Chapter Two #3
With a wink, her father was gone. She closed the door behind him and hurried over to the pitcher and bowl to wash her hands again. “What will you have me do first, doctor?”
“You did an excellent job cleaning out the gash on Flaherty’s forehead. I need you to hold his head still so I can clean and stitch the wound.”
“Of course.” She slipped one hand around the back of Flaherty’s head and the other beneath his chin, but he still flinched during the rigorous cleaning.
Dr. Wolcock frowned. “You’ll need to brace his head against you while I close the wound.” She blinked, and he added, “I don’t want his wound to be open any longer than absolutely necessary. The risk of infection is greater, given that he was in the water and sand.”
When she didn’t answer right away, Dr. Wolcock continued, “Normally, I would ask the man of the house to assist me, but your father is outside tending to the horses. The sooner we close Flaherty’s wound, the better his chances of not suffering from an infection and wound fever.”
“Of course.” She moved closer and cradled Flaherty’s head against her shoulder.
Dr. Wolcock’s brow furrowed. “I need you to shift to the side a bit more.” He shook his head.
“In the past, I have been able to ask the patient’s wife or mother to hold their head still.
” He blew out a breath and said, “I do not normally ask this of an unmarried woman, but time is of the essence. I need you to hold the side of Flaherty’s head firmly against your chest.”
She silently thanked the doctor for not mentioning the obvious: Flaherty’s head wouldn’t come close to her chest because her generous bosom would be in the way.
“Of course, Dr. Wolcock.” She gently guided Flaherty’s head until it was cushioned against her breasts. It felt as if a hundred butterflies were set loose inside her stomach. His muffled groan increased the odd feeling low in her belly, warming her from head to toe.
She shifted, and the doctor warned, “Don’t move!”
Flaherty’s heavily muscled arm slipped around her waist, anchoring them together. It was all she could do not to sigh aloud. The sensation of being held like this was new to her, and unsettling—but not unpleasant at all.
It felt…it felt wonderful.
She marveled at the feeling and realized it was the first time anyone, aside from her father, had put an arm around her. Because her figure was late in blooming, none of the boys in the village had tried to do so, nor had they ever tried steal a kiss.
She had to bite her bottom lip to keep her sighs from distracting the doctor or the patient.
The strength of Flaherty’s arm, the warmth of it wrapped around her waist, was indescribable.
The whiskers beneath her palm weren’t as soft as she’d imagined them to be, but rough.
For a moment she wondered what it would feel like to cup his cheek as she pressed her lips to his.
She doubted his whiskers would tickle. Mayhap they’d be like the stiff boar-bristle brush she used to scrub the cottage floors.
Flaherty pressed harder against her, and her mind snapped back to the present.
“Hold tighter if you need to,” she said.
His grip intensified. She knew she’d bear the mark of his fingers near her hip later, but that wasn’t as important as the physician tying off the stitches he’d carefully sewn in Flaherty’s head.
“Finished! Press three of those linen squares gently against his wound while I wash up.”
Eileen did as the doctor asked, surprised Flaherty seemed reluctant to let go of his hold on her. The physician dried his hands, wrapped a length of linen around Flaherty’s head, and tied it off.
A moment later, the cottage door opened, and her father entered. “Why is there blood all over my daughter’s chest?”
The physician calmly replied, “I needed Eileen to brace Flaherty’s head against her to keep him still.”
“You could have waited for me!” Her father’s terse reply to Dr. Wolcock surprised her, as did the question he put to her: “Did you give a thought to what will happen if word gets out of how you had to assist Dr. Wolcock? Facts can easily be misconstrued.”
“Of course not. Flaherty’s badly injured, and I have helped before. Besides, Da, people will believe what they will, no matter if it is false or the truth.”
“You are my daughter and do not deserve to bear the brunt of anyone’s rumors or innuendo.”
“That has not mattered one bit the last few weeks, though, Da, and—”
“I’ve already asked yer daughter to marry me,” Flaherty interrupted.
“When people find out that she was the one to rescue me from the sea tonight—and ye were there to help pull me out of the water—she’ll be praised for saving me life.
” His expression darkened as he added, “No one will dare to cast aspersions on me wife!”
Her father’s color returned to normal. The mottled red on his cheeks had been worrisome. “Aye, and we did speak of you keeping your word earlier.”
Flaherty reminded Doonan, “Did ye forget that yer daughter said she’d consider me offer?”
Her father tore his gaze from Flaherty’s and stared at her. “She’s finished thinking. She’ll marry you as soon as possible.”
“The banns have to be read three times,” Eileen said. “That’s three Sundays, Da.”
“I know what it means, but that’s too long to wait. You know talk spreads almost as quickly as news of the arrival of Ruan’s latest cargo.”
Dr. Wolcock had not said a word until Eileen’s father finished speaking. “I believe that could be handled quickly,” the physician said. “Isn’t that right, Flaherty?”
The Irishman flinched as the doctor cleaned his shoulder wound, but was quick to reply, “Aye. Given the situation, I could put in a request to His Grace.”
“A special license would only take a matter of days,” the physician agreed.
“Now then, Eileen, your father needs to hear you agree before I ask you to brace Flaherty against your chest again. He hardly moved at all while you held him for me. His shoulder will be far more painful than his head. I will have to probe the wounds to ensure there are no lead pieces left behind. It could be deadly.”
“Eileen,” her father said, “answer Dr. Wolcock.”
She drew in a breath and slowly exhaled. “Yes.”
Flaherty quietly asked, “Yes what, lass?”
Her eyes met his. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Flaherty.”
“’Tis Fenton, lass. Once we wed, ye’ll have the protection of me name, the strength of me back, and—until the Lord asks it of me—me heart and me life.”
Doonan inclined his head. “That’s done, then. You’ll send the missive to the duke as soon as you are able?”
“Ye have me word, Mr. Doonan.”
“Excellent,” the doctor said. “Now then, Eileen, don’t let him move.”
Flaherty’s eyes turned a molten blue as he asked, “Would it not be better if I faced the lass while ye work on me shoulder?”
Doonan growled at Flaherty’s quiet question. “We’ll have none such talk! You’re not married yet!”
“But I could die from blood loss or infection,” Flaherty replied. “Then where would yer lovely daughter be?”
Doonan’s lips twitched, but he didn’t smile. “Are you trying to get a rise out of me, Flaherty?”
Flaherty grunted in response, leaving Eileen to wonder if he was testing her father’s patience—or was it something more?
She found her first smile as she once again cradled the side of Flaherty’s face to her breasts.
The heat of his head was a bit of a worry, but not as much as the riotous feelings tingling beneath her skin.
Her heart raced, and her belly fluttered.
She was not quite certain what lay ahead for them once they married, but found she was looking forward to more of his kisses.
When he shifted against her, she said, “Be still, Flaherty.”
“Aye, lass.”