Chapter 272

“Didn’t you say last year that if I kept going like this, I’d probably end up stuck in bed p>

Baldrick pushed himself up, leaning on his cane as he took a few steady steps. He glanced at Achilles, a proud grin spreading across his face. “Well, look at me now. What do you think of these legs p>

Achilles couldn’t hide his surprise. “Are you sure you’re actually getting better? What if she just gave you something that makes it seem okay for now, but actually makes things worse later p>

He didn’t mean to sound negative. He just honestly couldn’t believe traditional medicine could work so fast.

Baldrick frowned. “That’s not going to happen p>

He really did trust Claire. A lot of that was because of Hale. The Carter family had a reputation for treating joint problems and rheumatism.

Claire raised her eyebrows, kind of surprised by how much Baldrick believed in her.

“It’s still a good idea to get checked out at the hospital,” Achilles said, his voice a little firmer now that they were talking about health.

Baldrick nodded after a moment. “Alright. If it helps you relax, I’ll go for a checkup.” “So, what did this miracle doctor give you? How did she treat you?” Achilles was even more curious now, seeing how much Baldrick trusted her.

“Acupuncture, herbal steam baths, and a special medicinal wine that’s been passed down in her family p>

Baldrick didn’t mention Claire’s name right away, just described her methods.

“I’ve actually heard of herbal steam baths.” Achilles was a Western doctor, but he had studied some combined therapies for arthritis. Acupuncture and herbal wine weren’t new to him either. Acupuncture was pretty standard, but as for those miracle wines… Well, most of the ones sold out there didn’t work at all.

“Do you have that wine yet? Can I take a look?” Achilles asked.

“Not yet,” Baldrick replied. He’d only just gotten the ingredients together. With Claire finally here, he hadn’t asked her to help make it. He didn’t trust himself to do it right.

“I thought you said she prescribed it to you. How come it’s not ready yet? At least let me see the recipe,” Achilles pressed.

He really couldn’t help feeling that something was off. Baldrick seemed way too secretive, which only made him more suspicious.

Could he really show the recipe to someone else?

Baldrick looked over at Claire. He needed her permission.

Claire just nodded, like it was no big deal. She never cared who saw her prescriptions. If Achilles was a doctor, then why not let him take a look? Traditional medicine wasn’t the same as Western medicine. Sure, you had to memorize some formulas, but it was really about how the doctor adjusted things for each patient The same recipe might work for one person but not for another. What she wrote for Baldrick was customized. For someone else, it might help a bit, but the results would always be different.

Since Claire agreed, Baldrick went to fetch the prescription.

The first thing Achilles noticed was the handwriting. It was beautiful, neat, and full of character-obviously the result of a lot of practice, probably under Pandora’s stact

guidance for years.

“This handwriting has real style,” Achilles said, a look of appreciation in his eyes.

Latonia, who had been lost in her

own misery about Dane’s engagement finally looked over the sound of her grandfather’s

praise. Padgett, trying to joinin,

leaned closer for a look too.

“This handwriting Padgett muttered. He recognized it right away. Wasn’t this Claire’s?

He glanced at Claire.

She quickly looked away, pretending not to notice, avoiding her grandfather’s gaze.

Padgett couldn’t be sure was it really Claire’s writing or not?

But when Claire turned her head, she found herself looking straight at Dane. Their eyes met and held for a moment.