Page 12 of His Awful Grace

Ellen chuckled softly. “You always ask me and I always tell you. Because you’re the best, smartest, and most amazing woman I know. And you’re saving lives. Now come on, let’s catch you a cab.” They staggered down the steps and up the passage way, back toward High Street. Gas lamps flickered in the distance.

“Ellen, do you think those babies will live?” Amelia’s voice came thin and wavering in the night air.

Tears sprung to Ellen’s eyes. “You’re the doctor, you tell me.”

“You’re the expert in these cases, and you know it. I can treat broken bones and head injuries all day long, but you know more about premature births than anyone I know. Maybe even more than the midwives at the Nightingale Training School.” She paused at a sniffling noise. “Ellen?”

“I’m fine.” Ellen waved away her friend’s concerns with one hand while she wiped tears away with her other hand. “I’ll be fine. It just...brings back memories.” She forced a laugh. “Thank goodness Krishna hadn’t been itching or I would’ve been no help at all.”

Amelia patted her back gently. “Go home. Cry. Sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” They'd reached High Street. A cab slowed as it went past. Amelia waved it down.

“You get this one, it’s headed your direction,” Ellen urged. “I’ll grab the next.”

Amelia paused, one foot already on the step. “Are you sure? We can share. I dislike you being alone at this time of night.”

Ellen shook her head. “There’s another cab coming. Get in and rest. You deserve it.” She shoved her friend up into the cab and waved the driver off.

As the cab drove off, drunk men guffawed behind her. Ellen glanced back in the shadows, but couldn’t see much beyond several stumbling figures. She lowered the hood of her cloak and raised her hand to her hat, walking toward the brightest lamp to flag down the next cab.

The men, bored and eager for a good time, lurched closer to her. Soft footsteps crept nearer.

Ellen spied a hansom only a few yards away. She waved her hand in the air, heart thumping.Speed up,she urged.Before they get here.

A boot scuffed behind her. Ellen grabbed hold of her hat pin and yanked it out, brandishing it like a sword.

A man appeared before her, haloed in the gaslight. He gasped as the sharp pin poked into his chest. “It’s just me.”

Ellen glared. “Mark? Are you quite serious? What on God's green earth are you doing?” Her stomach lurched. She had forgotten he’d existed, for a few short hours, and it had been marvelous.

He winced, pushing the hat pin away. “It’s not safe for you to be here.” He glanced over his shoulder at the drunk men, growing ever closer.

“I have a weapon.” Ellen refused to lower the half-foot-long hat pin. She heard the cab come to a halt behind her. The horse huffed a breath, sounding as angry as she did.

“Coming or not?” The rough, East End accent broke the tension between Ellen and her husband.

Ellen rolled her eyes and turned to climb in the cab. Mark followed her.

“Excuse me, what do you think you’re doing?” Ellen stared atthe man now pushing her cloak and skirts aside to make room for himself on the faded seat.

“Taking you home. What does it look like I’m doing?” Mark closed the door behind him and flipped the trap open above their heads. “Berkeley Square.”

With a jerk, the horse stepped forward. Fuming, Ellen listened to the wooden wheels turn over the cobblestones. She turned to Mark. “Did you follow me?”

Mark ran a hand through his sandy hair. “It wasn’t safe to go off after dark like that, without telling anyone where you were going. Of course I had to follow you. It would’ve been irresponsible not to.”

Ellen shook her head in disbelief. “And so you sat outside the Patels’ home for five hours?”

Mark huffed. “My backside certainly feels it. How did the labor go, by the way?”

Ellen’s jaw dropped. “What are you doing? Pretending this is normal conversation between us? Pretending the past eight years never happened? Acting like you care about babies and labor and pregnancies?” Her voice went shrill, even to her own ears. Ellen fought to regain control.

“We need to talk, Ellen.” Mark’s brown eyes bored into hers.

“I refuse to give this up. You cannot make me.” Ellen crossed her arms.

Mark gestured broadly. “I’m not even sure whatthisis! Did you attend medical school while I was at sea?”

“No.”