Mystery of the Inn by the Shore by Florence Warden

As soon as Nell and her uncle returned to the Blue Lion, they were met by the nurse who was attending Clifford. She said her patient was so anxious to see Miss Claris that she had been obliged reluctantly to give him permission to do so, fearing that he would worry himself into a fever if she refused.

But, much to the nurse's surprise, Nell was even more reluctant to see him than she herself had been to give her permission to do so. It needed half a dozen earnest messages to persuade her to go to the sick man's room.