Far From Broken Read Free

Is it not? When will the brilliant minds of our time put their genius to good use building a contraption that can give me sunshine instead of rain, and sweet breezes instead of snow?”
    “I rather think that we shall never have such an ability, Mrs. Campbell. Which is perhaps for the best. Already, our species trifles with and manipulates too many things which nature never contemplated.” His gaze strayed to the door. Suddenly, he was not so eager to make his way to the stairwell that would take him up to the patients’ rooms.
    “Ah, well. If not for our ‘trifling with nature,’ your wife might not be with us today.”
    His head jerked back to the formidable woman who funded this clinic and the doctor’s work out of her own pockets. She watched him, seeming to see into the very heart of his worry and fear. “You’re very correct, Mrs. Campbell. I apologize if my comment sounded…intolerant.” He coughed. “I assure you, I’m very grateful for everything you and Dr. Helmholtz have done for my wife.”
    She took a small sip of tea before placing the delicate willowware back on the small table. “Not to worry, Colonel. It is a sad truth that society will disapprove of what it does not comprehend, and our dear doctor’s advancements are still received with great wariness by most. We are only grateful that the fine men and women who serve Britain’s greater interests are helped by Dr. Helmholtz’s skill.”
    “That is very true.” Helmholtz had been working strictly for the War Office for the last year, and it was lucky for Jasper that it had offered the doctor’s help after Callie’s attack. He got to his feet. “I apologize for my rudeness, madam, but if you will be so good as to excuse me, I would see Calliandra now.”
    “Yes, of course. When you’re ready to turn in for the night, we’ve made up a room for your use. Your man can show you which one, and hopefully you will be able to entice Lady Carlisle to the breakfast table in the morning.”
    “I look forward to it. Thank you.”
    She clasped her hands together crisply. “Now, go on. Don’t let me keep you any longer. Lady Carlisle has been informed of your arrival and awaits you upstairs. You know the way, I believe.”
    He nodded. Apprehension and elation warred within him. At the doorway of the drawing room he stopped to look back over his shoulder. “Does she… Will she…?”
    “Your lady wife is Calliandra, the most celebrated danseuse of the age, is she not?”
    He nodded.
    “A woman who could achieve the level of celebrity on the stage that she did from such humble beginnings and in such a short time has already proven she has the kind of strength and determination that will get her through something like this. Give her a chance.” The formidable woman’s tone was surprisingly gentle, although that was the only soft thing about her.
    He knew she’d been the victim of a railway accident eight years ago that resulted in the loss of her hand. Thanks to Dr. Helmholtz and what must be an inner core of steel, she’d not only survived, but now lived with a fully functioning mechanical appendage. To thank the doctor properly, she had put her not inconsequential inheritance to good use giving him a place to practice his not inconsequential skill on others.
    In fact, Jasper had heard of the clinic last year when his own sergeant had lost a leg to infection and been sent here to have an artificial limb fitted. The man had apparently recovered well, although he’d subsequently been reassigned to another unit. Jasper had thought then that a doctor who could accomplish such miracles might be both a magician and a devil.
    He had thought it again when the lieutenant from the War Office had offered Dr. Helmholtz’s expertise to save Callie’s life, but by that time he’d been desperate and would have tried anything—even surrendering his own freedom to the War Office.
    “Physically, Dr. Helmholtz says she has completely