Dr. Rysel leaned forward and peered at Cordon for several seconds before pulling back. “I see. Neither of you is quite ready.”
Cordon gritted his teeth. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It doesn’t work that way. This is a problem you must figure out for yourself.”
With that cryptic remark, he left. A few minutes later, Alyssa entered, carrying a steaming kettle. “That was fast. What did he say?”
“Exhaustion.” Cordon took the kettle and poured a cup. He didn’t have time to figure out what his physician was trying to tell him. Making Kitty well was his priority.
Alyssa twisted the fabric of her blouse in her hands. “Can I help?”
Cordon waved a hand. “No. I will take care of her. You can close the shop.”
He lifted the cup, dipped a finger into it to confirm it wasn’t too hot, then sat on the edge of the bed and lifted Kitty’s head. Getting her to take the entire amount was a challenge, and he had to mop up liquid from the bed several times with a cloth, but eventually, he put her head back down and considered his next challenge. She wore a severe corduroy dress that had buttons from the neck all the way to her hips. Removing them would take precious minutes. There was a pair of shears on the table beside the bed. It would be much easier to cut the garment off, although Kitty would undoubtedly be furious when she awoke.
He undid the first several buttons until the material gaped, then reached for the shears. But as he noticed them in place, he hesitated. Kitty might want to save the garment. How would a dressmaker cut it apart? He chose a different angle, closer to a seam, only to have clammy hands clasp his.
“No,” Kitty whispered.
His heart leaped into his throat. “You’re awake. How do you feel?”
Her brow was sweaty, her cheeks were still bright red, but her eyes were bright beneath her frown. “Terrible. What are you doing here?” She grasped the gaping fabric at her neck. “Why were you undressing me?”
He held her face in his hands, pressing a gentle kiss to her nose, then her forehead. “Thank God. You gave me a terrible fright.”
Her puzzled frown would have been amusing in any other scenario.
“What do you mean?” She looked around, a touch of panic entering her voice. “How did I get here?”
She tried to rise. He placed a palm on her chest.
“I came to ask you to…” he started before realizing that reviving their conflict might be a bad idea. “I visited you this evening. You were working in your shop downstairs. I followed you up here, and then you collapsed. I put you in bed and sent Alyssa for my physician.”
She frowned. “I… I don’t remember any of that. But I certainly feel terrible. My mouth tastes foul.”
He chuckled. “That would be the medicinal tea I gave you.”
“Medicine,” she said, spitting the word as if trying to get it out of her mouth.
The look of childish disgust on her face melted what was left of the tension in his body. He hadn’t realized until that moment the extent of his fear. In such a short time, Kitty had becomethe most important person in his life. For decades, Dr. Rysel had repeated his tired refrain that Cordon needed to be open to love before he could find his betrothed. Of course, it had taken Kitty rejecting him to realize how much he loved her.
He chuckled, then burst into laughter.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
The confusion in her face and voice only made it funnier. He doubled over, clutching his chest. After all the stress, Kitty couldn’t even remember anything. He’d been panicking and working himself up into a fit, and all she could say was that she hated the medicine.
“Fine, laugh, then,” she said. “It’s not like I’m lying in my sickbed or anything.”
Those words cut off his mirth and pulled him back to one of the few times he’d visited his maker during the final days before she’d left the nest. He had stood by her bed and cried while she’d insisted there’d been nothing to worry about.
And now Kitty was lying in a bed, and although she wasn’t likely to die, it was a sobering reminder of what awaited him.
Thinking about leaving her made him feel like his insides were twisting themselves into knots, so he focused on something else instead.
“Dr. Rysel said you are suffering from exhaustion. Are you in the habit of working until you collapse?”
“It was necessary. I have projects to finish. The fire destroyed work that I had to redo.”
