The pieces of the puzzle mate perfectly.

yet love is a sufficient excuse and excuser of greater errors than are mine

Malachy brought me aspirins and vitamins and told me I'd be as right as rain in the morning and I wondered what that meant, right as rain.

In the Renaissance, when disease was thought to be miasmatic, or transmitted by bad air and smells, strongly perfumed gloves were thought to protect the wearer from epidemics.