“He did.”
“Idiot,” Colin muttered. “I apologize that he said something so crass to you.”
“It is not your fault,” she responded. “I knew he was a rake, but I was fortunate enough to have learned the full extent before I was shackled to him.”
The sound of a gunshot could be heard in the distance. Arabella turned to Colin and saw that his face had paled.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“I will be,” he said, his breathing strained.
She shifted on the bench to face him. “How can I help you?”
“Nothing can be done,” he asserted, looking at the ground. “It will pass in due time.”
Unsure of what to do, she simply put a hand on his sleeve and murmured, “It will be all right.”
Eventually, his breathing returned to normal. He looked up at her sheepishly. “I do apologize about that.”
“What happened?”
“The gun discharging suddenly brought me back to the war, and I panicked.” He grimaced. “I wish you hadn’t witnessed that.”
“Why not?”
“You must think me a broken man.”
She shook her head. “I thought no such thing.”
Colin jumped up from his seat. “How can you not?” he asked. “I am broken.”
“You most assuredly are not,” she responded firmly.
“A sane man would not react in such a fashion to a gun discharging,” he said, looking down upon her.
Rising, Arabella maintained his gaze. “What I see is a man who is struggling with his past,” she said.
His eyes became sad. “I wish these overwhelming feelings of panic would go away.”
“They will.”
“How can you be so sure?” he asked softly.
“Because I will find a way to help you.”
She saw his eyes become moist with tears, something she never thought she would witness. “No one can help me,” he whispered.
The pain in his voice was her undoing, and she reached out and cupped his cheek. “You are the bravest man I know,” she said firmly. “You fought for your country; now let me fight for you.”
Colin nodded solemnly. “All right.”
“Good,” she said, removing her hand. “I’m glad that you can be reasonable about it.”
He let out a slight chuckle. “You can be quite convincing, my dear.”
Glancing over at her horse, Arabella said, “I should be heading back. I promised my grandmother that I would go to church with her this morning.”
“Then we should get back.”
