He kept his eyes half-closed, just like Levi had done that first day after his fall. The brightness of the torch might contribute to his squint, but his head probably felt like it was splitting from the pain.
“How are you, my love?” Brielle’s voice held a tenderness that made Audrey’s chest ache. Tears stung the backs of hereyes, but she blinked them away as she waited for Evan’s response.
His mouth opened first, as though he had to work for the words, or the ability to speak them. “What ... happened?”
Brielle ran her fingers over a patch of unmarred skin on his face. “You and Hugo were building our home. Earth tremors began, and they must have started a rockslide. It took a while before we could clear enough stone to get to you. Where are you hurt?”
Brielle’s fingers continued to stroke his face, working into the edges of his hair, though she stayed far away from the bloody place. She’d never possessed a gentle bedside manner—had always kept her distance from illness, if she could manage it. But now, she seemed to know exactly how to soothe her man.
Evan’s brow gathered. “Head hurts.”
It was time Audrey speak up so she could get a better idea of the extent of his injuries. “Does anything feel broken? Can you move your arms?”
She glanced down to his fingers as he lifted each one slowly, then shifted each arm enough to show its wholeness. “How about your legs? Can you raise them?”
A groan slipped out as one leg barely lifted upward.
She darted a glance to his face, which showed strain. He was still trying, so she refocused on his legs. He shifted both of them from side to side but seemed to struggle to lift even his feet. Maybe something was broken there after all.
She refocused on his face. His eyes had closed, but his mouth opened to speak. “I don’t think they’re broken. The effort just hurts ... my head.”
That made sense. A blow powerful enough to make himlose consciousness for so long could affect movement in his body—hopefully only for a short time, but that remained to be seen.
She glanced up at the opening where the men still worked. They’d made significant progress, probably enough for a man to squeeze through.
Shifting her attention back to Brielle, she gathered her satchel. “I don’t think anything is broken, but I’d like to move him out on a stretcher. His head and neck need time to rest, so he shouldn’t sit up yet. I’m going to go ready things for him. I’ll be back with the men when he can be moved.”
Brielle’s expression was a mixture of fear and hope and a dozen other emotions. She grabbed Audrey’s arm, her gaze digging into her. “He’s going to be okay?” Though the words might have been a statement, the question in them hung too heavily.
Audrey placed her hand over Brielle’s. “It looks promising.”
The relief on her friend’s face brought a smile to Audrey for the first time since the earthquake. She reached out and pulled Brielle into a hug, and her friend clung to her for a long moment.
Together, they breathed in the possibility that everything might truly be all right. Maybe even better than all right.
Audrey did her best to enjoy this moment with some of the people who meant the most to her, not let her mind drift to the assembly room where the vote would soon take place.
“Philip is getting some men together to clear all the rockfrom our home.” Brielle sat beside Evan’s bed, her eyes rarely leaving her intended’s face.
After being extracted from the rockslide and brought to Audrey’s apartment for her to tend, Evan had spent the rest of the day of the accident in bed. Much of the time, he’d been sleeping from the effects of the herbs Audrey gave him. Through God’s mercy, the wound on his head was the only real injury from the awful ordeal. He had no memory of anything that day before awakening to Brielle and Audrey leaning over him, but perhaps it was better he didn’t remember the worst of it.
Poor Hugo had, indeed, lost a finger, along with a great deal of blood. His mother cared for him now, feeding him the foods Audrey prescribed and keeping him close to home. She should go check on him again soon, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave this room until news came of the vote.
The knot clenched tighter in her belly as her mind conjured images of familiar faces making their way through the voting line. The Mignot family, whose youngest son she’d nursed through influenza last month, spending long nights by his side when the fever rose highest. Did they hate her now, believing she turned against the people she’d always loved?
What of Marie Chapuis, who came to her each month for herbs to help with her women’s pains? She always brought the twins, Eva and Anyette. Those two pink-cheeked cherubs could bring a smile to even the grumpiest face. Would Marie ever trust her with the babes again?
Levi’s hand slipped over her own, as though he could read her thoughts. She met his gaze as she turned her hand to clasp his. The look he sent said he understood her worries.His words from the other night rose inside her.“The Lord has a plan in this. He’ll carry us through.”
She sent a prayer upward.Lord, whatever happens, let me not be separated from this man.If Levi was sent away, did she have the strength to go with him? If that was God’s will,Hewould give her the strength. For whatever she had to face, He would give her the strength.
A soft tap sounded on the rear door, then it pushed open and Charlotte appeared. Not at all the person Audrey expected. She stood and moved to greet Brielle’s younger sister, searching her face for sign of whether she brought news.
Charlotte met her gaze. “My father wishes you to come to the assembly room. There’s someone there who’s asked to speak with you.”
Audrey’s insides coiled tight. “With me? Has the vote finished?” She hadn’t expected the council to be ready to speak their verdict so soon.
Charlotte shook her head. “Not yet. Come.”
