Page 6 of Enlightened

“No, no. His Lordship is quite right, Mr. Lauriston,” Logan said, turning to fix David with a stern look. “There’s no use putting your leg under more stress for the sake of pride. His Lordship’s sitting room will do perfectly well as an examination room. Lead the way, my lord.”

Given leave to take charge, Murdo had no hesitation in taking the physician up on his invitation. David and Logan followed him out of the dining room and into the neighbouring sitting room, neither of them commenting when he made no move to leave them alone, but instead closed the door, then crossed the room to draw the drapes.

For an instant, David considered asking Murdo to leave. He hadn’t stayed for any of David’s other examinations, and David couldn’t help but think it was unorthodox. But Murdo had a mulish expression on his face that David didn’t like the look of, and Dr. Logan seemed to find the situation entirely unexceptionable.

“If you could strip down to your shirt and drawers, Mr. Lauriston,” he said as he removed his coat and rolled up his shirtsleeves.

David did as he asked. He sent Murdo a warning look when the other man started to step forward to assist David with his right boot—always the most troublesome part of dressing and undressing for him—and then had to struggle with removing it for a good few painful seconds before he finally shook his foot free. Other than that, though, he got himself down to his underclothes with relative ease and lowered himself onto the chaise longue.

Logan drew up a footstool and perched on it. His forehead was lined in concentration, his attention all on David’s leg. He asked David to lift the leg, move it outwards, flex it, straighten it. He examined every inch of it, from David’s hip down to his foot. He checked the knee that had been giving David so much trouble despite the fact that neither one of his actual fractures had been anywhere near it. He ran his hands down the length of David’s limb, his head cocked to one side in a way that made it look as though he was listening or thinking maybe, perhaps imagining the layers of bone and muscle and tissue inside. He had David stand and walk, then attempt a squat, noting aloud the last was still beyond him. He questioned David about his activities over the last month, most particularly about Monday’s walk, over which he clucked and frowned in disapproval, making David feel like a naughty schoolboy.

When it was all over and David was pulling his trousers back on, Logan gave his verdict.

“Well, Mr. Lauriston,” he said, “despite your foolishness, your leg continues to heal well. You can bear your weight readily and the bones have knit as neatly as any I’ve ever seen—you must have had a good bonesetter see to it at the first. It’s hard enough to get one fracture to set that well, never mind two.”

“What about the limp? I still get it at times, when my leg gets tired.”

“I hope it will disappear, in time, but I won’t lie to you. There’s a chance it will be permanent. Particularly if you don’t take care of yourself properly. You must ensure that you don’t damage the healing your leg’s already done by engaging in any more nonsense like strenuous hillwalking before you’ve had more time to repair. At this point in time, you should be keeping your exercise to a gentle stroll of no more than a mile or so at a time over flat ground, gradually building up the distance and strenuousness over time. Avoid stressing the limb at all costs.” He smiled then, his expression part sympathetic, part amused. “I’ve been a physician for twenty-seven years, Mr. Lauriston, and I’ve seen bodies repair from all sorts of injuries, but only if their owners allow themselves the chance to heal.”

“That’s what I told him,” Murdo growled from the corner.

The physician chuckled, apparently not one bit surprised by Murdo’s continued presence or oddly personal interest. “You should listen to His Lordship,” he told David gravely, though still with a glint of humour in his eyes.

David swallowed. He didn’t want to ask the question that was burning on his tongue, but he had to, even though he already suspected the answer.

“Am I—am I well enough to return to Edinburgh, Doctor? To my legal practice?”

Murdo spoke before Dr. Logan could say anything. “Back to sitting at your desk till all hours and forgetting to eat, you mean?” he snapped. “Back to walking up and down two long flights of stairs to your rooms?”

David’s face blazed with colour at the betraying intimacy of Murdo’s comments.

“I don’t have those rooms anymore,” he said quietly.

It was an effort to remain to calm, to hide his fury at Murdo for those imprudent words. Especially when Murdo knew very well David had given up his lease.Hewas the one who had persuaded David to do it, after all. To hand back his keys and allow his belongings to be taken away to be stored at Murdo’s townhouse.

“I can easily take a new lease with fewer stairs,” David added into the awkward, heavy silence.

Dr. Logan cleared his throat. “Well,” he said, addressing his remarks to David, “I would certainly recommend you seek rooms with as few stairs as possible. And sitting in the same chair for hours on end is not to be recommended. A gradual return to your old activities, with periods of rest and gentle exercise in between, would be best. But subject to those precautions, I would say that, yes, you are well enough to return to your practice.”

Somehow David managed the mechanics of a smile in response to the doctor’s verdict, though he suspected it was a wan thing.

“Good,” he said. “That’s good to hear.”

Murdo said nothing, just glowered at them both.

“Well,” the doctor said. He slapped his hands on his knees and stood up. “I’ll leave you to get dressed, Mr. Lauriston, and be on my way.” He quickly shrugged his coat on and packed up his bag before offering his hand to David for a hearty handshake. “Go easy on that leg,” he added.

David nodded. “I will,” he promised.

“I’ll show you out while Mr. Lauriston dresses,” Murdo said without looking at David.

For a few moments after they left, David sat there, perched on the edge of the chaise longue,his cheeks hot and his stomach in knots as he wondered what the doctor had made of this interview and the unusual interest the master of the house took in his man of business.

At last he rose and slowly dressed, though he took his time getting ready, far from eager to resume his conversation with Murdo.

It seemed, however, that Murdo was no more eager to speak than David. He didn’t come back to the sitting room at all, and when David finally ventured out, it was to discover that Murdo had asked for his horse to be saddled and was already on his way to Perth.

Murdo stayed out all day, returning only shortly before dinner.