One More Chance

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

God! It had been so tempting! Her offer was irresistible. He wanted her just as much, if not more. But he could tell her heart was involved in her offer. If he had agreed with her, they were going to become more deeply involved and there wouldn't have been a single thing that Christian could have done. It was better as it was now. It is possibly easier to break things now as it were than if they became more complicated. With a frustrated sigh, Christian walked straight toward his tent.

"Sir Ashford! Christian! Fred is burning up with fever. He is tossing and turning violently, we need her ladyship!" Dick cried as he ran towards Christian. Within seconds, Christian was sprinting towards the tent where his friend lay. Fred was thrashing about vigorously and mumbling things incoherently. He appeared delirious. Arthur and Andy were on either side of him trying to keep him down.

"Catherine is by the stream. Get her quick!" Christian hollered to Dick.

"Fred, calm down! You are going to be fine!" Andy tried to calm Fred.

Christian ran toward him and tried to pat Fred's face to wake him up. "Fred? Can you hear me? It's me Christian. Hold on my friend. Catherine is coming," Christian tried to get through to Fred. But nothing seemed to help.

Just then Catherine came charging into the tent. One look at Fred and she ordered all men out and asked Dick to get some water and Arthur to get her medicinal supplies. In the meantime, she kept whispering to Fred to calm him down although the was not much effect on Fred. Thomas was standing outside the tent with Christian and Andy observing the whole scene in some anger.

"You all are going to kill him! Even if we had to sacrifice his arm, I could have kept him alive! You are murderers!" Thomas shouted and stormed away.

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Thomas words pierced through Catherine's mind. She was feeling rather worried now. Fred did not look good at all and she feared that may be Thomas was right and that it would have been better to lose his arm than him. No! She could not lose him. He had been a good friend and a protector in the battle. She had to help him.

When Dick and Arthur came in with the supplies, Catherine got to work immediately. She tried to use a wet cloth to cool him down and checked his bandages for signs of severe infection. Thankfully, she didn't find any and she changed the bandages and went back to cooling Fred down. She kept talking something to him in the hope that it would get through. The other men stayed with her, watching over Fred. It was nearly dawn when Fred's fever broke.

Catherine gave a tired smile. She was confident that Fred would make it now.

"He's going to be ok, just let him sleep and rest. Give him some broth if he wakes up," she told the men in general. Her eyes skimmed over Arthur and Dick and landed on Christian. While the other men had tried to talk to Fred and helped him calm down, Christian hadn't said a word since she entered the tent. He just sat by one corner and stared at Fred, his eyes rimmed in red. Otherwise, his face had been expressionless and he hadn't moved a muscle. She had her doubts as to whether he even blinked his eyes.

Presently her eyes landed on his and forced his to look away from Fred. She could feel his blue eyes staring straight into hers. Much as she wanted to be angry with him for his treatment of her earlier, she couldn't. She could fell his pain consuming the whole of him. She felt a overwhelming need to comfort him. She stood up and walked over to him on the other side of the tent, laid her palm on his well-muscle shoulder and said, "Fred is really going to be alright."

He blinked his eyes a couple of times as though waking from a trance. "Thank you," he replied quietly. "Thank you for saving him." He got up and clasped her hand to walk her out of the tent.

"You need some rest, let us go to our tent so you can get some sleep."

She walked by his side, her palms still clasped within his. Catherine was sure that Christian was not truly feeling normal despite her assurance that Fred was going to be safe. If he was, he would surely have let go of her hand by now. Catherine liked the feeling of being clasped very much and she was going to savor it as long as it lasted.

"Is Fred a good friend to you?" Catherine dared to ask.

Christian didn't answer her. His silence seemed to last an eternity when he finally said, "The best".

"How long have you known him?"

"Since we were both eight. For nearly 20 years."

"How come you have known each other for so long?"

"We both trained for knighthood together at the King's palace. We came to be good friends there. I am proud to call him my friend."

Catherine could feel the depth of his emotion when he said that. She immediately knew that Fred was one of those who had gotten past the walls that Christian had built for himself. Catherine wondered what Fred had done to have earned Christian's loyalty. She wished she could do the same.

A bitter longing swept through her. She yearned to be as important to someone someday, specifically, important to this complex man by her side. Catherine knew that she liked Christian very much. His various dimensions impressed her. He was a strong warrior, fair commander, kind friend, loyal vessel to the king and a caring leader. She was proud to call him her husband. If only he would accept her. She didn't know what was wrong about her.

Her eyes misted as she thought about how no one would care if she was in her death bed as Fred was moments ago. Well, the king and Christian might care for the moment because they needed her to secure the East border, but it was a momentary need. She was easily dispensable once Christian was recognized as the Duke of Newbridge. Maggie would definitely care, but if anything happened to her on the road, Maggie wouldn't even know. Catherine's eyes welled up as she realized how truly alone in this world she was.

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Christian was grateful that Catherine had put in so much effort to save Fred. He wouldn't know what he would do if something happened to Fred. Fred was a very important friend to him. Their history ran sting and deep. Christian was actually feeling very vulnerable watching Fred in that state and was only able to calm himself when Catherine pronounced him safe. He knew in his heart then and there that Fred was going to make it alive.

He trusted Catherine very much and admired her spirit. So many things had happened today and she had stayed strong throughout. She had left behind her home for the safety of the country, she had fought beside his seasoned warriors and comforted him after his nightmare. Even when he had put on his worst behavior in front of her moments ago by the the stream, she had brushed it aside to help Fred in every way she could and now she was walking beside him as though she had forgotten his callous behavior earlier. She was a wonderful woman. But as much as he trusted her, he didn't want to take the risk of putting his hearten the line. People might call him a coward, but he didn't care. He wasn't strong enough to become emotionally attached.

He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. Just then, he noticed her brushing her eyes. Tears? What had he said that would bring tears to her eyes? He racked his brain for the conversation a moment ago and couldn't think of anything that would have caused her to cry.

Christian was tempted to ask her why, but he could see from her subtle efforts to brush her eye dry that she didn't want him to know. He didn't care.

"Why are you crying? What have I said?"

"It's nothing, it's not you," her voice came out tremulously.

He brought his hands up to clasp her shoulders. That was when he realized that he had been holding her hand since they left Fred's tent. He looked at her palm in surprise for a moment. He blinked his eyes twice, dropped her palm to clasp her shoulders. Her head was bowed in front of him.

"Look at me," he said trying to force her to look up. Her head remained bowed. He used his fingers to push her chin up to force her to meet his eyes. Her eyes were completely misty and tears were rolling down her cheeks. She pulled away from Christian and ran towards their tent.

"Catherine! Wait!" Christian hollered. Much as he wanted to chase her, he knew something was not right and he should leave her alone.