Chapter 12 - Whispers in the Nursery
Later that night, the manor was warm and peaceful. Clara sat on the edge of Lily’s bed, reading from an old illustrated book of fairy tales Arthur had salvaged from the family library.
Lily’s eyelids were drooping, but she fought against sleep, holding Arthur’s old gold sovereign tightly in her small palm.
"Mom?" Lily whispered, her voice thick with drowsiness.
"Yes, my darling?"
"Is Dad going to go back to the ocean?"
Clara looked up and saw Arthur standing quietly in the doorway, leaning against the frame, listening.
"No, Lily," Clara said gently, smoothing the hair from her daughter’s forehead. "He’s staying right here. He has work to do, but he’s not going away."
"Good," Lily sighed, her fingers loosening around the coin as she slipped into sleep. "Because I don't want to forget what his laugh sounds like."
Arthur walked into the room on silent feet. He carefully pulled the blanket up over Lily’s shoulders, his fingers lingering on her cheek for a long moment before he turned to Clara.
They walked out onto the balcony overlooking the harbor. The city lights twinkled in the calm water, reflecting like scattered stars.
"I used to stand on the bridge of my transport ship at night," Arthur murmured, looking out toward the horizon. "Looking at the open ocean, thinking about how easy it would be for the water to swallow everything. I didn't care if I came back. When the mortar struck our convoy... my first thought wasn't fear. It was relief that the noise would finally stop."
Clara laid her hand on his arm, feeling the warmth of his skin through the linen shirt. "And then?"
"And then I woke up in your triage tent," he said, turning to look at her. "You were covered in dust, your hair was coming undone, and you were pressing both hands against my chest to stop the bleeding. You told me, 'Not on my watch, Captain. You have people waiting for you somewhere.' You gave me my life back twice, Clara."
May you like
"I was just doing my job, Arthur," she whispered.
"No," he said gently, reaching out to cup her cheek. "You were loving a stranger back from the dead."
