Secrets of the Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

body.”
    “Plan, indeed,” Devlin said. He searched his mind for a remedy not yet tried.
    Devlin pulled back the sheet and gently examined the old man’s belly through the coarse material of a hospital gown. He reached for a stethoscope, attached the wooden earpiece, and laid the horn-shaped end against the patient’s abdomen. “No sound.”
    “Well, of course there ain’t no sound,” Hastings growled. “It don’t talk to ye.”
    “On the contrary, Mr. Hastings. If we but listen to what our bodies tell us, we might learn a great deal.”
    “And what’s me bloody gut got to say to ye?”
    The other students guffawed. Dr. Langford smiled.
    “Your gut says it’s blocked up and in need of a purge.”
    “The blazes it does.”
    The old man’s bare toes wiggled out from underneath the sheet, and Devlin frowned. “Do you mind if I take a look at your feet, Mr. Hastings?”
    “Me feet! What’s wrong with me feet? I suppose feet talk to ye too! Humph.”
    “I’m not sure yet. May I?”
    “Humph.” He gave a curt nod of his head.
    Devlin rolled the sheet back to the patient’s knees to reveal toes that were turning black and would soon be gangrenous. An ugly and inflamed pink tide crept up his ankles, accompanied by the stench of rotting flesh. The others crowded around. “Do your feet ache, sir?”
    “Aye. ’Tis harder to walk each day.”
    “I’ll discuss this problem with the others, and we’ll see what can be done. You must go back to your room now.”
    Devlin watched two attendants transfer the old fellow to a wheelchair prior to leaving the room. “His legs are poisoning him, are they not? Will the infection eventually kill him?”
    “I’m afraid so. You were wise not to discuss that prospect in front of him.” Their teacher straightened his back, tugged at his mustache, and cleared his throat uneasily. “Well, Ravensmoore. You certainly do have an unusual way of dealing with patients. The body talks, does it? And where did you get such an extraordinary idea?”
    “From you, sir.”
    “What did I say?” Langford asked, a curious look on his face.
    “You suggested that if we but pay attention to our patients, they can tell us many things, even if words are never spoken.”
    “How true. Glad to see you learned something after all, Ravensmoore. I might make a doctor of you yet.” Langford turned to address another student.
    As the words sank in, Devlin grinned.
    Charles Melton, one of the younger students in the group, leaned toward Devlin as they took their seats in the crowded amphitheater, preparing for Langford’s lecture on the next patient. “You saved yourself nicely, Ravensmoore. He never said such a thing.” His kind, brown eyes danced in a face framed by blond hair tied back with a black ribbon. “You just fed his pride.”
    “Not at all. He’s taught me a great deal. I’m just trying to get him to see some matters in a different light, planting a seed, so to speak, Melton. He doesn’t like the fact that I’m titled, so I must present my ideas carefully. I’m really just the same as everyone else.”
    “Sorry, old man, but you’re only fooling yourself. You can never be the same as everyone else. You’re titled. That will always make you different from the rest of us. But I, for one, admire your tenacity. You have chosen a difficult path.”
    “But not an impossible one,” Devlin said, defending his choice. “It wasn’t long ago that I was in the same situation as you, Melton. The second son.” Devlin’s hands tightened into fists, his knuckles white with frustration. “I’m titled now, yes. That doesn’t mean I can’t be a good and competent physician.”
    “You don’t have to prove it to me,” Melton whispered and nodded toward Langford. “Just him… and your peers.”
    “I have an obligation not to sever my ties with my peers. But most of them still refuse to take my interest in medicine seriously. They believe it’s a temporary amusement and only a