Day's Patience

by A. W. Exley

  “Don’t you wish you had lived a different life, though?” Lettie certainly did. She could have spent decades at the best universities in Europe absorbing knowledge, but instead she had spent her time acquiring the latest fashions and fussing with her hair.

  Marjory nudged her with an elbow. “Stop dwelling on things you don’t control. The passage of time happens to us all. I have led a full life in Alysblud and have the comfort of knowing Lord Seton will look after me in my old age. I’ve also realised that I have a man who loves me and who, when he looks at me, will always see the bright young thing I once was. I count myself lucky his eyesight has gone and he’ll never know what I truly look like these days.”

  Lettie laughed, feeling somewhat better about the life Marjory gave in her service.

  “How did you know you loved Hector?” Lettie asked as she passed over a wet bowl.

  The nurse wiped the towel over the surface. “Well, as he got older and his looks started to go, I thought I had better love him because no one else would.”

  “Marjory!” Lettie exclaimed.

  “It’s true. His hair fell out and he lost those front teeth to a horse kick. Who else would want the annoying old goat?” Marjory’s eyes twinkled with mirth.

  Lettie bit back her laughter. “How can you say such things about the love of your life?”

  “It comes naturally after forty years of familiarity. Hector and I have always shared a laugh, and shouldn’t that be what life is about—love and laughter?”

  Marjory might have aged with the passage of decades, but Lettie wondered if she were the more fortunate of them. She had Hector, who would love her until the end.

  Lettie stared at her palm. “I can never love.”

  “Oh, Lettie.” Marjory reached out and tugged on the end of her plait. “That’s enough of that nonsense.”

  That made her frown. She’d thought her comment would elicit sympathy over the sad and empty life she would lead, not a slap on the back and a command to buck up. She obviously needed to explain what it meant to Marjory. “Ava took my Cor-vitis seed, and I will never find my mate.”

  Marjory blew out a snort. “That evil woman took one very specific type of love from you. She didn’t render you incapable of love entirely. You can still love and be loved, you silly goose.”

  She wanted to refute Marjory’s words, but there was a grain of truth to them. She mulled over the statement as they finished washing the equipment and poured off water into the jugs and over bowls holding needles and scalpels. The metal implements rattled in the bowl, and at the same time, understanding resounded in her head.

  “I’ve been an idiot,” she said.

  All this time she thought the loss of the seed that bound mates together meant she could never love. But of course she still loved her friends and family, which showed she was capable of the emotion. What was to stop her from finding a satisfying love with a man? There must be another Elemental out there who wanted warmth, humour, and companionship. Perhaps one who had lost his mate like Samuel, except not quite as old.

  She was about to say something to Marjory when the front door slammed and a voice started yelling, “Help! Help!”

  Marjory and Lettie glanced at each other and then ran from the kitchen.

  A youth stood in the hallway, pointing out the door. “My cousin has fallen in the well, bring the doctor.” Then the lad sprinted back outside.

  Grayson emerged from his room, the black bag in his hand, but Lettie didn’t wait. She picked up her skirts and ran after the boy. A well meant water, her element, and she might be able to help. Unless it was a dry well.

  Lettie’s feet pounded down the front path and then she veered left, toward the gathering of houses and shops that comprised the main village. Thankfully the cottage wasn’t too far from the rest of the village, as Grayson needed to be among his patients.

  Up ahead, Lettie spied the crowd in the open square. Double-height homes and shops were arrayed around the space, their windows facing the daily activity. The boy skidded to a stop at the edge of the assembled people. A woman screamed hysterically, a doll clutched to her breast, as other women tried to calm her.

  Lettie pushed through the crowd. At their centre sat a large stone well with two-foot high sides. A tall wooden arch straddled the well and normally held the rope and bucket, but a frayed end of rope dangled from the top of the support beam. Men called for more rope, and another stripped off his shirt, preparing to be lowered down.

