“Just call when they’re ready,” she said. She briskly made her way to the door, head held high, shoulders squared.
She wanted him. It wasn’t hard to see, but yet, she would deny them both. He wondered why. Maybe he would ask her about it when they returned to the estate.
They arrived at the doctor’s office a short time later. Darcy breezed up to the glass-fronted wall. There was a nameplate that read RECEPTIONIST.
Darcy strode to the window. The receptionist glanced up. “Dr. Wilson is expecting us. Darcy Spencer.”
Surlock gauged the woman’s reaction. She quickly rose to her feet. “Yes, Miss Spencer. He’s expecting you both.” She hurried to the door that led to the back and opened it. “Come this way.” She took them to a small office. “Just have a seat and he’ll be with you shortly.”
“You’re staring at me,” she said after they were both seated.
“Am I?”
She frowned and he realized how tempting she looked. He wanted to lean across and kiss away her displeasure.
“Yes, you’re staring.” Her frown only deepened.
Odd woman, very complex. He discovered something different each time he was around her. “You’re very highly regarded by people. They give you deferential treatment wherever you go. The tailor did, as did the doctor yesterday, and now this young woman. Are you special in some way?”
Her cheeks turned rosy red. “My parents do a lot for the community,” she finally told him. Then she sighed. “That, and they have money.”
“Money is important.”
“Money will buy you anything you want.”
“It won’t buy my memory. Nor the true worth of a man, I think. It can’t buy a sunset, or a sunrise. It can’t buy laughter, nor dry tears.” He thought about it for a moment. “Maybe this money only means something to a small group of people.” She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.
“It will be interesting to discover where you’re from and exactly what you do for a living,” she said.
Their conversation ended when the doctor entered the room. “Well, you look better than you did yesterday,” he said as he went behind his desk and sat in the chair. “Your color is back. Twila said you had a good night, too. Vitals stable. Have you remembered anything?”
“Only flashes,” he said. “Nothing of importance.”
“And he can play the piano like a professional,” Darcy spoke up.
“Good.” The doctor beamed. “That’s a start. I’m sure it won’t be long before you remember everything.”
“How long?” Surlock asked.
The doctor leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. “Let’s not push it. It will come naturally.” He shuffled some papers on his desk. “There is one thing. The X-rays came back with some abnormalities.”
Darcy drew in a sharp breath, the color draining from her face. “What?”
Surlock gripped the arms of the chair.
“Oh, no, nothing like what you’re imagining,” the doctor quickly reassured them. “It was just an odd bone structure. Almost as if there were animal bones mixed with human.” He laughed. “Of course, that can’t be right. I think someone must have x-rayed a family pet and not changed the film. I called the tech and told him to recalibrate his machine and check his plates. Of course, we’ll shoot some more.”
“No, I don’t want more pictures of my bones,” Surlock told Dr. Wilson. Something warned him away from more tests. Why couldn’t he remember? His stomach churned as he tried to draw forth a memory … anything. Nothing came.
“Relax.” The doctor’s softly spoken words reached out to him.
The doctor was right. It would happen when it happened. Trying to force his memory only made his head hurt.
“I want to draw some blood, and do a quick evaluation. It will only take a moment. Then you’ll be free to go.”
Surlock looked at Darcy. She nodded, then came to her feet. “I’ll meet you in the waiting area.”
He didn’t want her to leave, but there wasn’t a lot he could do about it, except watch as she left the room, quietly closing the door behind her. He didn’t like the idea of the doctor taking his blood, but he wanted to be done here. The walls were closing in on him. Letting the man draw his blood seemed the quickest way to escape.
“Have you been experiencing anything out of the ordinary?” the doctor asked as he stood.
“I don’t know what the ordinary is.”
Dr. Wilson chuckled. “Good point. Okay, have you had any dizziness?” He checked the bump on top of Surlock’s head. “Much better.”
“If I stand too quickly or if I have a flash of memory, everything turns upside down.”
Dr. Wilson nodded. “Perfectly normal.” He took an instrument off his desk and bumped it against his palm. A light immediately came on. He shined it in Surlock’s eyes. “What a strange shade,” he murmured. He changed tips and looked into first one ear, then the other. “Any ringing?”
“Humming.”
The doctor straightened. “What kind of humming?”
“Like a voice, but I can’t understand the words.”
“We’ll check your blood count. That might tell us something. Do you swim a lot?”
“I swam this morning.”
“You may have swimmer’s ear.” He went to the other side of the desk again and picked up the phone. “Yes, Marcia, see if I have some samples of eardrops for ringing in the ears. When you come to my office, bring the things to draw some blood. I’ll need a complete workup.”
He walked back to Surlock. “She’ll be here in a moment. After she draws your blood, you’re free to go, but I’ll want to see you next week. You are planning on sticking around?”
“I have nowhere to go.” He realized how true his words were. He felt completely hollow on the inside.
“Don’t worry, son. Your memory will all come back. Give it time. When you get to my age you learn to enjoy life and not worry so much about tomorrow.”
The nurse came in a few moments later. Before the doctor left, he told Marcia to make an appointment for the following week. The woman took one look at Surlock and visibly swallowed.
Surlock wasn’t too sure what she was about to do. She put a band around his arm, then came toward him with a needle. But when she inserted it, she did so expertly, causing only a small prick of pain.
“Sorry if I hurt you,” she said. Her gaze flitted to his face, then quickly dropped. “Are you a relative of Miss Spencer?” She loosened the band and put a white ball on his wound, taping it down.
“No.” He remembered the job he was supposed to do. “We’re dating.” She looked crushed by the information. He wondered why. He had met some very strange people this day. “Are we done?” he asked.
“Yes,” she sighed.
Darcy was in the waiting area. She looked up when he walked into the room. A smile spread across her face.
“Are you finished?” she asked.
“We’re supposed to return next week.”
“Here’s your appointment card.” The receptionist handed it to them from her place behind a desk. “Take care.” She grinned at Surlock.
He noticed Darcy didn’t seem pleased by the attention he was getting from the female staff. That might work in his favor.
On the drive back to the estate, she was unusually quiet. “I told the nurse we were dating,” he announced.
Her head whipped toward him. “Why would you do that?”
Again, she confused him. “I thought that was what you wanted.”
Comprehension showed on her face. “Oh, yes, I forgot. That was fine.”
“If I’m going to pretend to be your boyfriend, then I should know more about you.” Yes, he had an ulterior motive. But he did want to know more about her. She was interesting, and he was lonely. He felt empty not having memories. She helped to fill the void inside him.
“You’re right, you do need more information. My mother will definitely grill you.” She was thoughtful for a moment. “I’m twenty-five.”
“What do you do all day?”
“You mean my job?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t have one.”
“But to earn money to buy all the things one would want, a person needs a job. Is this not correct?”