Fairy Tale Romance Collection by Melanie Dickerson

Author:Melanie Dickerson [Dickerson, Melanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2014-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter

14

You’re worth protecting. Gabe’s words sank into Sophie’s heart. That he would take an arrow for her and then say that he would do it again, that she was worth it … Then he had wiped the tears from her eyes.

She tried to stop crying and calm herself, to think of how she should behave. What would Petra say?

Petra was always telling Sophie how a lady should conduct herself. Apparently Petra had lived in the homes of wealthy nobility — although she never spoke of her life before she came to Hohendorf. Petra would probably tell Sophie to pretend she wasn’t crying, pretend she didn’t want to put her arms around him. Pretend she felt what she was supposed to feel, and then the proper feeling would follow.

Petra would certainly tell her that she should pretend her heart didn’t feel as if it were breaking. How could she possibly pretend she only felt what a sister would feel for her wounded brother? “I’m sorry,” she said yet again.

“Please stop saying that. You didn’t do anything to apologize for.”

She mustn’t have feelings for Gabe. He cared about her as a brother would a sister, and she would think of him as a brother and no more.

“I shall tell your family of your bravery. They will be so proud of you.” There. Her voice sounded perfectly calm.

“And they will love you, Sophie. You’ll never feel unloved again.”

Did he know that to have a real family that loved her was her greatest longing? His words made the tears come back, but she didn’t want to cry again. So she closed her eyes and said, “Good night, Gabe.”

“Good night, Sophie.”

Sophie woke up just as the sky was lightening with the coming dawn. She looked at Gabe, who appeared to be sleeping, although she knew he hadn’t slept well. She had woken several times during the night and had seen that he was awake. Once she’d heard him mumbling in his sleep. His shoulder must have been paining him severely. And now his cheeks looked flushed.

She reached over and laid her hand against his forehead. His skin was unnaturally hot.

Fever.

She got up and retrieved his cup and what was left of his bandages. She ran to the river, dipped both the cup and the cloth in the cold water, then ran back. She sank down beside him.

He blinked up at her.

“Drink this. Then I’m going to bathe your face,” she explained, “to try to bring down your fever.” She had cared for many adults and children with fevers. But she’d never felt quite so desperate before.

He didn’t say anything, only used his right arm to push himself into a sitting position. Then he took the cup from her and drank. Walther was watching them from where he stood saddling the horses.

Sophie began to wipe Gabe’s forehead and cheeks with the cloth. He closed his eyes, and she could tell he was not well. O God, please don’t let him die. Her stomach clenched in fear.

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