"Anna says Maria was devastated when Philip told her he had to go back to Germany." Anne chatted away as Louis frowned, struggling to stay focused on the road. "He promised to come back to see her over the summer, but I doubt he'll be able to wait that long."

An eighteen wheeler carrying a load of sheet rock rumbled on just a little ahead of them. The truck slowed, indicating a traffic light ahead, and Louis adjusted his speed accordingly. The rope holding the load of sheet rock seemed to hold steady until, as he watched in horror, a knot began to slip.

Get down.

Louis grabbed Anne and threw her down on the seat, throwing his own body on top of hers a fraction of a second before the errant piece of sheet rock plunged through the windshield, showering broken glass all over their bodies.

"W-what happened?" asked Anne.

"Hold completely still, or you'll be cut to shreds!" Louis hissed. Terrified, Anne obeyed.

Within moments they heard the wailing of sirens, followed by a male voice. "Are you two all right?"

"I'm all right, and I think Anne's just frightened," Louis replied.

Within a half hour or so, the debris was cleared and they were able to get out of the car. After ascertaining that Anne was, indeed, all right, Louis just stood gazing at his ruined car in despair.

"You two don't know how fortunate you are," a policeman told Louis and Anne. "That piece of sheet rock came through the windshield right where your heads would have been. If you hadn't thrown yourselves down like you did, you both would have been decapitated."

Anne shrieked and began to sob, shaking uncontrollably. The paramedics helped her onto a stretcher. "Considering the state she's in, we'd better keep her overnight for observation," one of them told Louis.

"I'm coming along with her," Louis replied.

During the short trip to the hospital, Anne continued to shake and sob as Louis held her hand and tried his best to comfort her, and upon her arrival in the emergency room, she was given a shot of Valium. Louis sat at her side holding her hand as he waited for the medication to take effect. Gradually her breathing returned to normal, and she stopped crying.

"Better now?" Louis asked as his fingers swept the damp hair back from her face.

She nodded. "Did you hear what that policeman said?"

Louis nodded.

"We could have been decapitated." She drew a deep, ragged sigh. "Remember Christmas Day, when you asked me what was wrong and I told you about Jane cheating on George? Well, that wasn't all that was wrong." She saw that his dark eyes were warm with concern. "I had that dream again, Louis. Really it's more like a nightmare. It's a bright spring day, and I'm kneeling in sawdust, and Henry is there, and I can see in his eyes how much he hates me, and there's a man with a sword, and I just know I'm about to die, that he's gonna k-kill me - " She had to pause for breath. "I don't know why I keep having it, but today, when that policeman said what he did about the sheet rock - it was just like being back in that dream. If you hadn't pushed me down when you did - you saved me, Louis. I would have died if you hadn't pushed me down. Thank you!"

He chuckled as he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Oh, that's all right! I'm just glad we're both safe now."

He stayed at her side until she drifted into a peaceful sleep, then went to call his insurance company and a towing service. He'd see about getting a settlement from the company that owned the eighteen wheeler later.

The next call he made was to Anne's parents. Liz answered the telephone.

"Mrs. Boleyn? Hi, this is Louis Bourbon. Please don't worry, Anne's fine, but she and I were in a car accident. A piece of sheet rock from the truck in front of us went through the windshield. Like I said, Anne's fine. She's resting right now. I just thought you should know."

"Oh my God! How did this happen? Were you tailgating?"

"No, ma'am. I was following at a safe distance. One of the knots holding the sheet rock came loose. I had just enough time to get both of us out of the way before it came crashing through my windshield."

A long silence followed. "You say Anne wasn't injured at all?" Liz asked at last.

"No, ma'am. She wasn't."

"Then why is she in the hospital?"

"She was very badly frightened by the way the accident happened. She was so upset they had to give her a tranquilizer, but like I said, she's fine now. She's sleeping peacefully."

"I'll be there right away!"

Twenty minutes later, Thomas and Liz Boleyn arrived. Anne was still asleep when they entered the room. Louis started to shake her awake, but Liz stopped him.

"That's all right. Don't disturb her. I just had to see for myself that she's all right."

"All this way for nothing," Thomas grumbled as he and his wife turned to leave.

The Valium had worn off by the following morning, and Anne lay in bed staring at the ceiling and thinking about what a fool she'd made of herself the previous day. She'd always thought of herself as being calm. cool, collected, and perfectly capable of dealing with any emergency that came up, yet she'd totally lost it after the accident,

Why had it affected her so?

Although surely he must have been badly frightened as well, Louis had remained in control the entire time. She knew now that beneath his meek, passive exterior lay a reserve of quiet inner strength, a firm resolve she couldn't help but admire.

She'd see him again soon, as he'd offered to take her home in his rental car. How could she ever face him again after how she'd acted?