And almost fell over. Kendra grabbed his arm to steady him. “Are you all right?” she asked, worried.

He smiled crookedly. “As I said, there’s always a price, and part of that is my strength. The more serious the illness, the more exhausted I become. Even so, I don’t know if I helped her.”

As Kendra steered him out of the bedroom, Mrs. Lowell straightened the covers over Jane and Katie, then brushed a light kiss on each sleeping head before following the others into the main room. Closing the door behind her, she said in a hushed voice, “That was extraordinary. I could feel the heat from your hands.”

Lucas sank into a chair by the table, shaking with cold and fatigue. “I don’t know if it was enough,” he said wearily, feeling hollowed out, devoid of all strength.

“Jane is breathing easily now and her color is better. You may have given us that miracle.” The midwife sighed. “Even if you didn’t, thank you for giving so much of yourself. I’ll go sit with Jane and Katie.”

After she left the room, something warm settled over his back and shoulders. A knitted knee rug. It was followed by Kendra wrapping her arms around him. Since she was standing and he was sitting, his head ended up resting on her soft breasts. As her hand slid soothingly down his neck and back, his hollow fatigue faded away. He wanted to melt into her and never let her go.

But let her go he must. He pulled back, saying, “Thank you for reviving me.”

She smiled. “Food and drink should help, too. Would you like some tea?”

“Yes, please.”

The tea was in a thick pottery crock that had kept it warm. Kendra poured a mug for him and set it between his hands. The liquid soothed his parched throat, helped clear his mind, and gave him some energy.

Tea was followed by a chunk of fresh buttered bread, and he realized that he was hungry. Ravenous, in fact. He murmured a thank-you to Kendra and ate the bread greedily. The bread was followed by a slice of the meat pie.

Feeling halfway human, he straightened in his chair. “When I’m doing simpler work like setting a bone, I’ll sometimes use lesser amounts of healing to try to reduce the pain. But when a life is in the balance and I’m trying so hard . . .” His voice trailed off before he spoke again. “As I said, there is always a price, and the healing is not always successful.”

Kendra sat in the chair next to him and took his hand. “But it is better to try and fail than not to try at all,” she said firmly.

“It was generous of you to want Jane to be healed when your deepest desire must be to sweep Katie up and carry her off with you,” he said quietly.