The Doctor and the Libertine - Callie Hutton Page 0,22

the gaslights on your street?”

“Sarcasm and foul language are not necessary, my lord.” Father would never approve of her accepting services without paying for them. In fact, she wasn’t sure he would even approve of her employing a member of the Upper Crust. She could picture his glower when she told him.

If she told him.

Edwin dipped his head in acquiescence. “Very well. I will find the money to pay Mrs. Westbrooke, but I draw the line at accepting payment from you. Cannot you just allow this as a favor from a friend?”

Were they friends? She wasn’t quite sure at this point what they were to each other. Wanting to get back to her friends before they made more out of this tête-à-tête at the door, she agreed. “Yes. But we will revisit this when we have more time.”

He bowed. “Very well. I will return tomorrow morning to begin my friendly assistance. Good evening Rayne.” Before she could counter his words, he turned toward the door, then stopped and turned back. “One more thing.”

Her brows rose and the look on his face caused butterflies to forge a battle in her stomach. “What?” Why was her mouth so dry of a sudden?

Edwin reached out and cupped her face in his large, warm hands. “This.” He lowered his head and covered her mouth with his. His lips were warm, soft, and undemanding. Her surprise at his action turned to something else as she felt herself kissing him back.

He wrapped his arms around her and drew her flush against his body. This was not her first kiss, but it surely was the most interesting one. Even after the horrible, messy day they had, he still smelled of his bath soap. His day-old beard scratched her skin, increasing her awareness of him. Just as she was settling in for a nice, long adventure, he pulled back.

She whimpered.

His smile was one of male satisfaction as he ran his hand down her cheek. “You still have guests waiting for you.”

For goodness sakes, she forgot all about Lottie, Pamela, and Addie in the other room. She stepped back and stared at him. “Why did you do that?”

He grinned. “Think about it.” With those confusing words, he turned and left the house.

What was she doing allowing Edwin to kiss her? And whatever did he mean by ‘think about it’? And why did he slip in her given name after addressing her as Dr. Stevens the entire afternoon?

As she started to calm down, her mind switched to another issue. Why would she allow him to take on the chore of handling her finances? For it was a chore to her. She struggled with mathematics, and her brain had never been interested in tallying up rows of numbers. Admittedly, she had also never been good asking for money from those who ignored her bills. It might be a good thing to have someone else doing that so she could concentrate on her patients.

With those jumbled thoughts, she returned to the infirmary to see Lottie, Addie and Pamela growing quiet and smirking at her. Oh dear God, hopefully they hadn’t witnessed Edwin kissing her? She groaned inwardly, wondering what was coming next.

“What?” She could feel the flush start in her middle and rise to her face. When they said nothing, she decided on distraction. “There is a bathing room upstairs so we can all clean up before we eat.”

That statement spurred them into action. Apparently, they were all hungry. As they chatted and climbed the stairs, Rayne knew there were going to be questions about Edwin once they settled in for dinner.

She must stop thinking of him as Edwin, lest it slip out when speaking and that would only increase their curiosity. ‘Twas bad enough he used her given name at the door. And that kiss! Hopefully, none of the ladies had heard him or worse yet, saw them.

Addie’s cook had prepared roasted lamb, potatoes with rosemary, three different vegetables, with plenty of hot tea and lemon tarts for dessert. She did not remember Walter purchasing lamb recently, so Addie must have had her cook bring the food with her.

With Rayne not employing footmen, the food was placed on the sideboard and they all helped themselves. Once they settled into their seats, Addie was the first to attack. “Tell us about Lord Sterling.”

She groaned inwardly but would remain calm. She would not refer to any connection between them. Because there wasn’t one.

Ah, but he kissed me. And I enjoyed it.

“I believe I