ADAM AND ANDREW made their way to the square right on time. Edward was waiting. Andrew saw Adam slip his hand inside his coat and pulled him back. “You cannot kill your cousin until we know where our wives are.”
Adam slowly removed his hand and fisted his hands at his sides.
“Cousin. Such a pleasure to see you again,” Edward said and moved to shake his hand.
Adam ignored his outstretched arm.
“What exactly do you want?” Andrew asked.
Edward raised an eyebrow “From you? Nothing.”
“Then from me, you bastard,” Adam seethed. “What the hell do you want?”
“Adam, such language.” Edward frowned. “Have all your manners disappeared here in the colonies?”
“Why are you speaking in circles?” Adam hissed. “Tell us what you want. Where is my wife?”
“She’s safe… for now.” Edward shrugged.
Adam raised his fist in threat. “What does that mean, exactly?”
“Careful, cousin.” Edward pushed Adam away. “It means that Elizabeth is the means to my end, however, Gwendolyn is the means to someone else’s entirely.”
Andrew grabbed Edward by the lapels. “Tell me where she is, damn it.”
“Violence will not get you what you are looking for, Mr. Simmonds. Release me.” Andrew slowly released Edward’s jacket, but didn’t back up. He towered over the man. “Now, let’s sit and discuss this calmly, shall we?”
The men sat at the benches in the center of the park. “What do you want Edward?” Adam asked.
“I simply want what I am due.”
Adam stood. “Which is?”
“Elizabeth.”
Adam swore. “She was never yours.”
Edward scowled. “She would have been if you’d not interfered.”
Adam stood and began to pace. “She never wanted you, Eddie. She would have never been yours. You disgusted her.”
Edward stood with a hiss. “You stole her from me!”
“I couldn’t steal what wasn’t yours to begin with.”
Edward took a deep breath. “Well, it doesn’t really matter now, does it? I have her.”
Adam let out a string of curses as he hit him. “Where is she?”
“As I said…” Edward pulled his handkerchief from his jacket and pressed it to his mouth, “…she’s safe. But if you try to come after us, I’ll kill her.”
“What about my wife?” Andrew seethed. “Who wants Gwen?”
“A man who ultimately wants her brother.”
“Who?”
“I only know him as Simon,” Edward said. “It seemed best not to ask questions.”
“What was all this business about the Aries, then?” Adam asked.
Edward shrugged. “A distraction.”
“I will kill you,” Adam threatened.
“You can try.” Edward pulled out his pocket watch. “But if I don’t return in an hour, my men have orders to kill Elizabeth.” Edward mounted his horse and rode away.
Adam dragged his hands down his face. “Well that was a bloody waste of time. We should have gone with Jamie.”
Andrew didn’t disagree. He wanted to find the bastards who had his wife and unload his pistol into their hearts.
* * *
“What time is it?” Gwen asked Elizabeth.
“It must be close to eleven.”
Gwen groaned. “Where are they?”
“Good question. The first one I will ask Adam, in fact,” Elizabeth said.
“You should rest.” Gwen pounded on the door. “I’ll find out if we can get some tea.” The bolt slid open and Gwen peered outside. “Sir, may we please get some tea?”
He grunted and closed the door.
“Do you think that was a ‘yes’?” Elizabeth asked.
Gwen shrugged. “Who knows?”
The women sat down on the bed and waited for the tea. Their conversation was interrupted when they heard singing outside their window and went to investigate. They had to stand on the bed to look out, but were rewarded with a clear view of the street.
“I know that voice,” Gwen whispered.
“He sounds drunk.”
Gwen smiled. “I think it’s Jamie.”
“Jamie’s drunk?”
“No, I think he’s pretending,” Gwen said.
They continued to watch and listen.
“Hello boys,” they heard a sultry voice say.
“Is that Sophie?” Elizabeth asked.
They watched the group disappear briefly and then they saw their large guard at the door.
“Who goes there? State your business.”
Jamie staggered to the door. “I am James… er… Captain, James, T, Kirk. Blondie! Tell ’em who I am.”
“You’re mine for the night, honey,” Sophie said.
“We’re lookin’ for a private place to do our biznez,” Jamie slurred.
The other men laughed.
“I get to go next,” Stephen said.
The guard scowled. “Move along. You’re on the wrong side of town and wearing the wrong colors.”
