His For Christmas (15 page)

How
could
he
have
known?
“
N..no.
No,
of
course
not.
”

“
No?
”

She
sank
lower
under
the
sheets
as
she
tried
to
dispel
the
memories
threatening
to
pull
her
under.
“
No.
The
Stevens
in
…
Fisher
County,
”
she
replied,
thinking
back
on
a
town
she
passed
on
her
way
here.

The
man
was
silent
for
a
moment.
“
I
beg
your
pardon.
I
mistook
you
for
someone
else.
”

She
smiled
weakly.
“
Not
at
all.
Stevens
is
a
fairly
common
surname.
”

Oh,
if
he
could
stop
looking
at
her
in
such
a
manner!
“
That
is
certainly
true.
”

Mrs.
Chang
straightened
up
to
her
full
height.
“
You
ought
to
rest.
Just
you
call
if
you
feel
unwell.
While
you
’
re
here,
you
are
a
guest,
you
understand?
”

A
guest.

She
was
a
guest.

Ivy
blinked
rapidly
as
tears threatened to seep from
her
eyes.
She
was
terribly
sick
of
crying,
and
she
felt
as
though
she
’
d
certainly
done
enough
to
last
a
lifetime,
and
then
some.
She
did not want to
cry,
not
anymore.
“
Thank
you
very
much,
Mrs.
Chang.
”

Elliot
turned
to
follow
the
woman
out
of
the
small,
but
elegant
room
with
the
prim
sky--blue
wallpaper
and
then
paused
at
the
threshold.
He
unsettled
her,
with
his
dark,
piercing
eyes
that
seemed
to
see
far
too
much
for
her
liking.

“
You
are
welcome
here
for
as
long
as
you
need,
”
he
said
quietly.
“
When
you
are
ready
to
leave,
I
can
arrange
for
travel
to
wherever
you
wish
to
go.
”

Was
this
man
forever
going
to
render
her
wordless?
He
must
think
her
a
complete
twit
.
“
That
’
s very
generous,
sir.
”

Timothy
walked
to
him,
and
leveled
a
small
grin
in
her
direction.
“
Just
sleep.
Tomorrow,
everything
will
be
better.
”