Most of Joan's friends had already started to leave before the last dance was played, so she and Ruth were sitting together watching Martin and Louisa and speculating as to the nature of their friendship. They had had a lively conversation about the two of them on Boxing Day after Marty had left for the party at Chris', with Joan filling in everything that had passed since Martin had started to come down to visit and Ruth sharing her discoveries and speculations about Martin's feelings for Louisa. They had been avidly watching them this evening hoping to solve the mystery of their relationship.

"Martin seems completely besotted. Were you able to suss out anything from your conversation with Louisa?" Joan asked Ruth.

"Well she did admit that 'maybe' they have become a little more than good friends, but that she doesn't think they can be more than that with him in London and her in Cornwall, and she did concede that she has thought about it...a little."

"Maybe a little more than good friends? Look at them. Good friends don't dance that close together," Joan observed to her sister. "Did you see them earlier when she had her head against his chest while they were dancing. There' a lot more than just friendship going on there."

"Yes, you are right ... as always," Ruth replied.

Joan ignored the sarcasm lurking just beneath her sister's tone. "I told you that she said she prefers village life, but would be willing to relocate for the right man."

"I'm just not sure Martin is the right man. She seems like the kind of person who is always going to be involved in her community wherever that may be, and Martin is ...well you know Martin, private and solitary, and that's putting it mildly." Ruth really did not see how they could maintain a relationship over the long term given the stark differences in their personalities.

Joan ever the optimist was still hoping they would find a way to get together, and observed, "Seems like a case of opposites attracting."

"Which rarely ends well," Ruth was ever the pragmatist and was not going to humour her sister's hopes. She loved Martin and found herself liking Louisa as well, but she was not optimistic.

The lights came on and Martin started to lead Louisa back to her table when he noticed several villagers headed their way. He stopped abruptly and glaring at something over her head, told her with just a hint of panic in his voice, "I need to find my aunts and get them back to the farm before the weather turns." Squeezing her hand, he bid her "Good night," and quickly walked away. Louisa turned to see what it was that seemed to startle him, but saw nothing but a few villagers gathering up their things; she stood there completely flummoxed wondering what on earth had happened. Was this just typical of Martin's normal behaviour, rude and brusque or had she done something to offend him? She watched as he gathered up Joan and Ruth and their empty dishes and hustled them out the door.

"Joan, Ruth, we need to get a move on. The weather is getting nasty and we want to get back safely." He picked up Joan's dishes and handed them to her and picked up the pan in which he had brought the vegetables. Looking around their table, he asked "Where are your coats?"

"In the coat room by the door," Joan replied. "But Marty there are a lot of people here who would like to talk with you."

"No there aren't. Come on." He grabbed their coats, helped to put them on, and had them out the door before most any of the other revellers had noticed they were gone. Once in the car, Joan turned to him to ask, "Want to tell us what that was all about? The weather isn't all that bad. Did you and Louisa have a tiff?"

"What? No. The party was over. It was time to go."

Joan was pretty sure she knew what was going on, "You do know that there are several people who saw what you did for Jack Earley and wanted to thank you."

"No need. I just did what I was trained to do, nothing special."

"Yes, but thanks to you he didn't die."

'What happened?" Ruth was confused. Martin obviously stepped in when someone was hurt, but she had not noticed.

"Jack wasn't feeling too well, had suddenly become weak and couldn't walk. His wife knew Marty was a doctor and asked him to take a look at him. Martin recognised immediately that he was having a stroke, called an ambulance and looked after him until they arrived. Martin and Stefan moved Jack to a side room where Martin could examine him in private so not many villagers were aware that anything was happening. Once the ambulance arrived, he was able to tell them that Jack likely had a clot blocking an artery in his brain and he had made certain that they would consult with the specialists at Truro on the way to hospital to see if they should use some kind of special medicine to break up the clot. You and Louisa were huddled in a corner deep in conversation."

"How could you be certain he was having an ischemic stroke? Were you able to examine him properly?" Ruth was sceptical, and quizzed Martin on his diagnosis.

"As you know, the majority of strokes are ischemic. The man is obese, and according to his wife he had all of the risk factors, diabetes, high cholesterol, never exercises, and he's a smoker. His face was drooping on the same side as his leg weakness. The stroke symptoms came on suddenly and I was able to hear a bruit in his carotid, which was indicative of a potential clot. Plus he was not experiencing any severe pain in his head. It could still be hemorrhagic, but very unlikely. An injection of tPA is most effective when administered within four hours of the onset of the stroke. We still don't have effective portable imaging equipment available, but the ambulance personnel will evaluate him as best they can, and consult with the specialist whilst they are on way to hospital to decide whether to administer it. Given the distance from Portwenn to Truro..."

