A Thousand Blessings - Book One (Blessings Series 1)

by Lisa Heaton

When he raised his head, he glanced down at her hand on his bare chest, then back at her with longing. “You know what comes after that kiss?”

  “I’m guessing a wedding night.”

  He swallowed hard. “Only if you are ready.”

  Astonished at this man’s patience with her, knowing a lesser man would have demanded what he had a right to, Sybil found it hard to believe that he had been willing to wait so long.

  “I am ready, Eric. Thank you for waiting for me so patiently.”

  Later that night, and with their supper long since ruined, they scavenged in the kitchen for food. When they made their way back to the bed, Sybil sat in the middle and looked for a moment at Eric.

  “Do you truly love me, Eric?”

  “You have to know that I do. Don’t you?”

  “Then I need you to fight back, to keep yourself safe. If the day came that you didn’t come home to me, I would have nothing left. You must come home to me.”

  Eric pulled her down to lie with him. “I have all the reason in the world to fight my way home to you now.”

  Sybil woke even before the sun had fully risen to find Eric there beside her, watching her sleep. She reached out and touched his face, tracing her finger along his cheek. “How long have you been awake?”

  “What sort of man would dare sleep on his wedding night?”

  “You’ve been up all night?”

  “All night. Haven’t slept a wink.”

  She smiled at him. “Watching me sleep?”

  “I have.” He moved her hair from her face and kissed her cheek. “How could I not watch you? You are so beautiful.”

  His words came out nearly as a sigh, something that caused her to sigh, too. “I’m glad you think so.”

  “The whole town thinks so. How could they not? I’ve not seen a woman in all of Heath to compare to you.”

  She could only laugh at that. “The whole town? They’ve all told you?”

  “Peter thinks so.”

  She sat up and stared at him for a moment. Finally, it all made sense.

  “Is that who has beaten you, Peter and his friends?”

  He hung his head. “I’m sorry.”

  “Why are you sorry?”

  “He said he was to marry you, but then I…” He couldn’t finish the thought.

  “He was telling you the truth. We were supposed to marry.”

  “And I ruined that.”

  “No, you didn’t ruin anything. I barely knew Peter. My parents had arranged the marriage with his family, so I would have had no choice. They believed he would take care of me.”

  She leaned in closer. “I choose you over him any day.”

  “Do you mean that?”

  “Of course I do.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t imagine you with him – dirty sort.”

  “I can’t either.”

  When she became so suddenly quiet, he said, “What is it?”

  “You should know, I’m so sorry for what I’ve done, Eric. I can’t carry it alone any longer.”

  “What could you have to be sorry for?”

  “I prayed our son away, and the guilt of it is torturing me.”

  “You did no such thing.”

  A tear slid down her cheek. “I did, each and every day once I knew he existed. Now, there’s nothing that would make me happier than to cradle that baby in my arms. I regret losing him and desperately wish I could tell him that I love him now.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. God would never answer that prayer.”

  She mulled over his words. Something she had considered for weeks now was heavy on her heart. “And God would never reject a man for one mistake, not a man so sorry for his crime.”

  “You don’t think?”

  “No. God has forgiven if you have asked.”

  “Only a hundred times a day.”

  “I believe it was forgiven the moment you asked.”

  For a while nothing more was said, and Sybil wondered if she had been wrong to bring up such a hurtful memory. When tears formed in his eyes, she said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have ruined our beautiful morning.”

  Eric rubbed his hands over his face. “I’m ashamed to say, from the moment we married, I prayed for the same thing. I didn’t want to look at him for the rest of our lives and remember what I had done to you. I didn’t want you to remember.”

  He choked up. “But then when the physician told me that I would have had a son, all I wanted was a chance to be a father to that boy.”

  Together, for the first time, Eric and Sybil were able to grieve for their lost child.

  Later that same morning, Sybil stood on the top step and looked into her husband’s eyes. “Whatever you must do to come home to me safely, you do it.”

  He smiled at her concern and nodded. “I will.”

  “No matter what that means. You pummel Peter and anyone else with him. Do you hear me?”

  “I hear you very clearly.”

  “If there was ever a price to be paid, you have paid it.” She rested her head on his chest. “And I forgive you.”

  “I needed to hear those words.”

  “I should have said them long before now.”

  All throughout the morning, Sybil could think of nothing but Eric. Their time together in the early hours of this new day was healing for them both. She felt a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders at her admission about their baby. The fact that he had felt the same and had prayed the same gave her new understanding. Neither of them was thinking with reason under their circumstances. Now, in the aftermath of the loss of their child, they both lived with the regret that an innocent child had died unloved.

  More than her thoughts over the baby, Sybil often considered Peter and the fact that he would do such a terrible thing as he was doing to Eric. The more she thought of it, the more concerned she became. Her fear was that if Eric fought back, maybe Peter or his friends might use a weapon against him. No matter Eric’s size and strength, he would be no match for a sword or dagger. Peter worked at the iron forger’s shop, allowing him access to any number of lethal blades.

