Rain Glade (5 page)

Rain shrugged and looked in the direction of
the village, wondering if Jacob was still there. Verna followed her
gaze before looking back. “What’s wrong with you? There’s something
on your mind besides the kick that pox-ridden mayor gave you.” She
grabbed Rain’s hand and brought her over to the porch bench where
they both sat cross-legged, facing each other. “Talk to me.”

“I met one of Lord Greffen’s soldiers, named
Jacob.” The words began to flow in a rush. “He saw me bathing.”

“Oh dear.” Worry crossed Verna’s face and she
put a hand on Rain’s knee.

“He followed me from Tonia’s because Tonia
was worried that something was wrong with me. Then he saw the
bruise.” Rain gingerly touched her side. “He didn’t do anything to
me, but he did sit on a rock and talked to me while I bathed.”

“Go on.” Verna put her elbows on her knees
and cupped her chin in her hands, listening intently.

“When I was done, he mentioned wanting to see
where the creek came from. I’ve always wondered the same thing, so
I agreed to go along.”

Verna raised her eyebrow and sat up. “So you
went walking into the forest with a man you didn’t know?”

Rain blushed. “It was probably a bad idea,
but he was being nice to me and I’m not used to that.”

“Hmmm.” Verna frowned but gestured for Rain
to continue.

“His father is a copper miner up in Tilbern.
His mother helps anyone who needs it and he has three older
brothers and a sister. The brothers are all in the king’s army and
his sister married a fletcher.”

“He told you all that while you walked along
the creek I suppose. One moment.” Verna went inside and got their
cups of tea. She took a sip of hers. “What then?”

Rain rubbed her hands on the warm cup. “Then
I was in a lot of pain and he was worried about me. We found this
beautiful glade that has magic in it. It’s like one of those places
you told me about.”

“That’s wonderful! I must visit it sometime.”
Verna smiled and stretched her arms up high.

“We can go now if you like.” Rain made to get
up.

Verna put a hand on Rain’s. “No, no. I’m much
too tired to go traipsing through magical glades, but I’ll go with
you soon, I promise. So then what happened?”

“Then the pain got worse and he came over and
picked me up. He sat down and held me in his arms. I fell asleep
until he woke me up this morning.” Rain wrapped her arms around her
shoulders, remembering what it felt like to be held.

“He held you in his arms all night? How
extraordinary.” Amazement filled Verna’s eyes. “I think I might
like him already.”

“He kissed me.” Rain bit her lip, wondering
how her friend would react.

“Hmm. Perhaps I might
not
like him.”
Verna crossed her arms and lifted her chin in suspicion. “Tell me
more.”

“We walked back to the pool where we met. He
said I was amazing. Then he kissed me before running back to town.”
Rain touched her lips in memory again. She could still feel his,
but wanted to try it again so she could concentrate on how it
felt.

“He just kissed you and ran away? I’m not
sure
how
to feel about him.” Verna pursed her lips in
thought.

“He said that he was only in here til this
afternoon. He didn’t want to bring me back to the village because
his sergeant is mean.”

Verna frowned. “Do you think he was telling
the truth?”

“Yes, of course.” Rain shrugged. “Most of the
men in the village call me stupid and worthless. His sergeant is a
soldier for Lord Greffen and will probably consider me a starved
rat. I don’t even know why
Jacob
likes me. He would never
marry someone as worthless as me.”

Verna lifted her hand. It twitched before
coming forward and caressing Rain’s cheek. “I don’t know whether I
should slap every man in the village or slap you for believing
their lies.” She stood and stretched to her toes. “The next time
you call yourself worthless, I
will
slap you, even if it
makes you cry. Do I make myself clear, Rain?”

Rain stared at her, wide-eyed. “Yes, Verna. I
won’t say that anymore.”

“Good. Now, when’s the last time you
ate?”

“Tonia let me make an egg yesterday for
lunch.”

Verna’s eyes narrowed again. “You shall help
me make a soup. I have wild carrots, tomatoes, tubers, mushrooms
and some other ingredients along with some pleasant spices. And
you’ll sleep here tonight so that I can look after you.”

