Chapter 13 #2
“All save my brother, Thomas, who is two years older than I am. He set up his practice in Glasgow. My younger brother, James, was over here for a while, studying at the university. But I haven’t seen the rest of my family in almost a decade.”
Kit’s eyes crinkled with compassion. “I’m so sorry.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I miss my sisters dreadfully, and I’ve only been parted from them for a couple of months.”
Nathaniel inclined his head. “Thank you. It’s one of the drawbacks of pursuing a career in academia. There is little flexibility in terms of where you settle down. Although I shouldn’t complain. I love Edinburgh. And at least I have Thomas nearby.”
“You mentioned that his practice is in Glasgow. Is he a physician?”
“He is,” Nat said, his voice emerging tighter than he would have liked.
Kit did not seem to have noticed. “Did he also attend the University of Edinburgh?”
It was a logical guess, as Edinburgh had the most prestigious and most attended medical school in the British Isles.
Nat decided it would be better to get it over with. “He did. As did my father and my other brothers. They’re all physicians.”
Kit’s eyes widened. “All of them?”
“Indeed.” He braced himself and confessed, “My father wished for me to study medicine as well. I actually enrolled in the medical school and even completed the first year of coursework.”
“Oh!” Kit cried. “But that would have been such a shame!”
This had not been the reaction Nat was expecting. “I’m sorry?”
Kit held out a hand, palm outstretched. “Please, do not mistake me. Medicine is a very important field of study, and I do not mean to insult your father and brothers. But…” He waved his hand as if struggling to find the right words.
“You are such a talented naturalist. You will do important work over the course of your career. I am sure of it.” He looked at Nat then, and his eyes were sincere.
“It would have been a great loss to science had you pursued another field.”
Nat’s throat constricted. He’d grown accustomed to evaluating his career using society’s assumptions—that valuable and lucrative were synonyms. It felt almost audacious to suggest that his work was important. “I don’t know about that.”
“I do.” Kit’s voice trembled with conviction.
“Believe me, I’ve seen the scientific output of a second-rate mind.
I know good research when I see it, and your research is excellent.
And your work is every bit as important as medicine.
” He waved a hand. “Where would we be without science? The reason your brothers have medicines with which to treat their patients is because a chemist somewhere spent years of their life performing thankless experiments. The work might not always be glamorous. But the toil of a thousand anonymous scientists has advanced our understanding bit by bit and brought us to where we are today.”
“My parents would not agree.” The words were out of Nat’s mouth before he could think better of them.
It was just so nice having a sympathetic ear for once.
“I don’t wish to suggest that they aren’t supportive.
But they worry about me. My mother, in particular, wishes I had chosen something more financially secure. ”
“You will achieve financial security,” Kit said firmly. “Professor Kerr will resign the Natural History Chair at some point. I can think of no one more deserving of the position than you.”
Nat hesitated, unsure if he should confide that it appeared that day would come sooner than they thought.
Kit must’ve read something on his face, because the young man’s gaze sharpened. “What is it?”
“Professor Kerr means to retire at the end of this term,” Nat confessed. “He told Andrew Thompson and me last night.”
A broad grin stretched across Kit’s face. “See? Things are falling into place.”
“There is no guarantee that I will be chosen,” Nat protested. “Andrew is also a strong candidate. Or they might bring someone in from outside the university.”
“Oh, it will go to you.” Kit sounded completely confident. “We’re going to make sure of it. This trip has come at the perfect time. Once people see the quality of your research, they won’t be able to deny that you’re the man most worthy of the job.”
Nat gazed at his hands, where they rested on the ship’s rail. “I hope so.”
Kit grabbed his wrist and shook it. “I know so. Mark my words, Nathaniel Sterling. I’ll make sure you get that post, if I have to paint a thousand fornicating badgers.”
That startled a laugh out of him. “Hopefully it won’t come to that.”
Kit gave an exaggerated shudder. “I certainly hope not.”
Nat regarded Kit for a beat. It was nice having someone who believed in him. Who wasn’t merely resigned to his choice of a career. “Thank you.”
Kit inclined his head. “Of course.”
Nat rubbed his jaw. “Your views on the value of academic work are a bit unusual. What does your father do, that he supports your career as a scientific illustrator so wholeheartedly?”
The color drained from Kit’s face. “My father?” he asked, his voice shrill. “He… I… Um…” He glanced away, then suddenly brightened. “Oh, look! Dolphins!”
Nat turned. Surely enough, there was a pod of dolphins swimming about fifty feet from the ship.
He pulled a spyglass from his satchel and trained it on the pod. “Ooh, and they’re short-beaked common dolphins. A rare sighting this close to shore.”
When he lowered the spyglass, he noticed Kit staring at it with longing. “I wish I’d thought to bring one of those.”
Nat reached into his satchel. “Happily, I brought one for you. I need my illustrator to have an unimpeded view of those eagles, after all.”
Kit raised the spyglass to his eye. “Oh! Oh, that is truly remarkable. Look at the streaks of white and even of black. They’re quite beautiful, aren’t they…”
They spent the next few hours admiring the dolphins, and what other wildlife they could spot from their vantage point on the railing. And it only occurred to Nat after he had lain down in his bunk for the night that Kit had never answered his question about his father.