  After imagining Eric being run through with a sword, without a moment’s hesitation, Sybil left home and headed into town. Even in the midst of a downpour, she was determined to put an end to her husband’s suffering.

  Peter was alone in the room when Sybil stepped through the door, soaking wet and shivering. His obvious surprise at seeing her there caused his mouth to gape open and his hammer to slip from his grasp.

  “May I talk to you?” When he nodded, she closed the door behind her and wiped her face with her wet sleeve.

  “I’m here to ask you to leave my husband alone.”

  Peter sneered at her request. “He’s no husband to you, only a rapist.”

  Sybil flinched at his words. “He has become a kind and decent husband.”

  “One who needs to send a woman to fight his battles?”

  “No.” She paused. “He doesn’t know I’m here, and I’m asking for my sake that you not tell him.” She stepped in a little closer. “I’m sorry this has hurt you. At the time I didn’t even consider how this must have affected you. I was so wrapped up in my own pain. I should have asked.”

  Peter ran his fingers through his hair. “He took you from me.” His words were loud and harsh. When she jumped at his tone, he lowered his voice. “You were supposed to be my wife, not his.”

  “He didn’t take me from you.” Here in this moment she was only now seeing it for the first time. “God took me from you to save me from being married to such a cruel man.”

  Peter lashed out and knocked over a table. He began kicking at the overturned table and throwing any object he could get his hands on. When he tired of his outburst, he turned back to her, huffing and puffing.

  “I’m cruel?” He shouted his question so that she jumped again. “After what he has done, how can you call me cruel?”

  Sybil stepped closer rather than away, which wa
s her inclination.

  “What you are doing to Eric is cruel. It was truly a case of mistaken identity. Eric had no part in what happened when I was taken. When I arrived at his camp, he had no way of knowing. Because of his brothers, I was too frightened to tell him.” She knew this with everything in her: “If only I had told him, he would have fought to the death to protect me from them. That’s the kind of man he is. He’s a kind and gentle man.”

  When the scowl on his face faded, she asked him, “Each time you have assaulted him, what has he done in defense of himself?”

  Peter wouldn’t look her in the eye. “Nothing.”

  “He feels he deserves every blow he receives, but Peter, I believe he’s paid enough for his mistake. Please, I’m asking you,” She choked up, bowed her head, and covered her face. When she was able, she said, “Please leave my husband alone.”

  She straightened and looked at him. In order to make her position clear, just in case her plea had no effect, she warned him. “As of today, he has committed to me to fight back and come home to me unscathed. So, let me warn you, if you approach him again, he will do as I’ve asked. He would do anything I asked of him.

  “I want you to find love, Peter. I want you to have a wife who will love you the way I love Eric.”

  The look of astonishment on his face when she admitted her love for Eric was understandable.

  “He has loved me so well, how could I not love him in return? Now you do the same. Let go of this bitterness and cruelty and find the woman you are supposed to love well.”

  At that Sybil turned and left the shop, nearly dancing through the muddy streets in relief that her man was safe. Eric deserved happiness and joy, no more retribution over a single act that gave her the truest of loves.

  ***

  Every step that Eric took led him only closer to his bride. For a moment he stood on the top step of their home and looked at the closed door, imagining what he would find when he walked through it. He smiled as he looked down at the handful of wildflowers he had stopped to pick on his way home, a gesture he had never dared before. On more than one occasion, he had arrived home to find a small bunch of flowers in a pitcher on the table. Today, that bundle of flowers on the table would be her reminder of his love for her.

  “Are you going to bring those lovely flowers in, or must I come fetch them from the porch?”

  When he found her there in the doorway smiling at him, his face formed into a bright smile. “I will bring you flowers every day that I can find them, right to your door.”

  “I’ll allow that.”

  Before he could take a step toward her, she was in his arms, kissing him. Then she moved back to inspect him.

  “No new damage.” She took hold of his hand. “No damage at all. This seems to have been a better day.”

  “Much better day.”

  To Eric’s surprise, when he did see Peter that afternoon, Peter nodded at him and kept moving. And there Eric had stood, fists clenched, ready to pound the man into the dirt. God clearly saved him from that since it was the last thing he wanted to do to a man who had lost a girl as lovely as Sybil. All along he had felt sorry for him.

  “Much better day, indeed.”

  They walked into the house together hand in hand. Just as they passed the doorway, Sybil turned to Eric and said, “I love our home.”

  Eric scanned the small cottage. With its stone fireplace and comfortable furnishings, it was warm and welcomed him home at the end of each day. From the moment Eric had returned from work that very first day, he had noticed how Sybil had begun to make it her own with flowers and curtains. Her family lived in nothing more than a shack still, so this to her was a home of great value.

  She went on. “As much as I do love it, I think we should leave Heath and make a home elsewhere.”

  “You are unhappy here?”

  “Not at all. I would be happy anywhere with you.”

  “Then why leave?”

  With his work at the shop for Gavin and the pleasure it brought him, Eric hated the thought of leaving.

