Page 26 of Forever My Lass

“Maybe,” Madeline murmured as she considered the possibility.

She enjoyed being around older people, especially when they shared their life stories. Several of her patients had lived through tragedies and great joy. Listening to their reminiscing had always been an enjoyable experience. In most cases, the patient appreciated the simple fact that someone was willing to listen to their stories.

Madeline was about to ask how to go about finding such a job, when a quiet knock echoed off the door, then it opened with a squeak. Grace entered quietly carrying a small bag of what Madeline assumed was a poultice for her father. The girl’s eyes widen with surprise as she saw Iain sitting upright in his chair with no pain visible on his face.

“Faither, I thought…” Grace’s voice trailed off as she stared at the two of them in confusion.

“Madeline performed some form of magic to make the pain disappear.” His description made Madeline shake her head.

“It wasn’t magic. I’m a nurse in my—in America. It’s an ancient technique I learned. If you like, I can teach it to you.” The moment she made the offer, Grace nodded her acceptance of Madeline’s offer then hurried forward.

“Yes, I should like that very much,” the girl said in an excited, yet hushed voice. The child was clearly used to speaking softly when her father was unwell.

Madeline’s mouth tilted upward in a small smile at her enthusiasm as she rose to her feet then guided the girl to stand behind Iain. With Grace standing in front of her, Madeline guided the girl’s hand and quietly instructed her how to apply pressure to first the pressure point on her father’s forehead and then temples.

When she took Iain’s hand to show Grace the pressure point on his wrist, his hand muscles flexed slightly the moment she touched him. Worried she might have caused him pain, she glanced up at him ready to apologize. The words about to pass her lips died a quick death as she met a penetrating gaze that was dark with an emotion she recognized as desire.

Heat pulsed through her in a split-second, sending her heartbeat skittering until it was pounding wildly in her chest. Madeline’s mouth went dry, and she hastily looked away and placed his hand in his daughter’s smaller one in a quick move. When she was no longer touching him, she showed Grace where to apply pressure to her father’s wrist.

Unwilling to touch him again, Madeline guided the girl’s fingers to the pressure point on his wrist to avoid her own fingers coming into contact with Iain. The girl was a quick study, and Madeline smiled her approval when the lesson was complete.

“Well done, Grace. You’re an excellent student. It’s a simple technique, but it usually eases the patient’s suffering fairly quickly. Probably faster than a poultice, although using the two together isn’t a bad idea at all. The pressure points don’t always alleviate all the pain someone is suffering, but in almost every case it lessens it.”

“Thank ye, Miss Whitworth. I shall try this the next time Faither has a migraine.”

“You’re welcome.”

The lesson complete, the girl grinned broadly at Iain, and Madeline watched him return his daughter’s smile with love and fatherly pride. Suddenly, Iain’s smile died, and he frowned.

“Where is your sister?”

“She said she was going for a walk,” Grace murmured.

“Did she say where?”

Tension radiated off of Iain, and Madeline immediately wondered if stress was the culprit responsible for his headaches. It was obvious Ainslie was headstrong, impulsive, and perhaps even rebellious. She couldn’t be an easy child to manage if one was struggling with debilitating migraines. At her father’s question, Grace winced, but remained silent. The child clearly didn’t want to get her twin into trouble, but when her father narrowed his gaze at her, Grace lowered her head.

“I think she might have gone down to the inlet to see if anything else had washed up on the shore.”

“Christ almighty.” The color drained from Iain’s cheeks as he stared at his daughter in horror. “Are ye certain? Of course, ye are.”

Iain quickly rose to his feet and swayed slightly. It was enough to convince Madeline that he’d not fully recovered. She stepped forward to block his way out of the study.

“Sit down,” she ordered in her best and sternest nurse’s voice. He stared at her in surprise before outrage darkened his face. The minute his mouth parted to object, Madeline narrowed her eyes at him. “I said, sit down. Now.”

The moment he hesitated, she pressed her hands into his hard shoulders and forced him to sit down in his chair. Although he balked, Iain sank down into the wing-backed chair the moment she pushed him downward.

“I will go look for Ainslie. It’s obvious to me that you’re still not feeling good, and I know my way down to the inlet. You are not to move from that chair or this room, is that understood.” At her severe tone, Iain looked ready to protest, but she pinned him with a hard look. “Do not say a word. Grace, stay with your father. If he moves, remind him he’ll have me to deal with when I return with your sister, and I’m not a nice person when I’m angry.”

Madeline shifted her gaze from Grace to the girl’s father. Beneath her fierce glare, Iain’s mouth thinned with anger. It was obvious he didn’t appreciate taking orders, and she leaned forward to bend over him.

“I won’t think twice about ripping you a new ass, if you don’t do as I say.”

Shock registered on his face at her fiercely worded command, and Madeline heard Grace gasp behind her. Aware that in the heat of her anger, she’d failed to control her tongue, she debated whether to apologize. She chose not to, and instead, she glared down at him.

“Grace, make sure he doesn’t move. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

With that final parting shot, Madeline hurried out of the study and then the house. Quickly following the path she’d taken to the inlet yesterday, she ran as fast as she could to the cliffs. Ainslie was nowhere to be seen, and Madeline understood Iain’s fear for the child.