Free Faithfully Yours by Jo Ann Ferguson

that had nothing to do with her eyes urged her to look straight ahead.
    She wondered if any darkness could obscure the glistening wells of Sebastian’s eyes. As she drew even with them, she realized he was standing on the other side of the ladder. Her fingers brushed against his as she took another step down. With only thin pieces of wood between her and his broad chest, she did not dare to breathe.
    â€œTake care,” he said as she hurried down the last two rungs to the floor.
    â€œYou are the one who should take care. Don’t you know it can bring bad luck to be standing under a ladder?”
    He came around it and cupped her chin in his hand. His gloves were softer than his skin, but they could not restrain the fire that leaped from his fingers to her face. “So I have heard, but I must admit I found myself in a very lucky place just now. I see you put red stripes on stockings as well.”
    â€œYou are outrageous!” She pulled back and smoothed her skirts down, but it was too late. He must have glimpsed her ankles—and how much more?—when she came down the ladder.
    â€œJust taking advantage of an otherwise dreary situation.”
    â€œDreary? We found the twins!”
    â€œBut you escaped from the haymow with only a single kiss and, to make the situation even more horrible, a kiss only on the cheek. A very dreary thought.”
    â€œYour thoughts should be solely on getting my sisters down here.”
    â€œYou are a woman who will not be distracted.” He caressed her cheek before climbing back up the ladder.
    As Faith gripped one side of the ladder tightly, her knees seemed unstable. Resting her cheek on the rough board, she wondered how Sebastian could be so insightful most of the time and yet so wrong now. She was distracted by his touch—so much that she had to force herself to remember that Nancy and Molly could take a chill and sicken if they remained up in the haymow.
    Hearing Sebastian’s soft whisper, she held up her arms and took the little girl that he lowered through the hole. She set the groggy Molly on the floor, then did the same with Nancy. As Sebastian came down the ladder with the lantern hanging over his arm, she lifted Molly and settled her in her arms. Sebastian gathered up Nancy and followed her out of the barn.
    By the time they reached the house, the girls were awake and demanding to walk. Mother gushed her thanks before she herded the twins upstairs to be put to bed with warm stones and a cup of chicken soup. Father went to find Emery and Ezekial, and Sebastian left to call back his men.
    Faith stood alone in the foyer and sighed. Going to sit in the dining room, she lifted a spoon out of her soup bowl, then lowered it. Her stomach roiled with too many untested emotions for her to be able to eat. She turned and stared at the fire on the hearth that shared a chimney with the kitchen hearth.
    Stamping feet in the foyer tore her attention from the flames, and she blinked, wondering if she had fallen asleep. She came to her feet as Sebastian entered the room.
    â€œDid you find all your men?” she asked.
    â€œYes, and I sent them to the tavern by the crossroads to get something warm after their cold search.” He held his hands out to the fire. “If it would storm, this dampness might fall out of the air. It is worse than the cold.”
    â€œThank you for helping us find the twins.”
    â€œThey are adventurous.”
    She laughed. “You are kind to pick that term instead of troublesome, as Mother often describes them.”
    â€œWhen I was young, I found the constraints set by adults definitely an impairment to the plans devised by me and my sisters and brothers.” He slipped his arm around her shoulders.
    Shrugging it off, she said, “Do not do that!”
    â€œWhy?” His eyes narrowed. “Or are you not going to answer that question, either? Does the fact that I serve His Majesty in his army mean you