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crackles and whine in the young man’s lungs.” He took off again, and Claire had to trot in an unladylike way to keep up with him.
    Perkins continued to argue. “Doctor Crow handed off assignment of the individual rooms to me, and I’m not going to let one go without the proper procedures. As I told you, they’re full.”
    Claire caught Radcliffe’s eye. She shook her head, hoping he’d get the message that the other doctor wasn’t telling the whole truth. A slight dip of his chin told her he understood. Again, the feeling of familiarity overtook her, and she stumbled when her vision went black for an instant.
    Perkins leered at her. “I’m sorry, but you haven’t introduced me to this woman. Why is she coming to the quartermaster’s office?”
    “So I can kill two birds with one stone. She hasn’t done anything, but I need to get her settled in a different place too.”
    The way Perkins looked at Claire made her chest and cheeks warm. “I’m certain I can find a comfortable place for her.”
    Radcliffe turned and shoved Perkins so hard he would have bounced off O’Connell if the Irishman hadn’t stepped out of the way. As it was, Perkins landed with an undignified thud on the muddy path.
    “You’ll speak to the young lady with respect,” Radcliffe growled.
    Now Claire’s entire torso, fingertips to forehead, burned with a redheaded blush at the curious gazes of passersby. A swarm of interest surrounded her even from those who pretended not to pay attention. An older man with round spectacles and tufts of salt-and-pepper hair clinging to the sides of his head came out of the nearest building, the one they seemed to be walking toward, and looked at the tableau with some surprise. Claire thought she felt a stab of satisfaction when he saw Perkins sprawled on the muddy path, but he buried it so quickly she wasn’t sure she’d sensed it.
    “Now what have we here?” The newcomer waved his hands at the soldiers and others who had gathered. “The rest of you lot, get back to work.”
    “Major Longchamp,” O’Connell said, “lovely day, isn’t it?”
    “Why am I not surprised to find you in the middle of this, you Irish scamp?” He helped Perkins up from the mud. “And we’ll be getting you a new suit, I see.”
    Claire released the breath she’d held so she wouldn’t scream, laugh, cry, or otherwise call more attention to herself with a release of the emotion that overwhelmed her. She didn’t want Radcliffe to face disciplinary action, but she also didn’t want Perkins to take revenge on him later. She’d been around enough other doctors and their egos to know that hospital politics could turn ugly. While the quartermaster’s words surprised her, she appreciated his ability to defuse the situation.
    “What happened?” Longchamp looked at each in turn, and he fixed his blue gaze on Claire. “Ah, you look like an honest woman. What have these boys been up to?”
    A warm feeling started at the base of her spine and spread upward to relax her shoulders and neck. The sensation loosened her tongue. “Doctor Perkins said something about me to upset Doctor Radcliffe, and Doctor Radcliffe defended my honor.”
    She pressed her lips together to stem the flow of words. What had just come over her?
    Both doctors looked at their shoes.
    “Now that’s not how we handle things here, is it?” Longchamp said. “Doctor Perkins, you mustn’t forget your manners. Although we are on a military base, we are gentlemen. That goes for you too, Doctor Radcliffe. Now, is there anything else you need from me?”
    With the sensitive part of her mind, Claire felt Longchamp orchestrating the situation. It was apparent he had his own talent, a powerful projective one. It was also apparent to her from his feelings toward O’Connell—and she tried not to sense them, but they were so blatant she couldn’t help it—that he would never be interested in taking a wife.
    “I am finding myself turned out of my