Like Chaff in the Wind by Anna Belfrage

Author:Anna Belfrage [Belfrage, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Historical, Romance, General, Time Travel
ISBN: 9781780884707
Google: B7zjL2xAMDsC
Amazon: 1780884702
Publisher: TROUBADOR PUB Limited
Published: 2012-11-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

“Here,” Alex dropped the signed deed in front of Matthew, lobbed her pouch into a corner and threw herself on the bed. She yawned, thinking that maybe she should take a long afternoon nap. Undress, get out of these itching stays and let her body relax into the coolness of the sheets. Almost six weeks since she last bled…she considered telling him, but decided it was far too soon. She peeked from under her arm as he unrolled the deed and read it, his throat working. Her heart went out to him, but she remained where she was, waiting for him to do or say something. Matthew got to his feet and left the room without a word.

*

Matthew got back late and after looking for Alex in their room, went over to where James was sitting outside the stable door.

“Have you seen Alex?”

James shook his head; apart from a brief glimpse of her at dinner, he hadn’t. “Is she not down by the tree?” he said, pointing in the direction of the sycamore. “I seem to recall she spends her afternoons there, sewing.”

Matthew strained his eyes in the indicated direction. Dusk was falling, and why would she choose to remain out there without any light to work by? His eyes caught on something pale, a flutter of cloth, and he strode towards it.

She had been weeping. When she heard him approach she started and ducked her head to hide her face, but he gripped her by the chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.

“Why?” he asked, tracing the tear tracks. She tried to twist out of his hold, but he wouldn’t let her. “Why?”

“Because I don’t know how to help.” She stood up, turning away from him to stare at the tangle of undergrowth that bordered the little meadow. Alex brushed at her skirts, flicking a light green caterpillar into the grass.

“The first few days it was like it always used to be, but then with every day you’ve grown more and more distant, excluding me. And I don’t understand; why won’t you talk to me? Allow me to try to help you?” Alex retreated further under the tree, her face hidden in shadow. Matthew came after and took her hand, twisting his fingers into hers. He stood in silence braiding and re-braiding his fingers with hers, trying to find words to explain.

“Those first days…well, I was dazed. I thought I might be dreaming, that you’d soon fade away and I’d be dead. And then, as the days passed and I knew myself safe again, I was taken over by rage. It’s still uppermost in me, an all-consuming rage at the people who did this to me, and it leaves me less human, more beast.” He looked away, tightening his hold on her hand. “The rage is like a barrier. I wake in the night and my cock throbs not with love but with anger, and I won’t…I can’t, because I fear what I might do to you. So

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.