One More Chance

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Catherine slowly work to a steady thumping sound. For a moment, she wasn't sure of her bearings and it took her a couple if minutes before the memories of the last few days came back. It was then that she realized that she was on a horse, with Christian, her husband. Presently she was snuggled against a solid wall which could only be his chest and the strong thumping were his heartbeats. Somehow, she had been moved to be sitting sideways, leaning on him. The position was very comfortable and she sighed in approval and appreciation. He must have heard her sigh because he looked upon her and she found herself staring back into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. It was one she could lose herself in forever. Up this close, she could see the stubble of the beard on his cheeks. She had a strong urge to rub her cheeks against his and feel the roughness on her own. But she didn't think he would appreciate it and hence, restrained herself.

"Slept well?" he asked.

"Hmm," she nodded.

"We'll be stopping soon," he informed her and looked back up again concentrating on the path ahead. She wished he could have continued speaking to her. She enjoyed his attention she realized. She liked this softer side of him one that could be called almost caring.

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Christian gave himself an invisible shake. He was going to stay away from her. No two ways about it. Hadn't he told himself that when she slept? Then why did an in-built protective instinct seem to rise within him when she looked at him? She seemed so young and vulnerable that he had unconsciously felt the need to look out for her comforts and hence had inquired about her sleep. No more he told himself firmly and called for the group to halt. He jumped down from his stallion and helped her down. Then he gathered the reins of his horse and a couple of others and led them to the nearby stream for watering. Fred and a couple of others followed behind with threat if the horses while his other men split into groups with some setting up tents, building fires, cooking and other things required for setting up a camp.

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As Christian left her to water the horses without so much as a backward glance, Catherine realized that he had gone into the mood that he was in right after the wedding and during the riding. She let out a frustrated sigh. Just when things seemed to be going nicely, he had to switch back. Well, at least she knew she wasn't imagining a 'kind and caring Christian' that she had known the day before her wedding. After yesterday, she had begun to wonder if the the man before the wedding was a figment of her imagination. Atleast now she knew such a man existed and that she just had to work to ensure he was in that state.

Feeling much better at the thought, she moved to the men cooking to help out. This was going to be a long journey and she was going to do her best to do her share if work and help the rest. It wasn't fair to always expect the men to serve her. Dick was at one of the fires cooking some of the dried meat they had brought along. "Let me help," she volunteered as she plonked on the grass beside him. "It's not necessary my lady. I'll do it, but thank you for offering to help," he responded graciously. She gave him a mock stare and a light shove. "Go get me curry leaves while I look over this," she told him. Dick gave her a dumbfounded look, "curry leaves?" "Yes they are small and grow in a bunch. Look near the roots of the trees. You'll find them. It helps to add flavor to the food and is healthy too," Catherine informed him. As he left her to look for the leaves she turned the meats on the grill to cook the other side. Within minutes Dick was back with the leaves. As he looked, she washed the leaves with water and used two relatively clean stones to grind them into powder form. Then, she sprinkled them over the frying meat. She got some ale and coated each piece of meat with some of it so as to soften the meat more than usual and add more flavor to it. Within minutes it was ready and she got Dick to distribute them to the men.