“I had to stop him… he was hurting me.”
The boy never actually touched her. Was Callie speaking of this attack or something from her past? “Let me take you home,” he said.
“No!” she cried and struggled to sit up. “Please, Ellis, don’t take me back there. Father will not believe me… again. Can’t we stay here? I will be fine.”
She wasn’t fine. She was far from fine, but if she didn’t want to be taken home so be it. He would let it be her decision. The first drops of rain hit his face as he looked up at the blackening sky. Rolling to his knees, he struggled to stand and then scooped her in his arms.
“Your leg,” she protested.
It was odd, it hurt, it always did, but with Callie in his arms, he barely noticed the dull ache. Ellis strode the distance to the chaise and gently lowered her inside. He yanked the folding hood over them for protection from the rain and then dropped down beside her.
She looked out over the grounds. “We played here when we were young. Do you remember?”
“Yes.” I remember. Ellis touched his finger under her chin and brought it higher until she met his gaze. “Tell me what happened back there or better still, tell me what happened that frightened you so terribly in the past.”
She twisted free and shrunk away from him. He let her turn away, but then wrapped his arms around her. He whispered in her ear, “I know what it feels like to be afraid. The war... I am speaking of more than just my leg. The wounds you often can’t see are the ones which hurt the worst. Any loud noise, I turn inside out. I wake at night, drenched in my own sweat. Those are memories of the past I cannot escape.”
Callie turned, a look of surprise on her face. “That is the same way I feel.” Her eyes were red from crying, but she was so beautiful.
He cupped her face, this time not allowing her to turn away. “Then trust me enough to tell me what happened.”
She paused for a long moment. “Last year on my way back from a visit with friends, my carriage was attacked by highwaymen. I thought they would leave once they had the money and jewelry, but they wanted more. One held the driver, while the other dragged me out onto the ground. I fought, but he was so heavy. He slapped me and punched me until I stopped fighting.” She stared at her feet.
Ellis felt anger boil through him. How could anyone hurt her, she was such a gentle and loving being. “He raped you?” he asked, barely over a whisper.
She shook her head, and gave a weak smile. “Not that anyone would believe me, but no. It was his intention. He had my skirts raised and his fingers…” She swallowed. “Another carriage came along. I guess it startled the men to run. He left me there in the mud. When the other carriage brought me home, the look on my father’s face said it all. He thought I was ruined and blamed me.”
“That’s insane. How could he blame you for being attacked?”
“I told Father the truth about what happened. I fought with all my might, but he didn’t believe me. What good is a spoiled daughter who is rumored to be raped? With my dress ripped and my body bruised… well, he didn’t want to take a chance of a scandal. It is much easier to write me off as a spinster than to have to explain to a suitor that his daughter may not be chaste.”
“Did they ever catch the men who attacked you?”
“The one who beat me was caught for another crime. I went to town and watched him hang. I thought it would help, but it didn’t. I still have the dreams.”
“They are nightmares, not dreams. Our nightmares may be different, but we have them none the less.” Ellis thought he would never find someone who understood how he felt. Surprisingly, he’d found that someone right in front of him. “Unfortunately, we can’t erase all of it, but I can tell you it does grow easier to live with day by day. Clarke told me that he was responsible for saving me on the battlefield. He also said he expected me to do something with my life.”
The color returned to Callie’s cheeks and made them a deep pink. “What is your life’s plan?” she asked.
“To protect you.” He swallowed. “To love you if you will have me.” He kissed her then, pouring all the sentiment he wished he could have shown her earlier. “I only wish I had been here before.”
“There was nothing you could have done.”
His tone grew dark, “I would have killed them. They would have had to go through me before they ever touched you.” He feathered a kiss over the lavender-scented skin of her wrist. “I promise, no one will ever hurt you again.”