Desiring the Doctor

Desiring the Doctor

By Jane B. Night

Copyright 2015 by Jane B. Night

BZ Publishing LLC

For information contact: BZPublishingLLC@Gmail.com

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is coincidental. This is a copyrighted work and may not be reproduced or redistributed without the express permission of the copyright holder.

Smashwords Edition

Chapter 1

Bianca knew that if they stopped this time they would die. Rachel was too weak to keep going. She was barely conscious now and Bianca was bearing most of her weight.

The light ahead had to be their destination. It just had to. If it was not then it was all over.

She kept pushing forward up the path to the doorway where two torches cast a beacon of light.

It might be what the woman had described to her but it might not. It would be easier to tell in the daytime but they could not risk being in plain sight during the sunlit morning and being wrong. Not until they arrived. Once they were in Venetia, and honestly, she was not sure if they were, they would be safe.

The law said that Mark and Luke could not touch them once they made it to Venetia. There would be people and laws to protect them, which was a luxury they had not enjoyed in Catseye Valley.

She lifted up a trembling hand and knocked on the door. She thought for a moment that no one would answer but then the door opened and a young woman stood before her.

Is this Madame Valentine's Inn? Bianca asked.

Yes, the woman said reaching out a hand to her.

We need your help, Bianca said. Then, she felt her legs buckle underneath her and the room went dark.

James opened his eyes groggily when he heard the pounding on his door. He sat up and rubbed his eyelids with the back of his hand. He fumbled along the nightstand until he found his spectacles. The moonlight was streaming through the window and he wondered exactly what Godforsaken hour it was. Whatever the hour, the call must be urgent. He pulled on a shirt and fumbled with his suspenders before making his way downstairs and opening the front door.

Sam? He blinked against the light of the lantern the young man held.

Madame Valentine needs you to come. Two girls came in. They look badly. She sent me to come fetch you at once.

James grabbed his bag, which he kept by the door for such emergencies, and followed Sam along the unlit streets until they came to the Inn. He hurried up the back staircase to the large room where dozens of beds were set up dormitory style. In the corner, two makeshift cots held women he had not seen before. Other women, who he knew by sight if not by name, were buzzing around them. They were cleaning the girl's skin and offering them broth.

He knelt down before the first woman. She did not look very old. She might be in her mid twenties but it was hard to tell as she was thin and there were yellow and green bruises over much of her face and arms. She looked like she had taken a beating days ago. He took her wrist to check her pulse. It was strong which was a blessing at least. He palpitated her abdomen to make sure she did not have any internal bleeding. There was no bleeding, but it felt as if she had been pregnant recently though there was no child in the room that could belong to her.

Does anywhere hurt? he asked gently. He could see her mistrust and he did not blame her. Whoever had beaten her so badly almost assuredly was a man, most likely her husband.

No, she whispered. She did not have any injuries that needed his attention tonight. Rest and proper food would do her more good than any treatment he could give her.

He stood up and went to the other girl. He took her wrist in his hand to check her pulse. She had scrapes and scratches but no bruising which was a relief. She was so petite that a good beating would likely have broken her bones.

Are you in pain?

No. But, she hesitated and then said quietly, I need some pennyroyal.

Pennyroyal? Had she really just told him she needed pennyroyal? His first thought was wonderment that she would know that pennyroyal was an abortifacient. It was not something many people knew or used now. It had been used before better methods had emerged and might still used in a few places where modern medicine hadn't touched. It wasn't something he had ever been asked for before.

His second thought was curiosity. Why did she assume he would give her any such thing? Most doctors, even in Venetia, did not end pregnancies unless it was medically necessary.

I never use Pennyroyal. We have better ways of dealing with such a problem, but you are weak right now. You need time to regain your strength.

Please, she begged. Please, give it to me.

In your current condition nature may take its course and you may not need anything. In case it doesn't, you can come to my office in a week. With time, rest, and some food you should be strong enough for the needed treatment.

I've used Pennyroyal before. I'm strong enough.

In a week.

He dug in his bag, pulled out a powder mix, and handed it to Dawn, one of the women who had been at Madame Valentine's Inn for a long time and who he knew fairly well.

Mix this with hot water and honey. Give it to them every six hours. Make sure they have broth and nothing more until after I see them again. They need rest and the medicine will make them drowsy. Come get me if there is any change, James said.

Dawn nodded as she took the packets. There was nothing for him to do tonight for the women. Everyone would be better off with a few more hours of sleep.

Bianca felt panic rush through her even as the warm liquid made her drowsy. She had not been thinking clearly. Why would she ask a complete stranger for pennyroyal? She did need it. She had missed her cycle the day after they had run away and it had not appeared. Whenever she had missed a cycle in the past there had been pennyroyal in her herb garden. She had always played the role of poor woman who could not get pregnant for unknown reasons. She had to play that role. It meant safety. What would Mark have done to her if he had known she had ended the pregnancies he gave her? Were there laws against ending a pregnancy without medical reasons? If Mark had ever taken her to the doctors in Catseye Valley, they might have found out her secret. Luckily, Mark had not believed in medicine. Even when sick, he would not see the doctors. He would sometimes allow Bianca to make him teas with her herbs but that was the extent of his use for medicines.

You are going to be fine, Dawn said. Bianca had caught her name along with a few others but there were so many women here. Were they all runaways like she and Rachel?

Chapter 2

Bianca?

She opened her eyes at the sound of her name. The medicines that the doctor had given them made her feel sluggish and she did not want to get up even though the sun was shining through the window.

Dawn and the doctor from the night before were both standing over her. She had not paid him much attention then but she took in his features now. He had a square jaw with sharp angles. His hair was the color of coffee as was his skin. He looked older than she did, maybe thirty or thirty-five, but he did not look old or hardened. Instead, there was a kindness in his eyes.

Another woman was in the room as well. She was an elegant older woman who Bianca had not met the night before.

Madam Valentine, Dawn explained.

Autumn Louis sent us. She said you would give us a place to stay and work. I can get to work right away if you need me to but Rachel needs more rest, Bianca said though she was not sure she could actually lift her body at all.

Both of you are to rest today, the doctor said. His deep voice was surprisingly gentle.

He handed Dawn a few more packets of medicine. He buttoned his bag, and with a nod to Dawn and Madame Valentine, left the room.

You are from Catseye Valley? Madame asked kneeling next to her. Bianca nodded.

You are safe now. We won't let anything happen to you.

We will have Sam bring up two spare beds when he is through in the barn, Dawn said.

Do not go through any trouble for us. We don't want to burden you, Bianca said. She looked at the cot across from her where Rachel was still motionless. They needed to stay here. If they did not, Rachel would die. It had been a huge risk to bring her to Venetia so soon after the loss of her baby but it was the best opportunity they had found.

Mark and Luke were away on the day they ran. Their husbands were pig farmers but sometimes they did work as woodcutters. They would be gone in the forest for