The Hermit Read Free Page B

heard my name in… so long.”  She closed her eyes for just a moment and when she opened them, she
said, “Daphne…Pierce.  My name is Daphne Pierce.” 
     
    He
nodded with a very small smile, attempting to reassure her, she knew.  “Daphne,
my name is Ryan Wallace.  I’m a doctor.  There is nothing that would cause me
to hurt you.  I found you in the woods, brought you here to try and help you. 
I want nothing from you; I will take nothing from you.  I have a computer and a
satellite phone if you need me to contact someone for you.  The nearest town is
called McArthur; you’re at the base of the Wrangell Mountains in Alaska.  McArthur
is about twenty miles away due south.  I will take you there if you want me to. 
You’re welcome to stay as long as you like but you are not a captive. 
You are in control, Daphne, and you are safe.”
     
    She
stared at him for a long time, “I…I have to use the bathroom.”  He nodded.  She
stood carefully, keeping her legs against the couch and backing slowly around
it.  She was weak, unable to stand fully upright.  She held the furniture then
the wall for support.
     
    “Daphne,
take the candlestick.”  She froze, looking from him to the brass, reaching out
with a shaking hand and curling her fingers around the heavy base.  Clutching
it to her chest, she backed the rest of the way to the bathroom door and closed
it without a sound. 
     
    He
stayed where he was and waited.  Fifteen minutes later, she opened the door and
seemed surprised he was still in the chair on the other side of the room.
     
    “Are
you…is there anyone else here?” she asked him from the doorway.
     
    “No
one lives within twenty miles of this cabin but me.  Just me, Daphne, and I
won’t hurt you,” he gestured to the kitchen, “If you’re hungry or thirsty, the
kitchen is over there.  Please be careful how much you take in at first. 
You’ve been nearly starved to death.  Your stomach can’t handle much yet.  You
were dangerously dehydrated so I’ve been giving you water, ginger tea, and beef
broth over the last eight days.”
     
    Daphne
came out of the bathroom and plastered herself against the wall beside it.  “Eight days …I’ve been here eight days ?  You…fed me?”  He nodded. 
“Did…did you…un dress me?”
     
    “The
day I brought you here I cleaned you, treated your wounds, and dressed you in
the smallest clothes I could find,” he paused, “I touched you as a patient,
Daphne, treated you as a doctor.  I did not abuse you then and I won’t now.  I
swear to you on my life.”
     
    Reaching
up to touch her hair, she whispered, “You…you washed my hair…”  He nodded. 
“I…haven’t been able to wash my hair in...”  She cleared her throat, “What’s
the month?  The year?”
     
    Of all
the things she could have asked him, this shocked Ryan most.  He told her and
watched her eyes widen in shock.  She slid to the floor, landing on her butt
with a soft thump.  “Almost two years.  Oh my God, two years .”  She was
breathing too rapidly and Ryan knew she was going to hyperventilate. 
     
    “Daphne,
you need to calm your breathing.”  She was beyond the ability to do so and he
stood, approaching her carefully and her terror ratcheted up several degrees. 
“I will not hurt you, let me help you.”  He crouched in front of her and her
fingers tightened so hard on the candlestick her knuckles were white. 
     
    He
reached under her back and her knees, lifting her easily and carrying her
toward the kitchen.  He set her gently in a chair and moved to a drawer,
opening it and pulling out a paper sack.  He showed her what to do, “You’ll
have to put the candlestick down to seal the bag.  I’ll go back to the chair,
Daphne.” 
     
    Walking
around the far side of the room, he returned to the chair and she pulled the
bag to her face, keeping her eyes on him.  From the moment Ryan had stood up to
help until he sat back