Cinders and Ashes Read Free Page B

water and deepening mud would be impossible.
    Tipping
her head backwards, she swallowed the raindrops that fell into her
open mouth gratefully, and contemplated her situation. She had
gotten him this far. In all conscience she couldn’t give up on him
now. Whatever the cost to her arms and legs. Ignoring her aching
back, Amelia bent over him.
    “ Please wake up.” She fought tears when the howling winds
immediately snatched her voice. When he didn’t respond, she shook
him harder. Muttering dire imprecations, she tugged at the tight
bindings at his wrist until they unravelled. She was about to drag
him again when his low moan caught her ears.
    “ Help me,” Amelia shouted into his ear, pummelling her fists
against his solid chest in frustration. She cried out with joy when
he issued another soft groan in response.
    “ Get up. Get up.” Her voice shook with a mixture of exertion
and rising excitement, as the prospect of getting him out of the
rain, and herself home at last rose like a phoenix before
her.
    “ Get up and help me,” she persisted with growing impatience,
when he didn’t immediately move. “Get up. Get up. Get
up!”
    Her
tenacity was rewarded by the sudden jerking of his head as he
peered at her through the gloom. She pushed and shoved at his
lumbering frame, urging him to his feet. Shaking rain out of her
eyes, she prodded him forwards relentlessly when he tried to stand.
They only covered a few paces before he fell to his knees with a
thud.
    For
several long and harrowing minutes they made their somewhat awkward
journey across the muddy cart track. Amelia would prod the man who
would heave to his feet and stagger a few steps, then slump to his
knees again. When his swaying became so bad that he looked as if he
would topple forwards onto his face, Amelia would stand before him
and tug his shoulders, making him walk just a few steps
more.
    They
were so close. Just another few feet and they would be at her
cottage door. She could get them both inside to safety.
    Luckily
her single-storey cottage had no steps inside to traverse. She was
fairly certain that without the gritty boulders and stones to
hamper his slide, she could move him easily across the floor of her
cottage to the bed.
    The
heady scent of success wafted tantalisingly before her.
Straightening her shoulders with determination, Amelia stretched
her aching limbs and surveyed the few steps needed to reach the
door.
    “ Get up, we are nearly there. Help me!” She prodded and pushed
when he would have slumped over. Over and over again, she poked and
pleaded, guiding him steadily to the reassuring bulk of her
cottage.
    Slamming
the door open, she dragged his lumbering form across the threshold
and into the sanctuary of her home. Exhausted, she collapsed on to
the floor beside him with a heavy thump. For several moments she
lay where she fell, while she regained her breath.
    Eventually she gathered the last remnants of energy and
stepped cautiously over his legs. Within moments she had crossed
the track on trembling legs to collect the lantern she had dropped
earlier.
    Frowning
at the jumble of questions that had to remain unanswered for now,
Amelia returned to her cottage, dragging the man’s legs to one side
to shut the door. As an afterthought she carefully bolted it. For
added protection, she wedged a spindle chair under the handle. A
scream lurched into her throat when a particularly heavy gust of
wind rattled the door.
    “ Don’t be such a goose,” she chastised herself, quickly
lighting the few candle stubs she owned, banishing the darkness to
the far corners of the small space.
    As the
small light penetrated the inky blackness, Amelia reluctantly
focused on the man who had suddenly thrown her life into such
turmoil. A small flicker of awkwardness surged through her. Her
initial impressions of him outside had been accurate. He was very
tall with well-defined muscles. His unconscious bulk took up nearly
a third of the floor in her