Page 60 of The Botanist’s Improper Bride

His cheeks burned hotter, and he dipped his head. “Sorry. It was an unpleasant piece of gossip, and I didn’t dwell on it. Honestly, I put it to the back of my mind, and it didn’t occur to me to say anything.”

Seraphina sighed. “At least you thought of it now. It makes his actions a little more understandable.”

“Blackmail is never acceptable!”

“Of course not, but Mr. Emerson is a prideful man, and his pride is on the line in a very public way. Still, the blackmail only has teeth if he has something real he can use against me.”

Thinking quickly, Trevor asked, “What were the supposed symptoms of the reaction?”

“Hives and swelling.”

He tapped his chin. “Those aren’t common side effects of the ingestion of cinchona bark.”

“But they could happen.”

“Yes, but one would expect vision disturbances, headaches, and vomiting.” It made him wonder if Emerson had found out about Seraphina’s activities some other way and had fabricated this story based on what he expected a negative reaction to medication to look like. If that were the case, any attempt at blackmail would prove fruitless if they could uncover the truth.

She dipped her head in acknowledgment. “I’m aware of that. When I was testing the medicine, I sampled it myself in order to refine the process.”

He stared at her, aghast. “You what?”

She shrugged one shoulder delicately. “Well, it’s not as if I could test it on anyone else. That wouldn’t be very nice, would it?”

He took in the defiant tilt of her chin and the soft bow of her lips and shook his head. Trevor suddenly understood why beautiful, clever Seraphina had never married. She was crazy—but in the best possible way.

“We’ll come back to that. Uh, yes.” Easier said than done. It was a hard thing to put out of his head. “Thanks for telling me. I… I need to think.” His fingers thrummed against his thumb as he searched for the answer. Then something occurred to him. “Could I visit your laboratory while I mull things over?”

He’d love to see how she’d gone about outfitting it, considering she’d had to do so discreetly. Did she have different equipment than he did? She must, since they were each primarily interested in different branches of science. What would seeing her laboratory tell him about her?

A delightful blush spread across her cheeks, and she glanced at the maid in the corner. “Unfortunately, it isn’t somewhere I can take you without causing a stir.”

“Oh.” That only intrigued him more. Had she somehow concealed a laboratory in her private chambers, or in a personal parlor? While ingenious, it made him sad that she’d had to hide her activities. “When we’re married, you’ll be able to put your laboratory wherever you want, and you won’t have to sneak around.”

Her eyes rounded and her mouth fell open. “Do you mean that?”

He just looked at her. “Of course.”

She blinked rapidly, her eyes welling with tears, and his chest tightened. Oh God, he’d gone and said the wrong thing again. He had no idea how, but he had to fix it. A tear trailed down her cheek, and his insides clenched.

“Please don’t cry,” he begged. “All I meant is that ingenuity like yours should be encouraged, especially when it comes from a place of good intentions.”

“You don’t think I hurt people?”

“No!” He reared back, astonished. “I trust that you were careful. You’re not stupid, and you wouldn’t put anyone at risk.”

More tears spilled down her cheeks, and he watched helplessly, with no idea what to do about it.

“We’ll make this better,” he assured her. “Don’t give in to Emerson’s demands. Somehow, we’ll fix it.”

“We will?” she asked, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief.

“Yes.” He nodded, the gesture more certain than he felt. “I’m going to marry you. He can’t tear us apart.”

Her lower lip wobbled. “But if you’re wrong, and I’ve hurt someone, I could be prosecuted.”

He thought quickly, analyzing the situation. “Then we need to start by investigating whether your medicine has ever caused any problems.”

They could figure that out. How hard could it be?