Bite at First Sight (28 page)
Read Bite at First Sight Online
Authors: Brooklyn Ann
Three months later
Cassandra wiped her brow as she bent over her patient, wrapping her hands around the vampire’s forearm.
She met the studious gazes of her three students. “To heal this arm properly, it must be broken again. We must work quickly before he wakes up. Now hold him down.”
Akio and Hiroshi seized the patient’s shoulders, watching closely as Cassandra used her new preternatural strength to snap the bone that had healed the wrong way.
“Kaito, hand me the splint.”
Quickly she splinted and bound the arm, just in time, before the patient woke up, hissing in pain. Akio gave him a small dram of laudanum.
“You did very well,” she told her students.
Neko, the Lord Vampire of Edo, had called in her favor from Cassandra the week before. She’d sent three of her vampires to London as soon as Rafe established a hospital where Cassandra could treat their people. Cassandra was teaching the vampires of Edo medicine so they could have their own healing establishment.
Thankfully, they spoke English, were extremely competent, and had no hostility in taking orders from a female. Such a refreshing change from her experiences in the mortal world.
The only drawback to the experience was watching the Japanese vampires endure English ignorance. Several times they had to be restrained when they were laughingly called “Chinaman.”
“Remember, you can bite them all you like. Just do not kill them,” Rafe had admonished.
Cassandra sympathized. She herself had preyed on nearly every man who’d mocked her for her sex. And with the blood of an ancient running through her veins, she had to take care to control her strength.
“Someday, you may be more powerful than me,” Rafe had teased, though his eyes were serious.
Just thinking of Rafe made her pulse quicken with anticipation.
She bade her students to clean up the operating area and packed away her supplies before putting her gold-and-emerald wedding ring back on her finger. They had been married on Christmas Eve.
Hiroshi remained behind with the patient while Kaito and Akio walked out with her.
“Thank you for your lesson, Dr. Villar.” Kaito bowed before he and Akio turned in the opposite direction to return to their flat.
Once she returned to Burnrath House, it was all she could do not to throw herself into her husband’s arms.
As if sensing her need, he pulled her into his embrace. “
Querida
, I’ve missed you. How was your evening?”
“Quite well. My students helped me reset James’s arm. I think it shall heal correctly. Their training is progressing well. Honestly, I am happy to pay the Lord of Edo this favor.”
“Thank God she hasn’t called hers in from me yet.” Something in his tone made her look up at him with concern.
“What is it?”
“I’ve received letters from Blackpool and Rochester, calling in their debts. Blackpool wants me to keep an eye on his great-niece when she makes her debut this Season. That’s easy enough, though quite a nuisance. However Rochester…” He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “He wants Lenore.”
“Lenore?” Cassandra’s chest tightened at the thought of the frail vampire who had been kidnapped and tortured by Clayton’s rogues. “What does he want with her?”
“He didn’t specify except to say that he needed more vampires with her loyalty and courage.” Rafe gave a rueful shrug. “I don’t think he means her ill, but she is still terrified of being in the company of males. I do not know if she can handle the strain of changing territories.”
After all Lenore had been through, Cassandra could not blame her. She wished she could heal wounds to the mind and soul, but that was beyond her power. “Is there any way you could refuse?”
“No. I promised I would give him anything he asked, except for my territory.” Rafe shook his head. “The blackguard actually jested by asking for you first.”
Before Cassandra could respond to that irreverence, Eric entered the study. “The Duke and Duchess of Burnrath are here to see you, my lord.”
Rafe’s eyes widened as Ian and Angelica strode into the room. “I apologize for the delay, Rafe. Due to my wife’s desire to run pell-mell across the Continent, your message reached me only last week.” Ian rubbed the back of his neck. “I am relieved to see that you came through your ordeal successfully.”
Angelica gave Rafe an apologetic look before her eyes widened at the sight of Cassandra. “Lady Rosslyn! What are you doing here?”
Cassandra grinned, showing her fangs. “It is
Doctor
Villar now.”
Ian chuckled. “Ah, so that situation was also resolved.”
“Yes, my wife is the first vampire physician. I’ve opened a hospital so she can treat our people.” He raised his left arm and wiggled his fingers. “
I
was her first patient.”
The ducal vampires gaped like landed fish. Ian recovered himself first. “I see you have a long story to tell me.”
Rafe nodded and rang for port. “
Very
long.”
Thomas Wakley (1795–1862) was an English surgeon, pugilist, political activist, and the founder of the prestigious medical journal
The
Lancet
.
He became a surgeon at the age of twenty-two after taking anatomy classes and becoming a member of the Royal College of Surgeons. In 1820 he set up his own practice and started a family. Shortly after Wakley was comfortably established, he was attacked by a mysterious mob in his own home, and his house was set aflame. Many suspected it was the Thistlewood gang, who wrongly blamed Wakley for decapitating the bodies of their cohorts after they were executed for treason. The insurance company suspected that Wakley had set fire to his own house.
Despite such tragedy, Wakley persevered. He won his case with the insurance company, purchased another house, and reinstated his practice. In 1823, he and his associates began publishing
The
Lancet
, a weekly medical journal that is still in circulation today.
In 1831 he attempted to launch the London College of Medicine, a rival institution to the Royal College of Surgeons claiming, “The Council of the College of Surgeons remains an irresponsible, unreformed monstrosity in the midst of English institutions—an antediluvian relic of all…that is most despotic and revolting, iniquitous and insulting, on the face of the earth.” The London College of Medicine would have been a democratic institution with no biases based on religion or social standing. The project failed, but the call for reform was made.
In 1835, Wakley became a radical member of Parliament in the House of Commons and spoke out for medical reform as well as improved laws and conditions for the working poor.
With Wakley’s apparent passion for social equality, I believe he would have supported a woman’s quest to pursue a career in medicine and thus he became the perfect mentor for Cassandra.
Speaking of Cassandra, unfortunately medicine was still primitive in her time, though she arrived on the cusp of advances. Pain medication and anesthetics were in their infancy. Common treatments available were laudanum, morphine, and cannabis—the latter of which is perfect for a vampire’s limited metabolic capability.
Ether and nitrous oxide were experimental measures soon to become commonplace in the late nineteenth century. However, in Cassandra’s time, most people were using those substances for their euphoric side effects without realizing their medical capabilities. Fortunately for Rafe, his doctor possessed a broader mind.
Thank you to everyone who helped me bring Rafe and Cassandra to life on the page. Thanks to Megan Records and Skye Agnew for the awesome edits. Thanks to my critique buddies, Shona Husk, Terry Spear, Shelly Martin, Bonnie R. Paulson, and Millie McClaine.
Thanks to those who helped me with the medical research, Wendy Masten, Bonnie Paulson, and my college biology teacher, David Foster.
Thank you to Kent Butler who gave me a quiet place to write during a hectic college year and kept cheering on my word count.
Thanks to my buddies at Gus’s Pub and all of my friends and family for the encouragement and support.
Thank you for reading
!
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