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said. “As a rule, I disapprove of governesses anyway. Girls should be taught by their parents, when possible.”
    “I quite agree,” Dr. Allard said. “And with two of us, you’ll never have to want for proper attention or direction.”
    Lucy was finishing her breakfast, pleased to have cleaned her plate in a demonstration of her compliance, not that it would have been difficult anyway. The food was delicious.
    “Thank you,” she said politely. “I’ve not always had the healthiest appetite, but it’s easy when the food is so good.”
    “It certainly seems healthy,” Thomas said, rising from the table. “But we need to determine your overall health. Now that breakfast is over, a full exam is in order, young lady.”
    “Exam?” Her smooth brow furrowed and she caught her lower lip in her teeth.
    “Yes, a full medical workup.” He took her hand and lifted her to standing. “The health of a woman’s body is essential to the health of her mind and spirit, young lady. We did a most cursory exam when you arrived; that’s how we discerned that the claims made against you were false. But a more thorough check is needed now.”
    “Will it hurt?” Her pretty face registered concern as Benedict took hold of her other hand and they led her between them from the dining room down the hall to the back of the house where the exam room and offices were located.
    “Nothing will be done to you that’s not for your own good,” Thomas said, and she felt her heart began to pound hard in her chest. She’d promised to be a good girl, but was suddenly unsure of whether she could be. What would they expect of her, she wondered?
    Even though she’d been in the exam room the night she arrived, Lucy had been unconscious and therefore had no memory of it. In her youth, she’d only seen the doctor when she was sick, and it had been a country doctor who’d come to her home to take her pulse and give her a tincture for her fever and cough. This room was like nothing she’d ever seen. One wall was lined with drawers and glass-front cabinets holding all manner of jars and vials. A curious sort of bed stood in the center of the room. It had no headboard or footboard, but did have curious-looking appendages on the end, and a crank at the foot between them.
    She startled a bit as the door shut behind them.
    “We will need to disrobe you for the exam, Lucy,” Dr. Allard said.
    Her hand flew to her chest as she looked at him. “Disrobe? Must I?”
    He chuckled and tapped her on the nose. “Of course, little one. We can hardly check you through your clothes. I’d wager you’ve never had a proper check, have you?”
    She shook her head.
    “And the asylum was dark and drafty and quite filthy. You need to be examined completely for ill-effects of that environment, my dear.”
    “I assume you bathed me,” she said, not moving from her spot. “So surely you saw enough of me then to tell if there was a problem.”
    Thomas’ tone was patient at her reluctance, but he would not be moved. “You were examined and bathed quickly. But that is not the same as a full exam. Now please disrobe.”
    “There is no need!” she said. “Really!”
    For a moment she thought he was going to relent, for he sighed heavily. But then he reached for a nearby chair and pulled it over before turning back to her.
    “Lucy,” the handsome doctor said. “You’ve assured me that you would be a good girl.”
    “And I am!” she protested prettily. “But that doesn’t mean I will allow you to examine me when I don’t need it.”
    Now Dr. Crane stepped over and put his hands on his hips. Her heart hammered now that both men were looking down on her with very stern expressions indeed.
    “My dear Lucy,” Dr. Crane said. “You are our ward. It is not your place to determine whether you need an exam, or to forbid it.”
    She could feel the weight of authority in his tone. She could feel the intensity of gazes, like hands roaming her body.