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couldn’t heal her. “Thank you, Roberts.”
    Wincing, he stood and reached for his cane. He ambled through the French door and down toward the pond. At first, she didn’t notice his approach; she continued to stare down into the water. When a twig snapped under Colin’s foot, she looked up and shook her head.
    “You should not be on that ankle, Your Grace.”
    “And you should not be on my land, Miss White,” he retorted and then sat on the edge of the pond to get his weight off his ankle. He did his best to conceal from her the pain he felt. She’d probably give him some damn herbs for the ache.
    “I was assisting a tenant.” The breeze blew her muslin skirts about her slim calves.
    “I heard Mrs. Fitzhugh passed.”
    She nodded.
    “Perhaps a physician—”
    “Could have hastened her death? Yes, I’m sure that fool man in town would have done just that.”
    “And yet, you couldn’t help her either.” He folded his arms over his chest.
    A slight smile lifted her full lips upward. “You do not know the first thing about Mrs. Fitzhugh or her condition.”
    “Do inform, Dr. White. ”
    “Very well, the woman was eighty-five years old and had lost her husband of over sixty years only last year. Once he had passed, she lost her will to live. She had loved him since they were both children. She couldn’t imagine life without him.”
    Colin couldn’t help but snort. “And that is why you are not a physician. You believe nonsense such as people dying over broken hearts.”
    “And no part of you died when your wife passed?”
    Her barb hit its mark. “How dare you mention my wife! How I felt after she died is not your concern.”
    “Then what exactly is your diagnosis for poor Mrs. Fitzhugh?” She cocked a brow at him as if daring him to answer.
    He laughed slightly. “I would not dream of playing at doctoring. That takes training and education.”
    “And I am simply an uneducated woman.”
    “Education or not, you are a woman.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “A woman could never be a physician, could she?”
    “No,” he replied simply. “It is far too taxing.”
    “You pompous ass,” she said as she rose. “You have no idea the number of lives I have saved.”
    “Purely accidental.” He had no idea why he continued to verbally spar with her. Perhaps it was the fact that he could. In London, the women would never disagree with anything he said. But they all wanted the same thing from him: marriage.
    As she walked away, he realized how much he’d enjoyed taunting her, watching the color rise to her cheeks in anger, and the way her eyes flashed emerald.
    Dear God, his brother was right. He needed a woman.

Chapter 4
    The next afternoon Selina arrived at the duke’s home with a different tactic in mind. She would not attempt to engage the narrow-minded man in any form of conversation, especially none concerning what she did at the estate. She would check on his foot and then leave. And she most certainly would not caress his foot or leg in any manner.
    As she approached the enormous house, she wondered if this visit was even necessary. He was able to walk to the pond yesterday. Surely, by today he would be even more capable of putting weight on his ankle.
    Perhaps she should forget checking in on him and go see Mrs. Thomas. The woman was already due to deliver any day. Selina paused on the gravel-lined drive and thought about the matter at hand. Her mother would have told her to perform her duty whether the pompous ass wanted her assistance or not. Still, she could go visit Mrs. Thomas and then come back to see the duke. Having made her decision, she turned to walk away until a low chuckle stopped her.
    “Don’t tell me Dr. White is leaving without checking on her patient?”
    She whirled around to see the duke leaning against a tree with his arms folded over his chest. Her breath caught as the breeze fluttered his black hair. She wanted to slap that arrogant look off his face. But since she could