***

The next morning, Rain was doing better. She
said goodbye and headed to Ulga’s house to help with the planting.
In addition to feeding Rain breakfast and lunch, Ulga gave her some
food for dinner.

The next day, clouds dotted the sky and a
gentle breeze kept the air cool. Rain began working on her own
garden. Seeds were one of the things she earned while helping
others and she had a good variety that would get her through the
winter if the taxman didn’t take too much. When her father began to
move around inside the house, she dropped the hoe and headed to
bathe in the pool.

She slipped in, the cold water cleansing the
sweat off her skin. Rain luxuriated in the sensation before washing
her dress. When it was clean, she set it to dry on a rock and
slipped back in to work on her hair.

Jacob’s resonant voice rose above the sounds
of the forest. “That bruise looks like it’s starting to heal.”

Rain froze and then slowly turned around. “Is
there a reason you keep sneaking up on me when I bathe?”

He had the good grace to blush. “We just got
into the village and I came right away to see if you were
here.”

“And how long have you been watching me?”

“You were washing your dress. I thought about
saying something, but you’re just so pretty I couldn’t work up the
courage.” He ran a hand through his hair, but didn’t stop staring
at her.

“I’m not pretty.” Rain didn’t know why he
kept insisting she was.

“Yes you are. Do you want to go to your glade
again?” He walked over to the rock by the falls and sat down.

“As soon as I finish scrubbing my hair. Do
you intend to watch me bathe again?”

“Yes.” Jacob’s face reddened, but he kept
staring. “I don’t think I can stop.”

Rain’s eyes widened in surprise. “Are you
always this bold?”

“No. I’ve never watched a girl bathe.” He
fidgeted with the buckles on his jacket. “I just can’t stop staring
at you. Your hair glistens in the sunlight. The water dances on
your skin. Your eyes are like the pond you’re bathing in and I want
to swim in them.” Jacob took a deep breath. “I haven’t been able to
stop thinking about you.”

His words overwhelmed Rain and she couldn’t
think of a response, so she continued to wash her hair. In her own
boldness, she didn’t turn her back to him or try to hide from his
gaze.

When she was done, she stepped out of the
pool and wiped the extra water off her skin. Jacob grabbed her
dress and put it over his shoulder. She took a step back when he
moved to her side.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice was
soft and filled with concern.

Rain gasped as he touched the bruise. It
didn’t hurt much, but his hand sent a thrill through her body. As
he moved his hand over her stomach, goosebumps jumped out all over
her skin.

“I think it will heal, but I’ve been worried
about you.” He looked into her eyes.

Rain understood what he meant about wanting
to swim in her eyes, because she wanted to do the same in his. They
were a brilliant pink, with light-red facets running throughout.
She grabbed her dress off his shoulder and put it on, moving his
hand from her waist when he didn’t.

Then she collected her pouch and pulled her
brush out of it. “You said you wanted to go to the glade, so let’s
go.” She scurried up the rocks. At the top, she walked along the
creek without looking back to see if he was following. Rain brushed
her hair as she thought about the feel of his hand on her side.

Jacob caught up quickly. “You’re definitely
feeling better. You could barely climb those rocks the other
day.”

Rain shrugged. Twinges of pain
had
shot through her gut when she climbed them, but they didn’t matter
right then, so she hid the fact.

“I’m still worried about you. That’s a nasty
bruise.” He gently rubbed small of her back as they walked.

The touch sent another thrill through her
that she didn’t understand, but she tried her best to ignore it.
“Verna says nothing inside is damaged and I’ll be fine.”

“Oh, good.” Genuine relief crossed his
face.

Rain finished brushing her hair and returned
the brush to her pouch. She took Jacob’s hand and looked up at him
with a smile. The broadest smile Rain had ever seen lit his face in
response.

“I’ve been thinking about you all the time
too,” Rain admitted as they walked. “You keep saying nice things to
me and I’ve never heard them before.” She frowned. “I still don’t
think I’m pretty . . . but I like it when you say I am.”

“You’re the prettiest woman I’ve met in my
life whether you believe it or not. I’m glad you were here
today.”

“I wasn’t sure if you would ever come back.”
Rain stepped around a rock, holding onto Jacob’s arm to steady
herself.

