Love Comes Blindly (book 5) (The Fielding Brothers Saga) (6 page)

“Now, Mr. Fielding—”

“Gregg,” he said softly. “Mary, I know we are in the hallway now and I can’t hear anyone else around us. So please call me Gregg.”

She smiled. “You are using your ears much better.
Very good.”

“I thank you.”

“So now let’s—”

“Say my name, Mary.”

Inwardly, she groaned. His voice was much too deep, and she stood entirely too close to him. Quickly, she repeated her encouraging words…but they seemed to weaken the more she said them.

She took a deep breath and slowly released it. “Gregg, I’m going to take your hand and let you touch the wall.” She placed his hand on the wall. “Not only do you need to walk with your feet, but your hands as well. Your feet will feel for objects that might be in your way, just as your arms will feel for objects in front of you.”

“I understand.” He nodded.

As he moved his feet slowly, his fingers slid along the wall. She used her hands to hold onto his waist, but only to make certain he didn’t fall… That’s what she told herself, anyway. So then why could she detect every muscle in his back, and every flex of his waist and stomach? And why, pray tell, did she enjoy touching him this way? It wasn’t really scandalous since she was acting as his teacher. Still…it was the improper thoughts filling her head that made her curse her weakness once more.

She had helped several people who couldn’t see since coming to the Abbey—a few of them were men—yet Gregg Fielding was the only one she enjoyed helping…and holding on to. Perhaps being his teacher wasn’t a good idea after all. She should have listened to the Reverend Mother when she suggested assigning someone else to Gregg’s care.

But Madeline didn’t want to feel like a failure. She
must
control herself and overcome this obstacle!

“Gregg, you are doing remarkably well for your first time.”

“Only because I have such a remarkable teacher.”

She smiled. “Oh, I don’t think I’m that
remarkable
.”

“You are to me.”

His voice was low; his words seducing. But she would not let it affect her.

“I’m having a cane made for you from a man in town that I know.”

“How thoughtful of you, Mary.”

The closer they came to the end of the hallway, the more Madeline realized how much darker it was—more so than the rest of the hall. Of course to Gregg, it wouldn’t matter. Only to her…so she would just have to act like nothing was abnormal.

Ha, right!

“Gregg, I’m so proud of you. We’re almost to the end and we’ll turn back around.”

He dropped his hand to hers still clasping his shirt, and stroked her skin. “Just as long as you continue to hold me, I shall make it.”

She licked her suddenly dry lips. Why did he have to go and say that for? “I’m quite certain you would be able to make it even without my help.”

She stopped them once they reached the end and helped him to turn, but instead of doing what her hands instructed, he faced her and grasped her shoulder. At first she thought he’d accidentally stumbled into her, until his arms wound around her and pressed her against his chest.

The rouge!
Yet…even as anger threatened to harden her heart, joy crept in and overrode the emotion. His face fell to her neck. Hot breath caressed her more tenderly than his fingers could have done.

“Oh, forgive me,” he said, his voice husky. “I didn’t mean to bump into you.” A grin tugged on the corners of his mouth. “See…it looks as if I do need your help after all.” He shook his head. “And here you thought I could do it without your help.
Shame on you, Mary.”

Madeline couldn’t stop the laugh bubbling from her throat. “Gregg, I believe you had that planned all along.”

“What an overactive imagination you have.”

He straightened, but didn’t step away. Instead, his hands lifted and cupped the sides of her face as his thumbs stroked her bottom lip. “But the truth is, Mary, you are more a part of my life than you care to admit. In a short time, I have grown very fond of you and I greatly anticipate our visits.”

Inwardly, her heart caved, bringing forth a wrenching pain. If only he knew who he was talking to…

“Gregg, I have grown fond of you as well. But please don’t make this any more difficult than it already is.” She pushed him away from her, guiding his hands toward the wall. “And please don’t touch me like that,” she added in a whisper, knowing he would not agree to her request, just as he refused her the last time she’d made one.

* * * *

For the next few days, Gregg was beside himself. Mary didn’t come to see him as much, and Lord Calvin wasn’t in good spirits so Gregg had no one to talk to. Whenever Gregg smelled a whiff of Mary’s intoxicating rose scent, he called out to her. She stopped, but explained she had things to do and then hurried away.

Other people had been brought to the Abbey. Gregg hadn’t made their acquaintance, but Drake had and told him about them. Apparently, they were wounded soldiers returning from the Crimean War. Gregg didn’t know how many there were, but muffled groans filled the room instead of the silence to which he’d become accustomed.

Finally, from restlessness, he sat on the edge of his bed, bent and felt for his boots. Once his hands knocked into them, he carefully slid them on his feet…and felt proud that he’d put them on the right foot the first time.

Leaving his bed, he felt his way around until reaching a wall. With his arms in front of him, he inspected everything with his touch. He bumped into chairs and tables, but he wouldn’t give up. He couldn’t. If he was going to be blind for the rest of his life, he needed to depend upon himself and not on others—although it was much more enjoyable when he had Mary by his side. She hadn’t returned to give him more lessons, but he wondered if she suspected how he wanted to use his hands…

He couldn’t get that woman from his mind. At night, he dreamed of seeing her, running his fingers through her curly hair, and kissing her endlessly. When he awoke, he was surprised God hadn’t struck him dead for having such inappropriate dreams in an Abbey.

Was it because he was always thinking of ways to seduce women? Or was he thinking about Mary because she’d become his friend and she already held a special place in his heart? Either way, she stayed in his thoughts, as wicked as they were. He wanted to talk to her again, to get to know her better. And yes, he wanted to touch her. He wanted to hear her sultry sighs and the low tone of her gasps.

