Henrietta sat at the edge of the bed and patted her side, trying to feel out what was wrong. Every breath she took made her gasp and the half-corset she wore was doing nothing to help matters.

Swollen intercostal muscles and acute tenderness would suggest a broken or bruised rib. Shortness of breath would perpetuate my conclusion. There was nothing to do about injuries like that, except wait for them to heal all on their own.

She looked up as Ewan stepped through the doorway to her side of the apartment. A smile tugged at her lips. He looked handsome, his hair swept forward over his forehead. She was about to open her mouth to tell him about the bruising, but he beat her to it.

“When were you going to tell me about this?” he asked curtly, pulling a letter from behind his back. “And here I was, thinking that you and I were making some sort of progress with our honesty towards one another.”

Henrietta froze. “Is that… is that my letter, Lord Marquess?”

“That depends. Do you mean the one that you sent to the Royal Academy of Physicians, or the one to St. Bart’s, or the one to Guy’s Hospital? Need I go on?”

She stood sharply, a jolt of pain rippling up her side. “You had no right!”

“As your husband, I had every right.”

“And here I was, thinking that you and I were unlike other married couples—that I might have some autonomy within my marriage to you. You promised me as much, did you not?”

“That autonomy does not permit you to indulge in deception, Henrietta.” His eyes narrowed. “You have deliberately attempted to fool these individuals. H. Oliver Clark—does that ring any bells for you?”

She shrugged. “That is my name, is it not?”

“You know very well that they would presume you to be a man, if you wrote to them in such a manner.”

“And if I were to write to them as I am, as a woman, do you honestly believe that they would consider me? I have been here before, my Lord Marquess. I was veritably laughed into submission by their previous responses.” She stood her ground, wishing the pain would subside. Her brow was drenched in sweat already. “A small lie would do nobody any harm, yet it would provide me with a great deal of opportunity. Do you know how many proverbial doors have been slammed in my face, my Lord?”

Her words seemed to silence him.

“Well, let me tell you. Every door.”

“That does not excuse these unlawful actions, Henrietta.”

“Does it not? Tell me how it does not?”

He cleared his throat. “You cannot lie and deceive your way into the position you dream about. If they had accepted you, what would you have done then?”

“I would have gone to study.”

“My goodness, you are a child if you believe that to be true. As soon as you arrived, they would have turned you away.”

“You cannot know that.”

“I do, My Lady.” He brushed a hand through his hair. “You would have brought such shame upon us both, if they had discovered the truth. I doubt they would have been courteous enough to remain silent on the matter.”

Henrietta felt anger rising through her. He had sworn that he would not be her gaoler, so why was he behaving as though he was? You are no better than my father if you think this way. Seen and not heard, is that how you would prefer me? The words did not leave her lips, but they burned through her mind like venom.

“You said you did not care for the judgement of others.”

“I care for both our sakes, since you seem inclined to stake both our reputations on this ill-conceived endeavor.”

The ache in her side increased, prompting her to sag back down onto the edge of the bed. Only then did Ewan show an iota of concern, after what had just happened with the horse. He moved towards her, but she lifted her hand to wave him away.

“Do not attempt to worry for me now, My Lord Marquess. I see your mind is already elsewhere—on reputation and scorn, rather than the wellbeing of your wife.”

He sighed. “My Lady, you mustn’t say things like that. Of course, I care. I did get somewhat distracted, I will admit, but that does not mean I do not care.” He eyed her closely. “Is something the matter? Are you injured after all?”

“A slight bruising of the ribs,” she replied sullenly.

“Can I help in any way? Fetch you some cake, perhaps, to take your mind off it?” This time, when he moved towards her, she did not gesture for him to keep his distance.

“This is no time for cake,” she said sourly. “I cannot understand your anger in this, my Lord Marquess. Either you think my dreams to be foolish, or you have been lying to me this entire time, making me believe that you did not think them silly endeavors.”

Ewan knelt before her and took her hands in his. “You must understand the consequences of your actions, that is all. I believe in your desire to become an excellent physician, but there are many challenges ahead of you. Being deceitful is not the way to go about things.”

“How did you get hold of my letters in the first place?” she asked, realizing they ought to be most of the way to London by now. Her mind dwelled for a moment upon the warning she had received. Someone is watching us. This has Seth written all over it.

“Mr. Chambers handed them to me downstairs,” he explained. “He told me that they had been sent back to this address, as he had bungled the postage.”

Henrietta shook her head slowly, her chest gripping in fear. “No… that is impossible. I wrote the address on them exceedingly clear, and I ensured that the postage was correct before putting them in the post box.”

“You must be mistaken.”

“I am not mistaken! See, there you go again, disbelieving my every word,” she muttered. “Do you honestly think I would allow letters as precious as these to be sent away without the correct postage? These meant everything to me.”

He tilted his head in thought. “No, I suppose you would not.”

“This is Mr. Booth’s doing, I am certain of it. He would have me suffer for causing his dismissal. He would see my dreams in tatters, because he is a hateful creature. Indeed, as you know, he always deemed me inferior to him, though we belong to two separate worlds.”

“Why would he do such a thing? After your previous explanation of him, I can understand why such a spiteful little man would seek retaliation, but why would he seek to take your letters?”

Henrietta took a breath. She could not keep the note from Ewan any longer.

“If I tell you something, you must promise not to go to Lord Averson. You must allow Mr. Booth to continue in Lord Averson’s employ, for that is the only way that we will be able to keep a watchful eye upon him.”

Ewan frowned. “I promise.”

Leaning over with some difficulty, Henrietta removed the crumpled note from the top drawer of her bedside cabinet and smoothed it on her lap. The words stared up at her like barbs, each one stinging deeply:

My dear Lady,

It has come to my attention that you have renewed your interest in medical school. If you do not wish some harm to come to you, please withdraw said applications immediately. Also, do be careful. I am watching you.

Sincerest regards,

A Friend

Even now, the note made her hands shake and her heart race. This ‘friend’ spelled untold dangers. He had already attempted to crush her beneath a falling block of masonry. If he was so set on retaliation, she could only wonder what his next move might be. The gunshots? What if they were not mere coincidence? What if those shots had not come from the nearby hunters, but from the hand that wrote these words? She shook off the dark feeling, realizing she was likely being paranoid after the events of the day.

“What is that?” Ewan asked pointedly. “Another letter you have been hiding from me?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. I did not wish to worry you.”

Ewan’s frown deepened. “Why would it worry me? What does it say?”

Henrietta handed him the note and waited as he read it. A myriad of different emotions crossed his handsome features as his eyes flitted from left to right.

“You believe Mr. Booth was the one who sent this to you?” he asked, his voice racked with anger.

“I can think of no other who would hold such a vendetta against me, or who would know of the letters to the medical institutions. As they have found their way back to me—or rather, you—I should say that all suspicion has to point to him.”

He nodded. “I am inclined to agree with you. You are clever to have made me promise not to do anything before the fact, for I have a sudden urge to ride over to Lord Averson’s residence this instant and strangle the life out of the insipid wretch.”

“You must not,” she urged.

“You have made me promise. As such, I will not make any move to strike Mr. Booth down. However, you must allow me to visit with Lord Averson, to keep an eye upon this villain myself.”

Henrietta frowned. “How would you do such a thing?”

Ewan gave a curious smile. “We must entrap him.”

“And my letters to the medical institutions? What are we to do with those?”

“If I catch sight of another one of these, deceitfully written by your hand, I will write to the institutions myself and tell them the truth.”