  Lettie could do the job better and faster. She pulled off her shoes and glanced down as she jumped up onto the stone edge. Below, another Lettie peered up. At least the well contained water. Then she jumped, plunging feet first into the dark space. Gasps and screams came from above as the light dimmed to a circle. A few feet below the rim, her bare feet touched icy cold water and Lettie changed form, flowing into the still water.

  It was a cramped space within the well, less than three feet in diameter. Lettie pulled her knees to her chest to flip over and dove deeper into the black depths. She reached out to her element, touching each droplet that made the whole, and gathered memories to her.

  The water told of the child playing in the bucket. It showed the girl squealing as the bucket rocked back and forth, unseen hands pushing it first one way and then another. Then came the snap as the rope broke. The high-pitched scream from the girl was silenced as she hit the frigid water and disappeared below the surface. Unable to swim, she sank fast.

  How long ago? Lettie asked the water, but the liquid had little grasp of time. It showed her that the ripples on the surface had not long stilled.

  Mere minutes, perhaps. No more. How long did it take to run to the cottage and back, and how long did it take for life to leave a small body trapped with no air?

  Ever downward the undine swam. Her form was liquid but distinct from the water. She was hues of luminescent silver and palest blue, and her edges blurred to meld with her element. She didn’t need to see, not that she could in the pitch black. Her shimmer was insufficient to light the way and gave only a faint glow.

  She trusted the water to reveal the child when she reached her. Every now and then, Lettie’s fingertips grazed the rough stone that formed the sides of the well. The circle of light above grew smaller until it was a tiny moon looking down through the cold water.

  There! The water called in a rush, urging Lettie to one side. She paused and extended her hands. A stone jutted out and made a shelf. Fabric was tangled around the obstruction. A child’s dress.

  “I have you, little one,” Lettie murmured as she hooked one arm around the child and puller her to her chest, while she used her other hand to free the fabric.

  The girl was no more than five years old and limp in the undine’s arms. Her small round face deathly pale. Lettie could rescue the body from the black void, but it would be up to Grayson’s skills to bring the spirit back from where it hid.

  Lettie cradled the child in her arms with the small head resting against her shoulder to ensure her body wasn’t battered as they left the stone enclosure. Then Lettie summoned the water, commanding it to gather around and under her body.

  “Up!”

  The water bunched and flowed under Lettie’s form. The narrow well became a cannon barrel as undine and child were propelled skyward by a waterspout. Her feet stood on the crest of a wave that rose vertically, shooting them toward the surface. It took her minutes to find the child but only seconds to recover her.

  Woman and child burst back into the daylight. Lettie relinquished her undine form for her human one as the water tossed her over the stone wall. She fell to the hard ground and rolled, the child still clutched to her chest.

  A roar went up around her along with cries and shouts from the incredulous villagers.

  “I have her, Lettie.” Grayson was there, waiting. He took the child from her arms.

  There was one more thing Lettie had to do. As she handed the limp girl to the doctor, she closed her eyes and summoned
the water in the little body.

  As Grayson laid the child out and tipped her head back, her lungs were wrung dry as the water obeyed the undine. Droplets sped through the girl’s chest and spilled in a gush from her throat.

  The mother threw herself down on the ground with a cry of “My baby!”

  “Let the doctor see what he can do,” a man said, and large hands hauled the woman out of the way.

  Grayson placed his fingers against the side of the girl’s neck, feeling for a pulse. He glanced up at Lettie, concern written all over his face. Had it been too long? Then he opened the girl’s mouth and peered inside, checking whether her throat was clear. He pinched her nose, covered her mouth with his, and emitted a long, deep breath.

  “What’s he doing?” someone yelled. The crowd surged forward, enclosing them as they tried to all see at the same time.

  “Let him be. He’s breathing for her,” Lettie said, her concentration on the doctor and child as she willed the girl’s spirit to return.

  One breath. Two. Then a third. He alternated breathing with compressions on the girl’s chest, trying to make her lungs and heart begin working again.

