The Maid of Ballymacool by Jennifer Deibel

Author:Jennifer Deibel [Deibel, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Romance;FIC042110;FIC042030;FIC027050
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2022-12-06T00:00:00+00:00

20

Brianna watched as the doctor huddled with Michael and Finnuala, and she strained to catch any words their hushed voices uttered. But to no avail. In her heart, curiosity warred with the jolting fear that something was far more wrong with her health than any of them had let on. Perhaps the tree had done more damage than she realized and they were hiding it from her. Maybe she’d caught her death of cold or pneumonia after being in the elements so long. Her skin prickled with sweat and her heart raced. Who knows how long she was pinned under that limb? Maybe she was in such a state of shock she didn’t realize that vital organs had been damaged or some crucially important vessel had been severed. The idea slammed onto the floor of her soul like an anchor. After all, what purpose would it serve to tell her if her life was in mortal danger? If nothing could be done, what point would there be in letting her know? Surely they figured such news would only serve to send her into a state of panic. But didn’t they know that’s exactly what they were causing with their whispers?

She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to take slow, deep breaths. She drew in for a count of three and back out. After repeating that process two more times, the pounding in her chest eventually calmed, and the trembling in her limbs began to subside.

The doctor quit the room, and Michael followed after him. Finnuala, however, moved to her side. “Are ya alright, peata?” Her old friend pressed her fingers against Brianna’s forehead and cheeks. “Are ya in a lot of pain?”

Sighing, Brianna took her hand and tugged until she sat next to her on the bed. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Finnuala fussed with the blankets, tugging them up and tucking them around Brianna’s waist. “What do ya mean?”

“I’m going to die, aren’t I?” The strength of her own voice caught her off guard.

Finnuala’s mouth flapped open. “Och! Where’d ye get a morbid thought like that?”

“Be honest with me, Finnuala. What did the doctor say?”

“Ya heard the same thing I did, dearie. It’ll take time, but ye’ll be right as rain in a few weeks.” She smiled and kindness lit her eyes, softening the severe signs of her age and rugged life.

The corner of Brianna’s mouth lifted in a shaky half smile. “Truly?”

Confusion and questioning clouded Finnuala’s face.

Brianna’s hands flopped on her lap in frustration. “I saw him talking to ya both out there, and all three of ya were whispering. I just got worried that . . . that I didn’t know the whole truth.”

“Aw, sweet girl”—she patted Brianna’s hand—“’tis only One who knows the whole truth, and it’s not our job to take that mantle upon ourselves. We’d crumble under the weight of it. But in this matter of your health and recovery, ya know the whole of it.”

Tears stung Brianna’s eyes once more and she blinked them back.

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