A sudden burst of laughter downstairs broke the magic of the moment. Gemma pulled back. She smiled the tiniest bit and, without a word, rose from the pallet and slipped from the room. There was no hurriedness in her step, no indication she had been affected by their kiss at all.
But he remained behind, trying to breathe, trying to make sense of a world that had, with that one tender, passionate moment, changed in an instant.
theBachelor
and theBride
by Mr. King
Installment V
in which the Promise of a New Day turns to Fear!
Dawn broke, sending rays of soft morning light into the protective hollow of the tree where Duncan and Sorcha had sought refuge. The will-o’-the-wisp had not returned. Its call no longer seemed to pull at Sorcha, but Duncan could tell she was shaken by the experience. He was a little shaken himself.
Seeing her run, seeing her leave without so much as glancing back at him, had struck something more than fear into him. His heart had actually cracked, broken a little. Even before realizing what she was chasing, he’d been weighed down by the realization that she was leaving him behind. How had he come to care so deeply for someone he’d only just met? How was it his heart had grown so partial to her so quickly?
Waking up to the promise of the new day, the clear sky of a bright spring morning, with Sorcha sleeping soundly in his arms and Granny’s miracle bag on the ground beside them, he felt strangely at peace. Just as Sorcha had said the day before, he was certain they would yet encounter more creatures before their journey ended. He didn’t know what could possibly remain, what dangers awaited, but he wasn’t afraid. And he wasn’t alone.
“No one emerges whole from a harrowing journey when that journey is undertaken entirely alone.” Was this what theBean-Nighemeant? Was her answer not merely an avoidance of his question but also a useful piece of advice?
A moment passed, and Sorcha woke as well. Sleep remained heavy on her eyelids. Her movements were slow with lingering slumber.
“How are you feeling today?” he asked.
She smiled up at him. “Ever the doctor, aren’t you?”
He laughed a little at that. “I suppose. Iamasking as more than a man of medicine, though.”
Color touched her cheeks. She blushed so beautifully, just as she had when he’d offered her the flower in the meadow yesterday. It was a joy to see her do so again.
“I am well,” she said. “A little embarrassed to have been so quickly taken in by the will-o’-the-wisp. I do know better.”
He took her hand in his. “The pull of that creature goes beyond logic and knowledge. You’ve nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“I suppose I hadn’t realized how much of a wanderer’s heart I still have.”
He pressed a light kiss to her hand. “Which is also nothing to be embarrassed about.”
She sighed, the sound one of relief. “Thank you.”
“We likely have a long day of walking ahead of us,” he said. “I’m hopeful you still have some food in your bag.”
She took it up and opened it. “I do.”
“That is a relief,” he said, turning his tone to one of absolute teasing. “I feared for a moment we were going to have to eat the vole.”
She laughed, the sound of it settling like music on hisears. Had there ever been another person who brought him such easy and soul-warming delight?
He opened up his bag, intending to make a show of reaching inside for the vole. But he stopped, staring in confusion.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“The soft slippers are gone.”
“Did you leave them somewhere?” she asked.
He shook his head.