Chapter 54

“They’re afraid,” she said, “but you’re not. Are you?”

Paul shook his head. “No…well…yes. I am. A little. I don’t want to die, Ma’am.”

“Well, neither do I. So we’ll have to work together. And please, call me Eliza.”

“Eliza,” he tried, her name sweetly rolling off his tongue.

She looked at her cooling food, forcing herself to eat another bite. She would be grateful when her life finally returned to normal—grateful for a bed, a regular bath, and her own kitchen. Paul wolfed down his food, barely taking the time to swallow before shoveling in the next bite. Eliza couldn’t help but wonder if that’s how he regularly ate, or if he was too excited about his time with her to worry about choking on a hunk of dry meat.