Go see Ben one last time

Realizing this may be her last chance to see Ben, Abbie hurriedly dresses and heads to his home. So many thoughts fill her mind as she walks. “If he would but ask me to be his wife, I’d gladly leave everything and go with him, even if it meant we’d never have two brass coins to run together,” she thought.

At the same time she felt foolish for even thinking such a thing. Ben had never acted any way other than brotherly toward her, and since word came that she was chosen by the king, he had been strangely distant. These are not the actions of a man who is in love.

Abbie found Ben working in the barn behind his cottage. As she approaches him, her heart grows warm at the sight of his shirtless, muscular body, pitching straw from a wagon onto a large stack. The early morning sunlight glistens off the light sheen of perspiration on his back.

She clears her throat to get his attention.

“Abbie!” he says, turning around and seeing her. His face breaks into a surprised smile. Much to Abbie’s disappointment, he reaches for his shirt and throws it on before extending his arms to her for an embrace.

“What are you doing here?” he asks. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready to leave?”

“I couldn’t go without seeing you,” she said, resting her head against his chest and hearing the strong, steady rhythm of his heart. “Who knows when we will see each other again!”

Ben holds her tightly for a few moments before taking her by the shoulders and gently moving her away from him. “It is hard for me, too, but you have to remember that you are part of the king’s household now. It is forbidden for another man to touch you.”

“I’m not part of his household yet,” Abbie protested, “and you’re not just any man!”

Ben takes a seat on the edge of the wagon and motions for her to sit beside him. “But you must admit, this is such an opportunity for you! Think of it — tonight you will sleep on a soft bed with silk sheets. You will have breakfast out of plates of gold! It won’t be long before you forget all about this place.”

Abbie bursts into tears. “I can never forget about you, Ben! And those things mean nothing to me. In truth, I am very much afraid.”

“Afraid? Not my little wildcat!”

Ben’s use of his nickname for her her to laugh in spite of her tears. He called her that because of her tenacity; she wished she felt some of that determination now to resolve these feelings of conflict within her.

“Ben, can I confess something to you?”

Ben looks surprised. “You can tell me anything; you know that.”