Welcome to Milton

6

After John Thornton returned home with his son, Alexandria finally got some much needed sleep. The day spent with John Thornton had been exhausting on all fronts. When he had asked to court her, it was odd. She passed it off stress induced. Up until that day, the man had never looked at her without anger in his eyes and a scowl upon his face.

It had been six in the morning when Alex opened the doors that morning and now it was midnight. In the privacy of her office, she was sipping on a half shot of brandy. It was for medicinal purposes, just like she had offered Thornton. The brandy was warming her from within, winter was upon them. The clinic stayed warm but still there was always a draft somewhere. Holding her face in her hands, Alex was considering what to do.

It had been late, but not so late that Alex was readying herself for bed. Fanny Thornton Watson came in with her husband. Supposedly she had tripped and fallen which caused an injury to her wrist. Suspecting that the wrist was broken, Alexandria casted it. Then she saw the bruises on Fanny's arm. Having been a trauma surgeon in one of the larger London hospitals, it wasn't hard to tell that the bruises on the woman's skin were finger marks. Hells bells, Alex thought, anyone could have figured it out.

Fanny didn't ask her to not say anything, nor were there any laws that Alex knew of that prevented her from saying something. Spousal abuse wasn't illegal. Heck many of the people she spoke with were in favor of punishing their wives and children. This was too much. Far too much.

Looking down at her blouse, the once white material had a splash mark of grey and pink on it. Mr. Watson had ran into her while she was going to dump a bowl of water that was used to clean Fanny's arm up before casting.

Alex was fairly certain that Watson had done it on purpose to see just what she would do. Nothing. There was nothing to do. Although, the way he was leering at her chest, he probably thought he saw more than he actually did. There was enough underclothing that nothing showed through the blouse but a single button. She had tied on an apron after that to get him to quit staring. Pompous ass of a man AND a letch. What a combination. Smiling wryly, she was worried about Fanny. Could she alert John or Hannah Thornton? Would they take her seriously?

Finishing the drink, she cleaned the glass she used and put it away. Stretching, Alex yawned. What could be done, truly? She was pretty certain that John Thornton could give the Watson fellow a damn fine thrashing. Granted, Alex could as well. She could best almost any man in a fight. She had learned to protect herself before she was even a teenager and continued training until this damnable dream. The training had only failed her one time, when she wasn't willing to use the sort of force to protect herself.

The following day had been extremely busy. Alexandria barely had a moment to fix herself a cup of tea with all that was going on in the clinic. She had sent Annabelle to Marlborough Mills at one point to deliver a note to John Thornton. She simply asked if he would please stop by after the last whistle when he was able.

With the last patient gone, Alexandria felt as if she was ready to fall over from exhaustion. She always sent her young assistant home before dark, without fail, so it was just her in the clinic. The dark streets were no place for most women, even those that knew Princeton as their home their entire lives.

With the kettle on for tea already, she was fixing herself something to eat. Alex often times forgot to eat she would be so busy. She was trying to make sure she ate at least one good meal every day in the evening hours. It was harder to do than she believed originally. Where were take-away shops when you needed them?

Pausing at hearing someone rapping on the door, she set aside the food after washing her hands.

"Oh! Mr. Thornton." She smiled softly.