Forever His(114)
“You are betrothed?” Gaston stiffened so suddenly that Pharaon jerked to a stop.
“No, not anymore. We ... he broke it off. After what happened.”
Gaston relaxed and nudged his stallion forward. “If he deserted you when you were injured, he was a cur and you were better off without him.”
Celine’s smile returned at that completely unbiased opinion. “His name was Lee. Leland Dawber III.” She was surprised and pleased to discover that she could speak his name without hurt or regret or embarrassment. “And I think ‘cur’ is a pretty good description. Anyway, we went to the park because I wanted to celebrate New Year’s Eve by making snow angels. That’s, uh, something children do. You lie down in the snow and move your arms and legs and make it look like an angel.”
“Children?” He chuckled, dropping a kiss on the nape of her neck. “It sounds to me like something you would do. I have always found you most charming stretched out in the snow.”
“Yes, well ...” She shivered at his kiss and the memory of the fiery encounter he was referring to. “Lee proposed to me that night. And I accepted.” It was hard to believe now, that she could have ever thought herself in love with a man like Lee. “But when we got back to his car, there was a gang of teenagers, and they—”
“Teenagers?”
“Oh, sorry. Teenagers are young people, around Etienne’s age. These boys had guns, and they wanted to steal Lee’s car.”
“And where were these guardsmen—these ‘police’ who are supposed to keep order?”
“Well, unfortunately, they’re not always there when you need them. Lee should have just given up the stupid car, but instead he argued with them. There was a scuffle—a skirmish, you might call it—and one of them fired his gun. But he missed Lee and hit me instead.”
“And this weapon, this ‘gun’ ” —Gaston’s voice took on a rough edge—“could have killed you?”
“It almost did. I spent weeks in the hospital, having surgeries. There was one bullet fragment they couldn’t get, so tiny I can’t even feel it. The doctors—physicians—thought it best to leave it in place. They said it would probably never bother me. But less than a year later, it started to shift. They told me it was getting too close to an artery—those are the largest veins in the body, the ones that carry the most blood. They said if I didn’t have it removed ... it would kill me.”
Gaston’s hand shifted from her waist to her back, touching the spot where the scar was concealed beneath her gown. “And they will be able to save you, these physicians of your time?”
“Yes. The twentieth century might not be better in every way, but our level of medical knowledge and skill is a definite improvement.”
He made a sound in his throat that might have been assent, or worry. “And this ‘bullet’—does it cause you pain?”
“No, I’ve been fine. I had a few twinges right after we got to Avril’s, but they went away.”
He was silent for a time. Then he wrapped his arm around her waist again, and pulled her closer than ever, tucking her head beneath his chin. “I do not like the idea of sending you home to this century of yours, where there are such dangers and no knights.”
She blinked back a sudden hot rush of tears at the softness in his voice. “But we both know that I’ve got to go home, Gaston,” she whispered. “We can pretend all we want. We can avoid the subject as long as we want, but we both know what I have to do.”
He didn’t reply. She leaned into him, closing her eyes, and they rode in silence. Was this what the rest of her life was going to feel like? Celine wondered, swallowing hard. This ache of loneliness and loss and helpless desire, this longing for a love like none she would ever feel again?
The minutes stretched into an hour, time ground to dust beneath the steady rhythm of Pharaon’s hooves.
She was almost dozing when a flight of birds suddenly burst out of the trees ahead of them, an eruption of beating wings and shrill cries. Gaston yanked his stallion to a halt, a spray of pebbles and dust scattering across the path. Celine had to grab Pharaon’s mane and Gaston’s arm to keep her balance. “What—”
He clamped a hand over her mouth, his entire body taut and still. Etienne reined in beside them, his expression grim, his crossbow already in his hand. Gaston drew his sword.
Celine’s heart jolted. What was wrong? What could possibly be wrong? They were almost to Gaston’s castle. The birds were just startled. They—
Remy’s voice sounded ahead, shouting a high-pitched cry of alarm.