O’Malley laughed again. “I’ll see if you’re still alive in a few hours.” He slammed the door shut behind him, and over the rain on the leaky roof she could just make out the noise of a key in a padlock.
She slumped against the splintery wood wall. A puddle grew a few feet from her, and Ellen had watched it grow nearer and larger until the sun had set. The spongy softness of the mud seeped around her.Can I dig my way out?But no, her hands were tightly bound behind her back, and there were no sharp objects to cut the rope with.
After some time—perhaps moments, but it felt like years—a soft groan came from the dark corner of the shed.
“Mark?” Ellen scrabbled against the mud, fighting to turn toward the sound. “Mark!”
“Ellen?” His voice was slurred. “What...whathappened?”
“It’s Seamus O’Malley, Mark. You were right. I’m so sorry. You were right about watching out for him. He kidnapped me and somehow he got you and I think he plans to drown us in a few hours and we’ll be fish food in the Thames.”
Silence reigned for a moment. Then, “I thought I had him. I slipped in the mud.” He spat. “It’s disgusting.”
Giddy relief at his voice made her shiver, and she actually giggled. “Mud wouldn’t taste very good,” she agreed.
“My naval commander can never know I lost a fight because I slipped in mud. Are we in the shed?” Mark’s voice was tight, perhaps from pain.
“Yes. Did he hurt you?” Ellen wished she could crawl over to him, to feel his cuts and bruises with her hands, to soothe him with her touch.He’s here because of me.
“I’ll have a black eye tomorrow. Definitely a bruised jaw.” Mark paused. “Has he hurt you?”
“Nothing major. He tied me up tight enough I’ve lost feeling in my feet, and I’m fairly sure my wrists are bleeding from the rope.”
“I’ll kill him,” Mark vowed. “No one hurts my wife.”
Despite their circumstances, a spark of pleasure trickled down her spine at his rough words. “I wasn’t sure you’d come,” she confessed. “We parted on such bad terms. I…” She trailed off, not certain what to say.I’m sorry? I was wrong? I’m glad you’re stuck here with me? Thank God you’re alive but this doesn’t solve our problems?
Mark shuffled, as if he was feeling around their prison. “Of course I came for you, Ellen.”
The declaration made her heart warm, despite the chill in her limbs. “It’s a small shed,” she told him. “Just the one door, near you. No windows. You can feel the roof leaking. You’re probably about a pace away from me. I’m tied to a stake in the ground so I can’t join you.
“I said some things I should apologize for,” Ellen blurted. “I was so shocked, and I let my mouth run on, and I’m sorry. Ishould’ve given you the benefit of the doubt. I know you didn’t force me to have a baby. And…and if you truly love Oxford, we can make something work. I’d hate being apart from you, but if that’s your dream, then perhaps you can visit me on the weekends.”
“Ellen.” His quiet voice interrupted her, but she kept talking, wanting it all out before she lost her courage.
“Mark, I love you. I’m so scared to love you again, but it’s too late, and I do and I will trust you, I promise. We’ll figure out all of this together.” She thought back to his stricken expression at the breakfast table, how he’d seemed genuinely shocked and confused.
“Ellen.”
“I know I hurt you earlier, accusing you of things you didn’t do, and I’m sorry.” He hadn’t been withholding from her to manipulate her, but to keep stress from her. Especially if he believed he’d resolved the issue. Even if that was a rather stupid lack of communication.
“Ellen.”
Her heart pounded in her ears. “Yes?” she whispered, steeling herself for a gentle reproof.
“Can we talk about this after we get out of here?”
Heat crawled up her neck, staining her cheeks. “Oh. Yes. Sorry. Of course.”
She fell into miserable silence. Maybe she was that vapid, shallow girl he’d grown to hate all those years ago.
The silence grew unbearable, a heavy weight that began to crush her. “Are you…?” She couldn’t think of how to finish the sentence.
“I’m thinking.”
“Right. Take all the time you need to think about it. I can wait. We have a few months before you’re offered a fellowship, and?—”
“I’m thinking about howto get out of here.”