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apprenticeship has its price, Dr. West. I’ll pay you, because when this is over, I want no one questioning the legitimacy of our agreement or the nature of our relationship and the education I shall receive.”
    â€œAre you going to argue against everything I say, Miss Renshaw?”
    The ghost of a smile crossed her lips before she recovered and crossed her arms. “Not after I win this point, Dr. West. After this, I shall be the very soul of conciliation and contrite obedience.”
    â€œVery well.” He kept his voice level, wanting to convey to her that this was no game. “I’m not hiring a chaperone. You are not in London for social pleasures or to make any new acquaintances. You are officially in my employ and will obey me without question. Are we clear?”
    She nodded, once again all prim business and calm control. “We are clear.”
    â€œMrs. Evans will fill you in on the rest of the rules for the house, and while you report directly to me, I’ll terminate this in an instant if she reports to me that you’re causing her any trouble.”
    â€œAs you say,” Gayle replied, undaunted.
    â€œYour self-directed studies were undoubtedly limited. We’ll see how far behind you are, and since I cannot send you to lectures at the Academy, you’ll have to work twice as hard to make up for lost ground and demonstrate your worth. I’ll tutor you personally and provide as much practical knowledge as I can. And when the time comes, I’ll do my best to see to it that you are given the medical examinations that any male surgeon or doctor would take, but I’m not in a position to say that anyone will accept the results.”
    â€œThey’ll have to! All I need is the chance.”
    He had to swallow a cynical groan in the face of her unwavering faith. The men he knew would rather jump off London Bridge than see a woman anywhere near the medical profession, and he feared that even if she passed a hundred exams, they would never let her step foot inside their “hallowed” halls or give her the certification she wanted. Hell, they’ll try to stone her first. “Because you’re a woman, you’re expected to fail.”
    â€œI understand. I won’t fail.”
    He looked at her for a moment and questioned his own judgment. What if she doesn’t quit? What if this insane creature really does have the tenacity and intelligence to stay the course? What in God’s name am I going to do with a female apprentice? And am I forgetting that I will have Charlotte’s cousin under my roof?
    Months and months of avoidance and resignation to the strange half-life he had led evaporated as Rowan marveled at the lovely and stubborn manifestation of Fate that had landed on his doorstep. Miss Gayle Renshaw would receive her money’s worth, and Rowan had the feeling that he would never be the same.
    A line from the Oath of Maimonides came into his mind. “ May the love for my art actuate me at all time; may neither . . . the thirst for glory or for a great reputation engage my mind.”
    I’ve worried for so long about my reputation ever since I returned from India and learned the truth of her death. All this time wasted, waiting for those months in Standish Crossing and my engagement to Charlotte Hamilton to boil to the surface and either end my career or prove to be paper tigers.
    But now, the wait is over.
    He held out his hand. “Then, there is no time like the present to begin.”

Chapter 3

    She’d shaken his hand when he’d offered it to her, and a small shiver ran through her at the gesture. Gayle told herself that it was because he’d held out his fingers as he would to an equal, not to gently uphold her hand for a dance floor turn or for a gloved touch in a formal introduction at a park. He’d held out his strong bare hand and she’d taken it with her own bare fingers, marveling at how warm and