time

  . You still like to read, don’t you, Ellie?”

  Ellie’s eyes moved from one woman to the other. She held up a hand to stop them as Mary’s mouth opened to continue the Liam accolades.

  “Ladies, I have no interest in romance. If I were to stay, it would be to birth babies, and that’s all.”

  Mary and Eva looked at her with wide eyes, their mouths silent. Mary giggled and playfully smacked at Eva’s arm. “We really are shameless.”

  By the time Mary said her goodbyes and Roy returned from the fields with a dirty, but smiling, Dennis trailing along behind him, Ellie felt as if someone had uncorked a bottle of joy and poured it straight into her body. Mary was a warm and friendly woman, and she understood why Eva called her a friend. Eva was visibly pleased when Mary invited Ellie to stop by and see the candle-making business she ran from the cellar of her home.

  Ellie hurried to retrieve the clothes from where she had left them drying. She would definitely consider staying. Clinton was nothing like what she had expected.
She knew Mary would probably tell Liam that she was considering staying to help with the expectant mothers, and she was fine with that if and only if Mary and Eva ceased trying to fix her up with Liam. She just didn’t need romance in her life right at the moment. Maybe never again.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Dr. Levi Hughes rubbed his eyes and tiredly plopped down behind his desk. Liam waited a polite minute to see if the doctor would offer any information on how his latest trip to the Smiths had gone, but instead he just stared into space with a sad frown on his face.

  * * *

  “How are they?” Liam asked.

  * * *

  Dr. Hughes shook his head. “Not improving, I’m afraid. They are all severely congested. Of course, the heat is making it worse. Nothing worse than a summer cold.”

  * * *

  Liam scooted onto the examination table and clasped his hands between his knees. “What’s your current treatment plan?”

  * * *

  Dr. Hughes gave him critical eyes and hesitated before answering. “What you normally do with sick people!” he snapped. “Rest and fluids! I ordered them to all stay in bed as much as possible, and drink plenty of water.”

  * * *

  “I could help tend to them. They’re only about a mile past my home.” As badly as Liam wanted to tell him that his

  protocol was not in the best interests of the patients, he knew better than to offer what his own plan would be.