The Wrong Sort To Die: Historical mystery set in the lead up to World War 1 (Dr Margaret Demeray) by Paula Harmon

Author:Paula Harmon [Harmon, Paula]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: January Press
Published: 2020-06-29T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty-One

‘Here,’ said Mr Baines, pulling a hip-flask from his coat pocket. ‘You’re freezing. Have some brandy, I can’t have you fainting on me. Physician, heal thyself.’ He handed it over, keeping his distance from Margaret’s umbrella as she took a sip. ‘Now, has your friend a telephone?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then I suggest I take you to her house – I assume it’s a her – and you can telephone the police from there. What do you think?’

Coughing a little from the brandy, Margaret nodded, gave Phoebe’s address, and handed back the flask. The driver clicked to the horses.

When the brougham was up to a good speed, Mr Baines said, ‘There, that was all harder than it needed to be. Now then, Dr Demeray. I don’t pretend to like you and I disapprove of women in the professions, but I don’t want to see you walking about half-drowned or being mistaken for a loose woman. I’ve been persuaded that you should represent St Julia's in this symposium. However, I must say that seeing you wander about unescorted makes me question that. Furthermore, it has come to my attention that you may have been neglecting your work, and have recently rejected an offer of a most suitable position elsewhere. Ours is the only hospital which has a woman in a senior medical rôle. I’m now wondering how I allowed myself to be persuaded to agree to your appointment against my better judgement. Perhaps you can reassure me about your wisdom and judgment.’

Margaret gaped. ‘I don’t feel the need to reassure anyone, Mr Baines. And I haven’t neglected my job at all; quite the contrary. You can ask Dr Jordan.’

‘Mmm. He’s not the only one you seem to have won over. For reasons best known to him, Mr Simmonds also highly admires your knowledge.’ His glare was cold, his blue eyes boring into her face until she felt herself squirm. ‘Yet you rejected an offer of employment with him. I hope that if he made you an offer of marriage, you’d accept it.’

‘It’s not my knowledge I want to be wanted for, it’s myself,’ spat Margaret.

‘Ungrammatical as that sounds, maybe the two boil down to the same thing,’ said Mr Baines, with a sneer. ‘Who do you think you are without knowledge?’ He settled more firmly into his corner. ‘Mr Simmonds came to me for advice. His own father is not approachable, rather more fixed on business than emotion. Mr Simmonds – Randall, that is – requires someone to care for him. Do you understand? Someone to see to his needs and keep him on the straight and narrow. And he finds you unaccountably appealing. In my view, it would do you good to marry – it would curb your unladylike ambition. And if you really did want to pursue some sort of career I’m sure he’s still keen for you to work with him on a cure. Did you know that Randall had a wife once, and she died from tuberculosis? It’s not just a disease of poverty you know.

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