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.“I do not know what I would have done without you when I was ailing.”Making him lean forward, she gently rinsed the soap from his head, thinking of those days when they’d first known each other.“I could not have in good conscience let you suffer.You were in such a state at the time.I did what I felt was needed…despite the occasional abuse I endured for my efforts.”She had hoped to be lighthearted in the conversation.But after a long moment of silence, he turned his eyes to her…and the sadness there was so deep, it was nearly her undoing.“You cannot know how I regret my actions.Words are incapable of expressing how it makes me feel to recall them.”He turned his head away again, this time lowering it in shame.“How can you love such a man as I? I am two and thirty years of age, and all of my life has been a useless waste.All of the world seems to see what you do not.”She swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to sound strong for him.“And what, pray tell, do you think they see?”He muttered darkly.“A degenerated wretch of a man, full of ugliness both outside and in.My sins too numerous to count.Their hatred and scorn is a punishment I deserve.”To see him this way, so full of pain and bitterness…it cut her heart to the quick.Leaning in, she put her arms around him, resting her cheek against his temple.She spoke soothingly to him.“It is fortunate, then, that I do not see the world through the eyes of others, but through my own.”He said nothing to this, but it did not matter to her.Caring for him was her main concern, and making him rise from the tub, she saw that he was patted down with a towel and that his hair was as dry as she could get it.It would not do for him to sleep with a damp head and catch the ague.With his arm around her for support she helped him to bed, not bothering to try and get him in a nightdress.He would sleep more comfortably with the coolness of the sheets on his bare skin.When she let go of him, being sure that his injured arm was not the one he was resting on, he was already deep in slumber.She went around to the other side of the bed, crawling under the sheets with him.Snuggling against his warm back, she soon fell asleep to the rhythmic sound of his breathing.*****In his sleep, Guy tossed and turned, his heart thudding with fear as a dream tormented him…On the horizon a soldier appeared, mounted on a fine white stallion.At first Guy did not pay him much attention, for he sat under a tree with Cassia, her head resting lovingly on his shoulder as he held her in his arms.But the soldier soon drew closer.And when Cassia turned to look, seeing the mysterious man, her eyes grew wide with recognition.Guy said her name, hoping to draw her back to his arms.But her look of love was no longer for him.Suddenly she ran to the side of the mysterious soldier, who reached out his hand to her…and without looking back, she put her hand in his, letting him pull her onto his horse.“My Lord Husband,” she said through tears.“You have come home to me at last.”Guy gave a strangled cry, reaching out in an attempt to take her back.But the soldier gave his horse the heel, riding away with Cassia in tow.Guy called for her again and again, but the figures grew smaller and smaller on the horizon, until at last they were gone from view…and Guy fell to his knees and wept.He woke with a gasp, his eyes damp.He looked around in desperate confusion, unsure if he was in reality or some mad continuation of his nightmare.Quite soon his senses returned to a calmer state.But still shaken, he lay his head back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling…deep in troubled thought.He couldn’t fathom the idea of losing Cassia, to anyone or any circumstance.This situation he’d allowed them both to be entangled in…living here, she being his mistress…was more precarious than he’d realized.The dream he’d had served as a reminder of how easily lost his happiness could be.They couldn’t go on like this, wondering if some misfortune would befall them.Sooner or later, someone was bound to catch on.Briwere was suspicious enough already, and Guy would not have found it surprising to learn that the Sheriff was having him followed.Neither would it have been far-fetched to imagine that Briwere had planted a spy at Chenivier.It was that concern that had made him steal Cassia away during the night.The “evidence” he had given to the Sheriff…a tattered dress splattered with animal blood…had produced a proper reaction of disgust, and there had been nothing further said about the matter.As to whether or not Briwere had truly been convinced, Guy was not absolutely certain, as the celebration of Prince John’s birthday had been foremost in the Sheriff’s mind.He was engrossed in impressing his betters, so for several more days at least, he wouldn’t be giving much attention to his Master-at-Arms.But what would happen when Briwere turned his thoughts back in their original direction?The risk was too great.And if something were to happen to Cassia…if he were to lose her…there would be nothing left for him.She was fast becoming the sole focus of his life, and there was but one way to be certain of his future with her…only one way to be sure that she would always be his, and his alone.Judging by the sunlight and position of shadows, it was late afternoon.He had not slept for so long in quite some time, and as he turned to sit up, his aching body gave him a good reminder of why it would be more comfortable to stay in bed.In the joust of yesterday, having been thrown from his horse, the impact of hitting the ground had been quite harsh [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]