Page 25 (1/2)

The e "Afraid"

The word struck at his core, and he was re before hi him to save her But he’d been a boy then, not a man And while she had died, Sophie wouldn’t "You won’t--"

She shook her head, interrupting the insistent assurance "You don’t know that"

"I--"

Her gaze found his again, full of certainty "No You don’t I’ve seen fevers,to the bandage on her shoulder, to the blood dried on her clothes, on her skin--that sly soft skin It shouldn’t be bloodstained She was young and wealthy, the daughter of an earl She should be clean and unscathed She should be laughing with her sisters somewhere far from here

Far frouilt that flared, dipping a long length of linen in the basin of water, now pink with her blood Wringing it out, he began to tend to her stained skin

At the first touch of the cloth, she started, and he iined she would have pulled away at the sensation if she’d had the strength Or the rooood arer than he would have i the events of the last several hours "What are you doing?"

"You’re covered in blood," he pointed out "I’, you can’t"

They stared at each other for a long moment, and he wondered if she would let him help her He bit back the words that he was somehow desperate to speak Let me take care of you

She wouldn’t like them Hell He didn’t like them

But damned if he didn’t want to say the her to let hio And he began to wash her in careful strokes, clearing her ar he could will it back into her Wishing he could reverse tio," she said quietly

His gaze snapped to hers "What did you say?"

"You should leave me here You have a life to lead You were on a journey before I htthat I can ued "I a--how many times had he said them to himself? Howyou alone"

"The doctor seems kind," she said "I’ corpse "You are not staying with the doctor"

She took a deep breath, and he heard the exhaustion in it "I don’t have your money"

"What does thatI left it in the coach It’s gone now"

He didn’t care about the money

"That’s why you followed me, isn’t it? For the money"

"No," he corrected her "I followed you on principle You can’t siht need them"

"Why did you have sofeh at that, one that ended in a gasp when the movement forced her shoulder tothat he could stop what had to be a beast of a pain "Sophie--"

She turned away fro you"