Free Darkwater by V. J. Banis Page B

was someone in the path, directly in front of her. He was too close and she was running too fast to avoid him.
    She was in his arms before she realized it was Walter. Not even thinking of what was right or wrong, she threw herself against him, sobbing into his chest.
    â€œWhat is it, what happened?” he demanded, holding her close.
    â€œAn old woman. She tried to hit me with a stick,” Jennifer sobbed.
    â€œMrs. Hodges. Wait here, I’ll go....”
    â€œNo.” She grabbed his arm and, taking a deep breath, managed to quiet her sobs. “I’m all right now, truly I am. She did not harm me, she only frightened me.”
    â€œShe didn’t strike you?” he demanded, looking down into her face anxiously.
    â€œNo. She swung at me with her stick, but I don’t know if she really meant to hit me or if she was just trying to frighten me. Truly, I am all right. I was just terrified, that’s all.”
    She suddenly thought of how she must look and gave a little laugh that combined relief and amusement.
    â€œI am a sight, though,” she said. Her dress, already wrinkled from a night of sleeping in Alicia’s chair, was even more so by now, and in addition, it was torn slightly and stained from grass and mud. Her hair lay in damp strands and she knew there was mud on her face as well as on her hands.
    â€œI think you look very beautiful,” he said in a changed voice. “I think you would always look very beautiful no matter what the circumstances.”
    Her heart skipped a beat as she looked up into his face, so near her own. Only a few minutes before she had been thinking of him, of his dark eyes boring into hers, of his strong arms, that now held her close.
    For a moment neither of them spoke. She could not. She could only feel as if she were fainting, her legs going weak. She stared with wide eyes as his face came closer, closer, his lips parting to close over hers. His countenance blurred as he came too near to see him clearly, and she could only feel the heat of his body, the power of his arms locked tight about her, and his own heart pounding against her breast in a crescendo that matched her own.
    Suddenly the world, that had faded from them, came back to her in a rush, and she cried, “No,” and turned her face away, so that his lips only brushed her cheek.
    The moment was gone. His arms grew slack and fell away from her. She swayed as if she would fall, but she caught herself and stood firm.
    â€œI think we had better go back,” she said, her voice quavering.
    â€œOf course.” He took her arm again, but this time it was only a polite gesture, to help her onto the path. She went by him and began to retrace her route. Had it only been a few minutes ago that she had come this way? It seemed an eternity.
    Because the silence between them grew so heavy, she asked, “How did you happen to come this way, anyway?”
    â€œI was looking for you. I looked out the window and saw you, and then when I came outside later, you were gone. I asked Liza what had happened to you and she said you had gone into the swamp, so I came after you right away. You really should have been warned, it is not safe to be wandering around in here by yourself.”
    â€œBut Liza assured me it was quite safe.”
    He smiled indulgently. “I suppose in her mind it is. She has lived in the swamp and she knows it like the back of her hand. She just didn’t think that it would be different for you. I will speak to her about that.”
    But as she walked the narrow path, Jennifer found herself remembering how confidently Liza had reassured her, and she recalled Liza standing looking after her, lifting her hand to wave.
    Had she meant that gesture to be a last goodbye?

CHAPTER EIGHT
    Jennifer was surprised to learn that something so simple as her taking a stroll could have caused so much excitement. When she and Walter returned to the house, Helen and Bess were