Page 78 of Her Tempting Traitor
“No, I told him to stop feeding her beer and barley.” Gabby was running her hands over the distended belly, and as he watched, she pressed her cheek—her ear, perhaps?—against the large swath of gray skin. “Although it is common for large mammals in captivity to be fed such a diet, I wish they would not—it is not healthy. They have evolved to eat grasses. Even hay is better than barley.” She pressed on the animal’s side thoughtfully. “The gut of an elephant in captivity is a delicate beast in itself.”
As she said this, Gabby leaned against the side of the elephant, who grunted and tried to roll over. Gabby’s eyes widened, and in the light of the lantern, Cassian saw her face pale.
“Oh, no,” she whispered.
Before he could ask, Gus had blurted out, “You could use the lace!” Both adults turned, confused, to see the lad bound over. “Gabby, don’t you see? You could burn the lace and it would heal her—” Gus bit off his word with a sudden gasp, and swung on his father. “Wait! Never mind, we’re supposed to burn the lace and healDa.”
“What?” Cassian barked. “Gus, what do ye?—”
“The magic talisman lace, Da!” Clearly torn, Gus grabbed Cassian’s hand. “Gabby’s magic lace! Remember? If she burns it and we all wish really hard, it can cure someone! I wanted to use it on you?—”
“But now ye’re thinking ye want to use it to cure the elephant?” Cassian glanced back and forth between his son and Gabby’s lower-lip-chewing worried expression. “Gus, I dinnae ken?—”
“Nay, onye! Da, if we burn it, and wish, we could grow yer foot back! Just like we talked about!”
Cassian was unable to stop the bark of laughter which burst from his lips, but he squeezed his son’s hand as he shook his head, trying to let the lad know there were no hard feelings. “Thank ye, laddie. It means the world to me that ye are worried about me. But I dinnae need my leg back.”
“But you said you feel like?—”
Half a man.
“I ken what I said,” Cassian said kindly. With a slight sigh, he bent down to meet his son’s eyes. “When did ye get so tall?”
“What?”
Shaking his head, Cassian said quietly, “I remember the first time I held ye. Ye were so tiny, even though ye were already a few months old. And each time I’d return home, it was like ye’d doubled in size. Ye went from this tiny infant to this sturdy toddler to a strong young lad, and ye are halfway to manhood now, and I’m just amazed?—”
“Da!Focus!” Gus rolled his eyes. “I love you too, and all that, butyour foot!We could grow it back!”
Squeezing Gus’s hand again, Cassian told the truth. “I dinnae need a whole leg or a new foot, son. Losing it—losing the life I kenned—was horrible. But it brought me back here. To ye. To my new life. And as long asyethink I’m whole enough…” He glanced at Gabby. “As long as yeboththink that, then I’m good enough. Just the way I am.”
As Gus chewed on his inner lip, his expression looked remarkably like Gabby’s. “Are you sure, Da?”
Cassian straightened, certainty pooling in his chest. “Aye. Use the magic lace to cure the elephant.” He sent Gabby a wink to tell her he didn’t really believe in the magic, but she was looking too worried to respond.
Besides, Gus chose that moment to throw himself at Cassian and wrap his arms around his father’s middle andsqueeze. Cassian’s eyes closed as he sent a silent prayer ofthanks heavenward and returned his son’s hug, thanking God for this opportunity to earn the lad’s love and trust, finally.
Gus was the one to pull back first. “So did you bring the lace, Gabby?”
She jerked her head up, clearly thinking of something else as she studied the recumbent elephant. “Hm? Oh, yes. The lace. I thought…” Her lips twisted wryly as she reached for a button of her blouse and slipped her hand inside her corset. “Luck, perhaps?” She offered with a shrug as she removed the battered lace.
Gus sighed reverently as he took it, cradling the unimpressive-looking material in his palms. “Is it all right if we use it now, Gabby?” he breathed, eyes wide as he stared down at it. “To help Elizabeth?”
She shrugged. “I do not think it would hurt. I suspect…” She shook her head, glanced down at the elephant, and shrugged. “Poor Sir Dickie has been duped.”
Gus was already at the elephant’s head, calmly explaining what would happen to Elizabeth, as if the animal could understand.
Cassian, however, pressed. “Duped? How?”
“I do not think…” Gabby took a deep breath, then winced. “I do not think she’s pregnant. Gus, go ahead and light it and see if you can get her to smell it.”
“Aye!” the lad called happily, clearly excited by the possibility of helping.
“Cassian, come here,” Gabby commanded, pointing to a spot at her side. “Put your palms here…and here…” She positioned him carefully. “Now lean your weight on her—yes, like that.”
She hurried to mirror him, both of them leaning on the elephant’s side that was exposed by her recumbent position. And Cassian had to admit that he couldn’tfeela fetus inside, although on the list of things he was an expert of, elephant fetuses ranked quite near the bottom, between peeling boiled eggs and internal combustion machines.
“Alright, Gus,” Gabby said in the stillness of the barn. “Now.”
