Rather than answer him, Alice asked her own question. “Have you been drinking?” She didn’t bother to temper the accusation in her voice.
He actually laughed at her. “No. I did pour the drink, and then decided that Potter and this silly will weren’t going to cause me to break my vow.”
“Vow? You had a problem with drink before?”
Niall nodded. “Yes, soon after this whole debacle. I drank too much to be a good doctor. Of course, I didn’t want to be a doctor anymore by that time.”
Whether or not he’d vowed never to drink again, that didn’t explain the smell in the air. Alice pushed to understand its presence.
She moved to stand in front of him, pointing an accusing finger upward at him. She might be small, but Alice knew that finger carried power when she was riled. “Why do I smell alcohol if you aren’t drinking it?”
He gave a cynical chuckle. “Because, my dear, I nearly did drink it. I poured a glass of the brandy my father kept in here. Then, I stared at it before chucking the glassful out the open window like I did last night.”
Relief pulled a giddy giggle from Alice. She clapped her hands over her mouth when she realized it, reddening at the silliness of a trained nurse making such a sound. Niall raised an eyebrow in question.
“I’m just relieved. Believing so strongly in temperance, I didn’t think I could stay here if you were drinking.”
Reaching out a hand, Niall tenderly laid it on her shoulder. “And, do you want to stay here, Alice?”
Through the open window, the jingle of harness reminded her, breaking the spell of the moment. “Oh my! The horse! I came to ask for help stabling him in your small barn.”
The hand fell from her shoulder. Niall’s only response was a deep sigh as he moved out of the room. Letting him handle the animal, Alice stood still as she considered his question.
Would staying here mean she’d have to marry Niall? She didn’t know the man, and he seemed much less dedicated to caring for the sick than she was. How could that be a good match?
Later that evening, Alice finally found time to use the small bathing room. It had been the large pantry of the house at one time. No wonder it only had a wide, floor to ceiling cupboard for a pantry now.
The room had a stand with a porcelain bowl and pitcher. Lovely yellow roses decorated them. A long, steel tub stood near the outside wall. She’d filled it with steaming water using the copper boiler on the stove. Emptying in some of the Epsom salt, she washed with her lemon soap and then leaned back, luxuriating in the warmth. It had been months since she’d had a truly hot soak in a tub.
The tapping woke her from her relaxed trance. It was rhythmical and unstopping. A rattle followed each tap. The rattle of a window.
Someone was at the back door. Of all the poor timing!
Pulling her body up by her arms, Alice got her good leg under her and rose from the water. Carefully, she stepped over the edge of the tub. While the visitor seemed desperate, going by the frenzied knocking, Alice had to take care or she’d fall. Then, Niall’s medical emergency might be her!
“What the blue blazes is going on in this kitchen?” Niall’s irritated voice sounded on the other side of the bathing room door. It sent Alice scrambling to dry her body and don her gown and robe. In her haste, she bumped into the stand, sending the lovely bowl and pitcher to the floor with a horrendous crash.
Horrified, Alice stared at the mess. That horror grew when the door flew open.
“Alice, are you—”
Niall broke off, his words dying on his tongue as he glimpsed Alice holding her robe up for modesty. She glimpsed unfamiliar male admiration in his eyes. At least, unfamiliar when it was directed at her. Amazing that this man actually seemed attracted to her.
What was she thinking? She was all but naked and in front of him! Obviously, he’d be attracted. He was a man, and she was naked. Nurse Harrow had explained such things to protect the virtue of her students as they worked with unclothed men.
“Uh—”
The sound she made shook him from a sort of trance. He turned quickly and closed the door behind him.
From the other side of the portal, he spoke contritely, though she heard an underlying chuckle in his voice. “I do apologize, Nurse Cordell. If I hadn’t believed you’d fallen, I never would have—”
He trailed off. She supposed anything further wasn’t necessary. The excuse did make sense. What he said next didn’t.
“You know this means we have to marry.”
Shouting outside the door replaced the knocking. “Go answer that door, doctor. I can’t deal with you right now,” Alice managed to choke out.
This time, he didn’t hide his laughter. She listened to his bootsteps as he walked to the door. A woman’s cry caused Alice to ignore the nightgown. She quickly threw on her dirty clothes.
“Please, help my boy.”
Niall growled, “Did Potter send you to test me?” That retort had Alice’s fingers flying over the buttons of her shirtwaist.
“He’s hurt.” A cry of pain from somewhere outside the house validated her claim.
Rather than invite them in, Niall stood his ground. Alice heard him ask, “What happened to him?”
By this time, Alice had finished with her buttons. Her hair remained in its bun since she’d planned to wash it the next day in a basin. Certain that she looked professional, even without her small white cap, Alice left the bathing room.
“Oh dear me! Let’s have a look at your boy.”
The woman fixed her tear-streaked face on Alice
