Chapter 24

Scarlet had just finished packing her medical bag and was about to leave when Desmond came into the clinic. The sliding glass doors snapped closed behind him and he filled the room with a power and energy she found fascinating. An untamed hunger began in her sex and brought heat to her cheeks as she remembered what a thrilling lover he’d been. Passion surged into her veins but she forced herself to stay cool. What she really wanted to do was give him a piece of her mind. “What are you doing here?”

He smiled. “Well you wanted me back, so here I am.”

“I never asked for you back. In fact, I asked the general to get me anyone but you.”

“Come on, you can admit you missed me,” Desmond said.

“What’s he paying you?” she asked.

“Triple,” he said.

Scarlet shook her head slowly. What a total lowlife. Well, at least he can help me on my house calls. She grabbed her bag and walked past him. “Come on,” she said. “I have a house call to make.”

“Where?”

Scarlet glanced down at the paper attached to the front of the chart she was holding. “Golthyn.”

“Why?” he continued without making any move to follow her. Now he was really pissing her off her.

“What does it matter? Can we just go?”

“Certain towns are…well…less than friendly to representatives of the crown. If I’m going to adequately protect your troublesome ass, I need to know where we’re going and what we’re doing there,” he said in a patronizingly deadpan way as he moved forward.

“Is Golthyn an unfriendly town?” she asked, happy that at least now he was following her outside.

“No, just poor. What are we doing there?”

“Delivering a baby, probably breach. Satisfied?”

“Can I read the file?” he pressed.

She handed it to him and walked over to the waiting coach. I know he’s deliberately trying to irritate me, but it’s not going to work.

Desmond continued smiling as he moved up beside her and made a sweeping gesture to the step. “After you, lady.”

* * * *

They rode in the coach in silence.

Desmond read the file and Scarlet occupied her time staring out the window. She was furious at herself for feeling betrayed by a man she barely knew. What the hell was wrong with her anyway? She’d had one-night stands before. She knew what to expect―or more accurately―what not to expect. But the truth was she was hurt he’d wanted to dump the assignment so fast because she’d been sure they had shared something. Obviously, it was just her imagination running away with her. He wanted sex and she’d given it to him. End of story. She needed to get a grip on her emotions or this place was going to gut her.

“Let me get this straight,” Desmond said, breaking the silence. “You’re going to deliver a baby for a destitute family so they can be blessed with another mouth they can’t afford to feed. Is that right?”

Scarlet turned in her seat to face him. “I suppose I should just forget this whole trip and let the baby, and possibly the mother, die?”

“You’d be doing them a favor. Your blind heroics are only going to place additional hardship on these people. The mother’s AEssyrian so most likely won’t die from a breech birth. Let nature take its course.” He shrugged, tossing the file back to her.

“That…is one of the most horrific, insensitive statements I have ever heard. In the future, I would prefer you not give me any more of your stupid opinions. In fact, I forbid you to speak to me for the rest of this trip.” With that she turned back in her seat and stared out at the changing landscape.

Desmond leaned back placing his well worn black boots on the opposite seat and closed his eyes grinning.

They arrived at the village less than an hour later and Scarlet was appalled by the poverty here. Everyone lived in the most basic huts, with only a small plot of land to keep animals they would later use for eating. All of the villagers were dressed in rags and rushed to the coach begging for money. Desmond pushed them back to allow Scarlet to get out without being mobbed.

The villager who’d requested her assistance came over and fell to his knees in gratitude. He wore a tattered dark blue robe bound at the waist with coarse rope. There were no shoes on his feet, nor had he ever worn any as was evident by the thick black calluses built up on his soles over the years. He was desperately thin and already showed signs of premature aging. His skin was dark green and so dry it was split in places like his knuckles and elbows. The flesh around his light green eyes was sagging and he gave off the stench of old sweat and filth. He was not as tall as most of his breed and at least one hundred pounds lighter than he should be.

Scarlet attributed his poor appearance to malnutrition. A full-grown AEssyrian needed quite a bit of meat to develop normally, and it was clear from the looks of these people, none of them had ever had enough to eat.

Taking her hand in his, the villager placed her palm against his cheek and wept openly. “Lady, thank you so much for coming. I express all the thanks in my heart.”

Scarlet knelt down and smiled at him. “Take me to your wife.”

The villager struggled to his feet and led her into his hut with Desmond close behind them. The hut was small with a dirt floor and a straw mattress on the ground. Despite its meager offerings, it was also surprisingly clean. The wife lay on the mattress moaning, her thighs covered in blood and amniotic fluid.

Scarlet rolled up her sleeves and turned to Desmond. “Could you please get me a bucket of water?”

Desmond nodded and disappeared. Scarlet approached the woman slowly, talking to her in AEssyrian the whole time. The poor thing was exhausted from her ordeal and Scarlet estimated she’d probably been in labor since yesterday.

“What’s your name?” she asked, stroking the woman’s hair to sooth her.

“Nema,” the woman replied in a voice barely loud enough to hear.

“I’m going to help you, Nema,” Scarlet said. “But in order to help you, I’ll need to touch you. Is that alright?”

“You do what you need to do, Doctor,” she said.

Scarlet knelt between the woman’s legs and reached up into her uterus. She immediately encountered the baby’s feet, and working as gently as she could, she turned it around so the head was pointed toward the birthing canal. Scarlet sat back on her haunches and watched with relief as the baby’s head crowned normally and slipped right out.

Scarlet picked it up and washed it off with the water Desmond had brought in. She looked up at him. “Give me your cloak,” she said.

He frowned but took it off and handed it to her without hesitation. She wrapped the baby in it and placed it on the mother’s chest so it could suckle.

After cleaning and feeding mother and baby, Scarlet came out just as the three moons were rising. The villager thanked her several times and tried to pay her with what little he had but she refused him. He had enough to worry about feeding this new baby.

“Ready to go?” she asked Desmond.

“I’ve been ready since we got here.” He walked with her over to the coach. “How did you learn AEssyrian so fast?”

Scarlet climbed in. “I had Doctor Krull give me a brain dump.”

Desmond stared at her. “That explains the strange dialect. Weren’t you afraid you might end up crazier than you are now?”

She scowled at the insult. “You’re very funny. At any rate it was a risk I was willing to take. These people need me and in order to help them, I need to speak their language. Learning it the old-fashioned way was just going to take too long.” She frowned as he stood outside the coach looking around. “Aren’t you coming? I thought you couldn’t wait to get out of here.”

Desmond climbed in and thumped the roof to signal the driver. A few moments later, they were on their way back to the creature comforts of the Imperial City.