Chapter 24
-BEA-
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“So, moving forward, I’ll know where you are.” Dax’s words repeated themselves in her mind. As she left his quarters, she prepared for her trek through the market, and even as she moved into the first shop. They repeated over and over.
How could he still not trust me? After everything she’d told him and what she’d done for him, how could he still question her loyalty? He trusted his lawman, he’d said. He made sure to clarify that Mr. Fuller was the only person he could trust in the castle.
She couldn’t explain why she was hurt, but she was. She was hurt and angry.
So much so that when she pulled on a strand of garlic pearls to examine them, they broke away and scattered across the floor. “Shit.” She cursed under her breath.
She was reaching under a stall, trying to grab the last bulb of garlic, when a deep voice sounded above her. She pulled her arm up, startled, and scraped her shoulder against the underside of the wood, ripping the material away from the fabric and exposing her shoulder.
“Oh! I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry. Here, let me help you up.”
Frustrated about her dress and aggravated that the last bulb was just out of reach, she tried one more time to grab for it.
“Don’t worry about the garlic. It’ll show those damned mice a thing or too!” Then she felt strong arms wrap around her midriff and pull her up to standing.
“Pardon my roughness, my Lady, but it’s improper for you to be on the ground like that.” He looked down at his shoes as the sides of his dark cheeks turned even darker.
With a large huff, she dusted off her dress and took a good look at the man who had just manhandled her off the floor. He was handsome, with dark curly hair that was close–knit to his scalp. His dark brown eyes were easy to look at, and his smile was wide and contagious. She’d never seen someone with his shade of skin, but she was finding it hard not to stare. He was so unique to her, he was beautiful.
“Uh.. I mean, thank you.” She was finally able to stumble over her words enough to thank the man. “I didn’t mean to break the string. I guess I was lost in thought.”
“Oh?” He pushed his hands into the front pockets of his green apron and said, “Something troubling you?” His arms bulged under his white shirt, distracting her from his question.
th.” When was she such a cad? She was a Lady. A Princess and she needed to get her shit together. “Uh, yes, actually.” Should I tell him who I am? She decided against it. She’d tell him just enough to get what she needed.
“I’m hoping to find a Medicinalist or a local Doctor. Could you point me in the right direction?” She’d seen the herbs sign out front and hoped the owner or someone inside might know where she could go.
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Chapter 24
The man did a small lift up to the balls of his feet before coming back down onto his heels and said, “You’re in luck. That’s me!”
She didn’t mean to sound so skeptical, but that’s what happened when she heard the words leave her mouth. “You’re a Doctor?” What had happened to her? She never used to be so rude. Then again, being sold, seeing your Master dead, and then parading around in her dress while marrying her husband, MIGHT tend to cut one’s edges down to sharper points.
She’d have to be more mindful. He was obviously a nice man, and here she was, acting like vinegar instead of honey.
He didn’t seem perturbed. In fact, he laughed. His mirth boomed around her, causing the one other patron in the building to put down the item he was looking at and hurry out of the shop. “I guess I could see why you might think I was jesting, but it’s true. And I don’t mean to puff my own smoke, but I’m a pretty good one too. What’s the issue?”
He moved a little closer to her while still smiling from ear to ear. Should he really be smiling like that? She DID have an issue after all.
“I’m looking for something that will return vigor, strength, and health to someone who’s recently been unable to move.” She tried to keep her explanation short and to the point.
“Well, why couldn’t they move?”
At her silence, his shoulders slumped, and his smile faded. “You’re not aiding a criminal, are you, my Lady?”
So shocked, all she could spit out was, “NO!”
“Oh! Okay then.” His smile returned, although not as vibrant. “I only ask because if they were unable to move due to broken bones, it could be a very different treatment than if the person was ill from a lung ailment, for instance.” He looked at her a little more seriously. “I understand if you can’t talk about specifics. That comes with my line of work, but give me as much information as you’re comfortable with and I’ll do what I can to help.”
She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, nibbling and thinking about how much to tell. Finally deciding, she said, “Someone grew ill from too much Wolfsbane. It was administered to treat pain, but the assistant messed up. Thankfully, we caught it in time, but now they’re weak. Before that, they were injured in a fall from a horse, which is what the plant was being used for.”
“Oh no! Well, then you DO have issues. I’d have been worried too. No worries though, Miss?”
“Bea.” She couldn’t tell him who she was now, but it didn’t matter. She hoped she wouldn’t need to come back.
“No worries, Bea. By the way, I’m Dr. Ashe.” He then spent the next two hours walking her through different herbs and plants that would best help with what she needed. Then he instructed her on how to exercise the patient to regain muscle strength and about the needed medicine he was giving her for any minor pains the patient may still feel.
As she was walking out, the Doctor walked with her. “I’ll walk you to the edge of town. It’ll make me feel better. I’m walking that way anyway, for lunch.”
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Chapter 24
“That’s not necessary!” She stopped and waited as the Doctor locked his shop up.
“Oh, yes, it is. Like I said, it’s for me, not you.” Then he winked at her and moved to walk beside her as they left his shop.
They’d made it to the edge of town, and he wished her luck in the recovery of her friend. She couldn’t remember a time when she felt so free. She’d spent the last several hours talking and laughing, and not once did she fear a whip would slice at her back. Not once did she wonder if she was going to be hungry tonight or worry whether she was going to finish all of her chores fast enough to beat the pigs.
She smiled at him as he waved goodbye and walked into a small cottage just near the entrance to the market. She could barely make out the voice of an elderly woman as she gave the Doctor a hard time about settling down and getting married. She couldn’t stop the grin that felt so foreign but so good as it spread across her face.
Then she turned and made her way back to the castle and back to Dax.
