Chapter Nine
Ruby shook uncontrollably. It was becoming harder and harder to figure out what had happened. Had she imagined things that had not happened was someone was intentionally confusing her?
The handkerchief, ribbon, and package were gone. That morning when she’d gone for a walk to the creek to get away after the heat of the kitchen and stares of the men, she could have sworn she was followed. Whoever it was, if indeed there was someone, had chased her. Only when she’d grown convinced whoever it was was about to catch her and she’d turned to face her fate, there had been no one there.
To make matters worse, now Trevor was furious with her. But how was she to tell him. How to explain she was going mad. There was so much on his shoulders at the moment. He was exhausted spending hours upon hours caring for the ill soldiers. The last thing he needed was for his wife to admit to seeing things that were not there, to feel as if being chased by invisible assailants.
She wiped tears again and sunk into a chair in the back of the kitchen. It would be at least two hours before they began preparations for the afternoon meal. The warmth and silence of the room gave her a place to think and attempt to figure out what was happening to her.
“Missus Collins, you should go rest up.” Cookie walked in through the back door the pig at his side. “Hambone and I are going to see about going to lay down for a bit ourselves.”
Ruby forced a smile. “I am resting. It’s so nice and quiet here.”
The man smiled and nodded. “Well then, I’ll leave you to be in peace.” He slapped his leg and the pig followed him toward the barracks where the soldiers slept.
Just then she caught sight of the man, the one who glared at her continuously, passing by the front window. The man seemed in a hurry as he walked toward where the other men had gathered.
Could it be it was him that chased her earlier? Ruby hurried to the front window and peered out. The soldier looked over his shoulder toward the creek and then caught her looking out from the window. The corners of his lips lifted and a shiver of fear trickled down her spine.
Ruby gasped and stepped back. Why did this man dislike her so? The best thing to do was to confront the soldier. If he was the one who brought the handkerchief and then stole it, it was possible he knew her from the past. He didn’t look familiar. However, he’d obviously been through some sort of facial injury.
Her heart plummeted and she inhaled sharply moving backward until a table stopped her from moving further. What if her Charles, her fiancé, had not died, but had gotten lost in battle and mistakenly presumed dead. They’d never provided a body, claiming all the men had been buried in a mass grave.
The handkerchief had been one she’d given to him to take as a memento. She rushed back to the window searching until she saw him. It was hard to tell, but his hair color and body shape did resemble what she remembered of Charles. It had been two years, so it was possible for someone to change a bit physically, especially if surviving a battle.
The man’s face was turned away. From where she was, it was hard to see him clearly.
When Corporal Smith entered the room, she took him by the arm and half dragged him to the window. “That man, the one walking toward the storehouse. What is his name?”
“You mean Tarvis?”
Ruby heard nothing more. Her fiancé was named Charles Tarvis III. She stumbled backward and held both hands up covering her mouth as shock took over and she feared she’d faint.
“Missus Collins,” Smith said, hovering over her. “Are you about to get sick?”
That she’d turned a shade of green was not surprising. Ruby was indeed nauseous and feeling weak-kneed. “I just need to sit down. I feel as if I’ve seen a ghost.”
“Do you know Tarvis? Do you know him?”
“I don’t believe so...no.” She lied unable to admit the horrible truth out loud.
Corporal Smith guided her to a chair. “I’ll go fetch Doc.”
“No!” she cried out. “No need to worry him. I’m sure once I have a bit of a rest, I’ll be right as rain. I’ll find him myself in a bit.”
Not seeming convinced, Corporal Smith nodded and went to the back of the kitchen. As she listened to the sounds of the young man pulling out items from the huge pantry, she concentrated on the movement of the flames in the hearth swaying side to side. Of course she’d tell Trevor what happened. It was imperative however that she speak to Charles first and discuss the situation. There was no need for him to be angry with her. If it was indeed Charles and he was alive, how was she to have known it?
Goodness, why hadn’t he contacted his family. His mother and father were heartbroken thinking him to be dead. It would not have mattered to them if he was disfigured or changed in any way. No one including her would reject him being injured while serving.
The more Ruby thought about it, the angrier she became. Not just with Charles, but with herself for allowing the situation to get to the point of Trevor being affected by it
To think she thought herself going mad. All because Charles was too weak to speak to her.
She stood on wobbly feet and decided it was time for a confrontation. Ruby wobbled forward, then back. The room spun as she grasped thin air attempting to find something to keep from falling face first onto the floor.
When everything settled, she let out a sigh of relief.
Then the room tilted. “Oh no,” Ruby said, attempting to gain her footing. Darkness ebbed at the perimeter of her sight and she fought not to fall but the battle was lost.
In the distance she heard someone call out her name. She tried to respond, but knew it was not audible. There was pain and the feeling of heaviness as darkness claimed her.
What seemed like a long time later, the sensation of floating took over and she struggled to open her eyes, to say something, but it was so hard, impossible even to gain any kind of control.
“Trevor.” She tried to speak, but the word seemed stuck in her subconscious. Ruby couldn’t believe what happened. Was she dying? If so, would Charles tell Trevor who he was?
Unable to control any kind of reaction, gave in to the peace the darkness brought and once again succumbed.