Rivals and Roses (The Vaughns #1)

Chapter 11

M r. Finch turned away, and Violet felt like sagging in place. And perhaps she might’ve done just that or snuck away to enjoy the night air and a bit of quiet once more—but there was something else that required her attention. Turning her gaze to the gathering crowd, she scanned the faces, but Isaac wasn’t there.

And why wasn’t she surprised at that? Now was a perfect time for Isaac to strengthen his standing in the community by dancing and engaging with as many of the townsfolk as he could. Instead, he was likely haunting the card room, fixated more on his game than anything meaningful.

Violet made as direct a route across the room as possible with the crowd pressing in around her and climbed the stairs. The landing emptied the guests into two rooms, standing with their doors facing each other, and she ignored the tearoom and spied her brother with a group of ladies and gentlemen gathered around a table.

Thankfully, he wasn’t playing at present, and Violet felt not the slightest bit conflicted in approaching him and herding him back out the door; she didn’t go so far as to drag Isaac by the ear, but it was a near thing .

“Good heavens, woman, you look thunderous,” he said, dusting off his cuffs as he smiled at his elder sister. “Smile, it is a party—”

“Have you been inflating your patients’ maladies so I prescribe them more medicines?” she asked in a sharp whisper.

Isaac’s brows rose at that. “That is quite the accusation, Vi. Whatever put such a thought in your head?”

Violet placed her hands on her hips. “Are you saying it is untrue?”

Footsteps sounded on the stairs beneath them, and she shifted to allow the ladies to pass into the card room; Isaac moved to follow, but Violet grabbed his arm and pulled him back in place.

“Is it true?” she demanded. “Have you been misleading me?”

Isaac balked, his posture stiffening as he frowned at her. “Misleading? I am no liar, Vi.”

As much as those words ought to have calmed her, she didn’t miss the fact that her brother still had not yet given a definitive answer to the question at hand. Her stomach twisted itself into knots, and she stared at Isaac, uncertain what more to say.

With a sigh, he shrugged.

“I haven’t been lying. Perhaps overstating the issue at times. But only with those who won’t miss a few extra shillings, I promise. And nothing that might do them harm, of course.” Isaac rattled off his response as though it were a matter of course. A little nothing that was hardly noteworthy. Something that shouldn’t stab through Violet’s heart.

“They are your neighbors. Your patients, Isaac! They trust you to be honest with them—”

“I never lied. We need the money, so I simply stretched the truth a bit, and plenty of physicians do the same. Mr. Emerson is the fellow who put the idea in my head in the first place, and Bentmoor isn’t worse off for it. One could argue that it’s a time-honored tradition for medical men to inflate things a touch. ”

Violet drew in a deep breath, forcing it out through her nose as another trio slipped out of the tearoom and headed down the stairs to the dancing. When they were gone, she turned on him again.

“Whether or not anyone else does so, how can you think that is acceptable? What would Papa think of such behavior? You have damaged our reputation, Isaac. Do you not realize how precarious our situation is—especially now that Dr. Vaughn is in town?”

“Darlings,” called Mama, scurrying from her place amongst her friends in the tearoom to stand beside them with a bright smile affixed to her face. The lady’s gaze darted between her children and those who were watching from afar. “Is something the matter?”

“I discovered that Isaac has been overstating our patients’ illnesses so we can prescribe them more medicines than they require,” whispered Violet.

Mama’s gaze widened, her mouth gaping, though she quickly covered it and waved to her friends. “I will be a moment.” Turning back to her children, she frowned at her son. “Why would you do such a thing, Isaac? A physician’s reputation is paramount. Your father—”

“I know,” he said with a sigh. “Father would be disappointed, but I am married and am soon to be a father myself. Lilibet deserves a comfortable life.”

“Father had a wife and three children to provide for, and did so without resorting to falsehoods,” replied Violet with a shake of her head.

At that word, Mama straightened. “What Isaac did was wrong, but ‘falsehood’ is a tad harsh, don’t you think, Vi?”

