Forsaking All Others Read Online Free PDF

saying, “Mrs. Fox,” in a greeting fit for the queen’s parlor. I attempted to return his salutation, but Buckley’s steadying hand on my shoulder gave me permission to remain quiet.
    “How is she?” Colonel Brandon asked as if I’d suddenly disappeared.
    “Weak,” Buckley said. “Extremely so, I’m afraid.”
    “And the, uh . . .” I couldn’t be certain whether he himself was aware of wiggling his fingers.
    “You’re no stranger to such surgery. You know it’ll be a week at least before we’ll know the extent of her recovery.”
    Brandon lowered his voice. “We don’t have a week. Can she be moved?”
    “With great care, I believe so, sir. In fact, the fresh air might do her a world of good. I assume more suitable quarters have been arranged?”
    I followed their conversation, my eyes darting from one to the other, full of unanswered questions, but something told me the less I spoke, the more I’d learn.
    “Two buildings left intact,” Colonel Brandon said, frustrated. “Well, one in good shape and half of another.” For the first time since saying my name, Colonel Brandon focused his attention on me and went to his knees at my bedside. “How are you feeling, Mrs. Fox? Be truthful with me.”
    “I—” I swallowed and tried again. “Is my husband here?”
    “Your husband? No.”
    “He was. I heard him.”
    “I’ve tried to tell her,” Captain Buckley piped up from behind. “The medicine and the cold, it can all play tricks on the mind.”
    I scowled over Colonel Brandon’s shoulder. He’d said no such thing, but there was a particular purse to the doctor’s lips that warned me to keep silent.
    “The situation is very complicated right now,” the colonel said, calling my attention back to him. “And very dangerous. I have to do what I think is best for you and, equally important, what is best for my men.”
    “What could it matter—?”
    “I’m not in the habit of planning military strategy with women.”
    “I want to go home, to my husband. Before there’s any real trouble.”
    “That isn’t possible.”
    No softening of his eyes. No sympathy. No promise.
    My heart began to race, and with its fury, the pounding in my head increased, bringing with each beat the intense, throbbing pain. “Am I a prisoner, then?”
    “Of sorts.”
    “More like property,” Captain Buckley interjected, to the colonel’s disdain.
    I closed my eyes while the remnants of fresh snow turned bitter to my taste. “I don’t understand.”
    “If it’s any consolation, Mrs. Fox, I don’t know that I fully understand either.”
    He stood then, clapped a gentle hand on Buckley’s shoulder, and ushered the doctor outside for a moment, leaving me alone with my fear.
    Father God, this is my deliverance? To be maimed and imprisoned? I will trust you, as I have no choice. But please, Lord, be not far from me.
    Moments later Captain Buckley reappeared and went immediately to his bag and retrieved the small vial of black liquid.
    I turned away. “No.” While the pain might have been close to unbearable, I did appreciate the clear head. I needed to think. To understand. To pray and listen for the Holy Spirit’s comfort. Guidance. “You said I had to wait. That it wasn’t safe.”
    “Those were my orders, yes, but unfortunately your physician is outranked.” He caught my chin in his hand and forced me toward him. “Now open.”
    I gritted my teeth.
    “Please, Mrs. Fox.” He wedged his finger between my lips, and seizing the opportunity, I bit down. Hard. Hard enough to feel his delicate bone between my teeth. He yelped and I released my grip, only to feel the sting of his slap against my face. As shocking as that was, it came as a welcome distraction from my ever-throbbing hand.
    “Give me a wounded soldier any day,” Buckley muttered, shaking his hand. “They understand the perils of war.”
    With that, he grasped the bundle wrapped to my wrist, and while at first his grip meant nothing,