AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-Five
James’s entire body hurt, including his lungs, and his bed was bloody uncomfortable! He couldn’t account for the bright light beyond his eyelids or the noise.
Before he opened his eyes, he heard the suffering and coughing nearby, the exertion some place further beyond.
He recognized the smell.
He remembered.
The fire.
Just as he was about to peel back his eyelids and expose his burning eyes to air again, he recalled the vision of Clara running toward him like an angel to save him.
Had it been a dream?
He opened his eyes, only to close them again straight away. He blinked rapidly and rubbed them, trying to eject the grainy debris that accumulated.
As soon as he kept his eyes open for more than a second, they narrowed again against the brightness of the gas lamps hanging.
His body clenched. Seeing any form of flame near the tent evoked a visceral fear of another fire.
Shaking his head, he sat up and evaluated his surroundings.He didn’t make it further than the person lying on a blanket next to him.
Clara.
James smiled, despite the pain in his cracked lips. She was a foot away, asleep on her own blanket. Even so, her body curled toward him. Her cap was off; her hair escaped from its plait. Her skin was smudged in a most unladylike fashion.
Someone on the opposite side of him cleared his throat. James looked over.
“Isaac!” His throat felt rough and painful. He ignored that, grateful to see Chavers. “How fare you?”
“Same as you. Better now than before. We needed that bit of rest.”
“How long was I asleep?”
“About six hours. By the looks of it, you need another six.”
“Aye.” James ran his hand over his face.
“She just laid down not an hour ago.” He indicated Clara with a motion of his shoulder.
James swallowed, unsure of what to say. Chavers handed him a tin cup of watery ale, and he drank gratefully.
“It’s she, is it not?”
James couldn’t prevaricate nor even clarify what the precise question might be. “Yes. It is she,” he said simply.
For that was the answer to all the questions running through James’s mind.
Is she the woman who has preoccupied you for these months, luring your attentions away from your business?Aye.
Is she the one you lust after day and night?Yes.
Is this your woman?Yes, mine.
Did this woman save you last night, as she’s saved you every day from an aimless life since meeting?Yes.
Is this woman your beloved?Yes.
