An Independent Miss by Becca St. John

enough. I will
forego hunting, if that eases your palate for my edict.”
    “I love to gather in the woods.”
    “Surely you have other interests.”
He tried, but she didn’t. Not really. She gathered - in the woods, in the
fields, in meadows - and created medicines, many to be imbibed. That was who
she was and the one thing he couldn’t abide her being. “You can cultivate
whatever pleases you.”
    Could she? Would that be the same?
    Andover, gentleman that he was,
changed the subject, leaving her numbed to revelations she very much feared
were breaking her heart.
    “You’ve been very attentive to the
Smiths?”
    Yes, she had been, because, through
her gathering, she had the means to help. “Childbirth is not a good time for
Adele. She has a tendency toward melancholy once the babe is born. Devastating
for sufferer and family both.” She looked straight. “Maddy is her sister.” She
nodded to the serving girl with her basket, now visible ahead of them. “She
feels utterly useless, as does Mr. Smith.”
    Lightly as her hand rested on his
forearm, she felt the sudden flex of it, and realized mushrooms and gatherings
were not the only triggers to his tensions.
    “This upsets you?” she asked.
    He urged her forward, Felicity not
even aware she’d stopped. “Melancholy hits the best of people.”
    “Yes, it does,” she agreed,
wondering if that was one of his weaknesses, as well. A melancholic nature. She
would have to ask Thomas.
    Their chaperones, meager protection
that they were, turned another corner leaving them alone again. He turned to
her, lifted her chin ever so slightly, enough he looked down, directly into her
eyes, his gaze lowering to her mouth.
    “I cannot help but believe your
presence will ease Mrs. Smith’s sorrows. There is a calm strength in you,
Felicity.”
    It
is not my presence, she wanted to cry out. I take her medicines—the ones that I make with foraged plants.
    She could say nothing, dared not
quell this moment, for he bent his forehead, rested it against hers, his eyes
closed, as if in prayerful gratitude.
    She held her breath hoping, against
her better judgment, that he would kiss her. A light touch of his lips to hers,
no more. Perhaps the only chance she would have, if this betrothal were called
off for differences neither could abide.
    Surely it wouldn’t hurt his wounded
mouth to press her lips, the way he’d caressed her wrist with his lips this
afternoon. Nor would it taint her reputation if the betrothal needed to be
called off.
    Just a mere brush of flesh against
flesh.
    She shivered with the possibility,
a singular opportunity. He pulled away.
    “Thank you,” he offered a bow.
    Disconcerted, habit took over. She
curtsied, “you’re very welcome,” and hoped he did not see her disappointment.

 
    CHAPTER 5 ~ ONE IN
EVERY FAMILY
     
    Felicity and the physician, Samuel
Henry, looked back at the journal sitting on the table in the stillroom. “You
think the mixture will help Mrs. Smith?” he asked.
    “Yes, I do, though it must be
administered with care.” Felicity remembered the strict instructions she’d
given Maddie. “She took the first dose of it this afternoon. I’m afraid it will
be a good week before we see results. She’s in a very bad way, but these things
must not be rushed.”
    “You really believe it’s something
inside, an illness, and not just…weakness of the mind.”
    Men .
“Samuel, you have seen this before in perfectly fit and mentally strong,
capable women. There is something inside that disrupts their humors after they
give birth. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t believe it has anything to do
with their minds. Nothing at all.”
    “I will see that she takes it.”
    “Thank you. It will ease my mind
when we are in London. I do worry so.”
    He looked back down at the thick
oversized journal. “Don’t suppose I could borrow this? It is the most thorough
book on case studies I have ever seen.”
    Felicity ran a loving hand