The distant end of the rope was tied to the boat. Grimly, he wound a loop around his wrist and pulled himself upright, sinking knee deep. There were several inches of freezing water on top of the mud. The mud wasworsethan freezing.
He couldn’t climb the rope, not slippery like this with mud and water. Instead he used it to haul himself along the boat’s edge then around the prow.
It was hard work, the mud sucking his every step. Within a yard of the wharf’s edge, he felt a few rocks underfoot. Then some old rotten pilings. He reached the side of the wharf and spied a ladder set some yards away in its side. He fought his way to it.
He climbed up, exhausted from his fight against the deep mud, hands numb. On the wharf, he stood for a moment, getting his breath back, probing his mood now the fear of his predicament was gone. He discovered he was still angry. Good. It gave him a nice warm feeling. Something to fend off the cold.
The boat waited, rocking ever so slightly. There was a light inside the cabin, shining merrily through a thin curtain. He eyed it, spitting mud, using the falling rain to wipe his face. Then he stalked back towards the boat and crossed the gangway once more.
The cabin door was shut. A bucket of water had been placed outside it. A bar of soap sat on the rim. The message was clear.
No,he thought for a moment, his pride making a stubborn last stand. He wouldn’t comply. He’d walk down the harbour to the tavern.
But he didn’t want to do that. He’d walk through fire to get through that door.
His numb fingers were already at work on his buttons.Shewas in there. Wet. Perhaps removing wet clothes. Perhaps drying her hair before a stove, combing the tresses. He smelt smoke, saw a dark curl coming from the cabin’s chimney.
The only thing that mattered was that she was in there.
His sodden coat hit the deck. His boots came off with a sucking sound, dribbling muddy water. Ruined. All his clothes were ruined. The knot of his necktie took an age to undo, wet and shrunk, his fingers stiff and clumsy. He finally dragged it off and threw it from him in irritation. His buckskins peeled off, his skin goosebumped. When he was down to his shirt, he paused.
He took it off. He washed himself in the freezing water, wincing and cursing. He scrubbed his hair until only clean water dripped down his chest. Then he picked up his shirt, scrubbed it too, and put it back on, soaking wet.
He stood for a moment, dripping, so cold even the rain seemed warm.
Then he knocked.
“Come in.”
Oh, she sounded very airy, a laugh bubbling under her words. She was having amarvelloustime.
He snapped the door open, closed it behind him with a slam, arm straight, his palm flat against it. Even the sight of her stripped to her stays and chemise, sitting on a stool before the stove’s glow, didn’t stop the look he gave her, the murder throbbing in his pulse.
“You—” he managed, through gritted teeth.
She smiled, finger-combing her hair, exactly as he’d imagined. The way she sat, with her head tilted to the side, the ends of it reached her thigh.
“Pleasant, isn’t it? Being humiliated. Being made to feel worthless.”
He could only look at her. No matter how many times he thought she’d broken him, she could always manage to do it again.
His heart had no defence. He forgot he was cold. He didn’t hear the rain thundering on the roof. He didn’t feel the boat tilt. He only looked and listened.
“Especially by someone you had begun to care for.” She wasn’t smiling anymore. There was a crack in her voice. “Someone you had begun to trust. Someone you had begun to love.”
He went to her, unworthy as he was. He went down on his knees. She let him take her hand. Hers was stiff and cool. His trembled.
“Madelaine…”
A shiver went through her. His head was bowed, his hair dripping, making translucent patches on the chemise that covered her thigh. She smelt of both storms and sweetness. Her fingers were chilled, but the rest of her was warm.
“I’m sorry. I’ve said I’m sorry.”
“Words aren’t enough.”
“Then marry me.” He met her eyes. “Marry me and let me show the whole world how much I esteem you. How much I love you.”
“I don’t care about the world.”
