Averill: Historical Romance (The Brocade Collection, Book 3) (19 page)

He spurred his horse, and Averill watched him ride off.

~ ~ ~

There was no sign of humanity as they neared the city. She wasn’t the only one to notice. Tenny looked concerned as well, as they passed empty camp after empty camp. They came closer to the city, close enough to see spires of tall buildings. And that’s when the first hint of noise came. It grew louder as they neared the gates.

Swarms of people
were converging on the gate. Those, who were afoot and straggling at the rear, moved to the side to allow Kareem’s band through. Her horse followed Tenny’s until they were stopped by a near-impenetrable throng.

“What’s happening, young man?”

The man shrank back in horror when he saw Harvey’s disguise. Averill was so used to seeing him that she forgot about the horrible sores. It was interesting to watch the man back away.

“You won’t answer an old man’s query?”  Harvey kept his voice old and feeble.

“Get away, beggar!”  The young man spat. Harvey barely ducked in time to avoid the projectile.

“Perhaps you’ll answer me, then.”  Kareem swung down from his horse, his guttural Arabic
tone almost as frightening as his size.

“The Egyptian army is invading
. Where have you been, the desert?” The man laughed at his joke, but his companions backed away.

“The desert welcomes men like
us, my young friend.”  Kareem slapped the man’s back hard enough to send him sprawling. “Come. What’s all this about the Egyptian army? Let me assist you up.”

Averill almost missed the man’s whoosh of air as Kareem
hauled the younger man to his feet, and then just stood there, waiting. As they all seemed to. And then the smaller man started talking.

“
I do not lie! The army approaches to attack Istanbul. We’ve heard it’s over ten thousand strong.” 

“Why the exodus, then
? Surely it’s safer in the villages.”

“The British Navy anchors offshore
. We’ve been invaded, and no one is safe. The walls of the city will hold. Don’t look at me like that. I don’t lie! I only repeat what I’ve been told.”

Kareem’s men
dismounted to surround him. Averill watched as they conferred in a small circle. They spoke too softly to overhear. And then Tenny mounted his horse and turned it back toward her, making the crowd shift as it made room.

“We’ve decided to seek shelter outside the gates
. Move! You!” 

Averill bit her tongue
. He would answer her questions in time. She held to the pommel as her horse followed. There were many new businesses in narrow, crooked streets. Tenny worked his horse back through the crowds, stopping finally at a plank affair calling itself an inn. Averill read the hand-lettered sign. It didn’t look strong enough to withstand a sandstorm, let alone an army. But Tenny knew what he was doing.

She hoped
.

“
Well. We’re here, Averill,” Tenny said as he dismounted. “I look forward to a bath and a rest.”

He lifted her down
. Averill longed to cling but didn’t. She followed the correct three paces behind him with her head bent and eyes lowered as he arranged and paid for lodging not only for them, but for his mounts as well. She was surprised that none of his men followed.

Tenny sighed
dispiritedly when he saw their room. Averill almost copied him. The plank walls let light and dust through, and the mattress sagged nearly to the floor.

“
Well. Perhaps the bath facility will be more inviting,” he said. “I’ll fetch a bedroll while you wash.”

He pointed to a curtain
. Averill opened it and grimaced. The washtub held water covered with green scum. She wrinkled her nose in distaste and turned back. She unwound her cloak and laid it across the bed.

“Well?”

She let him check it himself. She spread their bedroll on the floor while Tenny muttered curses against the innkeeper, the sultan of Turkey, Mohammad Ali, and then he added mankind.

She had the bed ready before he finished.

“I’ve sent men into the city, Averill. Individually, they’ll have an easier time. In the meantime, if we shut our eyes, maybe this won’t seem so bad.”

She smiled
before dropping onto their pallet. As long as Tenny was with her, nothing else mattered. She listened to him shrug out of his burnoose, before he snuggled against her. It was the sound of his even breathing that finally lulled her to sleep.

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

Averill kept close to Tenny as they slid through pitch-black streets. They followed Harvey. All around them, people huddled. Some in tents, some atop sleeping mats or gathered around fires. Many had nothing. She felt wealthy in comparison, knowing she had a house ahead. It was so dark, though. More than once, she reached for Tenny’s arm as she stumbled.

When Tenny stopped suddenly,
Averill ran into his back. Her nose smarted while his arm held her.

“Here.” 

