Molly-Jane Walter

Chapter Seventeen

I wake up to Gilbert stroking my hair. "Are you alright?" I ask quietly. He nodded. "I've been better, but the pain isn't too bad. Nothing like it was before." He added. I nod worridly. "Molly, I promise, I'm alright." Gilbert smiled my favourite smile, and I instantly feel reassured. "Are you thirsty?" I ask him. He nodded and made to get up. "Gilbert, you have to rest!" I insist. Gilbert shook his head. "Molly, the stream is just there. I'll be fine, really." "Alright, but you have to lean on me." I say as I wrap my arm around his waist. He nodded, and rested his left arm around my neck. We make our way slowly towards the stream. I help Gilbert to sit and then cupped my hands, filling them with water. I bring my hands to Gilbert and he leaned down to drink. "Thank you," He said. "Have a bit more, Gilbert. You must still be quite thirsty." I insist, cupping my hands in the stream again. Gilbert seemed to look slightly less pale after a few more sips of water. I rest my hand on his forehead, feeling for a temperature. Luckily, he had no fever, not even a chill. "You are very lucky, you know that?" I ask. "You heard what your father said. If the bullet had gone through your chest, things would have been a lot worse." Gilbert nodded. "Why did you knock those men out?" I ask quietly. "You got hurt because of me, and that's the very thing I was scared would happen." I continue. "I did it, because for one, I love you, and for two, I would rather die than have had those men take you away." Gilbert said. I shake my head wordlessly. "You really are a wonder, Gilbert Harding." I smile, making him laugh quietly. "I'll just go and get the horses. It would be better if we stayed here, close to the water." I say as Gilbert nodded. "You will be alright, won't you?" I ask worriedly. "I'll be just fine, Molly. Go on now, nothing will happen to me in the space of two minutes." Gilbert chuckled. "And don't worry, my father and Mr. Doyle will still be able to see us from our spot here when they return." I nod, and make my way towards the horses. They had spooked a little during the whole ordeal, but were quiet and calm now, and grazed quietly together. I speak to them gently, and lead them back to where Gilbert sat in the afternoon sun. "Gilbert you should get some more rest, I'll be fine here with the horses, but you need to get better." I tell him. "You must wake me if you need anything, Molly." He said, but I shake my head. "What I need is for you to recover. Please, Gilbert, for me." I whisper gently, kissing his temple. "Very well, only until my father and Mr. Doyle return, and then I'll be awake with you until you're ready to fall asleep." Gilbert said. "At least you agreed to get some rest. That's better than you completely refusing." I laugh as Gilbert grinned. "Rest now, my love. I'll be just fine, I promise." I whisper tenderly. Gilbert nodded and closed his eyes, his head rested on my shoulder. His bandage, a bit of torn hem from my dress, was soaked with blood. I wished I had a proper bandage with me, or at least something else I could use so that I could wash the blood out of the dress hem. Gilbert still had his white shirt on; it was unbuttoned, but I could see that he needed a new bandage, and fast. Ripping another piece off my dress hem, I move to replace the bandage. I work quickly and quietly, and Gilbert didn't so much as stir. Once I had replaced the bandage, I take the piece of dress hem soaked with blood and begin washing it in the stream. Once I had washed all of the blood out, I move back to lay beside Gilbert, gently moving his head to lay in my lap instead of the hard ground. 

Mr. Harding and Mr. Doyle returned from their hunt as the sun began to set. "How is he?" Mr. Doyle whispered. "Resting. He took some water earlier," I whisper back. Mr. Doyle nodded and quickly began to collect wood for a fire. Mr. Harding settled the horses and walked over to where I was sitting beside Gilbert. "You're a very lucky girl, my dear." He whispered. "I can see that Gilbert would do anything for you. Even risk his own life to protect you." Gilbert stired, and I move to place Mr. Doyle's coat over him. "You know, Arthur Lawrence is, after all this time, trying to take revenge on me by getting to Gilbert and you." Mr. Harding whispered sadly. "In the carriage, he said that your wife was supposed to be married to him; and that Gilbert deserved to have the love of his life taken away, just like Arthur did." I say, recalling the conversation. Mr. Harding nodded glumly. "I thought as much." He sighed. "What happened?" I ask quietly. "Years ago, when I was a bit younger than Gilbert is now, my father told me he had found a very nice young lady for me to marry. This was the current Mrs. Harding, keep in mind. Anyway, I had no idea that she had previously been engaged to a Mr. Lawrence. The engagement was broken when she was fourteen, and Arthur seventeen." Mr. Harding continued. "I met my wife and fell in love with her straight away. We were married before the month's end." He said, his eyes took on a dreamy look. "We were quite happy. Keep in mind that I had never met nor heard of an Arthur Lawrence. Many years passed, and our family grew. It wasn't until Gilbert told me in a letter what had happened with Tom Lawrence that everything suddenly made sense. I feared that this would happen, and that is part of the reason I tried to marry Gilbert off to Miss Doyle; her family is rich, and very well respected, and I knew that Arthur wouldn't dare to harm Gilbert if he were married to a wealthy lady." Mr. Harding shook his head sadly. "I'm so sorry, Molly. This is all my fault." He said, looking at me, his eyes full of sadness. "Mr. Harding, it isn't your fault. You couldn't have known any of this at the time. We as people make our own choices, it is never another's fault when someone else makes a poor decision." I tell him kindly. Mr. Harding nodded. "All the same," He said, "I feel responsible. I just hope that this will be the end of it and that Athur will never try to harm my family again." Mr. Harding whispered, his voice low. Once Mr. Doyle had returned from collecting wood, he and Mr. Harding began to build a fire. Gilbert awakened, and took a bit more water, but was still quite weak. "Do you feel like eating?" I ask him, brushing my fingers gently over his forehead. "Despite being shot, I am actually quite ravenous." He laughed. "I see you haven't lost your sense of humor, or your appetite" I smirk. Mr. Harding walked over to Gilbert to see how he is. "No fever, or chills. Let's have a look at this wound then." He said, carefully removing the bandage. "Well the bleeding has finally stopped, thank goodness." He sighed in relief, inspecting Gilbert's wound. "Even so, I would feel better having a doctor assess you, Gilbert." Mr. Harding said. "Unfortunately as we are miles away from Rosefield, we have only two options. We can either stay here until you heal a bit more, or we can ride back very slowly." Mr. Harding continued. "How much  pain are you in, Gilbert?" I ask gently. "Not that much pain. It does still hurt a little, but the pain has died down a lot." He assured us. "Do you think you can ride?" Mr. Harding asked. Gilbert nodded, and squeezed my hand. "Alright then, but we'll have to be very careful. Riding could make the wound worse, so Gilbert, you're to stay beside Molly the entire time, do you understand?" Mr. Harding said. Gilbert nodded. "We'll leave first thing in the morning then." Mr. Doyle called over.