Rebecca found it oddly flattering until her father’s manservant knocked and entered the room. “Doctor, it is Mr. Everly. He needs you.”
Her father stared at her, communicating his panic with the look in his eyes.
“I must go to him. Lord Melton’s wound is not life threatening. Can you clean and stitch it, please? My nurse has not arrived yet.”
Usually Rebecca would not mind helping her father in such a way, and she had been trained as a nurse for years now. But Thomas’ stares made her feel flustered. However, since her father required her help, she would give it.
“Of course, Dr. Morton,” she said, and her father left the room.
Rebecca proceeded to remove Thomas’ shirt from around his leg, revealing the large gash in the flesh. It was certainly not the worst cut she had ever seen, but there was a steady flow of blood. She stopped the bleeding with cotton rags rinsed in clean water, feeling very sorry for the handsome young man who winced and groaned every time she did so.
His hands clenched the metal bars of the patient bed as she sutured his leg using the curved needle. She knew that if she did not distract him somehow, he would focus too much on the pain. She didn’t wish that on him, or anyone for that matter.
She needed to speak to him about something – anything – but her mind was in a whirl.
“Your brother is the Duke of Waign,” she commented.
“Indeed. And you are?”
Rebecca lowered her gaze as she inserted the needle, expecting him to cry out in pain, but his eyes were intently focused on her. Her gaze met his and she smiled.
“My name is Rebecca.”
“A pleasure to meet you.”
Indeed. The greatest of pleasures.
“...REBECCA.” A beautiful name for a beautiful young woman.
Thomas hadn’t expected to meet someone as captivating as her, and certainly not under these circumstances. Despite the fact that he was in a great deal of pain, he focused on his nurse’s light rose-coloured lips, which were pursed together as she stitched his wound. Happily, the pain became like background noise.
Her blue eyes were focused on the wound on his leg, and her blonde hair glimmered from the beams of sunlight in the room.
He’d never seen such a pretty young woman assisting a physician and was oddly relieved to observe that she didn’t wear a wedding ring. She also had a striking resemblance to Dr. Morton. Perhaps she was his daughter?
“May I ask you a question?” she queried.
He looked down at his leg and noticed the neat row of sutures keeping his wound closed. He was impressed.
“Of course,” he said.
“What were you doing at the foot of the cliffs this time of the morning?”
“I was looking for something.”
“What were you looking for?”
“Shells and fossils. I’m a fossil hunter.”
“A fossil hunter? By profession?” she asked.
Thomas’ brow furrowed, as he realised it wasn’t something familiar to her. He wasn’t offended, of course. Many people he’d conversed with didn’t know what it was.
Yet there were many people who hunted for fossils.
“More of a passion than a profession,” he explained. “I visit the limestone rocks in search of fossils and rare shells to add to my collection.”
“Is this something you do often?” she asked, wrapping the wound with a clean bandage. “Visit the cliffs?”
“It’s the first time this summer, but I required time on my own,” he said, not really meaning to share that bit of information.
She glanced at him and her brow furrowed. “And why is that?”
“If you knew my brothers, you would understand,” he said with a grin. “We don’t have similar interests, and as much as I adore their wives and their children, sometimes solitude is required.”
Most people he knew would find nothing wrong with being surrounded by the chaos of life with the Meltons. But even he needed a short break now and then.
“I understand. Loud and lively surroundings cut up my peace as well.”
Thomas nodded and studied her for a few quiet moments. The softness and understanding in her eyes made her even more beautiful.
“It seems so quiet and peaceful here,” he said and motioned around him.
“It is very early, still. Some days it can get very busy and rowdy in here, so I do understand that once in while we need to get away from everything. It does help.”
“Indeed, it does.”
“Did you find any... fossils?” she asked.
“As a matter of fact, I did,” he said, and he reached for the satchel around his waist. He opened the side compartment and revealed the small seahorse. “I found this.”
Rebecca finished securing his bandage and placed the leftover materials on the table behind her. When she turned back to Thomas, her eyes widened with awe and her lips parted.
“Is that a seahorse?” she asked.
“Yes. This is a species of seahorse that is very rare. I doubt that it even exists in nature any longer.”
“May I?” she asked and held both her hands out to him. “I’ll be careful.”
He hesitated only for a moment, “Of course.”
He cautiously placed the fossil in her hand, his fingers lightly touching her palms.
“It’s so beautiful,” she whispered, bringing the fossil closer to her face so could inspect it properly. “I’ve never seen anything like it. How does this even happen?”
“Most likely, the seahorse died and was buried in the sand and silt. Everything but the bones and shells decomposed and the sediment around the plant, or in this case, the seahorse, hardened to stone and was preserved perfectly.”
She stared at him with wide, curious eyes, “How do you know all this?”
“My father had various books on the subject. My grandfather and I share the same interest.”
She smiled, gazing back at the seahorse. “The world is a wondrous place, filled with treasures. I see the beauty of it almost every day, working with my father.”
“Dr. Morton is your father?”
“Indeed. I have been assisting with patients ever since my...” Her voice trailed off and
