When Lady Innocent Met Dr. Scandalous (The May Flowers Book 5) Read online

  When Lady Innocent Met Dr. Scandalous

  Merry Farmer

  WHEN LADY INNOCENT MET DR. SCANDALOUS

  Copyright ©2020 by Merry Farmer

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your digital retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover design by Erin Dameron-Hill (the miracle-worker)

  ASIN: B082FS9LXJ

  Paperback ISBN: 9798631369818

  Click here for a complete list of other works by Merry Farmer.

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  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  London – July, 1886

  Natalia Marlowe was in love. She knew it beyond a shadow of a doubt. She knew it even though her mother, the indomitable Lady Katya Campbell, frowned at her whenever she sighed dramatically over a particularly beautiful rose, or when she buried her nose in romantic novel after romantic novel, looking for comparisons between the heroines on the page and her own, budding love affair. She knew it because, in spite of all the young lords she’d danced with at balls or encountered at parties, none had ever stirred her interest like her beloved.

  She also knew that Dr. Linus Townsend wasn’t the least bit suitable for her as a groom.

  But she didn’t care.

  The object of her desire was currently residing at the home of her brother, Lord Rupert Marlowe, while his employer, Lord Fergus O’Shea, and his new bride, the former Lady Henrietta Tavistock, were in Ireland for their honeymoon. And while, from what Natalia understood, Lord O’Shea needed the constant attention of a physician since a brutal attack had confined him to a wheelchair, she understood completely why newlyweds wouldn’t want to bring a third wheel along for the most precious holiday two people could take together. Even if part of the trip was to inspect Lord O’Shea’s Irish landholdings and to deal with the Home Rule frenzy there.

  Knowing that Linus would be under Rupert’s roof and in need of entertainment had woken Natalia early that morning, sped her through dressing and breakfast, and spurred her to walk across Mayfair, in spite of the unrelenting heat, to pay a call on her sister-in-law, Lady Cecelia Marlowe. At least, paying a call on Cece was her excuse for showing up at Campbell House earlier than decent people should.

  “Is Lady Cecelia receiving callers yet?” she asked the butler, Mr. Stewart, with an innocent bat of her eyes.

  Mr. Stewart wasn’t fooled for an instant. “I will ask, my lady, but I believe Lady Marlowe has not yet risen.” He sent Natalia a knowing look and continued with, “However, I understand that Dr. Townsend is up and currently working on a project of some sort in the conservatory.”

  Natalia fought not to let her face light up too much or to appear over-eager. Though she was fairly certain she’d failed. “Thank you, Mr. Stewart,” she said with a broad smile, continuing down the hall past him. “There’s no need to rush my sister-in-law to get up before she wants to.”

  “Understood, my lady,” Mr. Stewart said in a voice that indicated he understood everything.

  Natalia’s heart lifted, and she nearly skipped down the hallway to Rupert’s conservatory. It was a bright, friendly room with tall windows and ample space for impromptu concerts or dancing in small groups. A piano sat at one side of the room, and several music stands were clustered in the corner for anyone who brought their own instrument to a gathering there. Several comfortable chairs lined the room, and a pair of small sofas sat closer to the empty fireplace. Everything about the room was designed for social cheer, but Natalia barely noticed any of it. The moment she stepped into the doorway, all she could see, all she could think about, was Linus.

  “Good morning, Dr. Townsend,” she greeted him with a fetching smile as she stepped into the room.

  He was seated on one of the sofas, tinkering with what looked like a pair of crutches that had been taken apart and put back together again in the wrong way. The morning sunlight caught his soft brown hair—which he’d let grow unfashionably long, but Natalia didn’t mind—and the broad expanse of his shoulders. He’d grown a beard over the summer that was trimmed to perfection, and when he glanced up at her, startled out of his work, his brown eyes smiled at her.

  “Lady Natalia,” he said, setting his work aside and standing to greet her. “I didn’t expect to see you so early.”

  Natalia’s smile deepened and she shrugged as she moved slowly closer to him. “I meant to call on Cece today anyhow, and as I was up with the sun, I figured I would come straight over.”

  “Early to bed, early to rise,” Linus said, half quoting whichever renowned man had said the phrase originally. Natalia couldn’t remember.

  “Yes,” she agreed, tilting her head just enough so that she could send him a flirtatious look as she drew closer. “I remember you saying that, so I took your advice. Though I have yet to master the going to bed early part.” Her cheeks flushed hot at the mention of bed, though she wasn’t quite daring enough to mention that she would find it far easier to go to bed earlier if she had someone to accompany her. Her older sister, Bianca, would have been bold enough for the comment, but Natalia was only good at thinking of scandalous things to say, not actually saying them.

