Presently he saw one such unfortunate animal, a fine ram that was stuck up to its belly in the clinging, sucking mud. It was kicking, thrashing, and bleating furiously as a small redheaded man tried to pull it out by its horns. It was evident that he was fighting a losing battle, however. The more the sheep struggled, the deeper it sank in the mud, and Adam knew it would only be a matter of minutes before it was too late as he saw the farmer sliding inch by inch into the mire as well.
Without thinking twice, Adam hastily dismounted and ran down the slope. The farmer’s face was crimson with exertion, his cheeks were puffed and his breathing labored; he looked as if he was about to collapse with exhaustion. As well as that, Adam knew from speaking to Emilia that the ram’s horns might be pulled off, which might result in it bleeding to death. The situation was now desperate.
He could not go in behind the ram without becoming trapped himself, so he pushed the farmer out of the way and wrapped his muscular arms around the animal’s neck, then pulled with all his might. He knew that there was a risk that he might throttle the beast, but it was better than dying of slow suffocation in the filthy bog. The ram was still struggling, and the gritty surface of its horn was chafing his cheek, but just when Adam was about to give up, the animal gave a loud shriek and he felt the suction lessening as the mud surrendered to the force of his pulling power. Suddenly, with a loudplopthe ram shot out of the mud and the weight of an entire, mature ram landed on Adam’s stomach and chest, completely winding him.
For a moment both sheep and man lay together in a bizarre tableau, then the little farmer rolled the animal away from Adam. The beast shook itself, showering him with a spray of mud, then trotted away to join the rest of the flock, with not a backward glance or a word of thanks. Despite his desperate condition, Adam began to laugh. Sheep were such ungrateful creatures!
The farmer was about a foot shorter than Adam, but he managed to pull him to his knees, where he rested for a moment, his head spinning, before standing up.
The man was thanking him profusely in Gaelic, and since that was one of the only expressions Adam could understand, he smiled, nodded, and mounted Trojan again. He waved to the farmer and left, not looking back. The little man gazed after him. He knew who the big stranger was, and was amazed at his kindness.
Adam was concentrating on keeping himself on top of Trojan. His stomach felt as though someone had jumped up and down on it several times, and he felt sick. He hardly noticed that he was splattered with gluey, stinking mud. It was the least of his worries.
The road led to the one which took a detour to Emilia’s house, and Trojan meandered onto it without Adam even realizing it. He was barely conscious as they went up as far as the wall surrounding the property, and the last thing he saw was the face of one of the guards before he tumbled to the ground.
However, the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Emilia’s beautiful, anxious face as she bent over him. She heaved a great sigh of relief as their gazes met, then he reached up a hand to touch her soft cheek. “I love you,” he said.
12
“Ilove you too,” Emilia whispered, smiling at him tearfully. It was the first time she had said those three words to anyone except her mother and father. “I was scared that I was going to lose you. What happened to you?”
“I helped to pull a big ram out of a bog,” he replied, “but he did not help one little bit, and when I finally got him out he landed on my stomach and chest. I thought I was going to die.”
“I am so glad you did not,” she murmured. “Remember what we did in the barn?”
Adam nodded, smiling wickedly.
“I want more.” Her voice was a soft growl. “Much more.”
Adam’s eyes widened in mock terror and Emilia laughed, then went to fetch his breakfast.
He looked around himself and sighed with satisfaction. He was in a soft feather bed with clean white sheets and cozy woolen blankets over him. He had been washed from head to foot and he could see that his clothes had been too; they were hanging up to dry on a rail suspended over the hearth.
Suddenly he thought of something. He looked underneath the bedclothes and realized that he was naked. “Who washed me?” he asked in a panicky voice.
“I did,” said Agnes briskly, as she came towards him. “Do not worry, son. You have nothing I have not seen before.”
Adam groaned and turned his head away from her, blushing furiously.
“Emilia was not here, if that is your worry,” Agnes told him. “Give yourself peace, Adam.”
Presently, Emilia brought him a bowl of soup and fed it to him while she listened to more of what happened to Adam.
“That little man is Father Gordon’s cousin Dinny,” she informed him. “His wife Ellie will already have begun to spread the story all over the village. She is an incurable gossip.”
They laughed and Agnes watched, smiling at them. Something was happening between them, she was sure of it. And she was surprised to find that she was happy about it.
Adam was unable to keep his eyes open after only a few moments of wakefulness, and when he woke up again it was dawn. Emilia was sleeping in a chair beside his bed, and he watched her lovely face in repose, completely relaxed and beautiful. As he looked, her eyes flickered open and she smiled at him, then rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
“Good morning,” Adam said, returning the smile. She yawned and reached out a hand to him. He pulled her onto the bed, where he kissed her, gently but passionately, thrusting his tongue into her mouth to stroke hers.
“We have to stop,” she whispered. “Mammy is already awake.”
“Yes,” he said sadly. “Promise you will come and see me, Emmy. May I call you that?”
“Of course,” she replied. “I promise.”
They kissed again, and a little while later he was on his way. Emilia watched him go, her heart singing.
