A Whisper of Eternity - By Amanda Ashley Page 0,33

to save one of the Negro children from drowning in the river.

And he was here tonight, when she needed him most.

"I'll never see Jacob again."

"Libby, you cannot know that. Even I cannot foretell the future."

"I know." She lifted a hand to her heart, a heart that was slowly breaking. "In here."

"Then come away with me, my best beloved one.Now.Tonight. Charles can run the plantation. There is no need for you to stay."

She looked up at him, tears stinging her eyes once again. "Don't you understand? I have to be here for... for Jacob when he... when he comes home. Later, when he doesn't need me anymore, then..."She looked up at Dominic and dissolved into tears .

"As you wish,"he said, drawing her body close to his. "I will not force you, or rush you." He stroked her cheek with his knuckles. "I will wait as long as it takes, my best beloved one, should it take a year or an eternity ."

They had neither. The war grew more intense. Times grew hard, but not for Libby or those she was responsible for. Dominic managed to find food and fuel and clothing. More than once, he was there to defend them against the enemy.

But he wasn't there the afternoon the raiders came. They stormed through the house, carrying away the silver,Warren 's rifle, and whatever else caught their fancy.

Libby drew back in horror as one of the raiders burst into her bedroom, his intent clear in his eyes. She had fought him with all her strength but it had not been enough and when she knew he meant to defile her, she made a frantic grab for the gun holstered at his side. They struggled over the weapon and somehow the gun went off.

The pain was like being hit by a sledge hammer. It drove her backward, knocking the breath from her lungs. At first, she hadn't known what it meant. And then she had seen the horror in the raider's eyes as he scuttled off the bed and stared down at her.

"I'm sorry,"he mumbled drunkenly. "I never... I didn't mean to..." Face pale, he had run out of the room and left her there .

Staring at the blood slowly spreading over her bodice, she had called for Charles, for Pansy, for Bedelia , but no one answered her call. Murmuring Jacob's name, she slid into oblivion.

When she woke, Dominic was holding her in his arms. In her weakened state, she had imagined that his eyes were red. She tried to say his name, but she was too weak.

"Libby. Can you hear me? Libby!"

She wanted to comfort him. His voice was filled with such pain, such grief but she was too weak to lift her hand, too weak even to say his name.

"Come to me," he said.

She stared at him, not comprehending.

With a low growl, his lips drew back.

She stared at him in helpless horror as he ripped open his wrist and held it toward her.

"Drink," he said. "It will preserve your life until I can bring you across."

"No." She mouthed the word but no sound emerged from her lips.

"Drink. "It was a command now. "Drink, Libby. I cannot lose you again!"

Somehow, she found the strength to murmur, "What are you?"

"I will explain it all to you later," he said urgently. "Now you must drink before it is too late!"

But she had lost too much blood. "It wasn't Jacob's death I saw," she said, her voice tinged with wonder. "It was my own. ..."

She stared up at Dominic,no longer frightened by his dark mien, no longer frightened of anything . His image paled, the room faded as she stared toward a light that grew brighter, brighter.

His voice, crying her name, was the last thing she heard... .

She woke to the echo of her own voice crying his name.She shivered, and not just because the water had grown cold.

Stepping out of the tub, she dried off quickly, pulled on her nightgown, and crawled into bed, only to lie there awake, afraid to close her eyes, afraid to sleep, afraid to dream.

What if it was true? Oh lord, what if it was all true?
Chapter 10
He knew she wasn't at home as soon as he woke from the dark sleep. He could feel the house's emptiness, the lack of life. Where was she?

Fueled by anger and jealousy, Dominic surged to his feet. If she had defied him, if she had dared to go out with that boy again... what would he do? Much as it