VICTORIA SLEPT FOR almost two hours. Quincy watched her closely, ready to assist should she need him, lying on his side, his head on the pillow and waiting for her to stir. He heard her whimper and reached out to stroke her cheek.

Her eyes fluttered open and she turned her face toward him. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He smiled.

She rolled onto her side and reached for his hand. “How long did I sleep? What time is it?”

“You slept for almost two hours and it’s just after six.”

“Have you been here the whole time?”

“Of course,” he said, surprised by the question. “I told you I would be.”

Victoria smiled. “Yes, I just thought you might have taken a break while I slept.”

He pulled her hand to his lips. “I promised I’d be here for the duration.”

“Have I kept you from dinner?”

“Mama is organizing a tray for us. How do you feel?”

Victoria stretched slowly. “Sore. The bruises hurt more for some reason, especially my face.”

He sat up. “I’ll get you some ice.”

“Will you please check on Rocky?”

“I’ll send one of the men.”

She reached out for his arm. “No, honey, I want you to make sure he’s safe.”

“All right, Rebel. Shall I send Hannah in while I do that?”

“She’s still here?”

“Yes, she and Chris are staying for a few days.”

“Oh,” she said quietly. “I’ve caused a bit of a stir, haven’t I?”

“Rebel, you did nothing of the sort. They are your family and they love you. Almost as much as I do, so they are here to assist.”

“But I’m keeping you and Chris from important stuff,” she whispered.

“There’s nothing more important than you, Victoria,” he said gently. “You seem to forget that.”

“Thank you,” she said with a sigh. “Okay, send Hannah in while you check on my pet.”

“Actually, you’ve got a few other visitors as well.”

Victoria sat up. “What? Who?”

Quincy chuckled. “Everyone.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Who is everyone?”

“Sophie, Emma, Gwen, and Christine. There was also some discussion about Charity coming tomorrow, since she’s home now.”

Victoria shook her head. “I don’t know if I can see them, Quinn.”

“You don’t have to, sweetheart.”

“I don’t want any of them to see me like this.”

Quincy smiled. “You don’t have to see anyone you don’t want to.”

“Thank you.”

“Except Dr. Paxton.”

“He’s here too?” She groaned. “Fine, I’ll see him.”

“I know you will. That wasn’t actually a choice. I’ll get him and then check on Rocky. Will you be all right?”

“I think so.” She smiled up at him. “Just hurry back. Oh, and give him extra sugar from me please.”

“Dr. Paxton or Rocky?”

Victoria waved him away, but smiled as he pulled open the door. Hannah stood in the hallway. He stepped back and let her inside. “I’m going to get the doctor.”

Hannah nodded. “I’ll stay here until you do.”

* * *

Hannah helped Victoria into her robe. Dr. Paxton and Christine arrived a few minutes later, and Hannah stepped into the hallway while he examined Victoria. When Stephen was done, he and Christine left Victoria with Hannah.

“So? What’s the verdict?” Hannah asked.

Victoria sat in one of the chairs facing the fireplace and held ice on her lip. “Bruises only. No breaks.”

“Good.”

“What exactly was the dream?” Victoria asked.

“We were in a bar for some reason and Eye of the Tiger was on the jukebox. We were laughing, until suddenly, you disappeared. Right before my eyes. Then I heard you scream, but I couldn’t find you. When I ran outside, I saw a large crow circling above and that song kept playing! Just as loud as it had been on the jukebox, it was surreal. You’re the premonitions lady, so it really freaked me out. I woke up and forced Chris out of bed. I knew it had something to do with Rocky, and Christopher figured out the crow reference. I had no idea you’d been taken, though.”

“Wow. Freaky.”

“Seriously.” Hannah handed her some water and Advil. “Take these.”

A commotion out the window drew their focus outside. “What’s that noise?”

Hannah glanced outside and gasped. “Victoria, you have to have a look.”

Rocky was running in the front yard, rearing and generally making a nuisance of himself. Victoria peered out the window and gasped. “What’s he doing?”

“I have no idea.”

“Rocky!” she called. “Settle.” Rocky stopped dead in his tracks and raised his head to the sound of her voice. Victoria leaned farther over the sill. “I’ll come down in a few minutes. Calm down.” Rocky whinnied, as though in answer.