  Please, Gaia, let the little one come back to her mother.

  18

  The crowd held their breath, as though if the girl couldn’t draw in air, then neither would they. After what seemed a lifetime, the girl’s body shook and she coughed. Grayson sat back, the worried expression still on his face. He helped the child roll to one side as coughs and spasms racked her body. A watery trickle of vomit stained the ground under her head.

  The mother crawled forward and gathered her child up in an embrace.

  “Thank you. Thank you,” she whispered as she glanced from Lettie to Grayson. Tears of relief rolled down her face as she hugged her daughter tight.

  Lettie released a sigh as warmth rushed into her. She had made a difference not just for the child, but for all the lives she touched. Saving the girl was a ripple thrown into a pond and affected not just the village, but Lettie also.

  “Let’s take her down to the cottage. I want to check that there aren’t any other injuries we need to worry about,” Grayson said.

  The mother nodded but refused to relinquish her tight grip on her child. Grayson and Lettie stood as the crowd burst into conversation around them. Men slapped Grayson on the back as though he possessed the breath of life.

  The young lad who raised the alarm stared at Lettie with a challenge in his eyes. “How did you do it?”

  “I dove in, found where she was caught and brought her back out,” Lettie said.

  The boy shook his head. “You were down there an awful long time. None of us can hold our breath for that long. I tried while we all waited and I turned purple. And what about the way the water shot out of the well? It was almost like it was setting you free.”

  Lettie laughed. “I’m a very good swimmer, and I have had lots of practice holding my breath. As to the other—” She shrugged. “It was probably just a surge in the water level, or maybe even the tide affected it. Pure coincidence.”

  The boy narrowed his gaze and pursed his lips. Adults believed the simple explanations, whereas children looked deeper and often glimpsed the true nature of Elementals. Then he beamed, a wide smile that revealed crooked teeth. “However you did it, thank you for saving my little cousin.”

  “I’m glad I could be of assistance.” She picked up her shoes and realised she was soaking wet.

  At least she wore a simple gown; a woman wearing a bustle and full skirts would have sunk like a stone and stayed at the very bottom. Soaked skirts clung to her legs, and only the dark colour of the cotton saved her from exposing her breasts to the entire village. She could have told her element to whisk itself away from the fabric, but emerging from the well dry would have raised awkward questions with no easy answers. Especially from curious children.

  The mother rose, holding the girl to her chest, and looked like she might never let her go. She led the way, and Grayson dropped into step beside Lettie.

  “The child is very fortunate you were near and that you are such a strong swimmer. But you are soaking wet. We need to get you into something dry before you catch a chill,” he said.

  His smile alone could have warmed her. Finally she had done something right, and she found herself deserving in his eyes.

  “It’s a warm day, I’ll not freeze.” The faint breeze blowing off the ocean was warmed by summer air and would soon dry her out.

  “Well done, lass,” people murmured as they passed.

  “Forgive me if I still worry.” Grayson placed an arm around her and pulled her close to his side. Heat radiated from the doctor to Lettie.

  Grayson would be soaked through with her pressed to his side. “You will make both of us wet.”

  He grinned and the corners of his eyes crinkled. “Getting wet when you do seems to be a habit I have acquired.”

  An image floated to the surface of Lettie’s mind—the two of them getting wet and soapy in the large bath. Except it wasn’t something a pretend brother and sister did. How could she make Grayson see her as something more than a sibling?

  “At least you didn’t jump in after me yelling Ophelia!” Lettie couldn’t resist the jibe after he had tried to rescue her from the bath.

  Grayson laughed quietly beside her. “I have learned that lesson.”

  At the cottage, they took the mother and child through to Grayson’s consulting room. There, the mother finally released the girl to place her on the bed but kept hold of her hand. The child had wide, worried blue eyes.

  Marjory appeared with two blankets, one for Lettie and one to wrap around the chilled girl.

  “What’s your name, love?” Marjory asked of the shaking child.

