Chapter Thirty-SixClare stirred. The surface was no longer rocky and cold. Clare felt surrounded by soft warmth, comforting and reassuring. She drew breath. The pain was gone. The aches, the knots in her stomach, the fire in her veins. All vanished.
Aromas began to register in her mind; fresh linen, a pine scent, overtones of wood. She opened her eyes, finding herself in a panelled room, books perched high on shelves that reached up to the ceiling of the wall opposite.
“I thought I might be in Heaven,” she groaned, closing her eyes again. “I'm in Ashby?”
“You're lucky you're anywhere,” said Dominic.
Clare turned her head to the right, letting the pillow take the weight. She was just too cosy to try sitting up. Blue eyes under a mop of black hair regarded her with obvious relief. “Domin