“Rebel?” Quincy called as he approached Rocky. “Go back to bed, sweetheart. I have everything under control.”

“I see that, Gus,” she retorted.

Quincy frowned up at her. “I’ll get him back in his stall and be up shortly.”

Victoria pushed away from the window and sat on the bed with a sigh. “I should really get dressed and help.”

“Do you feel up to it?”

Victoria shrugged. “The real issue is the fact that I have nothing to wear. We came with nothing.”

With a chuckle, Hannah went to the wardrobe and opened it.

There were three gowns hanging in it and Victoria gasped. “How did those get there?”

“I wonder,” Hannah said sarcastically. “It’s possible I took them from your luggage and brought them with me.”

Victoria smiled. “You are the most amazing woman on earth.”

“So they say.” Hannah grinned. “Come on, I’ll help you dress.”

Victoria dressed as quickly as she could, her pain starting to subside after taking the Advil, and made her way downstairs.

Stepping outside, she saw Quincy trying in earnest to catch Rocky... and failing miserably.

“Rocky!” Rocky turned to face Victoria as she walked slowly down the porch steps. He whinnied and trotted up to her. Quincy rushed to her side as she reached out to Rocky and stroked his muzzle. “Shhh, boy. It’s okay.”

Quincy wrapped his arm gently around her waist. “You look wonderful, Rebel,” he said as he kissed her cheek. “How do you feel?”

“I feel better, honey,” she said, and smiled up at him. “What’s up with my horse?”

Quincy chuckled. “He’s been like this since you were taken. We still haven’t been able to get him in his stall.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

Victoria leaned against him. “So he’s been roaming the grounds this whole time?”

Quincy shook his head. “Not exactly.”

She glanced up at him. “Well then what, exactly?”

“He’s been pacing under your window.”

Victoria widened her eyes. “What?”

“He won’t leave the area.”

“Where’s his halter?”

“No one can get close enough to him to put one on.”

She turned back to Rocky, stroked his nose, and handed him a sugar cube. “Have you been worried about me, boy?”

Victoria faltered slightly and Quincy tightened his hold around her waist. “Sweetheart, let’s get you back inside.”

“I’ll just put Rocky away.”

Quincy put his mouth to her ear and whispered, “You can barely stand up, Rebel. Let me do it for you.”

“Will he let you?”

“Probably not,” he grumbled.

She grasped his arm. “I’m fine, Gus. Walk with me and you can catch me if I faint.”

“Rebel,” he said with an exasperated sigh. “If you faint, I’m putting you to bed for a week.”

She giggled. “If you do that, you had better join me.”

Quincy took her hand and kissed her palm. “I will. Now, let’s get your pet back to his bed.”

Quincy kept a strong hold on Victoria as they moved toward the barn. Rocky followed her, perfectly docile, back to his stall, and walked inside without any issues. The stable hands stood with their mouths agape while Quincy simply rolled his eyes.

Once Victoria was satisfied Rocky would settle down, she let Quincy lead her out of the stables but stopped suddenly, finding it difficult to catch her breath.

“Rebel?” Quincy asked in concern.

“I’m fine, honey. Just give me a second. I need to catch my breath.”

“No you don’t,” he said, and he lifted her into his arms.

She relaxed in his grip and laid her head on his shoulder as they walked through the front door. Quincy carried her upstairs, undressed her, and settled her on the bed. “We’ll eat here alone tonight.”

Victoria smiled. “Thanks.”

The couple hid in the comfort of the bedroom for the remainder of the night. Sophie brought them dinner but didn’t linger. She gave Victoria a quick hug and then made herself scarce.

Victoria was having difficulty staying awake to eat, and in the end gave up the effort. She crawled under the covers and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Victoria woke, her face throbbing. Easing her way out of bed to look for the Advil, she smacked her foot on the bedpost. Despite the fact the sun was rising, it was dark in the room, and she slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a curse.

“Rebel?” Quincy said sleepily.

“Sorry, honey. I can’t find the Advil. Where is it?”

