Bearclaw Valley one who is already beyond life himself

the physician came to settle near merrick. he allowed himself a gluttonous look at the pretty doctor, but one that ultimately fizzled beneath the dour clouds gathered over his heart. "there's just ... a lot." he sighed, thinking of how when he began all this, he had not truly envisioned himself as a leader.
merrick's countenance grew thoughtful; by turns he straightened, looking closely at evien. "does she trust you?"
"she must," he answered himself in the next second, not truly wanting to hear any voice but his own at present, "or else she wouldn't have let you name her." 
leila, was it? soft and evocative of a parasol and a picnic. a bit of lace for the feral shoulders of his beloved.
"do you think she trusts you?"