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    “I don’t know, your grace . I am a man of science. I can only report the facts.” The doctor hesitated a moment before continuing. “I have on a few occasions heard of similar marks, although not quite so severe. Sometimes, a family member, a husband, a father, feels the need to correct a woman for misbehavior. In these circumstances, a woman great with child, more often a father. Husbands tend to be careful with expectant wives, unless of course there’s a question of paternity . . . .” He trailed off before picking up steam again. “In those instances husbands are often careful not to leave noticeable marks. They don’t wish to draw attention or scandal.”
    Arthur watched the doctor's carefully held expression . His very lack of emotion betrayed the sensitivity of the subject. Still, it seemed cruel and cold-blooded for a family member. But families could be cruel.
    “This is common?”
    The doctor settled on more comfortable ground now. “Not common, no, particularly with injuries of this severity. But, we all know it lies within a man’s rights to discipline his womenfolk.”
    “Yes, it does. ” Arthur let the comment hang.
    Ignoring the doctor still perched uncomfortably on the edge of his chair, Arthur turned and gazed out the window, without seeing . How had his simple longing for adventure turned into this?
    He had enough matters to worry about in running his estates . His father had been determined to make him into the perfect heir, a man of decision and sang froid , who knew the exact thing to do and exactly how to do it, his father’s way, the family way, the honorable way. His fingers reflexively stroked his marred cheek, and carefully he drew them back down, giving no hint of his tangled reaction. Yet he wondered how the delicate creature lying upstairs could have endured the punishment Dr. Smithson had described and still retain that angelic aspect? Anybody who had gone through such hardship should not appear so unmarked. He knew he didn’t.
    The doctor’s cautiously modulated cough drew his attention.
    Arthur spoke with great precision. “Do you have anything else to tell me? How long should her recovery require? Is any special care required for the infant?”
    The doctor hesitated only briefly . “No, there is nothing else I can speak to with any assurance.”
    Arthur was discomfited by the sensation of being beholden to someone else for information . He could not escape the impression that something still remained shrouded in mystery. He knew that if he could concentrate on more practical matters, the feeling would pass. “I need to know where she came from. Is there any harm in pressing her for answers?”
    It was clear that Dr. Smithson knew the answer Arthur wanted, and equally clear that it was not the one he wanted to give . “How crucial is it to know immediately, your grace?” he asked. “Women can react rather strangely to trauma. You wouldn’t want her to end up in hysterics.”
    “Certainly not. ” The thought horrified Arthur. He flipped his quizzing glass in his pocket once, and then moving to the desk let his hands rest still. “Thank you again for doing me the favor of examining her.”
    “I am at your disposal, your grace . I look forward to continuing our philosophical and political debates at a later date. You must let me know when you receive further correspondence from your Uncle Ramsey.”
    Dr. Smithson rose and hastened to the door.
    “You will return tomorrow to check on my charges?”
    “I hardly think . . . .”
    Arthur lifted that arched brow.
    “Of course . I’ll be back in the early afternoon.”
    Left alone, Arthur found the confines of the study too restrictive . His thoughts kept straying to the pallid girl upstairs, and the questions he should wait to ask.
    With a silent curse, he went upstairs to change . Another breakneck ride should clear his head, and this time, he told himself, he would be mindful to restrain any foolish longing for