Embrace the Night

Page 42



"What is it? What's wrong?"

"I need… I need to…" Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. How did a lady tell a man that she needed a bedpan?

But there was no need. Understanding dawned in the depths of Gabriel's eyes. Wordlessly, he swept her into his arms and carried her down a long hall lined with narrow cells.

He stepped into the first cell, uncovered the chamber pot in the corner, raised her gown, and placed her on it.

Avoiding her gaze, he left the room.
She couldn't face him when he returned.

"Sara? Sara, listen to me. You needn't be embarrassed. I'm only sorry I didn't anticipate your needs sooner. Forgive me."

She mumbled something completely inane under her breath, wishing he would just go away and leave her alone. It had been bad enough when the nuns tended her, but this was beyond enduring. She wanted him to think of her as a woman, not a helpless child.

"Sara…"

She heard the sound of his footsteps as he crossed the floor, and then he was kneeling in front of her, taking her hands in his.

"Sara, look at me." "I can't."

"It's a perfectly normal function of the body."
She felt her cheeks grow hotter.

"If you're going to stay here with me, you had best get used to my helping you."
"Stay here?" She looked up then. "Do you mean it?"

"If you wish it."

"Oh, I do."

"Good, then let's have no more foolishness." He swung her into his arms and carried her back to her bed. "Did you enjoy the poetry?"

"Yes, thank you. Thank you for everything. Especially for Carlotta." She caressed the doll's hair. Perhaps she wasjust a child, Sara thought, to be so overjoyed with such a gift.

"I've brought you something to eat," he said, and reaching into a box, he withdrew a steaming platter, placed it on a tray, and set it in her lap. "I hope you like it."