Page 45 of The Piper's Pursuit

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Steffan wanted to be able to say that he would stay up all night and keep watch while she slept, but he wasn’t sure how long he would be able to keep his eyes open, since they were in no immediate danger. And just as he’d expected, he soon heard Katerina’s heavy, even breathing indicating she was asleep. The guards were still talking as a new group came in and the others left. These new guards looked very sober and attentive. Soon Steffan’s eyes were closing and he was drifting.

***

After two days in the mine, Katerina had convinced a guard to give Steffan another shirt, one that wasn’t slashed across the chest, exposing him to the cool underground air. Thankfully the cut had scabbed over and didn’t look as hideous as it had previously. When she handed him the new shirt, he gave her a half smile and thanked her.

He drew his old torn shirt over his head with one quick motion. Kat spun around to give him some privacy, but not before she caught a glimpse of taut stomach muscles and bulging arms. When she turned back around, he was fully clothed again.

The guards were allowing them their afternoon rest time, so Kat and Steffan both sat down with their backs against the wall. Kat looked at her palm in the dim torchlight. It was covered in mine dust and blisters. She rubbed the worst blister very carefully, saying a prayer it wouldn’t break open and fester.

She had also managed to get close enough to some of the younger children to talk to them. That morning a little girl had hurt her finger with the chisel. When she started crying, Katerina walked over to her and comforted her. The guard yelled at her, but she ignored him, until he threatened to beat the little girl. Then she moved away, smiling and reassuring the little girl that all would be well. The child even smiled back at her. That smile had lifted her own spirits considerably.

Steffan’s shoulder was propped against the wall as he turned toward her. He held out his hand as if he wanted to see her palm. Without thinking she laid her hand in his. He held it close to his face and seemed to study it, then brought it to his lips and kissed the back of her knuckles.

She sucked in a breath and snatched her hand away from him.

Part of her wished she had not pulled her hand away, wished she had let him hold her hand as long as he wanted, wished he would kiss her hand again, though it was dirty, and wished she had smiled at him and gazed into his eyes.

But that was foolish. He needed to know he couldn’t just kiss her hand. She was right to snatch her hand away from him. Wasn’t she?

Steffan whispered, “Forgive me. That was impulsive.”

Why would he even think about kissing her hand? They had been living side by side for days now. They had touched each other inadvertently a few times. And she had slept with her head on his shoulder that first night, although not purposely. But he had never tried to touch her or kiss her.

“I suppose you have kissed many women’s hands,” she said. It probably meant nothing to him. She imagined that was what the sons of dukes did. When they greeted a woman, they kissed her hand.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Forget about it. It was nothing.” She folded her arms across her chest.

He inclined his head a bit closer to her. “I would never do anything to hurt you. What did Hennek do to you?”

His face was so earnest, she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from him.

“We’ve survived wolf attacks, worked together, taken care of each other. We are friends, are we not?”

“I suppose we are.”

“Then tell me.”

Something inside her wanted to tell him. What could it hurt? He had never taken advantage of her the way others had tried to. Kissing her hand had been the first untoward thing he had done. The part of her that wished she had let him hold her hand suddenly told her distrustful part to be quiet and let her talk.

“If I tell you, then you have to tell me something you’ve never told anyone else.”

“That is fair.”

“Very well then.” She had kept this secret for so long. She used to feel ashamed, but she knew none of it was her fault.

Steffan made her feel protected and safe. He accepted her as she was. He didn’t treat her as if she shouldn’t be bold and strong, as if she shouldn’t try to rescue children or kill man-eating beasts. And the fact that no one knew where they were, and they might never get out of this hole in the ground, created an intimacy between them that she’d never known before. Something told her that Steffan would not blame her for what had occurred, as she had always feared would happen if she told someone.

“I was just a little girl when my mother married Hennek.” She spoke in a low whisper so no one could hear but Steffan. “She was a beautiful woman with no money. My father was a merchant, but not a very successful one. When he died, he owed a lot of money, most of it to Hennek. Hennek used that debt to persuade my mother to marry him.

“I did not like Hennek from the beginning. He was always forcing himself on my mother, kissing her and touching her when she obviously did not want him to. I would kick him, and sometimes he would hit me, but only when Mother wasn’t looking. When we were around others, he would speak of how much he loved my mother and me, making himself look like some great savior of poor widows and orphans for marrying my mother.

“The first time I saw him hit my mother, I screamed, ‘I’m going to tell everyone what you did!’ He hit me across the mouth and knocked me to the floor. He said if I ever told anyone anything about him, he would kill my mother. He told me he would strangle her with his bare hands, and it would be all my fault. I was about ten years old at the time.”

“I’m so sorry,” Steffan said. The compassion in his eyes made her lean even closer to Steffan. Her face was only a hand’s length from his.