“I was going to come back even if I had to
sneak away. Seyten is a day’s journey, but I would have done it
just to steal a kiss from you.” Jacob kissed her hand.

Rain blushed again. “So you snuck away?”

“No, Sarge likes a girl at the inn. I think
she’s the tanner’s daughter?”

“Oh, that would be Ella. She waits tables for
the mayor.” Rain didn’t like her at all. Ella had spit on her the
last time they saw each other.

“Yeah. That’s her. Sarge likes her, so he’s
decided we have to come down here whenever possible. It’s just me
and him this time.” Jacob grinned. “He’s agreed to bring me with
every time.”

The news excited Rain. “And does Lord Greffen
allow you to visit so often?”

“He doesn’t pay attention to his guards. The
captain does that and he doesn’t care what we do.”

“How odd.” It didn’t make sense to Rain. “I
would think Lord Greffen would know what’s going on with his
people.”

Jacob looked away. “Both he and the captain
spend a lot of time drinking and talking about how things used to
be. They don’t pay attention to much of anything.”

“I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t
like people drinking,” Rain said with a shake of her head. “It
makes men stop working or caring about anything.”

“There’s some truth to that.” Jacob helped
her over another rock.

“Do you drink spirits or wine?” Rain hoped
not.

He made a face. “I can’t stand the taste,
especially mead. You’d think something made with honey would taste
better.”

“I’ve never tasted it or anything like that.
Verna makes raspberry juice that tastes better than anything in the
world. She chills it in the creek by her house.” Rain couldn’t wait
until raspberries were ripe so she could taste it again.

“You talk about Verna a lot. What about your
ma?”

Rain looked away. “She died five winters ago.
One morning she just didn’t wake up. My father buried her behind
the house.” Rain missed her mother intensely.

“I’m so sorry, Rain.” Jacob stopped and put
his arms around her.

Rain kept her arms at her side. She liked
Jacob but didn’t yet trust him enough to allow her vulnerability to
show. Jacob seemed to sense this. After a moment, he stepped back
and held out his hand. She took it and they resumed walking.

It was drizzling by the time they reached the
glade, so they dashed through the tunnel. Once again, they stopped
and looked around in awe. Tiny raindrops cascading over countless
leaves created a musical effect that danced within their ears. Rain
couldn’t help but run to the middle and spin with her face up to
the sky and her arms spread out. She stopped when she that Jacob
was staring at her.

He blushed and then joined her in spinning
with his arms out.

They spun and laughed until they fell down
next to each other in dizziness. Rain watched the droplets falling
from the sky and thrilled in the moment.

Jacob rolled over above Rain and rested his
elbows on either side of her, covering her from the drizzle. He
stared into her eyes as his weight pressed down on her. “You’re
beautiful.”

Rain didn’t believe him, but liked the way he
said it. She wiped the moisture from her face and stretched her
arms on the ground above her head. Every nerve in her body tingled
and her breathing was shallow from being so vulnerable to the young
soldier. He moved in slowly for a kiss. She tensed nervously, but
wanted to know what it would feel like again.

His warm lips against hers made it impossible
to focus on any one thing. The heat of his skin warmed her, the
grass underneath her was wet, her leg bent in response to the kiss.
None of it made sense.

When he lifted his head, Rain was panting.
She stared at his face, his eyes, his mouth, his questioning
expression. She wanted to tell him that she liked it, but no longer
remembered how to speak.

He came down for another kiss. Rain decided
to kiss him back. The sensation amplified and she lifted an arm
around his neck. His weight pressed pleasurably against her
chest.

When he lifted his head again, she was even
more out of breath. Rain began to get anxious. She moved her hand
from around his neck to his chest and pushed. When Jacob sat up,
Rain rolled over and got to her feet, confused by the
sensations.

“I know my actions are bold, but I like you,
Rain.” Jacob stood. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not mad.” Rain stared at him for a
moment, taking in his red leathers that complemented his eyes. His
black hair, his strong face. Rain decided he was the most handsome
man she had ever met, and the nicest too. “I like you too, Jacob.
You make me feel safe and scared all at the same time. I like it
when you kiss me. In fact . . .”