No Cure for Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

flicked down to the basket she held. Ellen turned towards the City.
    ‘I see you are going in the same direction as I am, so please let me carry that for you,’ he said, taking hold of the basket handle.
    ‘But you already have your hands full,’ she replied watching him manoeuvre the long, flat package he was carrying.
    ‘Nonsense. If I put my fruit on top of your vegetables I can carry it without any trouble.’ He took firm hold of the basket handle.
    To her joy or consternation, she wasn’t sure which, Doctor Munroe turned with her. His hands touched hers for a brief instant. He cleared his throat.
    ‘I did enjoy your singing last night. You truly have a lovely voice. Are you singing at the Angel again tonight, Mrs O’Casey?’
    ‘No. Not until next week, but I am singing next Tuesday at the Town of Ramsgate by the river at Wapping.’
    Robert’s brows pulled together. ‘You don’t walk home from there alone, do you? It’s a particularly rough area.’
    The concern in his voice was genuine. Other than Bridget no one had ever worried about her safety. Maybe his compliment last night had been genuine too. They walked on. Ellen let her gaze fall on his hand holding her basket. They turned to cross the street, letting two loaded wagons pass on their way to the City. Robert held her elbow lightly to guide her. She could feel the strength of his grasp through the thin fabric of her coat.
    ‘I suppose you have been cutting people up all morning, Doctor Munroe,’ she said, as her brain could find nothing else sensible to say.
    A smile crept across his face. ‘I am a physician, Mrs O’Casey, not a surgeon. But, as it happens, I have been “cutting people up” all morning. Or rather one person, a poor stevedore whose arm was crushed between a ship and the dock.’ His brows drew together severely. ‘The working conditions in the docks are truly barbaric.’
    ‘You don’t blame the man for his accident?’
    ‘Indeed, no. I can see the plain truth that Reilly and many like him are forced to take any work they can, even dangerous work.’
    Warning bells rang. Just because Doctor Munroe held the dock owners to account didn’t mean that he was any different from all the other well-heeled men who were often Danny’s guests.
    ‘Do you plan to open a practice up west after your time at the hospital?’ she asked as they waited for two hay wagons to pass.
    ‘I’m not planning to. I’m getting very fond of the sights and sounds around the hospital and by the docks. I’m think about staying in the area.’
    ‘But the money is up west.’
    Doctor Munroe regarded her steadily. ‘But the sick are to the east, Mrs O’Casey. I am a doctor and I am needed by the sick, not the rich.’ He smiled down at her.
    Holy Mother, but he’s handsome when he smiles.
    They had reached the far end of the hospital.
    ‘Unfortunately, I have to leave you here,’ he said, giving no indication that he was going to relinquish her basket. His amused look had changed to one of speculation. He looked as if he was about to say something.
    ‘You have a thought to say, Doctor Munroe?’
    ‘I have, Mrs O’Casey. But am I brave enough to say it?’
    Ellen folded her arms. ‘Let’s hear it then.’
    ‘I was going to say that the pink ribbon on the bonnet suited you.’
    Ellen put her hand to the third-hand straw bonnet that she had trimmed with pink petersham just to hold the brim together. She snatched her hand away and stared at the pavement.
    ‘That’s why I had to be brave,’ he said softly. ‘Because, having coaxed you out of your shell, I didn’t want you to retreat again.’
    Ellen couldn’t help smiling at the doctor’s contrite expression. The shock of light brown hair, that never seemed to remain where it was combed, sat over his eyes adding to the appeal of his expression. She smiled.
    ‘That’s better.’ He beamed at her. ‘The artists of this world may think they alone know of beauty, but we scientists could