“You’ll scar if you don’t let her,” Tanda explained, sitting on her knees in front of him on the other couch.

Cates was building a fire when he started laughing out of the blue. “I can do almost everything I did before I lost my arm, and you think Lord Derek is going to worry over a little thing like a scar?” He then asked me if I would hold the box still while he struck the long match, and the room erupted in laughter. Derek was holding his face, laughing so hard his eyes were closed tight because of the pain it was causing. Tammy was laughing but never stopped working on Fala, and Tanda snorted when she drew in breath, which caused everyone to laugh even harder. I noticed Sydney sit up straight and turned my attention to the living room doorway, where Martin was standing, watching us. His hair was hanging loose and his shirt was unbuttoned to his pants.

“Did we wake you?” I asked, trying to stop smiling.

“No, I just got in. I heard nothing of an attack on Lord Cheree’s humble abode,” he claimed as he stepped into the room. “So, tell me, how is it that you have wounded?”

“Why don’t you worry about your life and lets us worry about our own,” I said, standing up, losing my smile the moment he said he ‘just got in’ and looking like he did.

“Don’t be so dramatic, Renee. It’s been a long night and I’m not in the mood.” He moved to the side of the couch where Tammy was leaning back on the balls of her feet.

“Don’t talk to me like that, Martin. You won’t like the outcome.”

“Why are you so angry? Can you not just tell me what happened?”

“Fala was…” Jacob started to say when I interrupted.

“I’m not angry,” I snapped. “I just think you should mind your own business.”

He leaned down and picked up one of the blackish strips, smelt it, then put it back down.  “Specter’s have infected him.”

“That’s what they’re called around here?” Tammy asked, getting a nod in return. “Do you know how to help him?”

“You’ve done well by cleaning the poison out of the wounds. Now it is up to him to fight.”

I bid everyone a good night since everything was under control and left the room to go take a long, hot bath to get the putrid gore off of me once and for all. The others could explain the rest to Martin. Just the thought of our filthy cloths and the smell that now reeked throughout most of his house, had me smiling all the way to my room. Tanda came running up behind me, telling me that she was ready to be rid of the same mess. When I asked about Derek, she said that he was fine and was letting Tammy look at him, and then she asked how I was doing.

“I’m wonderful and I will be even better once I go in here and get out of this…” I paused looking down at myself, “nightmare.”

“I meant about you and Martin,” she added, lightly touching my elbow.

“All I know is I made a stupid mistake with him last night, Tanda. I should’ve waited until I knew more about him, and quite frankly that makes me ashamed of myself,” I spoke with my head hanging, and walked into my room and quietly shut the door.

Chapter Eight

I had to peel the clothes from my flesh, gagging as the fresh scent flushed my senses. The claw-foot tub was half full when I added some of the fragrances sitting on the brass, glass top table in between the tub and the indoor toilet, which still amazed me, coming from a place where I’d seen nothing but an outhouse. The water began to fill with bubbles and blasted my nose with the aroma of lavender and lilac, two of my favorite flowers. I went to step in as the hot water poured from the brass spout, then decided I had to try and spray the gore from my flesh before I added it to the kind warmth of the bath that called out to me like the flowers themselves reached for the morning dew.

Turning the bathtub water off, I stepped over and turned on the spout in the square stone room that was no bigger than the pantry that we had passed through at Cheree’s estate. I turned my head to the right and jumped at the sight of myself looking back at me in the mirror. My hair wildly gripped my discolored skin like several wild, black serpents, twisting up from the back of my knees, to the sides of my face. Unbraiding it had just given it more of the effect of looking like reptiles with the waves going through their body, and with the spots of ashy white, and flaking patches of thick dark maroon…I looked hideous. I shook my head at how strange I truly looked and stepped in under the warm water and began scrubbing my face vigorously. ***

It wasn’t so much the feeling of the tub that had me slipping deep under and disappearing into the inches of cloud like bubbles, it was the beautiful fragrance. I was so relaxed that I never heard the door open, and had no clue that he was standing there watching me. When I opened my eyes, the shock of see him smiling down made me dunk completely under, and I didn’t come back up until I had no breath left in me. I thought he had left the room when my head broke the surface, because he was no longer standing by the tub and I was relieved to no end. “What the hell was he thinking?” I stated out loud, pushing the suds away from my face.

“I was thinking you may need something,” he replied from behind me, making me spin so fast that water sloshed out onto the floor.

“Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” I asked, reaching for the towel, pulling it into the tub with me.

“Are you being shy after what we had last night?” he smiled, tilting his head.

“Get out,” I said, closing my eyes to a slant and pursing my lips.

“Not until you tell me why you are so upset with me,” he replied, leaning back on the toilet tank and crossing his arms.

“Fine, then I’ll go,” I sarcastically snapped, pulling myself up with one hand while holding the drenched towel with the other.

“Please, just tell,” he said, getting to his feet, and blocking me from stepping out of the tub.

“How can you ask me that?” I replied in the softest tone I had at the moment. “You leave dressed one way, then come back looking like you had…”

“What did you think would happen if I went to a place such as Mistress Angelica’s?”

“I didn’t think you would be having sex, Martin. Not if you claim to love me, and not after you put this on my finger last night,” I replied, rolling the ring around with my thumb.

“Why would you think that I would ever lie with another? It is a game with them. A game that I have played for more years than you can imagine, and believe me when I tell you that it is not hard for me to pass the night without lying beside another, because I do love you!” he tried to take my hand but I pulled back.

“But, you came close didn’t you?”

He lowered his eyes, and I knew I had my answer. He looked back up in time to see a single crimson tear roll down my already wet cheek as I tried to wipe it away. I moved my face to the right and said nothing else.

“I’ll leave you to get dressed. I hope you enjoyed the bath oils that I placed in here for you. I know they are your favorites. I never forgot.” Then he turned and left the room. I sat back down in the bathtub, hitting at the water then sank my face down under and cried. How could I have such strong feelings for a man who had been holding and running his hands over another woman’s body, even if he claimed he never went as far as having sex? I felt like I had played right into his game for a second time, only this time, I had degraded myself by lying in his bed, thinking he was my one true love. Now I was thinking that his being my maker had blinded me, and the allure of seeing him after so long had driven me to doing what I had done. But my weakness would not fall so lightly again.

I found a floor length, blue skirt hanging in the closet and a long sleeved, pale blue cotton shirt folded in one of the drawers. It was the first time that I felt like I was dressed in my own clothes since I left the farm, and the clothing wasn’t even close, but it was comfortable and covered me nicely. I knew the slippers by the bed were placed there for me and I used them. The one thing I left behind was the ring, laying it in a little silver dish on the mirrored dresser. When I went back into the family room, no one was there, other than two normals that I had never seen before, cleaning with a powerful cleaner, trying to get rid of the smell we had brought in. They stopped and looked at me, both bowing their heads. I rolled my eyes and turned to go look in the kitchen, but didn’t see anyone. It was getting close to dawn, but not close enough for the others to be down in their beds, so I kept looking, wondering where they had taken Fala.