The Apothecary's Daughter Part 22

After a long day of cleaning, sorting, and disposing of spoiled remedies and stale herbs, Lilly's back and neck ached. Mrs. Mimpurse invited the volunteers to the coffeehouse for an early supper, and they all filed out. Francis worked on, taking inventory and jotting in a small notebook. If she did not know him so well, Lilly might have thought him stealing the Haswell recipes.

Eyeing his list, she asked, "How bad is it?"

"You'll have several large orders to place, to bring the simples up to par not to mention the patent medicines you've run out of."

"I have run out of nothing. It is not my shop." Still, she held out her hand, and he placed two sheets of paper on her waiting palm. The list was long indeed.

"So much?"

"The first column are necessities, I think. The second might wait if you don't have a if you don't have time to order all at once."

She understood his meaning. "Thank you."

"If there is anything else I can do, you need only ask."

Such as return to work here? she thought, but she could not ask it of him. She did intend to get Charlie back to the shop, however. He'd returned to Marlow House before she'd had a chance to talk with him at all.

"There is one thing you can do," she said, lifting a finger to indicate he should wait while she walked quietly to her father's surgery.

She returned directly, an empty bottle in her hand.

His eyebrows rose.

"Can you keep this between us?" she asked.

"Of course. Your father's?"

She nodded and held out the bottle. "What is it? Can you tell?"

With grim expectation, he accepted the bottle, regarded the unmarked surface, then swiped it quickly beneath his nose, as though a.s.suming the smell would be readily identifiable. Instead he frowned and held it under his nose again, sniffing once, then again.

"I thought a But I don't know. What do you think?"

"I don't know either."

"I am no expert at this sort of thing. That is, a.s.suming a" He broke off and began again. "I shall take this and see if either Freddy Mac or Mr. Shuttleworth can identify it."

Freddy McNeal was the proprietor of the Hare and Hounds, the village public house, a tiny place compared to The George on the ca.n.a.l in Honeystreet. "Do not say where it came from, all right?"

"You can trust me, Lill Miss Haswell."

Already she felt foolish for insisting on her proper name.

"Are you coming to the coffeehouse?" he asked.

"No. But you go on. I had better stay and see if I can get Father to eat something."

He nodded, then c.o.c.ked his head to look at her closely. "It is good to have you back."

"Not back, only visiting. For a fortnight."

He continued to study her, and she grew uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Had she changed so much? Was he about to tell her she looked well? "Is something amiss?" she asked.

Grinning a little, he said, "You have a bit of cobweb in your hair."

Embarra.s.sed, she brushed at her temple. "Where?"

"Allow me." He reached out and gently drew his fingertips along her hairline. "There." He held up a wispy web and blew it from his fingers.

Her scalp tingled oddly from his touch. She did not even consider reprimanding him for blowing the web onto the just-cleaned floor.

Aloft in rows, large Poppy Heads were strung,

And near, a scaly Alligator hunga.

The Sage in Velvet Chair, here lolls at Ease,

To promise future Health for present Fees.

SIR SAMUEL GARTH, DISPENSARY.

CHAPTER 19.

sing some of the money her aunt had given her for the journey home, Lilly hired a laundress to attack the pile of dirty clothes and linens in her father's room. She placed an order with the coal monger, then visited the chandler to replenish a few necessities candles, soap, and such. She would worry about meals later. With the amount her father was eating, Mrs. Mimpurse's stew and Mary's bread would last a solid week in the cold cellar.

Late that afternoon, Francis returned to the shop and, seeing the surgery door ajar, gestured her over. "Mr. Shuttleworth would like to speak with you."

"Whatever for?"

"About" he lowered his voice "the bottle you gave me. Freddy Mac couldn't place it."

"And Mr. Shuttleworth?"

"Said he needed more information before he could hazard an a.s.sessment."

"A guess, you mean."

Francis shrugged. "You can come by the shop, or-"

"I cannot go there. It will look like I am spying, or worse, disloyal to my father."

Francis looked uncomfortable.

"And I cannot invite him here, for Father might hear us. Perhaps the coffeehouse?"

"Good. Mr. Shuttleworth frequents it."

"Does he?"

"He's a bachelor and keeps no servants."

For some reason his status surprised her. Still, she did not like the thought of Mrs. Mimpurse serving her father's rival.

Lilly was ill-prepared for the man who stood to greet her when she entered the coffeehouse and approached the table where he and Francis sat. He was not a tall man, but had a large presence. She guessed he might be as old as thirty, but it was difficult to tell. Though he was of average build, there was nothing else average about him. His black hair stood in three-inch p.r.i.c.kles all over his head. His eyebrows formed sharp black peaks over dark eyes that sparkled impishly. His clothes were startling. A gold-and-black waistcoat shone between the lapels of a plush burgundy frock coat with yellow cuffs. His cravat was not white or ivory like every other she'd seen, but gold.

