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Chapter 21
Sam galloped through the fields, enjoying the harsh whip of chilly wind in her face. Her face was feverish from embarrassment and anger, and the cool air seemed to have a calming effect on her. John didn’t have the right to yell at her like that. True, she hadn’t informed him of the decisions she was making, but she was just trying to surprise him. How was she supposed to know her tender and reserved husband would turn into a beast upon having his room moved into a bigger one?
Sam took a deep breath and slowed the horse into a trot. She wiped the tears from her face, not sure whether they were from crying, or from the cold wind watering her eyes. She wasn’t going to give up that easily on her marriage; it was only one tiny setback. Except that she’d wait for her brute of a husband to apologize to her first. The decision made, she continued trotting along, enjoying the cold weather and the dark clouds that befitted her mood.
She felt a few drops of rain hit her bonnet, and she raised her face to the sky. The clouds were dark and ominous, promising a summer storm. Sam urged her horse to a canter, but at that moment, the sky erupted and heavy rain fell from above. Sam saw a small shed in the distance and urged her mount in that direction. There was no way she was getting back home in this rain. At that moment, the sky was split in two and a magnetic, bright lightning hit the earth, followed by an angry clap of thunder. Sam’s mount whinnied and reared in fright with such force that Sam had no hope of holding onto her saddle. She slid off her horse’s back and rolled a couple of times as she hit the ground. Another clap of thunder frightened the horse even more, and it skittered away in the opposite direction of the shed.
Sam kneeled on the ground, watching her traitorous horse gallop away. She straightened her bonnet on top of her head, got up, shook out her skirts, and made a dash for the shed. A few moments later, she was safely enclosed in the dark, dank space. She looked around, still panting from her mad dash. The room was small and relatively clean. A tiny bed stood in the corner, a small table and a chair across from it with an oil lamp and a tinderbox on top. There was an empty hearth in the middle of the room.
Sam suspected the shepherd used this shed to rest in the evenings, so it held the bare necessities, but the empty hearth made her heart sink. She was cold and soaking wet. She’d need to warm up if she were to spend the night here, which she suspected she’d have to do, since the rain showed no sign of slowing down. She shook out her skirts once more and tried to squeeze as much water from her clothing as she could. Sam took off her bonnet and untied her hair. It was tumbling out of her bun anyhow.
Sam took a deep breath. She should have stayed inside the manor. It was all her surly husband’s fault. Now, she’d have to spend the night in this dingy old place, when she’d worked so hard on making him a warm and comfortable bed in his newly decorated, spacious room.
She wiped the errant raindrops from her face and settled on the bed by the table.At least I know how to light the oil lamp.
* * *
Sam was drifting off to sleep on the hard bed lulled by the sound of rain beating an even staccato on the roof of the shed when the door crashed open, bringing in a gust of freezing wind and raindrops with it. The dark figure entered the shed. Sam yelped and huddled farther into the corner.
“Oh, Sam, thank God!” came the achingly familiar voice. The shadow came closer, so she could finally see the outline of her husband’s lovely face in the glow of the lamp. He stalked closer toward her, took off his hat, and threw it onto the table, then he settled in front of her, kneeling on his knees by the bed. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Are you hurt?”
Sam shook her head, studying the troubled features of her husband. His eyes were running frantically over her body as he traced his hands over her limbs, feeling for injuries.
“Ow.” Sam winced as he patted her thigh and his head shot up.
“Does that hurt? I thought you said you weren’t injured!”
“The horse threw me, but I am all right. Please stop shouting at me.”
John wiped his face, looking anguished. “I am sorry, Angel, I didn’t mean to shout at you. I’ve been worried sick. I’ve been out for hours, looking for you and—” He broke off and looked away.
He looked so forlorn and tired, as if he’d aged several years in one night. Sam reached out and stroked his face. John leaned into her touch and closed his eyes.
“I am all right,” Sam crooned as her hand traveled up and weaved through his wet hair, her fingers stroking his scalp.
John stood suddenly, shook off his cape, and hung it on the back of the chair.
“Your hands are cold,” he said angrily and stalked to the hearth. Realizing there was no wood, he cursed and looked around. Next, he took the lamp off the table and placed it near the hearth. Then he grabbed the table by the legs and hurled it onto the stone floor. Sam flinched and covered her face with her arm as the table fell apart with a loud thwack. A few more violent cracks and John had broken the table into a few pieces. He then placed the pieces into the hearth and dripped a few oil drops from the lamp onto the wood. He ignited the tinderbox and a few moments later, a tiny fire licked at the walls of the hearth.
John walked to the bed and ran his hand over her clothing again. “Your gown is wet,” he said, his nostrils flaring in anger.
“John, would you cease growling at me?”
John closed his eyes and seemed to fight for composure. “I am not growling at you,” he finally said. “Sam, can’t you understand, this is all my fault?”
Sam raised her brow at him.
“Take off your clothes. I’ll hang them near the hearth so they have a chance to dry, while you warm up.”
“You expect me to warm up naked?” Sam’s eyes grew wide.
John’s lips twitched in humor, and Sam was glad that he hadn’t lost all ability to smile.
“No, you won’t be naked. Now come here.”
Sam scooted from the bed and came closer to her husband. He started slowly but determinedly unbuttoning her gown, then untying her corset and layering her discarded clothing over the chair. His warm breath wafted over the nape of her neck, making goosebumps rise over her skin.
“Sam,” he said hoarsely, then swallowed. “I hope you know that when I said to get out… I didn’t mean from the estate. I was beyond angry, and I didn’t want to physically hurt you. So I needed you out of my sight, a safe distance away from me.”
