“Div ye no ken, Jamie, that a'm——” But Lily still found the words hard to say at three-and-twenty.
“Ye mean that ye hevna been takin' care o' yirsel, an' a' can see that masel,” but he was looking everywhere except at Lily, who was waiting to catch his eye. “Ye 'ill need to gither yir strength again an' come back wi' me tae Drumtochty.
“Ye ken whar thae floors grew, Lily,” and
Jamie hastily produced his primroses; “a' thocht ye micht like a sicht o' them.”
“Doon ablow the Lodge in the Tochty woods.... whar the river taks a turn... an' the sun is shinin' bonnie noo... an' a birk stands abune the bank an' dips intae the water.”
“The verra place, a couthy corner whar the first primroses coom oot. Ye hevna forgot the auld Glen, Lily. Dinna greet, lassie, or Sir An-dra 'ill be angry. Ye may be sure he 'ill dae a' he can for ye.”
“He hes, Jamie, an' mair than a' can tell; a' wud like Grannie an'... the fouk tae ken hoo a 'ave been treated... as if a' wes a leddy, an' his ain blude.
“When they laid me in the bed at the hospital, an' a' githered that... it wudna be lang, an' awfu' longin' cam intae ma hert... for a quiet place tae... dee in.
“It was a graund airy room, an' everybody wes kind, an' a' hed a'thing ye cud wish for, but... it gied against ma nature tae... wi' a' thae strangers in the room; oor hooses are wee, but they 're oor ain.”
Jamie nodded; he appreciated the horror of dying in a public place.