“You say you don’t want to be in the papers, Mrs. Reeves, but your actions say otherwise. Ared dress.” He groaned. “Fine. I surrender, you scandalous temptress.” He lifted her nightgown over her head and settled between her legs. “But I’m going to need some concessions.”
***
Waking that night to the sound of screaming, Cassandra jolted up, her heart thumping in her chest. Reaching through the darkness, she found her husband tossing fitfully in the bed and rubbed his chest with a feather-light touch.
“Seth, wake up,” she whispered.
Gasping awake, Seth jerked upward. Cold sweat covered his brow, his chest, and the bedclothes beneath them. Choking, he shook with each gulping inhale.
“Breathe, my love.” Cassandra held her hand over his hammering pulse. “You’re here now. You’re with me. Do you feel my hand?”
“Yes.” He took a shuddering breath. “Yes. I feel you, little bird.”
The bed creaked as Seth moved to sit against the headboard. He opened his arms and knees, and she settled into the cradle of his body, resting her head against his chest.
“You were in the fire.” He anchored himself by running his fingers through her hair. “It wasn’t Ensign Thomas, it was you.”
“I’mhere. I wasn’t in the fire.”
“I know that.” He closed his eyes. “But it felt soreal.”
“Would you like me to light the room?”
He shook his head. “No. Don’t go anywhere. Stay in my arms.”
Cassandra held him until he stopped shaking. The clock on the mantel ticked, the house creaked, and Seth’s heart thumped against her ear.
“Seth… about the fire…”
He stiffened.
“Tell me what happened.”
He remained silent for so long that Cassandra thought he wouldn’t speak. But then he took a deep, controlled breath and spoke as if he were debriefing her on a mission.
“We were coming off of a campaign. Bishop had marched us for four straight days to reach Messina. He said he had somebusinessto conduct.” Seth’s jaw firmed. “We had been there before. We weren’t indangerthere. My men were exhausted, so I took over the watch.” His voice wavered. “I thought that I didn’t need to sleep, not as much as my men did. I wasCaptain Reeves. Hand-chosen by Earl Bolderwood. I was the youngest soldier to reach the rank of Captain in a century. It made me arrogant. I didn’t know that I was tired until I woke up in hell.” He took a sharp breath and trembled. “I can feel the heat as if I’m there.”
Tears formed in her eyes at the helplessness in his voice, but she kept strong and waited for him to continue.
“In times like that, you don’t think, you do what you have to. I hadn’t kept count of how many men I rescued, I kept going room to room until I couldn’t find anyone else.When I realized that Ensign Thomas was still missing, I went to find him, but then theroof—” His voice cracked. “He was trapped under a beam, already dying and he wasscared, Cassandra. With his last breath he begged me to save him, and Icouldn’t. I had inhaled too much smoke, I was burned andweak.”
“Seth, you were in animpossiblesituation, you did everything you could.”
“No, I didn’t. I could have stayedawake,” he bit out. “And it wouldn’t have happened. I could have woken my men, helped everyone get out, and fought the fire with time to spare.”
“How did the fire start?”
“The night watchman saw a man departing from Bishop’s bedroom window half an hour before the house went up in flames. Must’ve tipped over a candle as he snuck out. He denies it, of course, but as soon as I saw the rubble I knew. I was asapper, Cassandra. I trained in explosives, Iknowfire. I know how to create it, how to extinguish it, how to protect against it. The roof caved over Bishop’s room first. The fire originated there, but he was the last man on the scene.”
“That’s why he was able to save you,” she mused.
“He loves to tell that story. Colonel Bishop, the savior of the savior. Never mentions that he got there after leaving a brothel.” He scoffed. “He didn’t go into the house looking for me. He pulled me out because he thought I was his cousin, and by the time he realized his mistake it was too late.”
“It was Colonel Bishop’s fault.” A spark of rage lit Cassandra’s heart. “He was negligent.”
“His negligence may have caused the fire, but his cousin’s death is my fault.”
“He had command.”