“I’ll get it.” Quincy climbed out of the bed and retrieved the pills for her before pulling a pair of pants on.

“Where are you going?”

“To get you some ice.”

“You are too good to me,” she said with a sigh.

He stroked her cheek. “How much pain are you in, sweetheart?”

“My face is throbbing a bit. And my lip itches. More annoying than anything.”

“I’ll be back shortly,” he said, and kissed her cheek.

Quincy returned and tended to Victoria’s aches, insisting they stay in their room for the day, which they did. By late afternoon, Victoria was about to pull her hair out and insisted they join their family, who had been hovering most of the day.

After dressing quickly, they walked downstairs. Victoria heard laughing coming from the parlor, so she decided to start there. They opened the doors and everyone turned.

“Hi,” Sophie said, and stood to hug her.

“Hi. What are you doing?” Victoria asked.

Sophie grinned. “Pictionary.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. We found a couple of chalk boards and chalk, so the game is on.”

Victoria clapped her hands. “I love Pictionary.”

“Come join us. It’s guys against girls,” Sophie said. “Oh, and there’s a few sandwiches left. Andrew ate most of them, though.”

“Hey!” he said in mock offense.

Victoria giggled.

“What are we doing?” Quincy asked her.

She took his hand and pulled him in. “You’ll see. It’s fun. I promise.”

They took their sides and delved into the competition. An hour into the game, which quickly became blood sport, they were interrupted by Charity, fury on her face and dragging a very scared looking Millicent with her. The men stood.

“Char?” Gwen asked as the girls walked into the room. “What’s amiss?”

“Tell them, Millie.” Charity said.

“Millicent?” Gwen asked. “What’s going on?”

“Tell them,” Charity pressed.

Millicent burst into tears and immediately looked in the men’s direction. “Quincy, I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you sorry, Millicent?” he asked quietly.

“I can’t do this, Charity,” Millicent cried.

“She was the reason Bart knew about the shack.”

Victoria gasped, and Quincy moved to stand in front of Millicent. He crossed his arms and glared at her. “What do you mean?” Quincy asked.

“She’s the one who told Bart about the shack,” Charity said. “Not only that. She told him about the lake at the Wades’.”

“The lake?” Jamie asked.

“Yes, the lake. She told him that Victoria and the rest of us swam there and showed him where.”

Jamie faced Millicent. “So that man watched my wife swim?”

“Jamie,” Sophie said quietly and received a scowl for her efforts.

Millicent lowered her head.

“And the shack? How did that information come about?” Quincy asked.

She looked up at him. “It was an accident. I swear, Quinn.”

“The shack, Millicent. How did he know about the shack?”

Millicent dropped her head. “Bart came to visit me. He said he wanted to court me. I didn’t know that wasn’t true.”

“When exactly did he show up to court you, Millicent?”

She glanced up at him. “The day you arrived back. He said he was on the train with you, but I didn’t know you weren’t aware of that. I swear it. He wanted to know about the area and so I showed him. We just happened to come upon the shack. It was an accident. I had no idea he would do what he did.”

“You cow!” Victoria snapped as she stood and made her way to Millicent. “You must be the stupidest person on earth.”

Millicent gasped. “This is the woman you married, Quincy? You could have had me.”

Victoria pulled her arm back and let her fist fly. Millicent fell to the floor and Victoria jumped on her. “You pathetic little bit—”

“Victoria!” Hannah interrupted.

Victoria hit Millicent again. “You did this because you were jealous?” Quincy rushed to lift his wife from the body of the beaten woman. Victoria screamed as her legs flailed in the air. “Quincy! What are you doing? Put me down. I’m not done with the little whore!”

“Victoria, you need to calm down, sweetheart,” Quinn said as he held her firmly.

“She instigated everything, Quincy.” Victoria pointed to her cheek. “She’s the reason my face looks like this!”

Quincy glanced in Millicent’s direction. “It’s not permanent, sweetheart. Remember that. You’ll heal.” He leaned forward and added in a whisper, “She, however, will always look that way.”

Victoria took a deep breath as she grasped Quincy’s shirt and rested her forehead on his chest. Quincy wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly until she calmed and watched his brother lean down and pick Millicent up.

