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Authors: Steven F. Havill
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he flipped the journal open. He traced the patient names to Howard Deaton, aged thirty-four years, compound fracture of the tibia and femur, and began to read.
Chapter Seven
“I find your wife to be a remarkable woman,” Hardy said, and the unexpected comment jerked Thomas out of his reading. “My God, how studious you are,” Hardy laughed at the reaction. “I understand now why both your wife and Miss Auerbach were so reticent about disturbing you during an examination. You startle so!” He made a slashing upward motion with an imaginary scalpel. “Whoops, pardon me! Sutures, please!”
“Alvi
is
remarkable,” Thomas replied in self-defense. “I heartily agree. I wish you could have met her father.”
“Passed rather suddenly, did he?”
“Yes. A stroke this past autumn. She misses him terribly. We both do.”
“Well, of course you do.”
Thomas beckoned to a chair. “Here, please. How about some brandy to wash down the dust? We haven’t allowed you a moment’s rest from your journey.”
“I haven’t seen dust since I left the Dakotas, Thomas. Wash away the
muck
, perhaps. And yes to the brandy.” He watched with keen interest as Thomas poured two glasses, both with a conservative jigger or two. Accepting the glass, Lucius Hardy closed his eyes, sipped delicately, twitched his mustache, and uttered a heart-felt groan of pleasure. He smacked his lips then, and carefully placed the glass on a small table near his chair without taking a second sip.
“So,” he said, eyes roaming about the office. “Look at you.” He reached for the glass again, took another minute sip with closed eyes, and replaced it. “Alvina is charming. You’re a lucky man, Thomas. Getting on a bit, isn’t she.”
“Seven months.”
Hardy’s thick eyebrows shot up. “Really now? My soul, she’s a mountain for seven, I’ll say that. What is she carrying, triplets?”
“I wouldn’t care to bet.”
“Surely by now you can hear the separate heart beats, Thomas.” Just a trace of reproof there, Thomas thought, the same gentle tone he’d heard from Lucius Hardy in the laboratory at the university where Hardy had first been an anatomy assistant, and then an instructor in microscopy.
“I can, Lucius. Two good strong hearts—mother and child.”
“Well, then. There you are. That’s my specialty, you know. I left the university and indulged in Philadelphia’s high life for a couple years. Lots of very wealthy young women having lots of stunningly beautiful babies.”
“Dr. Roberts so informed me, Lucius. And in part that’s why I wrote to you, at his urging. I hardly dared believe that you might accept my offer.”
“Well, you know,” Hardy said with a casual, dismissive wave of the hand. “You’ve seen one stuffy parlor of the wealthy, you’ve seen them all, so to speak. I’ve always loved the notion of the sea…not the sea itself, mind you,” he laughed. “I’ve discovered that I become dreadfully seasick. But the
notion
of it. The sea at a distance. I had been considering a post in New Haven, but then your persuasive letter arrived. Having never been west of Philadelphia, the lure of adventure was strong. And I have to admit, Thomas, I half suspected you of aggrandizing the situation you have here, but my word.” He looked around the room. “This is most pleasant.”
“I’ve tried to make it sound so, and now here we are. Dr. Roberts says that you were the best in your class. I had to work hard to lure you.”
“The best in
any
class, my friend. Simply the best. And still am. Perhaps hampered by an overwhelming modesty, but I work to overcome that.” He grinned and sipped the brandy again. “So, tell me what…” He stopped in mid-sentence, and Thomas turned to see Berti at the office doorway.
The nurse could set her narrow, pretty face into an expression of perfect neutrality, exactly what she did at that moment.
“Mr. Deaton is ready for you in the examining room, Doctor. And Mr.
Chapter Seven
“I find your wife to be a remarkable woman,” Hardy said, and the unexpected comment jerked Thomas out of his reading. “My God, how studious you are,” Hardy laughed at the reaction. “I understand now why both your wife and Miss Auerbach were so reticent about disturbing you during an examination. You startle so!” He made a slashing upward motion with an imaginary scalpel. “Whoops, pardon me! Sutures, please!”
“Alvi
is
remarkable,” Thomas replied in self-defense. “I heartily agree. I wish you could have met her father.”
“Passed rather suddenly, did he?”
“Yes. A stroke this past autumn. She misses him terribly. We both do.”
“Well, of course you do.”
Thomas beckoned to a chair. “Here, please. How about some brandy to wash down the dust? We haven’t allowed you a moment’s rest from your journey.”
“I haven’t seen dust since I left the Dakotas, Thomas. Wash away the
muck
, perhaps. And yes to the brandy.” He watched with keen interest as Thomas poured two glasses, both with a conservative jigger or two. Accepting the glass, Lucius Hardy closed his eyes, sipped delicately, twitched his mustache, and uttered a heart-felt groan of pleasure. He smacked his lips then, and carefully placed the glass on a small table near his chair without taking a second sip.
“So,” he said, eyes roaming about the office. “Look at you.” He reached for the glass again, took another minute sip with closed eyes, and replaced it. “Alvina is charming. You’re a lucky man, Thomas. Getting on a bit, isn’t she.”
“Seven months.”
Hardy’s thick eyebrows shot up. “Really now? My soul, she’s a mountain for seven, I’ll say that. What is she carrying, triplets?”
“I wouldn’t care to bet.”
“Surely by now you can hear the separate heart beats, Thomas.” Just a trace of reproof there, Thomas thought, the same gentle tone he’d heard from Lucius Hardy in the laboratory at the university where Hardy had first been an anatomy assistant, and then an instructor in microscopy.
“I can, Lucius. Two good strong hearts—mother and child.”
“Well, then. There you are. That’s my specialty, you know. I left the university and indulged in Philadelphia’s high life for a couple years. Lots of very wealthy young women having lots of stunningly beautiful babies.”
“Dr. Roberts so informed me, Lucius. And in part that’s why I wrote to you, at his urging. I hardly dared believe that you might accept my offer.”
“Well, you know,” Hardy said with a casual, dismissive wave of the hand. “You’ve seen one stuffy parlor of the wealthy, you’ve seen them all, so to speak. I’ve always loved the notion of the sea…not the sea itself, mind you,” he laughed. “I’ve discovered that I become dreadfully seasick. But the
notion
of it. The sea at a distance. I had been considering a post in New Haven, but then your persuasive letter arrived. Having never been west of Philadelphia, the lure of adventure was strong. And I have to admit, Thomas, I half suspected you of aggrandizing the situation you have here, but my word.” He looked around the room. “This is most pleasant.”
“I’ve tried to make it sound so, and now here we are. Dr. Roberts says that you were the best in your class. I had to work hard to lure you.”
“The best in
any
class, my friend. Simply the best. And still am. Perhaps hampered by an overwhelming modesty, but I work to overcome that.” He grinned and sipped the brandy again. “So, tell me what…” He stopped in mid-sentence, and Thomas turned to see Berti at the office doorway.
The nurse could set her narrow, pretty face into an expression of perfect neutrality, exactly what she did at that moment.
“Mr. Deaton is ready for you in the examining room, Doctor. And Mr.
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