  “I’m always surprised when anyone takes my advice,” Linus said, stepping around the edge of the sofa to greet Natalia by taking her hand and raising it to his lips. His eyes sparkled as he did.

  “But you’re a physician,” Natalia said. “Aren’t people supposed to take your advice?”

  Linus laughed, lowering her hand but not letting it go. “Of course, they’re supposed to,” he said. “But in my experience, people rarely take the advice of a physician when he tells them to do something they aren’t inclined to do.”

  “People rarely do things they don’t want to do, even if those things are good for them,” Natalia agreed.

  “My dear, you have an astounding grasp of the human condition,” he said, cleverness and affection apparent in his eyes. He let go of her hand at last and stepped back toward his work. “Would you care to sit with me while I work on these?”

  “Certainly.” Natalia couldn’t sit beside him fast enough. “What are you working on?”

  “Crutches for Lord O’Shea,” he explained, not at all condescending or with any sort of implication in his tone or words that Natalia wa
s too young or foolish to understand.

  “But I thought his condition had reached a plateau and that it was unlikely he will ever regain the ability to walk,” she said, equally as serious and trying her hardest not to sound like an ignorant miss.

  Linus glanced to her with a slight frown. “He has plateaued, but he can stand with a minimal amount of assistance,” he explained. “And while I do think the damage to his spine is beyond any physician’s power to heal entirely, it is my hope that he can regain some mobility with these specially designed crutches.”

  Natalia’s heart fluttered in her chest as though he’d read her an entire volume of love poetry. Linus was slightly older than her, though not quite thirty, and it was true that he came from some sort of mysterious, middle-class background, if the middle classes could ever be called mysterious. But he took her seriously and indulged her interest in things instead of simply writing her off as a flighty female and a lady who should be above everyday concerns.

  “How are they intended to work?” she asked, studying the crutches. They looked like tall, thick sticks with what she could only describe as a metal sleeve at the top.

  “I’ll demonstrate,” Linus said with an excited smile, standing once more. He picked up one of the crutches and slid his arm through the metal sleeve to grab a short bar that stuck out from the main crutch. “Most crutches are designed to be held at the sides and to rest under the arm,” he explained, fitting his other arm through the second one. “These, however, are designed to provide a different center of gravity, one specifically calculated for someone who has lost the use of both legs.”

  “Fascinating,” Natalia said, genuinely interested in every word Linus said.

  “Watch this.”

  He walked to a part of the room unencumbered by furniture and set the base of the crutches on the floor slightly in front of him. From there, he shifted his weight from his legs to his arms, then proceeded to use his arms as if they were like legs and the primary source of propulsion. Natalia stood and moved closer to follow his progress.

  “You almost look like a giraffe,” she laughed.

  “I suppose that’s a good comparison,” he said, glancing over his shoulder to her with a smile. “It’s a bit difficult to judge whether the concept will work, seeing as I can use my legs. I might be compensating in ways that Fergus—that is, Lord O’Shea—won’t be able to.”

  “Can I have a try?” Natalia asked, her heart beating faster. “Perhaps if someone else gives it a go, you’ll have a better idea of whether you’re on the right track.”

  Linus stopped and stood straight, turning to her with a look of such genuine surprise and gratitude that it made Natalia want to giggle. He must not have been used to having people support his medical innovations. “If you think you’re up to the challenge,” he said.

  “I’m always up to a challenge,” Natalia replied with a wink.

  Her friends would have laughed at her for finding so much joy in testing out medical equipment for a man who was just a doctor, but Natalia marched across the room to take the crutches from Linus the way her friends would snatch up the latest French fashion magazine. And though she would never say no to a fine, new hat or a pair of kid gloves, there was something so much more diverting about contributing to something serious and useful.

  “Slide your arms in like this,” Linus showed her, handing her one crutch at a time. “They may be too tall for you, but I’m interested to see how you adapt.”

  “Like this?” she asked, gripping the crutch’s handle.

  “More like this.” Linus stepped closer to her, nudging her to lean her back against his chest as he adjusted her hands.

  The sudden heat of his body, the thump of his heart against her back, and the way he took her hand so freely and positioned it exactly as he wanted it had Natalia’s blood rushing to all sorts of exciting places. Perhaps it was because he was a physician, but Linus seemed not to have the same personal boundaries as any other man she’d ever met. He wasn’t afraid to stand closer to her or to touch her. It was as if he’d missed the lesson in school where young men were taught that it was inappropriate to be physically close to a woman or to handle her as though she were an equal and not a fragile piece of porcelain.