He walked all the way into the hallway of the Abbey. Sounds around him grew dim and there wasn’t much for him to bump into. Against his face, a warm light warmed his skin. Hoping it was the sun, he followed until it led him to a door.

Gregg opened the heavy wood and stepped outside. Birds chirping nearby and buzzing bees made him smile. In the distance was the steady rhythm of someone chopping
wood.

He recalled the path Mary had taken him the other day in the wheelchair, so he felt with his shoes and hands—just as she’d taught him—until he thought he was walking in the right direction. Soon, his knees came in hard contact with the stone bench. He yelped and quickly sat as he rubbed his shins. Happiness blossomed in his chest. He’d reached his goal in making it to the bench. Wouldn’t Mary be proud of him now?

A choir of angelic singing voices lifted from the Abbey. Peace filled his soul. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t see at this moment. Everything around him made him pleased to be alive.

A breeze swept by him and he sneezed. When he rubbed his nose, the light around his eyes grew darker. When he moved his hand, it became brighter. Did this mean what he thought it meant?

His heartbeat increased. Perhaps his eyes were healing after all.

He cautiously touched the gauze surrounding his head until he found the beginning of it, then he slowly unwrapped it. As each layer fell from his face, the light brightened. Soon nothing stood between his skin and the air. He slid his fingers across his face, feeling for the scars he knew would be there from the burns, but only a few places puckered with scabs. His lids were heavy, crusted with ointment, and he carefully blinked his eyes open.

Through his blurry vision, shapes and colors formed. He saw the outline of a tree, the grass—he saw the blue of the sky. Although still indistinct, the Abbey stood tall and majestic with a pointed steeple and thick, round, gray columns. His heart hammered with excitement.

The garden beckoned him, so he took careful steps away from the view of others into the sanctuary of the flowers and shrubbery. He blinked quicker, hoping his vision would become clearer, but that didn’t happen. Yet seeing what he could was enough. Mary had promised he would see, and now he believed.

Emotion tightened his throat and stung his eyes. He wouldn’t be blind after all!

Someone stepped from a side trail onto the path he was walking, and stopped. He couldn’t see who it was, but the woman did not wear the full nun’s attire, although he could tell her clothes were plain, possibly gray and white. Even the outline of her head was noticeable, and she didn’t have anything covering her burnt-blonde hair. His heart soared. “Mary!”

She dropped the basket of flowers that had been in her arms and stood still. “Gregg? Why have you removed your bandages?”

Her voice didn’t sound as soft as he thought it should. Instead, her tone was laced with panic. “Mary, I can see!”

“You can see
me
?”

He stepped closer. “Well, not very clearly, but I can see shapes and colors.” He stopped in front of her and touched her cheek. “And I knew it was you and not one of the nuns due to your different habit.”

She remained standing stiff, but he let his fingers touch her face again, this time almost seeing what he touched. She came close to what he’d imagined the other day. Her lips were fuller.
Her face heart-shaped.
She was certainly a perfect angel.

“Oh, Gregg.
That’s wonderful.” She took his hands away from her face and squeezed.

“You were right when you told me I’d see again.” Happiness overwhelmed him and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his body. “I really thought I’d be blind forever, but now—” His voice choked.

Slowly, her arms lifted to hook around his neck in a loose hug. It was then he realized his angel was really in his arms. His dreams of making her experience the passion he felt was in his grasp. Her soft body fit well against his and he tightened his hold.

He kissed her cheek. At first she stiffened, yet she didn’t pull away. He tried not to wonder if God would strike him at any moment for his wicked daydreams. Instead, he kissed her soft, smooth skin again, letting his lips linger. His heart thumped wildly, making his chest heavy with emotion.

When he kissed her again, his lips were closer to her mouth. Her sharp inhale made him hesitate, yet she didn’t tell him to stop. This encouraged him. He wanted to make her feel his excitement. He must make her experience the same warmth that shot through his body.

He brushed his lips across hers slowly, tenderly. Finally, she sighed and met his mouth as if in surrender. He released a groan of pleasure and kissed the woman he’d been dreaming about since the accident. The woman who made him smile and gave him the courage to believe.

Gregg moved his mouth over hers seductively, and she responded just as he’d hoped. He tilted his head and deepened the kiss. Thankfully, she didn’t pull back, but participated fully. Explosions went off inside his head, and it wasn’t
a cannon
this time.

Before he could enjoy anymore, she pushed him away, her hand flying to her mouth. “No, Gregg. This is so very wrong. If you only knew...only knew who I was.”

“I do, and you will never become a nun, Mary.”

“It doesn’t matter what you believe. I have no desire to fail and you are making me do that very thing.” Her voice cracked.

“I don’t understand how a woman who is so beautiful and passionate would devote her life to God instead of finding a husband.”

She sobbed. “Please, Gregg. You don’t understand.”

“Then help me. I enjoy the way you feel in my arms. I love the way your mouth meets mine, and the happiness I feel when we’re together.”

“No, Gregg...” She cried and covered her mouth again.

“Mary, please—”

“My name is Sister Mary,” she snapped. “I need to fetch the doctor. Stay here and I’ll be back with him.”

Before he could answer, she swung around and ran toward the Abbey. His heart ached with each step she took. What was he thinking trying to seduce a nun in training? Yet, he couldn’t help himself. She made him feel things he never thought he’d feel again. She believed in him when he couldn’t have the same faith.

And she cared for him. He felt it. He knew she was hiding her passion, and God help him, he wanted to teach her how to love him.
Only him.

Chapter Five

Maddie
was back...although Madeline wished she had stayed away. The woman who wanted Gregg to make her body melt had taken over. There was no room for the new Madeline.