The Beloved Woman Read Free Page A

that as it may. Don’t take on airs. You’re in no position to be choosy.”
    “I appreciate your help, Mr. Gallatin, but your manners leave a lot to be desired.”
    “Yes’m, I know, but you’d better get used to ’em.” With that unsettling remark he turned and whistled for his horse.
    Katherine watched in consternation as he tied the horse to the back of the coach. Then he climbed in and sat down, pressing himself close to her in the narrow seat, his shoulder and thigh firmly welded to hers. The intimate contact made her feel like covering her torso with both arms, as if he had just undressed her. He flicked the door shut with a quick movement of one long arm.
    “Move on, Mr. Bing-ham,” he called loudly. “And make it fast.”
    The coach lurched forward just as Katherine, quietlyfurious, rose to move to the seat facing him. She tottered and he latched one hand into the back of her skirt. Through skirt, petticoat, and drawers she felt his fingers brush the cleft of her hips. She’d never been touched by any man there, much less a white, mustached gold miner.
    She twisted around, wrung the skirt from his grip, and saw from the gleam in his eye that he knew exactly what he’d done. She sat down hard on the opposite bench, and dust poofed up like some kind of boudoir powder she’d used too liberally. He grinned.
    “Give me my scalpel, sir,” she said. He had tucked it behind his ear.
    “I don’t attack women, Katie. I coax ’em. Rest easy.”
    “It’s
Miss Blue Song.
”
    He looked down, saw her satchel, and dropped the knife into it. “Who’s the sawbones?”
    “I am.”
    The disbelieving look he gave her was no more than she expected. “A lady doctor?”
    “Not certified in any way, of course. But then, there are quite a few men practicing medicine who have no claim to formal training at all.”
    “There’s no such thing as a lady doctor. Nobody’d teach you.”
    Katherine smiled grimly. She’d have to put up with this blunt rascal only until she reached home. “If you’re an Indian, people don’t expect you to act like a lady. They aren’t shocked when you do eccentric things.”
    “But what doctor had the gumption to risk his reputation by trainin’ you?”
    “My guardian in Philadelphia, Dr. Henry Ledbetter. A friend of my father’s. Dr. Ledbetter is a progressive. He let me assist him—with female patients only, of course.”
    “Oh. You’re a midwife, then.”
    “No, I’m a doctor. I don’t see why not.”
    He thought for a second. “Well, I reckon I don’t see why not neither.”
    To her surprise, Katherine found sincere admiration in his eyes. Then he gave her a solemn, lopsided squint. “But you got enough trouble just bein’ an Injun. Don’t tell people you’re a Yankee free thinker too.”
    She took several slow breaths, a technique that always served her well, then gave him a hard look. “Sir, get out of my coach and ride behind it.”
    He shrugged his answer and picked up the slender leather-bound book he’d wedged into a corner when he sat down. Though he tried to be nonchalant, from the way he frowned at the title she doubted he could figure it out. Not many people in these regions could read or write.
    “
Romeo and Juliet,
” she offered with a polite smile.
    “Shakespeare, huh?” He nodded smugly, a gleam of triumph in his eye. “I saw it acted once, down in Savannah. A boy played Juliet. Romeo couldn’t marry him, so he killed himself. Seemed unreasonable to me.” He tossed the book down. “Waste of time.”
    “How nice. You saw a play once. With a little more culture you’d reach the level of a barbarian.”
    His eyes snapped. “You didn’t care about my lack of culture when I was savin’ you from those hog-kissers.”
    Remorse mingled with undeniable gratitude. “Mr. Gallatin, you’re entirely right. I apologize for offending you. You saved my honor, and possibly my life. And you risked your own safety to do it.”
    He frowned, studying her