Come to think of it, she couldn’t remember more than a handful of times over the last two weeks that hehadn’tbeen smiling. She had never met anyone who smiled that much.
Other than Freddy.
She quickly slammed the door on that line of thinking. The regret that surfaced at the thought of his name was becoming more painful, which was nearly as troubling as the fact that she was beginning to feel hints of satisfaction when Kai praised her meager efforts at setting up camp, or the inkling of guilt when she crawled into the tent at night, leaving Kai to roll himself up in his blanket and sleep beside the fire.
Lizzie fought the urge to frown. “What will you be doing?”
“Peters could use some help harvesting and transporting more clay from the river. I assumed that, of the two of us, I would probably be more suited to the grunt work. Unless you would like to try?” His eyes twinkled.
She shook her head. “I would not. It sounds both dirty and likely to require more strength than I am capable of.”
Though I suppose it was kind of him to give me the option, even if it was ridiculous.
He nodded, leaning forward and covering a yawn with his hand. “I figured as much. Peters says that we can start first thing in the morning, which means we should eat and then get some rest.”
Their dinner was simple—bread and cheese and some fresh wild strawberries that Kai had found on his way back from town—but after a few weeks of eating Norva’s travel cakes, Lizzie thought it was more satisfying than any of the extravagant meals she had eaten at her father’s table. Lizzie and Kai went through their post-dinner routine in companionable silence, until Kai held up the tent flap as he did every night, like a gentleman holding open a door.
“Good night, Eliza.”
“Good night, Kai.”
Lizzie crawled into the tent and adjusted her blanket. The ground was still just as hard as it had been the first night, but her body had become used to it, and she found it much easier to find a somewhat comfortable position. Though it was slowly getting warmer as spring progressed and they traveled south, it still took a while before the air in the tent warmed up enough for her muscles to relax.
She could hear the dull thud of wood hitting wood as Kai added another log on the fire, the snap of his blanket as he shook it out to wrap around his shoulders. As cold as she was inside,she knew that her husband must be miserable out by the fire, no matter how much he insisted that it was fine.
She frowned into the darkness above her. He insisted that it was fine, and yet he refused to allow her to switch places. After the first night, he never again suggested that they share, and he never grumbled about setting up a tent every night that he never got to use.
I don’t understand him. What is he gaining in all of this?
A gust of wind caused the canvas to billow in on one side like a sail. A soft tapping sound followed, and it took Lizzie a moment to realize that it was starting to rain. Minutes passed, and the rain began falling faster. Every drop that hit the tent was a drop of guilt that started to pool in her belly.
Where is Kai? Surely he’s not planning on staying out in this. He won’t be of any use tomorrow if he catches a cold from being in the rain all night.
After a few more minutes without any sign of him, Lizzie crawled to the entrance and lifted the flap.
She could see Kai’s silhouette in front of the valiantly struggling fire. He was sitting, hunched over, with his blanket thrown over his head like a hood.
“Kai.”
He turned immediately at the sound of her voice. “What’s wrong? Are you alright? Is the tent leaking?”
“I’m fine, and the tent isn’t leaking. You should come in.”
She could see his brows drawn together in the dim firelight. “Are you sure?”
She swallowed, hesitating just a moment before answering. “Yes. You can’t carry clay if you’re sick.”
He chuckled. “Very practical of you.”
Lizzie scooted over to allow him to fit through the door, suddenly realizing just how small the tent was with two.
Kai sighed in relief. “Thank you, Eliza. I’ll try to stay as far away as possible, and I’ll get out of your hair as soon as the rain stops. Hopefully it’s just a quick shower.”
“Won’t the ground be wet?”
“I’ve heard that mud is good for the complexion. I could use all the help I can get.”
“Why?”
