A Soft Breath of Wind: (Stand-Alone Sequel to A Stray Drop of Blood) by Roseanna M. White

Author:Roseanna M. White [White, Roseanna M.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
Publisher: WhiteFire Publishing
Published: 2014-11-14T16:00:00+00:00

Benjamin had scarcely slept all the night long. No, he had lain there in the bed once more familiar than any other and wondered at how soft it was. Too soft. His back had grown accustomed to the hard pallets of ships and inns and spare rooms.

One would have thought, though, that the noises would not have made his ears perk up. Nowhere he had been the last four years had been particularly quiet. So why did he start at each passing footfall, at each muted laugh or whisper?

By the time dawn filtered into the sky, he was weary of remaining still to keep from disturbing Dara. He heard Samuel’s door open and click shut again, heard his brother’s quiet steps pad down the corridor. Another click, more nearly silent steps followed from either Sarah’s or Cleopas’s room.

He eased his arm from under Dara.

She stirred, blinked once, and cuddled into the pillow. “Where are you going?”

Smiling, he brushed a curl from her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “For a walk. You rest, beloved. I will return to break the fast with you.”

A hum was her only answer.

Benjamin slipped from bed and into his clothes. He fastened his sandals and then let himself out of the room.

The halls were empty. Where would the others have gone so early? Samuel may well intend to run the perimeter of the estate as he often did, to stretch out legs too long confined to a ship. Perhaps, if he could catch him, Benjamin would join him.

He headed for the nearest exit and breathed in the fresh scent of home as the morning mist billowed over him. The air had the faintest chill yet to it, though even now the sun burned its way upward, promising heat in the day.

His gaze snagged on Samuel. Walking, not running. With Sarah by his side. Aimed for the wall.

Aimed for the ilex.

Benjamin drew in a sharp breath when he spotted other familiar figures moving the same direction from various points in the villa and outbuildings. Jacob. Andrew. Mark. And was that Menelaus and John Mark? What were they all about?

He took one step toward them but no more. Zipporah must have told them to gather at dawn. Mark had not mentioned it last night, but then, Mark had barely spoken to him at all. And would he even share such a thing, if their intent was to further discuss Benjamin’s wife?

His hands clenched. Let them say whatever they would. But he would have his own discussion with Zipporah before he went inside.

Pivoting on his heel, he headed for the opposite side of the grounds.

The birdsong should have sounded like music to his ears. The dappled light of a new sunrise should have inspired poetry in his spirit. The beauty of home, of all that was his, of the Visibullis legacy should have kindled appreciation within him.

But it all reeked of ashes and smoke. He had just wanted to come home. To tease Jason about his upcoming wedding, to pretend to groan when Cleopas insisted on sharing his latest song.

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