He stopped again and looked over his shoulder, questioning her with only the lowering of his chin.
She swallowed and cleared her throat, his acute expression unsettling the ground she stood upon. “I feel I should tell you, I have not been completely honest. My name…is Mrs. Rone.” Shame coated her voice so thick she feared she couldn’t speak the rest. “I…I used Whitehead in hopes that I would not be found. But it seems it made no difference. I hope you can forgive me.”
The dusting of light that rested over him showed little of his expression, but his stance softened. “I understand.”
Two simple words, but spoken with such raw depth that the air warmed around her.
William motioned in front of him. “We are here.”
Praise the Lord. Engulfed with pleasure at their arrival, her body began to give way with the knowledge that rest was nearly within her grasp.
She reached for the tree beside her and held fast, as her limbs cramped.
Darkness shrouded his face, but the tenderness in his voice coated her weakening limbs. “Forgive me for making you walk so much today. I wanted to reach our destination before nightfall.”
She squeaked out the only words she could manage, the reserves of her strength at risk of depletion. “Not at all.”
He must have detected the weakness she tried to mask, for in a moment he was at her side. “Take my arm.”
Ashamed at how much she relied on his strength, Anna was careful not to linger on the thickness of his muscle. She kept her eyes on the ground then ahead as the trees cleared and the side of a house came into view. How he’d been able to find this place in the dead of night, she would never know.
When they reached the house, he stopped and Anna gratefully released her grip and clung to the wood siding.
“I’ll go to the door first, to be sure I’ve found the right home,” he said. Almost as an after thought added, “Don’t go anywhere.”
Anna grinned, feeling light-headed thanks to the exhaustion that weighted her down. “Where else would I go?”
He stared, his dark blonde hair looking black in the shadows that covered him. A flash of white behind his smile was all she could see before he finished the few steps to the door.
CHAPTER FIVE
A single light glimmered in the upstairs window. Was someone awake? Staring up, William raked a hand over his head, catching a quick but pungent scent from beneath his arm. A bath could not come soon enough. He sighed. It must be near midnight.
William glanced to the woman who clutched the side of the house. All those miles and she hadn’t breathed a word of complaint. He knew from the hobble in her step that her feet pained her, and she must be as starving as he, if not more.
Pushing out a firm exhale, he knocked twice.
After a moment with nary a rustle from within, he reached to knock again, but the door creaked open a crack then flew back wide.
“Hen—”
“Good evening, Thomas. ’Tis I, William Fredericks.”
Thomas scowled, analyzing William’s expression, before reaching out his hand. “Of course. ’Tis a pleasure, old friend. Come in, quickly.”
“I have someone with me.”
Thomas’s expression dropped. “Aye?”
William looked to where the woman stood. “I happened upon a woman…she is in need and I assured her you would be willing to help.”
“We are happy to assist however we can.”
William finally inhaled a deep breath, though he hadn’t even known he’d stilled his lungs. His friends would help her, just as he’d promised. Thank the Lord for people such as these.
He motioned to her at the same time that Thomas called to Eliza to come down quickly, and with a blanket.
Eliza hurried down the stairs, flinging a shawl around her shoulders. Her mouth opened and she rushed to the door, but Thomas slowed her with a gentle touch to her arm.