Page 49 of Lyon of Scotland
“Aye. But you seem to be feeling better. Headache and fatigue gone?”
“My head is clearer now, aye.”
“Good. You’ll only improve. And I wish you and Dare both much happiness.”
“Thank you again for your help.”
He shook his head, dark-blond hair catching golden lamplight. “I did not do much. There is little to be done in such cases but watch the breathing and make sure the patient is alert and hydrated. We are at a loss in treating for opiates. Strathburn did more for you that night than I did.”
“Strathburn?” Surprised, she looked at him.
“He sat with you the entire night.”
“I know he was there.” She tipped her head, remembering his hand wrapped over hers. “But I did not realize it was all night. He must have felt ill too. He was also dosed.”
“He’s a big lad and shook it off quicker than you could. He refused to leave your side despite my orders that he get some rest.”
“I owe him even more than I thought.”
“May I speak as your friend now, not as your doctor?”
“Please.”
“I have known Strathburn since schoolyard days. He is very smart, careful in all he does. A good man with a good heart that he guards well, considering what he…” He continued before she could ask more. “I have seen him in plenty and content, and also in war. I have seen him seriously wounded, yet quick to help others once he was recovering. And I have also seen him in love—what he thought was love—and grieving.” He shook his head thoughtfully. “I have seen that lad as low as he has ever been, and as happy as he will allow himself to be.”
“Allow?”
“A guarded and cautious soul, is Dare.”
She glanced at him. “He said you met in school and were in the regiment together. He mentioned a broken heart and a girl who died. But he said little about it.”
“It is not in his nature to reveal much. That will take time,” he added.
“We have that.”
“You do. I will say—in all the years I have known him, I have never seen him like this. Devoted. Determined to be there for you. Pleased and steady and more himself than he has been for a long while. He is far more than smitten.” Lifting a brow, he gazed at her. “He loves you.”
She drew in a breath. “If you worry that I might hurt your friend, you need not.”
“I know. Dare sees something in you that he has not found before.”
“A lass in terrible trouble, in need of his help? I hope he does not regret it someday. This all came about so quickly.”
“When he does something, he means it. He is rarely impulsive and never false. He acted quickly on this for a reason, lass. And I can tell you he meant never to risk his heart again. But he has, with you. That is not a caution. It is a compliment.”
She nodded. “He said he was engaged before.”
“So he is beginning to share things with you. Good. Aye, she died of a fever. At the time, I never thought she was a good match for him. She was a sweet and tame lass, lacking the spirit he would need in a helpmate. Still, after her death, he swore never to love again. He grieved sincerely, for she was a friend in his childhood. But he was hurting, and decided bachelorhood was best.”
“And he became reserved,” she said. “He rarely talked in social gatherings.”
“Oh, that was always part of him. He just pulled in further. But one day, there you were, and I think you caught his attention. And later—there you were again, lass. And he married you without batting an eye. That says a great deal coming from him.”
“We were not entirely strangers.”
“I think he had feelings for you early on. Forgive me, I should not say so much.”
“I welcome your thoughts, and your friendship.”
