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Chapter Five

Clermont opened his eyes and stretched his back. He’d slept in his armchair the night before. His back ached as he stood up and he buttoned his shirt that he’d left unbuttoned the previous night. He’d been exhausted from his last hunting trip, salting and hooking the meat, saving the woman from the clearing and Mary-Katherine’s visit.

The door to the bedroom was still ajar and he focused on it. The sun was just rising and soon it would reflect blindingly off the snow. He pulled on his jacket and grabbed the pail to head outside for fresh water.

On his return he knew instantly that the woman was awake. It was like he could detect the change in her breathing, the way her heart was beating, like the air was more alive when she was awake. The cabin felt different too and he didn’t like it.

He filled the pot next to the fire and hung it from the hook. He needed coffee and a bath probably, but that was a worry for later. First he needed his questions answered and walk back to the clearing to see if the wolves had finished off the bodies.

He walked to the bedroom and pushed the door open. The woman scooted back up against the wall when he entered and her eyes widened. He was a big, imposing man, rough looking probably and he was sure he smelled a little.

“You’re awake.”

The woman pulled the bearskin up to her chin as she regarded him for a few seconds. “Where am I?”

“Outside Turkgazan.”

“You saved me.”

Clermont didn’t acknowledge her words, instead he walked to a wooden cupboard and opened it. “You can wear this. It’ll cover more than what you’re currently wearing.”

Annabelle looked at the shirt he was holding out to her. It was one of his, obviously. She stood up from the bed, her arm going to her chest to cover her hardening nipples. The heat from last night was gone and now she could feel the cold.

“Thank you.”

“What’s your name woman?” His voice was rough, deep and it made her heart flutter stupidly.

“Serena.” She had no idea why she had just lied, but she didn’t know him. He could be a soldier who lived out here. A soldier who had killed her family.

“Clermont. Put that on while I get the other hearth started. You can tell me who I killed yesterday while we eat.”

With that said Clermont turned on his heel and left the room. The hearth by his chair had gone out during the night and he cleaned the now cold ashes from it. By the time Serena opened the bedroom door the fire was crackling and he was almost done cutting up the vegetable for a stew.

“You’ll want to wrap the bearskin around yourself.”

Annabelle turned her head to look at him as he carried the bowl with the vegetables to the pot hanging on the hook. “Why?”

“We’re going outside to bathe.”

“Outside?” she shrieked and saw amusement in Clermont’s eyes.

“Yes. A woman should never smell the way you do.”

Annabelle lowered her head and heat flamed over her cheeks. She had gotten used to the smell. The slaves of the of the new King never bathed. It kept them safe from rape at least but she hadn’t realized how bad it was.

She hurried back to the bedroom and grabbed the bearskin from the bed and wrapped it around herself. She had no shoes and wondered how long it took before frostbite set in. This man was insane to think she’d go outside and bathe in cold water. She didn’t care how much she smelled.

The smells coming from the hearth made her stomach grumble and she realized she was famished. She’d eat a horse right now, she was that hungry. Clermont put a lid on the pot and the smells almost disappeared.

“It’s not far to the caves, I’ll carry you.”

He now had a big bearskin coat on and she regarded him with big eyes. “Carry me?”

He seemed to try to smile, his lips moving awkwardly, like he didn’t know how to do it. That seemed really sad to her. A person should know how to smile. “You have no shoes and it’s not far. I carried you all the way here from the clearing and that’s at least three miles away.”

“Oh … uh …. thank you.”

Clermont shrugged as he opened the front door and the cold wind had her shivering, her teeth nearly chattering. There was no way she was bathing. He couldn’t force her, could he? In one swoop his one arm was behind her knees and other arm by her back as he picked her up.

She pulled her legs up a little and the bearskin fell over her bare feet. Clermont walked with an easy gait, as if she weighed nothing. She knew she was skinny from malnourishment but she still weighed something. He didn’t talk and walked briskly through the trees.

She leaned her head back against the crook of his shoulder and looked at the sky. Clear blue greeted her through the canopies of the trees and she only looked forward again when he stooped slightly and darkness greeted her.

“I discovered these caves a few years back, in the bigger cavern is a hot pool. It made bathing more bearable in winter times.”

Clermont put her down and she was surprised to find that the rocks beneath her feet were warm. The bearskin landed with a soft thud on the cave floor and she looked at the pool up ahead with steam rising from it.

She averted her gaze when she realized that he was taking his clothes off. He strode past her, naked as the day he was born and her eyes followed him. She looked on in horror at the whip marks on his back, faded over time like it had happened many years ago.

Clermont lowered himself into the steaming water and turned his back on her as he rested his arms on the other side of the pool. “Bathe.”

Annabelle quickly undid the buttons and walked towards the pool. She dipped her toes in first and found it comfortably warm, in fact, it was perfect. She slid into the water and lowered her head, wetting her hair. How long had it been since she’d washed her hair? She couldn’t even remember how many days it’d been.

“Soap?”

Annabelle opened her eyes and looked at Clermont just a few feet away from her, holding a bar of soap. His hair was slicked back and his eyes was an interesting yellowish colour, one she hadn’t seen before. His shoulders were broad and the muscle definition she’d seen the previous night was now clearly visible.

“Thank you.”

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