“Now, wait a minute, pal,” Jamie swaggered to the guard. “We’s a wantin’ some time alone and I’m a thinkin’ there’s four of us an’ only one of you. So, why don’t you move aside and let us in?”
“There are more men inside and the three of us can take on four drunkards with our eyes closed.”
“There are three men,” Gwen whispered.
Elizabeth nodded. “Good to know.”
They heard the bolt slide.
“It’s now or never,” Gwen said as she grabbed the wine bottle and stood with her hands behind her back. The servant walked in with a tray. “Where’s the guard?”
“There are some drunk men at the door, mum,” she said.
Gwen glanced at Elizabeth and then back at the maid. “Oh. Well, we apologize in advance.”
“Mum?” she asked looking confused.
Gwen and Elizabeth rushed her. They pushed her further into the room, stepped outside, bolted the door, and headed down the stairs. They heard yelling from the foyer and stopped short. Gwen poked her head around the corner to see Clayton and Christopher enter the foyer, guns raised. She stepped further into the foyer.
“Go, Soph. Now!” Gwen heard Jamie yell.
Gwen heard a whistle and then a whinny and knew Samson must be close. Gwen watched as all hell broke loose inside the house. The guards pulled guns and began to shoot. She saw Clayton shoot their guard in the head and she shivered at the gruesome sight. The other men rushed for Christopher and fought for his gun.
Gwen stepped out of sight, but apparently not entirely.
She heard Andrew’s voice cut through the chaos. “Elizabeth! Gwendolyn! Get down.”
Gwen froze. She couldn’t have moved even if she’d wanted to. She felt a tug on her dress and Elizabeth’s voice, but she still couldn’t move. Gunshots volleyed around them, but it didn’t make a difference. She was still frozen.
Christopher and Clayton managed to get one man to the ground, but the other one made a run for it, shooting his way out the door. Richard rushed toward him and she saw Andrew catch him and throw him to the ground. He wrestled the gun from his hand and slid it to Adam. They quickly bound the man’s arms behind his back, just as Christopher was able to get the other one in the same position. Richard lifted him roughly and threw him in a corner.
“Gwen!” she heard Elizabeth scream.
Her ribs burned and the room seemed to shrink. She pushed her hand to her side and felt wetness.
“Gwen?” She looked at Andrew and pulled her hand away. Blood was seeping through her clothes. Time stood still as she heard Andrew call her name again. “Gwen!” he yelled and she dropped like a stone.
* * *
Andrew caught her before she hit the floor, laid her down gently, and cradled her head in his lap. “Oh, God. No! Gwen! You were supposed to get down! Wake up. Please, sweetheart, wake up,” he sobbed as he stroked her face.
Stephen and Christopher rushed to them.
“Gwennie?” Christopher said as he knelt beside her. “Wake up, little sister.”
Stephen ripped Gwen’s gown down the middle.
“Shield your eyes,” Andrew bellowed to the men.
Christopher turned his back and shrugged out of his jacket. It dropped to the floor and Andrew laid it over Gwen’s chest.
Stephen investigated Gwen’s wound. “She’s losing a lot of blood. We need to get her to Michael’s clinic.”
“We’ve got company!” Clayton yelled and began to shoot in the direction of the street.
“We have to get the women out of here.” Stephen grabbed Andrew’s forearm. “Andrew! Listen to me! We need to get Gwen out of here.”
Andrew nodded and lifted her in his arms. He was thankful she was unconscious, knowing if she weren’t the simple motion would be painful.
Adam rushed inside, and Elizabeth threw herself into his arms. Lingering wasn’t an option, so he grasped her around the waist and guided her out of the house.
Christopher, Clayton, and Jamie provided cover so the five of them could get to safety. Andrew followed Richard away from the house, knowing that he just had to get Gwen safely to the buggy and then they would be all right.
“Keep pressure on the wound,” Stephen directed Andrew.
They made it to the buggy and Stephen pushed the horse almost beyond its limits to get to the Wades’.
They arrived in record time, but Gwen was still unconscious, and the wound continued to bleed heavily. Andrew carried her into the house and Stephen called for his wife.
Christine, Hannah, Emma and Sophie rushed from the parlor.
“Oh, no!” Christine gasped.
Sophie stood behind the girls, her hand at her mouth in shock.
“Gwen,” Charity whispered tearfully and then looked at Andrew. “Andrew, is she...?”
He shook his head, but couldn’t speak.
“I’ll find her parents,” Sophie said. “And Michael.”
