Page 2 of A Balm of Healing
The sight of a Sun Fae punched him in the gut, stealing the air from his lungs until he couldn’t breathe. The ears alone reminded him of his late wife, Meredith. And the reminder of her hurt immensely.
“I apologize.” She straightened her spectacles. “I usually keep my hair pinned up. I can assure you that I maintain a professional appearance and demeanor at all times.”
Obviously, he hadn’t been around women in a very long time, especially those not of Forest Fae origin, because he kept staring, his tongue tied in knots. The woman was eight years younger than him and beautiful, too. He’d always fancied Sun Fae women with their long ears and bright smiles and the style of clothing they wore.
Nurse!his mind screamed, waking him from his stupor. He really should have turned her away despite her apparently desperate need for employment. But if she truly possessed healing magic… At the very least, an interview was in order.
He sighed and motioned her into the house. “I’ll put on a pot of tea. Let’s discuss more inside.”
She followed him in, and he started to lead her forward when he stopped suddenly, unable to glance away when she shed her coat, scarf, and hat to reveal a deep plum dress with long, snug sleeves to her wrist and a hem that brushed against brown boots. A belt was cinched at her small waist, with several pouches and foreign items dangling from it. Nursing tools or medicines, perhaps?
But when she took off her spectacles to wipe the lenses, his heart faltered again when the absence of them on her face revealed almond-shaped, olive-green eyes.
He scratched his long, pointed ear with a slight droop to it to mark him as a Forest Fae and pinched the bridge of his nose as he reminded himself that his life was long over. No woman would look twice at him, and the only reason he didn’t try to throw her out again was to keep what small amount of pride remained. After a short chat about her qualifications, he would send her on her way and look for someone older and plumper and with quite a few more wrinkles.
But what could one simple chat hurt? He was lonely, and she was pretty.
“You poor fool,” he muttered as he wheeled himself into the expansive kitchen with her following at his wheels. A large table lay on one side of the room, and on the other was the stove, sink, and all manner of cupboards and cookware. A part of him disliked the unfamiliarity of this home with its pipes and its wall paint and its smooth floors. He’d previously lived inside a cozy tree. This place was not cozy.
He was overly aware of Gweneth’s attention on him as he sparked a fire in the stove, placed a kettle filled with water on top, and tossed in his tea herbs to steep. While the water heated, he gathered two porcelain cups and placed them on either side of the table. She pulled her own chair out, and only then did he internally berate himself. When was the last time he’d been chivalrous?
Likely some fourteen-odd years ago.
When the kettle whistled, he strained the tea into the cups and locked his chair opposite her. After taking a sip of the earthy tea, he glanced up.
To find her gawking again.
“Pardon me for staring.” Her cheeks filled with a rosy blush as she caught one more glimpse before lowering her gaze to her tea. “I have never seen a Forest Fae before. Your hair is so…” She glanced up and blushed again. “White. But you look so young.”
“You’ve never seen a Forest Fae before? Surely, you’ve caught at least a glimpse of one.”
The woman shook her head before nodding. “Well, I have seen plenty of forest folk. But none likeyou. Your people are the heart of the forest.”
“The heart…” He released a long breath and shook his head slowly. “I don’t know about that. Though, I will agree that my people have kept themselves isolated from others for many years.”
Her mouth lifted in the faintest smile before she blew on the steam wafting above her cup. “Honestly, when I applied for the job, I expected… Well, I thought you might be closer to death’s door than the birthing womb, if you catch my meaning.”
For the first time in ages, he almost smiled. “I am a father of a twenty-two-year-old son and a twenty-four-year-old daughter. Not as close to the birthing womb as I wish I was.”
“Oh.” Another blush as she averted her gaze. “I didn’t realize you were married.”
He gazed intensely down at his amber-colored tea to avoid glancing her way. “Meredith has been gone for some time now.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that…” Another pause, but to his surprise, it wasn’t an awkward silence like he experienced with others when he mentioned her passing.
A longer pause followed before she met his eye once more. “May I ask your age?”
He quirked his mouth to the side as he stared across the table at her, his attention dropping to the lip she bit between her teeth before he occupied himself with a loose thread of his tunic. It was Forest Fae in nature, one of the few belongings he’d managed to take with him after he’d escaped the forest.
“Forty-three,” he answered quietly.
“Oh.” She smiled, disarming him entirely when she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m thirty-five. But I suppose you already knew that, what with my mix-up on my application. Which we haven’t even spoken of yet. I assure you, I am fully qualified for whatever task you place in my path. I can cook. I can clean. I can run errands. I have years of experience in the medical field. Really, you need not doubt me.” She reached across the table and squeezed his arm, which rested on the table, before her eyes snapped wide open and she released him. “Oh, dear.” She took a long sip of her tea, silence following in the wake of her rambling.
Emeric stared at the woman with a puzzled expression. He knew his life was over. He was maimed. He was too old to catch the attention of a beautiful young woman.
Then why did it seem like she was flirting with him?
He almost scoffed and rolled his eyes. He hadn’t been on the marriage market for quite some time. He was far off his game.