Harvey gestured them into an opening, darker than the street. Averill pressed closer to Tenny’s back, yet still tripped on the first step. The door closed behind them making it even blacker. Then lamplight turned the space into a shadowy cave. Averill loosened her hold on his hand as she picked out covered lumps that were furniture, a tiled floor, and a grand staircase they climbed. Until finally at the end of a hall, they entered a room.

“You’re safe now, little one,”
Tenny said in a teasing tone. “There’s nothing to be so frightened of, is there?”

“I...wasn’t frightened.” 

She was embarrassed, because Harvey was still with them. The lamp highlighted his expression. It wasn’t gentle.

“No?” 

Averill shook her head and averted her eyes. Harvey cleared his throat.

“I’ll just go and fetch your uniform,
Captain.”  Harvey walked around them and they both heard the door closing behind him.

“Your
…uniform?”  Averill whispered.

“I have orders, Averill
. Harvey learned them as we slept. I’m to be on deck by midnight. You’ll be safe here. I promise.”

So soon
?
She clasped her hands and fought the reaction.

“
So. Come on. Let’s explore. If I’m not mistaken…there are bathing facilities here. Yes. Here, they are.”  He’d crossed the room, carrying the lamp, then returned. “Come along, darling. I’ll show you how to say good luck to your sweetheart before you send him into battle.”

He unfastened his
ghotra
and burnoose. Averill watched him with eyes that burned with unshed tears.

“Don’t look at me like that
. It’s not the end of the world. I’ll return for you. I promise.”  He walked to her and held her, while all she could do was tremble. “I love you. Do you believe me?”

She nodded
, sliding her cheek against his cloak.

“And, do you still love me?”

“How could I help it, Cap...tain?” 

“Oh, darling...”

His hands moved, pulled the cloak from her with fingers that trembled. She sniffed back any urge to cry. Tenny would return for her. She had his promise.

The bathing facilities
weren’t much. They consisted of a pump and small bucket. Averill watched as Tenny rinsed his hair and then ducked his face into the bucket. He gave over the pump to her as he lathered his face to shave. She got soap in her eyes twice as she watched him. She was still contemplating him when she’d finished, and dried her hair on his discarded towel.

“You find shaving amusing?” he asked.

“Just…odd.”

“
It’s something you’ll have to get used to. I don’t believe full beards are the style. I’ll have to shave. And that’s before I gain the title.”

“You
—you’ll still...take me?” 

“Oh, Averill, my worried, little Egyptian
. You really need to learn to trust. I love you. I need you. You listening yet? You’ll be with me until my dying day. I swear to it.”

The remains of his soap ended up on her
face as she flung herself at him.

It was his hands lifting
her dress overhead, stopping her fingers from undoing his buttons. He was beautiful. She sponged him as he did her, water droplets flicking about the room, making a fine mess of the floor. The cool tiles, slick with water, soothed heated skin, feeling erotic. She kissed his ear, chin and mouth.

“I love you,” Averill
told him, time and again. “I love you.”

He filled her body with delight
, her entire sphere with wonder. Averill’s cries blended with his deep grunts of pleasure. How she loved him. It was that simple.

~ ~ ~

When Harvey knocked just before midnight, Averill quickly ducked under the covers at Tenny’s side, hoping she’d be invisible.

“
Well. Well. I see you’re once again a reputable valet, Harvey. I hope we can reach the ship without being accosted.”

“Your regiment stands outside.”

“I’ll be down promptly then. You may go.”

“Very good,
my lord.”  She heard the door shut.

“You can come out now, Averill
. He’s gone.” 

Tenny lifted the covers and grinned down at her
. And then he planted a kiss atop her nose.

“
And I have to leave.” 

His voice accompanied his movements as he rose
. Dressed. Combed his hair. She watched every move.

“
I’m leaving you some coin, Averill—not that I want you out in the streets, but I don’t know how much food is in the house. You might need it.”

He
was right, but she shivered at the thought of buying food and drink alone in a strange city. How had that happened? Averill had a strong sense of self-preservation. She’d run from Father Sanders. She’d found work. She’d lived on the streets of Cairo and survived. Why was it so different now? Because she was in love? Did it truly make everything so much different?

“A kiss, fair maid?” 

He leaned over. Averill reached for him, sniffing at the scent of his clean, freshly washed hair and warm skin.

“Don’t cry, Averill.”

“I’m sorry.”

