‘I’m not going to no quack,’ he replied gruffly.
Adira knew she’d hit a nerve by his response.
‘I could give you something for it.’
Fletcher’s head shot up in surprise. ‘Like what?’
‘Witch hazel, it’ll cleanse and bring the inflammation down. Just a minute.’ Adira got up and went inside the van. She soon reappeared with the box that Edie had prepared.
‘What you got there?’ frowned Fletcher.
‘It’s a stock of herbal medicines.’
His frown deepened, making her laugh.
‘No need to look so worried, it’s only nature bottled up and ingredients that have been used for centuries. In many ways, it’s better than drugs that are dished out all too readily.’
Fletcher nodded thoughtfully, maybe she had a point?
Adira pulled out a small brown bottle and unscrewed the lid. Tipping a few droplets onto her fingers, she moved over to him. ‘I’ll just rub a little into your bruise. Relax.’
Fletcher did as he was told and closed his eyes. The liquid felt cool and calming. The smell was pleasant too, he thought, as her soft touch skimmed over his forehead.
‘How did you get this?’ Adira asked, still gliding her fingers gently over his skin. He found it very therapeutic.
‘Book fell on me head,’ he murmured back, ‘and something went in my eye.’
‘Open it up, let me see.’
Fletcher stared up as Adira assessed.
‘Hmm, it looks red and slightly inflamed. I’ll give you a compress to ease it and take the sting away.’
‘Thank you,’ he quietly replied, feeling completely tranquil.
When she’d finished rubbing in the witch hazel, Adira opened various other bottles and, using a glass dropper, mixed up a potion into an empty jar. Then she took a small piece of towelling from a bag. Passing them to him, she gave instructions on what to do.
‘How come you know all this. You’re not some kind of witch, are you?’ He gave a mischievous chuckle.
‘It’s all down to my gran, she’s a naturopath. Knows a lot about the healing qualities of plants.’
Fletcher was intrigued, what a curious lady she was. Suddenly he realised he didn’t want her to disappear off his land just yet. Interesting people like her didn’t crop up in his life very often. In fact, not many people cropped up in his life at all these days! ‘You don’t have to rush off, you know. Take your time. In fact… I’m sorry I don’t know your name?’
‘Adira,’ she smiled.
Adira, even her name was different. ‘Well, Adira, why don’t you come up to the house for dinner this evening? As a thank you for this.’ He lifted up the jar.
‘Oh, how kind. Thank you very much…’
‘Fletcher,’ he supplied.
‘That would be lovely, thank you, Fletcher.’
‘Right, see you then.’ He nodded once more and set off.
Jasper eventually rose from a deep sleep to find Fletcher rinsing his eye in the bathroom.
‘What’s that, Fletcher?’ he asked, pointing to the jar of liquid stood on the windowsill.
