BETTY'S POV

Betty knew she would be worried about her predicament, but instead, she could only feel tired. And she was grateful. She hadn't been able to sleep more than an hour or two at a time since leaving her office. Then again, she'd never slept well. Surrendering to exhaustion, James's mind sloughed off her worries and flew out of the place where she was attacked to the oblivion of deep, dreamless sleep.

The fragile strands of consciousness lay just out of her grasp for Lord only knew how long. With a strength she hadn't known she possessed, Betty clenched her fingers repeatedly to waken. She lay there a long time before she forced down some of the contents of her flask and coughed violently against the burn.

Her mind was blurry, she wasn't sure if she had swooned or fallen asleep. But she wasn't foolish enough to succumb to it again. This unnaturally dark, frigid cocoon frightened her.

The hinges creamed as she shoved at the door above. In a rush, the door fell from its moorings, taking a portion of the car sliding with it.

"What happened to James? Lord, please let him be safe..... My husband should be on the lookout for me now"

Well, she had to get out and had to start walking. No one was coming for her. She would perish if she remained here. Yet it was hard to make her limbs obey. Tears of frustration almost froze inside her eyelids as she twisted from the wreckage.

Bent with weariness and the edge of pain furrowing her side, she leaned into the wind, into the gloaming, and trudged towards the main mail coach road, away from the direction James had taken. It was her best chance. She was certain she would find a house around the next bend.

The world around her became ghostly, the flakes falling on a slant, drifting onto the heavy branches of the trees, hedgerows, and the lane, softening the ugly ruts in the road. She shivered and drew the blankets more tightly about her. How she wished she could fly away.

Her breath crystallised in the blanket near her mouth as she tried to regulate her thoughts and her breathing, as the weather was getting colder.

Just past the first turn, she realised there was no house, no village in front of her, only a long stretch of whiteness bordered by snow-powdered hedges without a telltale rise in smoke in the distance.

She didn't dare look up again for a long while. Time lost all meaning as she walked onward, her cheeks stinging, then without feeling, as hints of eventide crept in behind the melancholy December sky.

It was then that Betty murmured an almost forgotten prayer from her childhood.........a little something to her guardian Angel begging an entree to paradise.

................................

She awoke stretching contentedly. Staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling, it took her a few moments to determine where she was, but she couldn't recognise this place.

Sitting bolt upright, she tossed the covers back. The other bed was empty. One glance out the small window told her that the sun was well. The woods seemed to have been washed clean by a storm that might have happened. She hadn't thought she would sleep so deeply or so long.

She quickly stood up " Where the hell am I? What happened last night " she covered her face with tears, that was when she noticed she wasn't wearing the clothes she remembered wearing to work Yesterday. She was confused as she couldn't remember what happened after the drink Mr Jude gave her in her office.

Henry ran up to check on her as he heard her almost screaming. "Good morning Miss"

" Who the hell are you and why am I here?" She took a few steps away from him then she continued "Whose cloth am I wearing?"

" Ok, if you would let me talk," Henry said and also took more steps back to make her comfortable enough for her to know that he won't hurt her.

"Go ahead," She said calmly this time

"I saw you half-dead on my way back to him from work, I tried waking you up to get more information on how I can get you home but it seems you " he wanted to say drugs, but he thought better.." seems you were drunk, so I bought you here so that you can get yourself and for your cloth, they were terrible and dirty, so I decided to be nice enough to change your dress" His attitude, how she was drawn to his attitude

"Can you take me home?" She asked, "I should know this area and locate my home," She said politely going to sit on the bed

"Yes," He said going back to what he was doing

"Thank you for saving me, I appreciate and thanks for the cloth" she as he stopped and turn to her coming close to him

"It's Ok" he squeezed a smile.

Betty went close and kissed him. Betty's kiss not only stole his breath away but also drove his hangover tiredness out of his skull.

He tasted enthusiasm and awe on her lips. It had been a long time since a woman had kissed him like that. He stared at her, then looked at her hand and saw that there was a ring that broke his heart. " I would be ready in no time to get you back home, I hope you don't mind wearing my cloth home, yours is damaged already as it seems you crawled a lot, " He said and moved away from her

" Ok Mr, Thank you" She was surprised that he did not make some advances on her unlike some uncontrollable men out there.

He got prepared as fast as he said he would and drove her down to her place, just like one of her bad habits, she gave him her contact.

Betty knew how her husband might react to her coming home now, so she went prepared. She slowly opened the door hoping he wasn't in the living room, that alone made her guilty.

"Where have you been?" His voice echoed from the kitchen

"I honestly don't what happened to me"

"How would you not know what happened to you, what kind of useless excuse is that" He came out to the living room where she was to see her clearly "And whose cloth are you wearing?"

This......... She thought better than, to be honest, " A lady, I don't know her, she saw me half dead and saved me"

"Half dead?"

"Why didn't you come looking for me huh?" she raised her voice

"You think I did not?"

She was silent for a minute because it might have been true, "Allow me to explain what happened"

Mr Dan stared hard hoping it was not what he is thinking " Go on"