Cold air disturbedFanny’s sleep. She tried to snuggle deeper into the blankets, reaching for her pillow. There was none. She blinked awake, and reality returned. Eli had left her.
She sat up, groaning over sore muscles, and peered around. The sky had lightened, but she thought it wasn’t quite full dawn; trees along a bend in the road blocked the view to the east, so she could not be sure. She had slept through the night thanks to Eli’s warmth and the protective blanket of his care.
Where is he?
Without Eli, she felt lost, alone, and vulnerable. She scrambled to her feet but saw no sign of him.
He can’t have gone too long ago.Her instinct told her she would have known, that she must have awakened right after he had.
The crumbs of their makeshift supper still lay on the ground next to the skin of water, open saddlebag, and one of the pistols. The missing horse, however, had not magically returned overnight. Their other mount, noble steed, calmy nibbled grass nearby.
Fanny picked up the pistol and stood in the narrow lane, peering as far as she could, first one way and then the other. With no more warning than a rustle in the underbrush, Eli exited the wood, and the urge to run to him overtook her. She had gone several strides when she realized how foolishly she behaved, skidded to a stop, and set the pistol down carefully.
Memory of her clinging to him the previous night churned up embarrassment.What must he think of you?She drew a calming breath and let him approach.
“What is it, Fanny? Are you upset?” He reached up and tucked a lock of hair over her ear. Wil’s hat had come off in the night and lay on the ground. The touch of Eli’s hand set her heart racing, and with difficulty, she restrained herself from trying to impose her body on his.
“You were gone. I knew you couldn’t be far, but I almost panicked,” she said.
“I was exploring. Look what I found. The treasure of late summer!” He reached in his shirt pocket and handed her two blackberries. “They are abundant. I would have picked more for our breakfast, but I heard you moving around. Let’s pack up and I’ll show you.”
With little enough to sort, he soon led her into the woods a short way. As promised a massive bank of blackberry brambles, heavy with fruit, greeted them. He handed her their tin cup. “You harvest. I’ll see to our equine friend and saddle up.”
She grabbed on to his coat. “Don’t leave me. Please. I feel safe when you’re near me.”
Eli’s arrested expression puzzled her. His eyes bored into her, and she waited for him to kiss her, longed for it. He blinked and broke the tension, plucking a blackberry and popping it in her mouth before making a mock bow.
“Eli Benson, white knight at large, at your service, madam,” he teased.
She gave him a poke. “I’ll alert you if I see any dragons,” she laughed.
They stuffed themselves with berries, returned to the clearing next to the road, and packed. “I wish we could find water,” she said.
“Me, too. There’s little here, and I think our friend Galant here needs it more than we do,” he replied, nodding at Goodfellow’s horse. He took a sip and handed the waterskin to her.
“Is that his name?” she asked.
“It is now. I didn’t think to ask when we left.” He saddled with the same efficiency Eli Benson brought to every task, humming to himself. Fanny found the sound comforting. She took a sip of water from the skin and poured the rest into Eli’s hat to water the horse as they had the previous night.
Eli set the folded blanket over the pommel. All in readiness, he held his hands together to give her a lift onto the horse before climbing into the saddle behind her.
“Are we going to go through the woods?” she asked over her shoulder. She sat, back straight, rigid in front of him.
“The undergrowth here is thick—as we discovered. I suggest we follow this track a way until we find an opening.”
“Perhaps we’ll find our other horse. He can’t have run too far,” she said.
“Or he may be in Cornwall by now,” Eli muttered. “Are you comfortable? You look a bit stiff.” He put an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest. “That’s better.”
It was. His arm felt secure, and she relaxed against him. She wanted to sink into his warmth.
Eli had been correct in his confidence that they would locate an opening, but it was another hour before the woods thinned. They saw no sign of their errant horse. Eli turned them into the canopy of trees, at a moderate trot, on what appeared to be a path.
Thank goodness Eli Benson came into my life. I wish—Fanny wished many things. Some of them centered on the sturdy body behind her. Those thoughts brought a blush to her face. Some of them were contradictory. For now, she simply wished they would reach Clarion Hall safely. She couldn’t shake the fears that haunted her after the attack and a night traveling. Perversely, she wished they could stay out on the road, a world outside normal life, where she could nestle in Eli’s arms without censure.
