In His Eyes(72)

The ease left his features and the plains of his face tightened. “Did someone hurt you?”

Her breath caught. “What do you mean?”

He leaned closer in the flickering light of the lamp, his dark eyes catching the light and making bits of gold shimmer in their mahogany depths. “I mean what I said. I’d like to know if a man indulged too much in his drink and it brought you to harm.”

Ella turned away, but his hand rested on her shoulder, not allowing her the chance to flee his words. “I would like for you to trust me, Ella.”

Had his voice deepened? Tears gathered and slipped down her cheeks.

His fingers tightened. “Please, I would like to know.”

Ella drew a ragged breath, and words that would do better to remain locked away sprang free. She hung her head. “Aye. My papa became too fond of the whisky after Mama died. It turned him into a man he was not. A heartless man.”

She pulled from his grip, and he let her go. She went to the bed and sat. “But you are right. That means nothing for you, and your choice to take the drink. I ask only that you don’t do so in here.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, the light behind him casting a glow around the edges of his hair but shrouding his face in darkness. “It was the only bottle I had.”

Her brow furrowed.

“I poured out what remained of my father’s good brandy. I rinsed it with water out in the cistern, and I poured the rest of Lee’s medicine in here.”

“I…oh.” Her shoulders slumped.

He took a step closer and then hesitated. “I am sorry for your father.”

She looked up at him, wishing she could better see his face.

“But I give my word I would never harm you.”

Such a word wasn’t wise. People often didn’t mean to hurt others, but they always did.

He took another step. “Do you believe me?”

“Aye, I do.” The declaration sprang forth against her better judgment, but she realized that despite all experience telling her she only left herself open to pain, it was true.

He chuckled. “Do you know your voice takes on a different sound when you are tired or angry?”

She pressed her lips together. Would he now pry into her heritage as well? Why did this man seek to peel back layers of her, searching for things she preferred stay safely tucked away?

“I find it enchanting, that lilt in your words.”

Ella blinked. He didn’t mean to degrade her for it? “You do?”

He stepped closer, and she had to crane her neck to look up at him. He made a sound deep in his throat that churned something inside her.

“I don’t think you know what you do to me, woman.”

In another step he towered over her. She tilted her face up to him. Would he try to kiss her?

Her heart hammered. She should get up. Move. But she remained planted where she was, her gaze darting from the intensity in his eyes to the fullness of his mouth, and she realized that if he did try to kiss her, she would allow it. Welcome it, even.

He groaned and cupped her cheek. “Indeed, I don’t think you have a clue.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead, and fire erupted in her chest.

He stepped away, and before she could gather her wits, he stood in the doorway to his room. “If you have any need of help, I will come at your call.” He drew a deep breath. “Good night, my little dragon.”

Then he closed the door and left her awash in churning emotions and a longing she feared she may never again be free of.





The light washed over her, drifting upon a languid breeze into every hidden place within her. Ella kept her eyes closed and breathed in the clean air. Fresh, without the taint of either ash or sickness. Pure, as when she’d been….

Her eyes popped open. Color exploded in her vision, as vibrant and flawless as the last time she’d visited this perfect dream world. Ella breathed deep and ran her hands down the brilliant white gown that once again clothed her. It was so beautiful here, but not complete. Not without….

She turned her head, and there he was again. He smiled at her, and nothing else seemed to matter. She returned his smile. “I came back.”

He gestured for her to rest against the velvety tree. “We have more to discuss. Are you ready for it?”

She hesitated, knowing that whatever he wanted to talk about would likely open up places in her better left alone, places she had covered over with careful attention and locked safely away. What good could it possibly do to open those doors again? She’d worked so hard to forget the shadows and the pain. She’d made of herself a great fortress, a warden with the key.

The key to her own prison….

“Do you know how a physician cares for a wound?” he asked, forcing her to abandon her contemplation and focus her attention.

Ella wrinkled her nose. “I suppose.”

He rubbed at something in the bend of his wrist, and Ella leaned closer to look at it. A scar? “In order for him to care for the wound properly,” he said, smiling at her as she studied his hand, “he must first open it up, then clean out the infection before he can close it once more.”

Ella looked away and drew her knees to her chest. She did not want her wounds open and exposed. It was simply too painful.

“Through the pain comes healing.”