“Thank you,” Andrew whispered.
“Christine, please go to the kitchen and sterilize the instruments,” Stephen instructed.
“We’ll help,” Hannah said and grasped Emma’s hand.
Christine and the other ladies moved quickly as Stephen led Andrew to Michael’s office. He directed him to the flat table behind the screen and then lit every lamp and candle in the room in order to assess the damage.
“We need to get her undressed.”
Andrew nodded and began to remove the rest of her clothing. He pulled her chemise over her head and gasped at the sight of the nasty bullet hole just under her ribcage. “Sweetheart,” he said with a ragged sigh.
Michael entered the room with fresh bandages and hot water and began prepping everything for surgery.
“Andrew. You need to leave the room now. I have to determine the extent of the damage. Your sister will be here and I’ll send her out as soon as we know anything,” Stephen said.
Andrew stared at him, confused.
“Drew,” Christine whispered and gently pulled him from his wife’s side. “Come with me.”
He let her pull him from the room and into the library. Elizabeth and Nona were both waiting for him.
Alone.
He broke down as his sisters rushed to his side and pulled him into their arms. He sank to the floor and they followed. Christine kissed his cheek and promised she would take care of Gwen and then went back to join her husband.
“Shhh. Andrew, she’s going to be fine,” Nona assured him.
“There was so much blood,” he sobbed.
“She’s going to be fine,” Elizabeth assured him. “Remember, Drew, she is incredibly strong. She won’t let something like this beat her.”
He dragged his hands down his face. “I should have protected her.”
Elizabeth squeezed his shoulder. “You did protect her! You had no control over a bullet and its direction.”
“It should have been me,” he whispered.
The women sat with him for a long time, until his shoulders no longer shook. Then he sat in one of the high-backed chairs facing the fireplace and stared unblinking into the unlit space. He felt nothing… saw nothing. Only continued to relive the nightmare of his beautiful wife standing on the lower stair, blood pouring from her body.
At some point Adam came in the room and pulled Elizabeth into his arms. Andrew felt jealously well up in him that he couldn’t hold Gwen the same way. He stamped his emotions down, but couldn’t wipe the scowl from his face.
Christine came in a few minutes later. “Andrew?”
He stood and rushed to Christine. “The bullet hit a rib and fragmented, causing damage that Stephen is not certain can be repaired. One of the rib fragments grazed a lung, but didn’t puncture it. Michael and Stephen are working to remove the bullet and rib pieces. So far, they don’t see any major damage. She hasn’t awakened on her own, so they are going as fast as they can because Stephen wants to avoid using chloroform.”
“Why?”
Christine squeezed his hand. “Because it’s volatile and she’s very small.”
“When can I see her?”
“I’ll come back and get you as soon as I can,” Christine promised.
“Teeny?”
“Hm?”
“Is she going to live?”
“She has a very good chance. We are all praying, which gives her an even better one. I need to get back in to assist. Will you be all right?”
Andrew nodded and Christine left the room.
“Andrew?” Elizabeth said. “You need to eat.”
He shook his head and went back to the chair.
“Andrew, you should eat something,” Adam said.
“This is your fault,” Andrew seethed.
“Andrew!” Elizabeth admonished.
“Get out, Adam!” Andrew bellowed. “Get the hell out of here, you bastard. You are the reason my wife might die.”
Adam left the room. Elizabeth and Nona followed. The door opened again, but this time it was Jamie. “Hey,” he said. “I heard you yelling.”
Andrew flopped back in one of the chairs.
“She’s going to be fine,” Jamie said.
“No thanks to that bastard.”
“Andrew. I understand you’re upset, but you cannot blame Adam for this. He was a pawn.” Jamie sat in the chair next to him. “As were you.”
“Are you here for a reason?” Andrew snapped.
“I’m here to support you.”
“Strange way of showing it.” Andrew scowled. “Why don’t you just go?”
Jamie shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere and Gwen is going to be fine.”
“So everyone seems to say,” Andrew said with a ragged sigh.
“They’re not empty promises, Andrew. She has two very good doctors at her side.”
Andrew nodded and ran his hands through his hair. “I can’t live without her.”
Jamie nodded. “I know, bud. You won’t have to.”
“Was Christopher able to contact her parents?”
“Yes, he got a wire to them, and they have answered that they will be on the first train in the morning.”
They heard an earth-shattering scream and Andrew thought he might die from terror. He bolted from his chair and ran down the hall.