  “I want to go where we aren’t known.”

  He looked away. “Oh,” he said, understanding her meaning. “May I have a little time, though? We have a large order to complete at the shop.”

  “I know you love your work.”

  “I love you more.”

  She moved to sit on his lap and draped her arm over his shoulder. “My mother seems to get pregnant at merely the changing of the seasons.”

  He chuckled at the truth of that.

  “I conceived our first time. What if I am pregnant again soon? Will we raise children here among people who know our beginning? Our children will hear of it.”

  Eric gave no second thought to his job. At the possibility of their children hearing such horrible things about him, he agreed wholeheartedly.

  “We will leave the moment my work for Gavin is finished.”

  He placed his hand on her stomach. “Do you want another child now?”

  “I don’t know. It seems too soon.”

  He pulled her to him. “If it happens, I will be the happiest man in all the world. But for a time, can we take care and try to prevent it? I think we should be alone for a while first. I only want to love you for now.”

  When she nodded in agreement, he lowered his head and whispered in her ear. “Can we take care and prevent it right now?

  “For a man who brings me flowers, absolutely.”

  Chapter 21

  From the day that Colin assigned Elias to oversee Isabel’s safety, Colin could see that she was indeed content. Many days she had reason to be with Elias. They rode to Deslan one day each week, walked to the lake once or twice, and went into the palace village to watch plays and traveling acts at the theater. Each night when there was entertainment, they danced together once, and more often than not Elias came for supper at Colin’s invitation. While he was never seated directly beside her, Elias was in her sight, something that made his wife happy. Her glowing expression assured him.

  Since the repairing of their friendship, Colin spent more time with Isabel. Just as if there was no time apart, they once again found ease in each other’s company. Nights like this, when there was nothing scheduled after supper, Colin was the most pleased since he would have Isabel all to himself.

  After supper Colin found her alone in the library reading. They talked for some time until he finally found himself a book and allowed her to continue reading. His real reason for entering the room hadn’t been to read. It never was. The nights he joined her, he did so solely for her company. Though she had evidently come to enjoy evenings alone, Colin hadn’t found the same peace in his solitude.

  All the time they were apart, while knowing it was best for them both, the truth was, he missed her companionship. He missed holding her hand and missed her touch. After spending so many years without the closeness of a wife, once knowing it again, Colin found himself unable to go back to aloneness.

  While he tried to concentrate on the page, Colin was fidgety, sighing on many occasions and tapping his foot, never able to get comfortable.

  “Would you like to talk instead of read?” Isabel said.

  “I can’t seem to clear my mind enough to get a good start on even the first chapter.”

  She grinned at him. “I can see that.”

  “I apologize for disturbing you. I can go.”

  When he began to stand, she held out her hand. “Don’t go. My book has left me disappointed anyway. We can talk instead.”

  Colin moved to sit on the edge of his chair, hesitating to ask.

  “What is on your mind?”

  With a glance at her stomach, he exhaled and said, “Many things.”

  He looked again at the small swell. She was six months into her pregnancy now, and he hadn’t touched the mother of his child in many months. From afar he had watched her middle expand and now that there was a mound there, he often had to force himself not to reach out and touch her. Tonig
ht, he had thought of little else since supper. At one point she had set her fork on her plate and reached for her belly, saying how a little flutter was an exciting reminder that a baby was on the way.

  “I know what we agreed, about my not touching you, but you can’t imagine how often I want to reach out and touch our child.”

  Her eyes grew wide. “Of course, you can.”

  When he stood to come to the couch where she was, she moved her feet and allowed him room to sit.

  “You should have said something long before now. Colin, this is your child. Of course, you can feel him.”

  Unable to look her in the eye, Colin kept his eyes trained on her stomach as he reached out and placed both hands there. This moment affected him just as much as he suspected it would.

  “I realize now, I should have named her.”

  “Oh, Colin.” She placed her hand on his.

  “I thought it would make me grieve more, but now I see it makes me feel guilty for burying an unnamed daughter. How selfish that was of me.”

  “It’s not too late. Name her now.”

  Colin bowed his head. “I would have named her Katherine.”

  “After your mother? That is a beautiful name.”

  “If this is a girl, we can name her anything but that.”

  “I agree,” she said.” We already have a Katherine.”

  He didn’t remark on the fact that she said we, but it warmed his heart since he understood her meaning. They were a family, so Katherine was hers, too.

  “I’m sorry for lowering your spirits tonight,” Colin said.

  “You haven’t lowered my spirits at all. If anything, I’m excited to see you interested in our child.”

  “Of course I am.” He moved back just a little and stared at her. “Have you thought I wasn’t interested?”

  She tilted her head and shrugged. “I’m not sure, really. I just assumed you would wait until he was born before you felt much of a connection.”

  “You couldn’t be more wrong. Already, I think of him often and wonder what he will look like.” He smiled at her. “I’m guessing a brown-eyed boy or girl.”

  “With our brown eyes, that’s a pretty safe guess.”