Chapter 49
John woke, disoriented, not sure what had disturbed him. Branwen slept beside him, and he recognized the low, sloping ceiling of the old house in the Lake District. The last house they’d be staying in on this dreadfully long trip. The next night he’d be warm and secure in his parents’ house, in his own bedroom. Hopefully at least a little more secure in his own mind.
He thought he smelled the whisky he’d been drinking, but nothing else seemed out of place.
Something was terribly wrong. Something cold.
He reached for his wife. Branwen ran her fingers through his hair, soothing him, reassuring him. He tried to focus on what was so upsetting, but he couldn’t grasp it.
He fell back into sleep.
The dream started as always, but when he turned to see whether he was with James or
