entice ladies.”
Miss Barrows waggled her brows at him. “You are so adept at stealing their hearts, you have no need of the tricks and traps others employ?”
“Hardly,” he replied in a wry tone. “But to your question—yes, I received it while in the army.”
Finch paused and debated what more to say on the matter. Certainly, there was the story he gave to the public, but it felt wrong to answer Miss Barrows’ honest manner with fables.
“Come on, Mr. Finch,” she said with narrowed eyes and a teasing smile. “I shared the story behind my scars, it is only fair you should do the same. Tit for tat, and all that.”
He didn’t know what possessed him to speak a truth that no one other than the witnesses and Simon knew. Perhaps it was Miss Barrows’ frank discussion or the relative anonymity of speaking the truth to a stranger. Or simply that Finch wanted to give her a laugh.
“I spent the majority of my time far from any battles, but just after I purchased my commission, my regiment and I saw action at the Battle of Alkmaar.” A knot in his stomach formed as he spoke. “Skirmishes” and “action” were mundane words that did not capture the horror of the battlefield, and he detested using them.
“And while I usually spin a poetic tale of my heroic deeds and how they led to my face being marked, the truth is not flattering,” he said with a grimace. “I received it while my regiment was staying in Canterbury. When soldiers have too much time at their disposal, they resort to inventive ways in which to fill it.”
Miss Barrows snickered. “I can imagine it, sir, for I am well aware of the idiocies men contrive when met with ennui.”
“While riding, one of the lieutenants wagered I could not clear a particularly high fence, and I, filled with the folly of youth, agreed, and was promptly thrown from my mount. I was lucky it was only a gash and I did not crack my skull.” Finch brushed a gloved finger across the scar. “Whenever I felt such a foolhardy urge, this reminded me to find something better to occupy my time.”
“Well, I am pleased you did not do more serious damage and learned your lesson. Many never do.”
Finch glanced in her direction, feeling rather grateful that he’d accepted her invitation today. Odd she may be, but Miss Barrows was proving to be quite entertaining, and as they strolled along, discussing an array of subjects, he was quite pleased to have someone with whom to pass the morning.
Chapter 11
With a start, Simon’s eyes shot open. It was a dream. Just a dream. He told himself that several times, but the lingering panic in his heart would not believe it. Blinking at the darkness, Simon reached for Mina, wrapping an arm around her. She stirred but settled once more, curled against him. His Mina was there, but a shiver of worry still ran down his spine. Even in the midst of his dream, he’d known it wasn’t real, but Simon needed to feel her in his arms to believe she was there beside him.
Simon’s exhausted mind and body begged him to sleep, but to close his eyes would only send him back to his nightmares. Though each one was unique in the way it unraveled, each ended the same: Mina was gone.
A lock of Mina’s hair fell across his hand, and he ran his fingers through it. Casting his eyes to the window, he saw the first rays of morning light peeking through the edges of the curtains. If it weren’t for the residual fear niggling at his thoughts, Simon could think of no better way to pass the time than lying in bed with his beloved wife. But the dreams plagued him.
Without hesitation or qualification, Simon could say the last three months had been the happiest of his three and thirty years. Comparing his life before Mina to the life he now had was like comparing a child’s drawing to a master artist’s painting. The thought of losing her had his heart racing, a clammy chill sweeping over his skin as he clutched Mina closer.
Simon’s dreams were merely telling him what he refused to acknowledge: one way or another, he would do something to drive Mina away again.
***
Light filtered into Mina’s dreams, easing her into consciousness. Smiling, she rolled towards Simon but found his side of the bed empty. Cracking open her eyes, she was greeted by