Page 17 of Beholden
My gaze strayed outside to where a few of the overseers were finishing repairs to the suspension bridge so the supply transports could cross more safely. Was it possible I could plead with them for medicine?
Some of the women were laundering blankets and clothing on our one day off a week. Water bubbled in pots hanging over the central fire pit, lines were strung between the huts, and a few dripping garments flapped in the breeze. After the long winter months, our linens were in sore need of cleaning. But I couldn’t leave Alice’s side. I’d even skipped going down into the mines yesterday so I could tend to her.
I’d been surprised when Vilmar had surfaced at dusk not only with his bucket, but mine and Alice’s, both full. He claimed others had done what they could to help, but Benedict later informed me that Vilmar had done most of the drilling himself, working without a break for hours.
I’d only spoken with Vilmar briefly when he stopped in the infirmary to deliver the food rations he’d earned for us. Later, Curly brought me the news that Vilmar and Ty had gone back down into the mine pits and hadn’t come back up before the hatch had been closed for the night.
No one knew what had possessed Vilmar and his companion to descend or why they hadn’t returned. I’d tossed and turned all night, thinking about what might have happened. And earlier at Mass, I’d offered prayers for him and Ty when I wasn’t praying for Alice.
“Has he come up yet?” I asked.
Molly hesitated, her expression grave. Then she shook her head.
She didn’t need to question who I was referring to. I’d playacted well during the past two weeks, convincing most everyone I had romantic inclinations for Vilmar. The only one I’d been honest with was Benedict. After his disapproval with the first training, I’d informed him that Vilmar and I weren’t sharing affections, that instead he was teaching me self-defense, which was partly true. Although Benedict still frowned upon me going off with the handsome nobleman, he’d agreed to it as long as either he or Alice could act as a chaperone in the connecting passageway.
“Curly and the others are back.”
“And they did not find any signs of them?”
Again, Molly hesitated. “No.”
I couldn’t keep my breath from deflating and my shoulders from sagging. Curly, Farthing, and a few others had descended earlier to search, and my worry had mounted with each passing hour they’d been gone.
I would have been worried no matter who’d gotten lost or trapped in the mines—at least, that’s what I’d been telling myself. But all morning, I’d relived the way Vilmar’s cheek had felt against mine on that first day of training when he’d pressed against me. My heart pattered faster every time I thought about his whisper tickling my ear or his face burrowing into my hair. On the couple of occasions we’d trained again, I’d anticipated having another such moment and was surprised by my mounting disappointment each time he kept his distance.
“What do you think happened?” I didn’t really want an answer, since the possibilities were too discouraging.
“I’m sure they’ll be just fine.” Molly’s tone lacked conviction. “Now, how about if you get some rest while I watch Alice?”
At the mention of rest, the exhaustion I’d been holding at bay hit me with the force of a winter storm. My eyelids drooped, my vision turned hazy, and I wasn’t sure I had the fortitude to push myself up from the ground. Part of me wanted to curl up next to Alice, go to sleep, and never wake up to the nightmare of my new life.
However, I had to stay steadfast. I rose to my feet, refusing to let my body succumb to the weakness and fatigue that had become my constant companions of late.
“Thank you, Molly. You are a dear.”
“You’re the dear. You’re the one always taking care of everyone else and never thinking of yourself.”
I shook my head. “’Tis nothing more than anyone else would do—”
At a commotion from outside, I crossed to the door and exited into the warm sunshine. For a moment the light blinded me, but then as my vision cleared, my pulse halted. Vilmar stood by the hatch with Ty next to him.
Frantically, I scanned their bodies, searching for evidence of any harm. While they appeared pale and weary, they had sustained no bites, blood, or even scratches.
Vilmar was speaking with Curly as well as the others flocking around him. I had the strange urge to run to him and wrap my arms around him. But I refrained and, instead, sagged against the hut.
After several more moments of conversation, Vilmar shifted and glanced around the town. His gaze alighted first on my hut before it moved to the center fire pit and then to the infirmary. Was he searching for me?
My heart gave an unexpected thump of anticipation.
A second later his sights landed upon me, and my pulse thudded harder with a need I didn’t understand.
He broke away from the group and stalked toward me. With his broad shoulders and bulging arms, his strength radiated from each long stride. His long hair had come loose and now flowed in the breeze, the sunlight highlighting hints of light brown mixed in with the dark.
I pushed away from the wall and straightened. Again, I had the urge to cross toward him, throw myself at him, and weep with relief.
As he neared, I clasped my hands together to prevent myself from such a display. Even so, I couldn’t keep my voice from shaking as I spoke. “Where have you been? We’ve been worried.”
He didn’t say anything. But his crystal-blue eyes seemed to say everything. That he cared, that he hadn’t meant to worry me, and that he wanted to see me more than anyone else there.
