Silently Patrick helped Godfrey out of his coat and helped him to a sitting position on the edge of the table. After tugging off the boots, Patrick eased his brother onto the table, then onto his stomach. There were several painful gasps that everyone pretended not to hear.

Patrick stepped back from the table and glowered threateningly at Lucas. “You’d better not make him worse, Foxton!”

“I will do my best to improve his condition.” Lucas had removed his own coat and rolled his sleeves up as he studied the thin body lying in front of him.

In deference to Godfrey’s male sensitivity, Kendra withdrew to the door so that she was as far away as she could get without leaving the room. But she could see Lucas drawing into himself to that remote place of prayer and healing.

Voice calm and soothing, Lucas said, “I’ll start by examining you, which means feeling the joints and bones to discover whether there are anomalies that can be readily fixed. This will probably be uncomfortable, but it’s necessary.”

“Go ahead,” Godfrey muttered. “I’ve been mauled about by any number of other medical monsters”

“Were you ever treated by a trained, experienced bonesetter?” Lucas asked as his strong hands began carefully evaluating Godfrey’s bones.

“Bunch of quacks!” Godfrey snarled. “Not real doctors.”

“Not always,” his brother said tersely. “Give Foxton a chance.”

Several minutes passed in silence as Lucas performed his evaluation. As he worked, he gave a running commentary on places he’d traveled, injuries he’d healed.

When he finished the evaluation, he ran his knuckles across Godfrey’s back between each pair of ribs. Godfrey jerked and gave a sharp cry before slowly relaxing. In a disbelieving voice, he said, “There’s less pain! Is that your treatment?”

“This is just a beginning,” Lucas said. “The worst of the pains originate in your spine and they affect your hips and knees and from there, your whole body. The force of your fall broke and misaligned the bones, and it will take strong pressure to put them into place. There will be pains, but they shouldn’t last long.”

Godfrey drew a shuddering breath. “Do your damnedest!”

From across the room, Kendra couldn’t see exactly what Lucas was doing, but she sensed that he was pouring all his healing energy into his hands and then into Godfrey’s body. Simon had moved beside him and laid what looked like a companionable hand on Lucas’s shoulder, but Kendra guessed that he was adding whatever aid he could to supplement Lucas’s efforts.

The next interval of time seemed interminable. Lucas worked steadily, but Kendra bit her lip at the occasional strangled sounds from Godfrey. Worse were faint, indescribable sounds that must have been a result of bones being manipulated. Patrick winced every time but made no attempt to interfere with Lucas’s treatment.