A Laird and a Gentleman (All the King's Men #4) - Gerri Russell Page 0,14
a pang of jealousy kicked him in the heart. Another man would one day possess her.
Cameron ignored his own reaction. “Who else do we know who might make Mariam a worthy bridegroom? Someone who can keep her safe from both her father and his enemies?”
Before Alexander could reply, a scream tore through the stillness of the evening.
“Mariam.” Cameron met Alexander’s gaze an instant before he bolted from the chamber, leaving his brother-in-arms behind. Cameron took the steps two at a time and raced down the hallway until he came to Mariam’s chamber. He threw the bolt aside, relieved it was still in place and that no one from the castle attacked her. He burst into her chamber and came to a halt beside the bed.
The bedclothes were tangled around her, and the nightshift she wore had drifted up, exposing the pale sheen of her flesh. In the dim light he could see the long length of her bare leg, the curve of her hip, the jut of a single shoulder, and the spill of burnished hair across the pale linens. Her head thrashed back and forth as she remained in the grip of a dream. Or was it a nightmare?
He sat beside her and pulled the bed linens over her body. “Mariam. Wake up. ’Tis only a dream.”
She stopped thrashing and shifted. Moved close, tucking her head against his thigh. Only whimpers emerged from her now. Sad, frightened whimpers.
She was warm against him and despite his attempts to hold himself back, his fingers found her brow. He stroked her hair away from her face, noting how fair her flesh was against the sun and sea-weathered skin of his hand. “Mariam, wake up,” he repeated.
She stirred, murmuring. “Darkness . . . devastation. It’s as though the whole world is gone . . .” Her small, slender hand came up to gently cover his where it rested on her cheek. “Not alone this time. Not alone . . .”
Her hand tensed and her eyes flared open. Her gaze caught his for a moment before anything registered. When it did, she sat bolt upright in the bed, scrambling backward, taking the covers with her. “What are you doing here?”
“You screamed. I came to aid you. When I arrived, I found you in the clutches of a dream. Though from your descriptions, it wasn’t a pleasant dream.”
“Nay, it was not.” Vulnerability and fear lingered in her words.
“Tell me about it. Perhaps if you share your dream, it will not seem so bad.” When she hesitated, he took her hand in his, hoping it would reassure her.
She swallowed roughly, then nodded. “Snow fell from the sky, yet it wasn’t snow. The sky turned green, then purple, before everything faded to black. I couldn’t breathe . . . I couldn’t move. Death was all around me.” She pulled her hand out of his and clenched both of hers tightly in her lap. “I don’t know what it means, but it can’t be anything good.”
“It was only a dream, Mariam,” Cameron soothed. “A frightening one, but how could any of that happen? It has to be a dream.”
*
Cameron had said it was only a dream, but she knew it was not. She’d had experiences like this before—where she saw things—things that happened in the future. But what did all of the darkness mean? Would the sun cease to shine? If so, how?
And, more disturbing, was the thought that the parchment from her shell and the darkness were somehow linked. Would she be the one to make all this happen? A shiver racked her as she returned her gaze to Cameron’s. Should she tell him about the parchment? Or would he think she had fabricated the story in an attempt to garner his attention as she had in the past?
Cameron’s gaze narrowed on her. “Is this an attempt to forestall any further punishments, Mariam?”
Mariam frowned. In the past, she would have done just that to try to manipulate her way out of anything unpleasant. And she didn’t blame him for thinking she would do such a thing now. Instead of telling him more, she lifted her chin and said, “It doesn’t matter. As you said, it was probably just a dream.” Though she knew better, and would figure it all out on her own.
He nodded, then stood beside the bed. “Have you given any further thought as to how you can make reparations for not following my orders?”