Chapter 16

Novas gawked at the face staring back at her from inside her bed. Stefen. How did he get there?

She had been herded into the kitchen with the other sisters and left under guard while the soldiers searched the mission. With the excuse of getting something from the storage room, which had no other exit, she found the mattress shoved in between two shelves, and looking like it had been there for months. But, no sheet, and no Stefen.

One of the other sisters joined her. “I came, soon as we heard the men. No one here. I took the bucket and pan. You were with him Sister Mary Sarah?”

“No,” Novas replied. “I don’t know where he is either.”

“No one will believe you. Being a sister means you should not lie, even to save yourself.”

Novas didn’t care much for the sister, and nothing was changing her opinion. “I didn’t lie. I don’t know where he is.”

They were interrupted by a soldier, who waved them back into the kitchen with his weapon.

Now, hours later, they had all been sent to bed, with the understanding the men would not come up, and they were not to go down until the morning.

“We give you this space, between us and you. Upstairs is yours. If you come down without permission, we come up.”

Well, she wasn’t about to go down stairs, at least not until now.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. But it was no good, he did not understand.

“Tehpoe?” he asked, a word they both knew.

She make her fingers on one hand chase a single finger on the other hand. “Gone.”

He tried to nod, as much as he could do between the mattress and the board. “Gone.”

When he wouldn’t look directly at her, but down the bed, she realized when bending over, her nightgown hung open, providing him a clear view of her breasts, even in the dim evening light. And having recognized the view, he now looked away to protect her modesty. She wore only a light cotton baggy nightgown, which stopped well above her knees. And she realized he could not be wearing anything except the sheet. Didn’t matter under the circumstances. “Screw modesty,” she said. Not that he would understand her.

She lifted up the mattress, confirming that he was indeed naked, and motioned for him to get out. She tried not to look, but he was a guy, and under better circumstances, probably a very well built one. And, despite the circumstances, one part seemed to be building. Now it was her turn to look away. “Sorry,” she whispered. Not that she was.

His efforts to move out from under the mattress failed, and she ended up sliding it to the floor. She realized he had spent too much time trying to balance it, and he arms and legs did not work, partly from exhaustion, and partly from the lack of circulation.

Ignoring his condition and state of dress, she worked one arm until it started moving on its own, and switched to the other with the splint. The second one took longer, and the pain she was inflicting on him trying to get it to work altered his state, and lessoned her concern about what men in her bed, even badly damaged men, might want to do.

When she moved to his legs, the situation reversed itself, and she smiled despite herself and the conditions. She took care to study his face, not the rest of him, but could not help but wonder at the state of affairs they were in, she sitting on a bed in a short nightgown, while manipulating a naked man’s legs. She had never in her life even imagined such a sight.

Eventually, the circulation came back, and he was able to sit. She pulled his sheet out from under him and wrapped it around him for a cover. Not that she had failed to memorize him first. He was circumcised, which had to mean something. Not that she was certain of what. He also seemed embarrassed that she had seen him. And he also was looking at her, not in a brotherly fashion either.

“Sister,” she pointed at herself. “Mary Sarah.” She left him to figure out what she meant.

“Mary Sarah?” The words lingered after her through the door as she closed it behind her.

Out in the hallway, she leaned against a wall, trying to catch her breath and focus. She was a sister, dedicated to serving Christ and not men, ever. He was a man, in terrible condition, uncertain if he would even live very long. He was in her bed, naked, which somehow played into the situation, although she wasn’t exactly certain how. They had soldiers downstairs, violating their mission, occupying their home. And she felt giddy, like a schoolgirl on her first date.

Her thoughts were disturbed by a creak in the steps. Someone was coming, and trying to be silent. She thought about retreating into her room, but decided to face whoever was coming. The lights from below, their precious lanterns wasting what little fuel they had, gave her enough light to see and be seen. The someone reached the top and peered around the corner. She breathed a sigh, and stepped forward.

“Father MacClenny, what are you doing up here?” she demanded.

“Sister Mary Sarah, our mission is overrun with military men.”

“Father, I know that. What has it to do with you being up here?

“They haven’t captured Stefen yet. He has to be here somewhere. I’m going to rescue him. Save him.”

“And how are you going to do that when you don’t know where he is?”

Before he could answer her, they were interrupted by someone at the bottom of the stairs. “What’s going on up there?” the voice demanded, and started up.