He followed her gaze. "Do you like it?" he asked, touching his cravat.

"Yes." She hesitated. "I have a gown that very hue."

"A lady with exquisite taste. How charming." His teeth, she noticed when he smiled, were quite long.

"Miss Lillian Haswell, may I present Mr. Lionel Shuttleworth."

She was surprised Francis thought to use her full given name.

She curtsied and Mr. Shuttleworth bowed. His grin, the light in his eyes, communicated deep delight. It gave her an odd feeling of warmth and discomfort at once.

"Miss Haswell. What a pleasure. I have been hearing such wonderful things about you, both from young Mr. Baylor here as well as the Mimpurse ladies."

Mary appeared, as if she'd heard her name. She set down a basket of breads and a pot of tea. "Chicken and vegetables will be coming out soon."

Lilly noticed Mr. Shuttleworth's eyes following Mary's every move. Her friend's fair round cheeks were flushed from more than just the kitchen fires, Lilly guessed. Dressed in her blue frock and white ap.r.o.n, with her hair loosely pinned, Mary might not be beautiful, but she made a pretty portrait indeed.

When Mary had disappeared back into the kitchen, Mr. Shuttleworth returned his attention to Lilly. "I do hope you will come by my little shop sometime. I would be honored to show you about the place. I have a new mounted tiger shark, a shrunken head, and several Egyptian scarabs. The colors, Miss Haswell, are like the finest gemstones. Really, quite exquisite."

"And do you use scarabs and sharks in your physic? " She did not ask about the skull; she knew all too well that many apothecaries used powdered bone it was supposed to heal wounds and treat falling sickness. Her own father abhorred the practice, said it was blasphemous somehow. Lilly agreed. And it was certainly not something she wished to discuss while dining.

He ignored this question and went on, "I was right there on the deck when the crew hauled in the shark. No catalogue-purchased prize for me. And the scarabs I captured and lanced myself."

She could not keep the surprise from her tone. "You have been to Egypt?"

"Egypt, Italy, the West Indies, Africa."

"My goodness. May I ask how you came to travel so far?"

"Indeed you may." He leaned his elbows on the table. "I worked as a ship's surgeon on a merchant vessel for several years. My employer imported exotic things from exotic places. I found it all fascinating. Not only the unusual plants and animals even people but especially the healing practices of different cultures. Most interesting."

"Then I must ask the obvious question, sir," Lilly said. "How in the world why in the world would you choose to set up shop in a little inland village like Bedsley Priors? Have you family here?"

He shook his head. "I have no family." He stared off over her head, apparently in deep thought or memory. "I grew weary of shipboard surgery and living among coa.r.s.e men. I quit my post and took pa.s.sage on one of the ca.n.a.l boats transporting our wares from Bristol to London. There I served with a master apothecary for several months and then decided to stay a few years, London town having such a varied and rich culture."

"London I can understand, sir. But Bedsley Priors?"

She felt Francis's silent censure and amended, "It is a lovely place, and I am partial to it, having grown up here and having family here."

"You are fortunate to have family and friends, Miss Haswell. And indeed it is a lovely place, occupied by lovely people. In fact, when I pa.s.sed Bedsley Priors on my way to London, I saw three reasons which compelled me to decide then and there that I would return to Bedsley Priors one day."

Lilly raised her eyebrows. "Three reasons, sir?"

Mary came out of the kitchen again, bearing a tray of dishes. Mr. Shuttleworth said softly, "And here comes one of those lovely reasons now." He rose. "May I a.s.sist you with that tray? Looks heavy."

Mary blushed. "I can manage, sir."

He beamed at them all. "And strong of limb as well." His gaze moved from Mary's face to Lilly's. "You might be sisters. So lovely are the both of you."

The platter of chicken clunked heavily onto the table. "Sorry," Mary mumbled. Biting her lip, Mary set out the bowls of vegetables with a return of her usual grace. Lilly hoped she wasn't about to have one of her bouts of falling sickness.

Breaking away from the man's steady gaze, Lilly asked, "Join us, Mary? "

"Can't now. Maybe for coffee and pudding later."

Lilly forked a piece of stewed chicken onto her plate and pa.s.sed the platter to Mr. Shuttleworth. He stacked several pieces beside his mound of leeks and potatoes. "Well, now the food's arrived, let's dive into business, shall we?"