wouldâve taken any more notice of a different staff member, Violet was sure, but this continual slight against Nate was very hard even for her to stomach. By denying his achievements he somehow rendered her own unremarkable. The great Earl would never admit heâd been wrong in trying to force them into their society pigeonholes or congratulate them on their successes. Until now Violet hadnât realised sheâd been waiting for his approval. * * * Nate had dealt with his fair share of obstinate patients over the years. People had different coping mechanisms when it came to facing their own mortality and sometimes that manifested itself against the very staff treating them. Usually he took it in his stride. After all, who was to say he wouldnât lash out if he were the one on the other end of the stethoscope? Today he was finding new limits to his tolerance he didnât know he was capable of. In the space of ten minutes his integrity and his professionalism had been called into question by someone whoâd known him since heâd been a child. That was the problem, he supposed. His parentsâ employer was still judging him on the nonconforming teen he imagined had robbed him of his daughter. It was ironic that Nate hadnât gained anything from that loss except the successful career that was now being maligned. Regardless of how hard he tried, those from Strachmore would never see him as anything but the next generation of domestic staff. The only difference was the Dempseys werenât paying him to take this abuse. Heâd even had to battle his own family to pursue his chosen career. In their eyes by going to medical school heâd thrown away the honour of working for the aristocracy. As if their allegiance meant he shouldâve sacrificed his prospects too. They hadnât understood his resistance to doing manual labour so a privileged family could sit comfortably on their pedestals. Thereâd been no support, financially or otherwise, as theyâd seen him as some sort of traitor. That attitude had created a distance between Nate and his parents. Heâd hated them at times for their blind devotion to the Earl when theyâd effectively disowned their own son for the sin of ambition. In a roundabout way they had been part of his success when his anger had driven him to reach the pinnacle of his career. These days he accepted them for who they were in the hope they would some day do the same for him. Heâd learned it wasnât healthy to hold on to grudges or look for answers where there was none, and taken back control of his life by simply accepting circumstances beyond his control. No matter how much it jarred. âIn that case all I can do is ask you to wait until we have your discharge papers ready. We need to have it in writing that you are going against our recommendations by leaving before your treatment here is complete. Thereâs also the matter of arranging your medication before you leave.â If it was merely a case of one stubborn patient showing he was still in control of his own fate, Nate would sign off and move on to the next patient who actually wanted his help. That was practically impossible when Violet was standing opposite worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. âI will not linger here a second longer than is absolutely necessary.â The Earl continued to bluster, his cheeks reddening as he pointed a knobbly finger at Nate as though he were holding him to ransom. It was the other way around. As tempted as Nate was to have Security bundle him out of the door, he couldnât bear to be responsible for anything happening to Violetâs only surviving family member. âThatâs entirely your prerogative, but it would be in your best interests to wait for the reasons Iâve stated. I would also ask you would do so quietly to prevent any further disruption to your fellow patients on the ward.â His thoughts were