  She liked it.

  “There,” he said once he had her positioned, taking a step back. “Now, see if you can maneuver yourself around using your legs only as a counter balance and not for propulsion.”

  “All right.”

  Natalia bit her lip and tried to imitate the way she’d seen him moving earlier. It was a challenge, but she rather liked the idea of Linus challenging her body to operate in ways it wasn’t used to. She made it a few steps before nearly falling to one side.

  “Careful.” Linus reached to catch her as she switched to using her legs and laughed.

  “It’s harder than it looks,” she giggled, setting the crutches in front of her again.

  “Here. I’ll guide you.” He rested a hand on her back and grinned at her from the side.

  That grin made it harder to pay attention than Natalia would have thought possible. She continued to giggle as she did her best imitation of a giraffe walk.

  “You’ve got it,” he said, his eyes bright and his smile wide. “Don’t be afraid to drag your legs behind you. That may be what Fergus has to do.”

  “Lord O’Shea is the farthest thing from my mind right now,” she said softly, casting another flirtatious look his way as she attempted to inch herself along.

  “Funny, he was the farthest from my mind too,” Linus replied in a tone so intimate that Natalia was certain she’d gone pink. “Here, let’s try this,” he went on, raising his voice slightly and striding a few paces in front of her. He turned to her and held out his arms. “Come to me.”

  If Natalia had needed any sort of incentive, that was it. She grinned at him, telling him with a look that he was being naughty, but that she liked it. All the same, she truly did try to test his invention the way it was intended, using only her arms to move her forward.

  “Imagine if this invention of yours is a success,” she said, growing breathless for more reasons than just exertion. “You’ll become famous all over England for your innovations. I bet people would come from miles around to be treated by the great Dr. Townsend.”

  Linus laughed, still holding out his arms. “Wouldn’t that be a treat?”

  “You’ll become famous and wealthy,” Natalia went on, inching closer to him. “And I’m quite certain you will need a beautiful and talented wife to manage your affairs and your social calendar.”

  “Do you think so?” he asked.

  His tone was so warm and suggestive that Natalia lost her focus and spilled to one side. Linus rushed to catch her, and before she knew it, she was in his arms, gazing up into his smiling eyes. They were so close that she could smell the scent of the soap he’d used that morning, so close that if she just tilted her head up a little more, he might kiss her.

  “What is the meaning of this?”

  The voice of Natalia’s mother snapping the question from the doorway of the conservatory jolted Natalia to her senses. She pulled herself out of Linus’s embrace and stood, fumbling with the crutches.

  “Mama, what are you doing here?” she asked in a high-pitched voice.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” her mother said, crossing her arms and walking slowly into the room. Her imperious gaze settled on Linus, who cleared his throat and helped Natalia struggle out of the crutches. “It’s a bit early for a social call, isn’t it?”

  “I came to call on Cece, but she wasn’t up yet, so I was just passing the time with Dr. Townsend,” Natalia launched into the explanation she’d prepared in case exactly this sort of thing happened.

  Her mother wasn’t fooled. She came to a stop, resting her weight on one hip and staring hard at Natalia. It was the look her mother had that made one feel as though she were staring straight through to their soul. Natalia tried her best not to shri
nk to nothing under the look, like she always had as a little girl, but it was next to impossible.

  At last, her mother turned to look at Linus. “Dr. Townsend, would you excuse us? I need to have a word with my daughter.”

  “Of course, Lady Campbell,” Linus said, as gracious and personable as always.

  He sent Natalia a supportive look as he gathered the crutches in his arms and left the room. Once he reached the doorway, he sent her one last glance, as if to tell her that she could conquer any challenge put in front of her, including her mother, then disappeared around the corner.

  “Mama, that was rude,” Natalia said in what she prayed was a mature and even voice once Linus was gone.

  Her mother laughed. “I’m your mother. It is my job to chase off unsuitable men.”

  “Linus is not unsuitable,” Natalia argued.

  Her mother arched one pointed brow. “Dr. Townsend is entirely inappropriate for a woman of your station.”

  Natalia huffed a loud sigh and flopped onto the nearest sofa. She knew she looked like a child in the schoolroom throwing a tantrum as she did, but her mother exhausted her. “I don’t know who you deem suitable for the second daughter of an earl, Mama,” she said.

  Her mother walked patiently to the opposite sofa and sat, studying her with a grim face. “I will tell you who I find suitable.”

  An uneasy feeling formed in the pit of Natalia’s stomach. “You will?” She sat up.

  Her mother stared at her for a moment before saying, “Mr. Phineas Mercer, Esquire.”