  “Elspeth,” she whispered.

  Grayson smiled. “You have a beautiful name, Elspeth. This won’t take long. I just want to make sure you will be all right after your adventure and that you aren’t injured anywhere from banging into the stone.”

  He sat next to the bed and placed his stethoscope on the girl’s chest, listening to her heart.

  Elspeth kept hold of her mother’s hand, but her wide eyes stared at Lettie.

  “Mermaid,” the girl said and pointed.

  “She does swim like one, doesn’t she?” Grayson winked as he continued his examination of the child.

  Elspeth shook her head slowly. “She was all silver and blue and sparkled like a fish in the sun.”

  The mother laughed and hugged her daughter. “You were down in that horrid well for so long you should have been seeing angels, not fish.”

  Lettie winked over the top of the mother’s bent head and held one finger to her lips.

  The girl nodded and smiled. It would be their secret. Not that the adults would believe Elspeth if she told them a mermaid rescued her. Technically mermaids were saltwater undines anyway, and Lettie retained her legs in her Elemental form, but she wouldn’t argue semantics with a five-year-old.

  Grayson satisfied himself that the child was none the worse for her experience and released her to her mother’s care. “Keep her warm and inside for the rest of the day. If there is anything you are concerned about, come fetch me immediately.”

  The grateful woman reached out and hugged the doctor. “I will, and thank you. Thank you both.”

  Grayson closed the door as Marjory saw mother and daughter out. He leaned back against the wood and regarded Lettie. “Now, as to you, Miss Day.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine.”

  “I will be the judge of that.” He pushed off the door and held her face in his large, gentle hands. “That well was very narrow, I want to make sure you don’t have any bumps or scratches that need tending.”

  His hands ran down her arms, his fingers feeling for any swelling or bumps. Then he slid his hands under her arms and ran them down her sides.

  Lettie sucked in a breath as his fingers splayed out around her waist. His gaze never left her face
as concern was replaced by something else that flared in his eyes. He pulled her closer to him.

  She raised her face as he dropped his head. His breath whispered across her face. An ache bloomed through Lettie that demanded to be satisfied as she waited for him to kiss her.

  Then the door banged open behind him.

  “Who wants a warming cup of tea?” Marjory asked.

  Grayson’s head shot up and his hands dropped away. “You seem unharmed. Good. A cup of tea is a marvellous idea, Nurse Hatton.”

  Marjory and Grayson walked ahead, and Lettie trailed behind. She touched her lips that tingled with the remembrance of his previous kiss. Then she recalled his words from last night.

  We’re just friends.

  Then why did he almost kiss her?

  That afternoon, the youth who had raised the alarm reappeared in the cottage.

  “You’re all invited to dinner in the tavern tonight. The village is ever so grateful to have you here, and you haven’t had a proper welcome yet.” He kept staring at Lettie’s feet, and she wondered if the little girl had told him how she was rescued by a mermaid. Perhaps he thought to have it confirmed by a tail peeking out from under her skirt.

  “We’d be delighted, thank you,” Grayson accepted on their behalf.

  Later that afternoon and back in Samuel’s home, Lettie sat on the floor of her bedroom. Before her was a large, ancient trunk. The lid was thrown back, and the pungent aroma of camphor wafted from the scented wood that kept moths at bay. Within the trunk was an assortment of gowns she had left over a period of many decades when she had visited Samuel.

  She picked up an ornate and heavy gown. The dark blue silk was embroidered with darting koi that played among vibrant yellow water lilies. She doubted the robe à l’anglaise from the previous century was suitable for a celebration in a tavern. Fragments of a previous life spent at the courts of England and France flitted through her mind. Then she gently placed the robe back in the trunk.

  Everything within was in her signature colour range of blue, green, and silver. As she peeled away the layers and decades, each dress triggered a memory of where it was acquired or when she had last worn it. A gown of the palest blue muslin had been purchased in London. She’d worn a silver dress with deep teal flowers to a ball at Versailles.