“
Don’t be. It makes me feel...how can I describe it? Like there’s someone in this world that truly cares for me, and by the grace of God, I found her. How’s that?”

“That’s beautiful.”

“And true. And…bother. I miss you already. It’s probably because we’ve been together, night and day, for what feels like months. It feels strange already, and I haven’t even left, yet.”

“I love you.”

“Please don’t cry, Averill. You’ll make me start. My superiors will hardly enjoy seeing a weeping captain, now will they?”

She smiled at his teasing, but the smile vanished the moment he rose
. His uniform fit perfectly. It hugged his waist, while the braid followed the line of his legs to his calf-high boots. And they were highly polished, just like the first time she’d seen him.

Then he was gone
.

Averill turned her face into the pillow.

~ ~ ~

“
The situation has not improved, Averill…and now this.”

“
Your message?” 

Averill
added darker blue to her palette. It was impossible to find a better subject than Tenny, except when he was worried. And fidgeting.

“
Yes, that. My uncle wants me to return before something happens, like injury, or God forbid, my death.”  He sighed. “It isn’t as though he doesn’t ask the same thing every month, but to send it urgent means something has happened. Will it bother you if I scratch my nose?”

She held the brush above the canvas for a moment before resuming
. Talk of his injury or death made her shake, anyway. She didn’t dare let him see. “I finished your face yesterday,” she answered finally.

“
Oh. Good.” 

He visibly relaxed much more than just his features
. She smiled to herself.

“And Harvey is worse than an old woman
. Did I tell you? He wants me to resign immediately, as well. I’m being coddled to within an inch of my life. I won’t see any action at this rate!”

Well
. At least Harvey showed sense. She’d heard the same complaint from Tenny since he’d first returned to her. She didn’t blame him for feeling useless. Diplomatic meetings got canceled. Britain was fortifying the harbor. Tenny attended endless meetings at the consulate. He often spoke of his frustration. Averill had already painted that intensity into the portrait. It shone through, even though his pose in uniform didn’t lend itself to individuality.

Still, for her first effort at portraiture, she was pleased.

“When will you let me have another canvas, Tenny?” she asked. “This one stifles me.”

He raised an eyebrow
. “What you’re really asking is, when will I get that monstrosity of a canvas here? Won’t happen, darling. Apologies. That thing announces wealth. Bearing it through those crowds would start a riot.”

She understood
. Every day, more people thronged the streets, the newcomers looking even poorer and more ill-prepared than those they joined. Why…if she looked out the window at that moment, she’d probably see more than ever.

“Think of me, for a change.”

“Oh Tenny. It’s unsafe?”

“
I misspoke, love. No fears, all right? I’m safe. In little danger. I’ve even been assigned a berth in the officer quarters aboard ship
.
”

“Aboard?” 

She set her brush down with a jolt. Did that mean he wouldn’t come anymore? His presence brought meaning to her existence, and passion to every afternoon. It was bad enough he’d been on night duty since reporting in. The nights were long without him. She rarely managed to sleep. If he couldn’t come at all?

She couldn’t bear the thought.

“Are we finished yet? I’d like to sample some of that hamper Harvey packed.”

“Of course.”  She forced a smile
. “I’m hungry, too.” 

“
So. Averill? Have you explored yet?” he asked, flexing and stretching as if he’d actually held still. “No? Not even the house?”

“With the food you bring
me? I have no reason to leave this room.” 

She dismissed the thought of the disturbance the previous night
. If she told him, he’d worry over her, too. She wouldn’t add that. Besides, it was to be expected. The crowds outside grew louder and more rowdy each passing day. She’d thought Cairo had been bad. It was little compared to these streets. She’d started to fear, since they were crammed into such small spaces, that they’d find her door. And her.

“
Well. Mohammad is closing in,” Tenny said. “It might not be for too much longer.”

She watched him sample his chicken and tried to listen
. It was difficult, because he’d removed his uniform jacket and sat cross-legged on the floor.

Light touched his hair
, highlighting the red in it. She’d captured it perfectly on her canvas. It was easier to paint people than she suspected it would be. Her brush had moved almost on its own. Perhaps that was because she loved her subject so much.

“This laziness becomes you, Averill
. You’ve gained some much-needed weight, too.”

She blushed
. She noticed the change, too. “Thank you.”

“
Oh. Darling. I have other means in mind for you to thank me,” he replied and reached for her.