"Ah yes, I see. "Ruth understood. You're certain that they stock it in the ambulance? Hopefully he will not experience too much damage."

"Yes, it is included in the supplies on board the ambulance for AMIs*. I left my cell number with the ambulance attendants in case the specialists at the hospital have any questions, but really they should be able to handle it without me."

"And you rushed us out of the hall because you didn't want people to make a fuss over you. I understand completely." Ruth had never been one for the limelight either.

"Mmm..." Martin was glad he didn't have to explain.

Ruth might be able to understand Martin's modesty and certainly it was admirable, but Joan knew how villages work, so she spoke up. "Well Marty, don't be surprised over the next few days when you are stopped by villagers wanting to thank you. So be polite and just say that you were glad you could help. That's all you need to say to keep them satisfied."

"Oh God." Martin was dreading that possibility.

"Well, you were glad to help weren't you?"

"Yes, but I was just doing what I've been trained to do, nothing more."

Joan knew that many people didn't know how to accept praise, and that Martin was chief among them. He preferred to ignore the comments or explain that "it was nothing", which would only encourage the grateful villagers to continue their unwelcome praise. "That may be, but they need to thank you. If you just say, 'I was glad to help', they will go away, happy that you accept their thanks."

Ruth chimed in, "Joan's correct. You must acknowledge their wish to thank you."

"Humph." Martin was sceptical.

"Just do it." Joan commanded.

"Yes ... yes, fine." He wasn't going to win this argument; best to just agree and get on with it, and avoid the village if possible.

The next morning, the three of them enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with fresh laid eggs courtesy of Joan's hens. Ruth's train was scheduled to leave Bodmin station shortly after noon and Martin had volunteered to drive her. Martin was well aware that both his aunts were curious about his relationship with Louisa as they had been dropping subtle questions over the course of the morning. He was guarded in his answers and knew he would have to be careful with Ruth during the drive to the station lest she trick him into revealing more than he wanted.

To be truthful, he wasn't sure he could tell them where the two of them stood. He knew that he enjoyed Louisa's company and wanted to spend more time with her. She seemed to enjoy his company; she must because she always accepted his invitations to spend time together; she would find an excuse to avoid him otherwise, wouldn't she? He knew the physical chemistry between them was incredibly strong. He would have to exercise all his self control to ensure that things didn't progress too fast. Even so, he could barely contain the urgency of his desire to see her tonight, to gaze at her beautiful face across the table at dinner, to listen to her talk, and especially to hold her in his arms again and feel her soft lips against his. He really couldn't tell Ruth or Joan any of these things.

Ruth knew he was on his guard and that an indirect approach was unlikely to be successful. So she took a more direct line of questioning. "Martin, are you going to tell me what your intentions are regarding Louisa?"

"No. It's none of your business."

"Maybe. But I am concerned. I don't want you to be hurt."

"Why do you say that?" Being hurt had never occurred to him. Let down, disappointed maybe, but hurt?

"I have observed that you and she seem to be ... oh ... infatuated with each other, shall we say. But where can it go? I had a very nice chat with Louisa and she is a lovely woman, but really, what on earth could you possibly have in common. And with you in London and her in Cornwall, you won't have much opportunity to really get to know each other."

"Yes. I have considered that."

"So you have devised this renovation of Joan's cottage as an excuse to come down to Cornwall on a regular schedule."

"Uh ... umm ... I have not! Tell me you think Joan's house isn't in need of some serious repair." To himself, he wondered if he would have been quite as keen on making the repairs if he hadn't had the additional attraction of seeing Louisa on each trip. He hadn't really thought about it that way.

"Yes, I will admit that her house is in need of repair, but I'm not quite so certain of the urgency, although I am glad that we had hot water and some heat on this visit.

Ruth continued, "Long distance relationships are difficult to maintain. Even Louisa is concerned about it."

"She said that?" How did Ruth ever get Louisa to tell her what she was thinking?

"Yes. She has thought about the two of you and the distance. Honestly, Martin. Decide whether you really want to pursue her and what kind of sacrifices you would be willing to make to win her. If you still think that she may be the woman you have been looking for, find out if she feels the same way. It's difficult, I know, but don't let the hormones carry you away."

'Hmmm...no."

*Author's note: AMI, Acute Myocardial infarction – also know as a heart attack. It should also be mentioned that aside from a basic first aid course in the Girl Scouts, the author has absolutely no formal medical training.