Page 35 of The Lord's Compass
“Fine. Thank you for coming to ensure I was well,” she said, unable to prevent the laughter in her voice. “I will admit that I am worried someone is in trouble. I think we should go check to make sure that nothing is amiss.”
“What?” he exclaimed, sitting upright. “You want us to go out there?”
It was fairly dark in the room, but she was sure he was pointing at the door.
“That would be the only way ‘out there’,’” she said.
He was already shaking his head. “We are not leaving this room. It is far too dangerous.”
Faith, however, was buoyed by his presence and addressing his fear made her more aware of what was the truth and was more likely the reality.
“I fail to see what could be dangerous, but I respect your fear. You stay here. I will go check,” she said, swinging her legs off of the bed.
“Faith, you cannot do that. You could get hurt – or worse.”
But she was already up out of bed, opening the door and padding down the hallway. “Good evening?” she called. “Is anyone here?”
Hearing no response, she began to back up to try the other direction and let out a shriek when she was met with resistance behind her.
“It’s just me,” Eric said in a loud whisper. “Hush.”
He’d had the foresight to bring a candle, which he lifted to shine around them.
“Nothing looks out of the ordinary,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Back to bed, I suppose.”
But Faith ignored him, already walking down the stairs. “Just a quick check,” she said, reaching the landing as his arm tucked around her waist and he held her against him.
“Are you using me as a shield?” she asked incredulously.
“No!” he exclaimed. “I am making sure you are well protected.”
“Then I should be behind you, should I not?”
“No,” he said, drawing out the word as though she wasn’t smart enough to understand. “I am making sure that you are not attacked from behind.”
“You are impossible,” she muttered as they moved from room to room on the ground floor. “All is well.”
“The howling has stopped,” he noted.
“Yes, it stopped once we left the room,” she said. “Well, I’m not sure what else is to be done right now. We will have to askDonRaphael tomorrow if this is a regular occurrence.”
“Wonderful. Can we go back to bed now?”
“Will you be able to sleep?” she asked jokingly, but when they entered her room, he turned to face her, no smile on his face.
“Not without you,” he said, and she bit her lip.
“You shouldn’t say those things to me,” she muttered.
“Why not?” he asked. “It is the truth. It wouldn’t be the first time we have shared a bed. I know it’s not exactly proper, but I figure, we’re not in England. What happens between us in Spain… can stay in Spain.”
He was right except, she couldn’t say what it was, but something had changed. Shifted. If they got into that bed together, it wouldn’t be because they had to – it would be because they wanted to.
She knew she couldn’t have a future with him, but that thought started to nag at her once more – what if they could have some fun, some experiences together that she might never have the opportunity to have again?
Could she separate her body from her feelings?
“Very well,” she finally said. “You can sleep in here if you’d like. But just sleep.”
