But as happy as Diana was, the three days she'd been forced to wait for his return had been an agonizing eternity, each hour a battle against her impatience.
She'd yearned to seek him out, to demand his presence, but restraint had won, her trust in his promise holding her back.
And when he arrived on the third day, as pledged, she'd greeted him with a warmth that surprised even herself, her voice brimming with awe as she praised his medical skill, calling his methods miraculous, transformative.
She'd thanked him profusely, her gratitude spilling over like a river breaking its banks, but he'd brushed it aside with a humble deflection, claiming his knowledge was merely gleaned from his family's library, a trifle compared to her own achievements.
His modesty only deepened her admiration, and she'd wasted no time, ushering him to Vivi's bedside with an urgency born of hope, desperate for him to diagnose her daughter further, to uncover a path to a full cure.