“No. Else I wouldn’t have used it,” replied Violet. “You lied to me and your patients. Not only am I ashamed of your behavior, but it has come at a terrible time. You’ve undermined our reputation, and while we might’ve weathered that upset before, there is a new physician in town. ”

“You are such a worrywart,” said Isaac with a laugh as he nudged his sister. “The Templetons are a staple of Oakham. We will not be so easily undone.”

Mama gave a vigorous nod, drawing her arm through her son’s and patting it. “I am certain Isaac will manage everything just fine. With him attending to the business, we have nothing to fear. Your papa taught him well.”

Isaac’s shoulders tensed, though his grin remained warm, but before Violet could wonder at the odd reaction, he hurried to add, “That he did—including teaching me how important it is to be a dutiful husband. The Blythes are leaving early, and I ought to return with them. Lilibet may have demanded I escort you here despite being unwell herself, but the Gadds have taken good care of you, and she requires me more than you do.”

“While I cannot fault your dutifulness to your wife and child-to-be, I do wish you would stay,” said Violet. “It will do your family little good if Dr. Vaughn steals all your patients away, and the best course of action would be to remain here and cement your standing in society.”

Isaac’s shoulders slumped. “I suppose you are right, but I cannot help feeling that Lilibet needs me.”

“True,” added Mama, “but you see her every day. We so rarely have assemblies, and such occasions are important for your standing…”

Yet even as she spoke, her son’s expression fell further and further, causing Mama’s words to falter and slow. Until she stopped altogether.

“I suppose it is not a terrible slight,” said Mama with a little wave toward the door. “You’ve done your duty. Now, go enjoy your evening with Lilibet.”

With a bright smile, Isaac leaned over to give her a firm kiss on the cheek, as though he were a lad of seven and not seven and twenty. “You are a dear.”

Mama shooed him away, and Isaac gave her a rascally wink before slipping off to find Mr. and Mrs. Blythe. When the lady turned to Violet, Mama’s brow puckered a moment before relaxing. “You fret too much, Vi.”

“You do not fret enough, Mama.”

“All will be fine. Isaac is a good boy, and he cares deeply about our family. He will sort it out.”

“Before we lose the shirts off our backs?” asked Violet.

Mama slanted a wry smile at her daughter. “You speak as though this is the end of us. But the Templetons have been the physicians in Oakham since before the profession was even called such. The people will not be so fickle as to throw us over for a new one.”

“It has only been a sennight since Dr. Vaughns arrived and we’ve already lost a patient or two to him, and now that people are discovering Isaac’s gouging, it is only a matter of time before the rest flee—”

“You needn’t worry so. I am certain Isaac will correct matters quickly and all will be well in the end,” said Mama with a kind smile. “You are such a good and attentive daughter and sister, and I do not know what we would do without you, but you are forever concerned by things that may never happen, Vi. Borrowing trouble only makes one miserable.”

“But Dr. Vaughn—”

“Even if this new fellow is as good as everyone claims him to be,” said Mama with a tone steeped in incredulity, “we have history in Oakham. They will not abandon us simply because a new physician has swanned into town.”

The Templetons were a good lot. Silly, to be certain, but they weren’t wicked people. Despite their foolishness and flaws, they were her family, and Violet adored them, yet she could not comprehend their short-sightedness. Being the only physician in town had been a financially secure position, but it hadn’t left them wealthy by any means. Comfortable, to be certain, but not with money to burn or enough security to ignore the threat Dr. Vaughn posed.

Having kept the family’s ledgers for some time, Violet knew every penny that passed through the household, and even at his best, Papa’s income hadn’t been vast enough to sustain two households. Even if Dr. Vaughn stole only a quarter of their patients, their funds would be greatly depleted. How could the family not see such a clear and obvious truth?

There was another answer that lay within their grasp. A way to evolve with these changing times. It lingered in the back of her thoughts, begging to be brought up. To speak her mind wouldn’t do any good—Violet knew it wouldn’t—yet she couldn’t help but bring up the possibility once more.

“There is another possibility, Mama,” said Violet.