Under the Mistletoe by Marguerite Kaye

Author:Marguerite Kaye
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-07-22T19:32:32+00:00

Royal Hospital Chelsea for Soldiers

Honoria McGrath looked up from her roll lists as the first wagons rolled on to the grounds, dismayed by how many there were. General Sir Colin Haklett, the hospital governor, had left her in charge and with very little help. To be honest, he’d not directly left her in charge, but rather in charge by default. As the holiday approached, the responsibility of settling the last wounded from the Crimea had devolved to her because there was no one was else. Everyone was gone for the Christmas holiday, away with their families.

She had no family. No one was counting on her for Christmas. Her two acquaintances in town, Mary Seacole and Isabella Armstrong, who had also nursed in the Crimea, had their own businesses to attend to now that the Crimea was behind them. She missed them. But they were women of independent means and independent choices. Unlike her.

Honoria straightened her shoulders, refusing to wallow in the self-pity that might follow such a recognition. Regardless of how the responsibility had come to her, she was more than capable of handling the latest challenge. The men arriving were counting on her to make their transition a smooth one. They had served their country nobly and deserved the best she could give.

A man leapt down from one of the wagons, tall, hale and whole, a rare sight for her these days which were filled with old men, broken men. His movements carried an athleticism that drew her attention, not only because they were conducted with a certain fluid grace, but because they were also...familiar—movements she’d memorised, spent her days working beside for a year and yet they belonged to someone she’d not thought to see again once she’d left the Crimea. Honoria’s breath caught in recognition and in hope. Could it be? Was it really him?

His long-legged stride covered the ground between them until there was no mistake. She smiled in surprise and disbelief. Dr William Peverett was home, months after his fellow doctors had returned to their lives. But, of course, it would be him. He wouldn’t dare let any of his treasured patients make such a journey without his care any more than he would have left their sides at the field hospital until he was assured of their recoveries. Dr Peverett was tenacious that way. It was a tenacity that had kept men alive through long hopeless nights, a tenacity she’d had the privilege to work alongside in Sevastopol.

Dr William Peverett was tireless when others flagged, steadfast when others gave up. It was a quality she admired in a man—such resilience showed a man’s character. And he was kind, always ready with a smile and an appreciative word acknowledging the efforts of others regardless of rank, something many of the other doctors didn’t take time to do. But William Peverett had time for everyone and a knack for making others feel special, valued, even her—Honoria McGrath, an insignificant young woman of no family, who lived her life in the background caring for others.

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