ld her body against the bed. The bright light from the window reached for a figure in the corner. Liza? Nay, she was not so tall. The fleeting clarity in her mind flickered like the fragile flame of a candle. She closed her eyes as another surging cramp moved up her body and she fought the whimper that eeked past her throat.
“Kitty?”
She labored to clear the haze in her view and cease the ringing in her ears when suddenly her vision cleared enough to allow a view of the person who had come to loom over her. Kitty’s pulse stopped and she gasped. The nausea she’d suffered rolled again.
Cyprian.
“Get out,” she croaked, willing her feeble limbs to find strength enough to move her away from him. Lord help me!
He took the last few steps separating them and sat beside her on the bed. “All is well, do not be afraid.”
He reached for her arm but she smacked his hand away with a yell that came out as a mere squeak. Her arms shook. All is well? Was that not what he had said to her hours before Nathaniel’s attack?
Horror consumed her when a terrible thought assailed. She swallowed to coat her dry, cracked voice and spoke through tumbling tears. “Where is my family?” A sob made its way out and she covered her mouth. Again, he moved toward her and she slunk away. “Nay!”
Staring back, he gripped his knees as if striving to keep from striking her as he wished.
Kitty watched his mouth move as he answered, but she could not hear. The flood of tears gushed and though she held back the wails that rammed for release, she had lost all control. The nightmares she suffered for weeks had finally come to life. Cyprian had done something to her family and she was helpless to save them.
***
Nathaniel had never seen such terror on her face.
He yearned to reach for her again, but continued to grip his knees. Touching her would only frighten her more.
Kitty’s sobs grew and she pulled the sheet to her chin, mumbling something about her family through her tears.
Had she not heard him? Stroking her with his voice, as he could not with his hands, he smiled and prayed God would enlighten him on how to ease her fears. “Eliza and Thomas are in town, Kitty, as I said. They are well and will return shortly.”
When his answer did nothing to dry the unending tears, he straightened. Was she so upset at seeing him? Had he so hurt her that even his presence as a physician offended?
Her next words answered, spearing him like a dagger. “Get away from me! Get out!”
Nathaniel’s blood stalled. “Kitty, I... please forgive me, I never wanted to hurt you—”
“Nay!” Her chin quivered and her voice cracked. She continued to push away until her back pressed against the pillow touching the headboard. “I was a fool. ‘Twill not happen again!”
Nathaniel berated himself. Not only had he hurt the woman he loved, he now suffered as greatly, for she would never love him in return. “Nay, ‘twill not happen again, I—”
“Leave! Leave me, I beg of you!” Kitty turned away and covered her face, wailing a low, hollow moan.
Though all he wanted was to bring her peace, and though his absence might be what she desired, he could not leave her. “Kitty, you are very ill and we are all worried for you. I will be beside you until you are well. Then, if you still wish me away, I will stay away for good, I promise.”
Kitty answered but kept her head turned. Her hands shook as she gripped the fabric at her chest. “I know... I know you are angry with me for forgetting my post, but I beg you, do not hurt Nathaniel again! Do not hurt my family. I’ll do whatever you a-a-ask!” Another storm of sobs echoed through the room and slashed its way through Nathaniel’s already severed heart.
“Kitty, what are you—” Nathaniel choked on his breath when the clouds in his thinking cleared at the wind of truth. She believed he was someone else! This time when he reached for her, he didn’t falter. “Nay, Kitty, ‘tis I. I am well, you have nothing to fear from me.”
She shook her head, eyes closed, a soft quiet whimper hovering between them. “I can no longer bear this burden.” She stopped and cried into her hands. “Release me. Release me!”
Someone had threatened her! Indeed the burdens she carried were great, so great that even now in her fever she believed Nathaniel was the one who had hurt her.
He prepared to answer when she hurled forward, hand over her mouth and eyes wide. Nathaniel lunged for the pot and placed it under her face as she retched, though nothing but bits of acid came forth. He stroked her back and cooed until the fits subsided. Tears burned his eyes. The pain she felt, he felt. The unknown sorrows she suffered, he suffered, tearing at his spirit until the need to be near her was too much to contain.
Quickly removing the pot, he snatched the wet cloth from the table and wiped her mouth. Thankfully, she did not push him away. Easing onto the bed beside her, he pulled her quivering form onto his lap and cradled her against his chest. Soft, quiet sobs shook her fevered body as he brushed his hand against her hair. He would willingly take all of her pains, all her fears upon himself. As she wept, he pulled her closer and whispered quiet reassurances, all the while plotting the what’s and how’s of finding the one responsible for the maltreatment she endured. Whoever had caused her this pain would have it returned to them a hundred fold and more.
Finally, her tears turned to sniffles, then to silence and her body relaxed against him. Holding her head beneath his chin he looked up to the ceiling as the noonday light bathed the quiet room. Never again would she cry these tears. Never again would she fear. I promise you, Kitty.
Chapter Twenty-two