“It would appear that Victoria has improved your face, Millie,” Jacob said.

“Jacob!” Gwen said with a gasp.

He raised an eyebrow at his sister and turned back to Millicent. “You are no longer welcome in this house, or on our grounds. Do you hear me?”

Millicent nodded.

“I’ll take her home,” Charity offered.

“Thanks, Char. Then would you please come back and join us for dinner?” Gwen asked.

“I’d love to,” she said, and dragged Millicent out the door.

“Jake, you were so unkind,” Gwen admonished.

Jacob shrugged. “She deserved it. Her idiocy is why Victoria was hurt.”

“All right, everyone, let’s calm down,” Christopher said. “It’s over now.”

“I’m going to take Victoria upstairs,” Quincy said, and led her out of the room.

In the foyer, he bent down and lifted her into his arms. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she laid her head on his shoulder and when they reached the bedroom, Quincy set her on the bed. “Are you all right?”

“My hand hurts.”

“Let me see.” She gave him her hand and he let out a deep sigh. Her knuckles were bruised and red, and Victoria groaned as he moved each finger to see if any were broken.

“Ow,” she whispered.

“Rebel,” he admonished. “We need to get ice on it immediately.”

He turned and walked out the door, returning quickly with ice and salve.

“Thanks,” she said as he bandaged her hand. Quincy swore and Victoria looked up quickly. “Why are you so mad?”

“You could have broken your hand, Victoria.”

“So? She deserved it.” At Quincy’s raised eyebrow, Victoria snapped, “What? She did!”

He took a deep breath. “You’re right, sweetheart. She did deserve it,” he admitted. “To an extent.”

“To an extent?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t going to stop, Rebel.”

“I would have.” She smiled. “Eventually.”

Quincy grunted. “I want you to rest for a little while.” He led her to the bed. “I’ll wake you when it’s time to dress for dinner.”

Victoria climbed onto the quilt. “You’re not going to join me?”

“No, sweetheart. I need to discuss something with Chris.”

“Are you angry with me?”

Leaning over, he kissed her deeply. “I am concerned about your hand.”

Victoria frowned. “Are you sure?”

Quincy nodded and kissed her palm. “Yes, sweetheart. I’m not angry. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

* * *

Quincy returned to the bedroom two hours later to find his wife tossing and turning in her sleep. When he leaned over the side of the bed to take her hand, he received a fist to his eye, followed by Victoria’s horrified scream.

“Rebel. Sweetheart, it’s me,” he whispered.

“Get off me,” she screamed.

“Victoria, it’s me. Sweetheart, wake up.”

Victoria’s eyes fluttered open and she flung herself into his arms. “Gus.”

“It was a dream, love. I’m here.” Quincy gathered her close and held her. “Let’s have dinner up here.”

Victoria nodded into his chest.

* * *

The next morning, Victoria followed Quincy into the dining room to find Christopher and Gwen sitting at the table alone. Quincy had avoided direct face-to-face contact with Victoria, and he was relieved she hadn’t seemed to notice. She’d delivered a pretty nasty bruise to his eye in the midst of her nightmare, and he knew she’d feel horrible once she saw it.

“Where is everyone?” Victoria asked as Quincy held her chair for her.

“Andrew is checking on the horses and Hannah’s still asleep.”

“We’re not certain where the rest are,” Christopher added. “We know Jamie and Sophie aren’t early risers, but we heard Junior crying earlier, so they must be awake.”

“How are you feeling, Victoria?” Gwen asked.

“Much better, actually. I’m hoping I can convince my husband to take me for a ride later.”

From his place at the buffet, Quincy turned slowly to face her and leaned his hip against the furniture as he stirred sugar into her coffee. “Did you say that in front of my siblings to ensure I would acquiesce?”

Victoria laughed. “Did it work?”

He placed the cup in front of her and kissed her cheek. “Yes, it did.”

Victoria gasped. “What happened to your eye?”

Quincy touched the bruise. “You can throw a punch.”

She reached up and stroked his cheek. “I did that?”

Quincy smiled gently. “You were having a nightmare,” he whispered.

Victoria blushed. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s nothing.” Quincy kissed her quickly. “It’s barely a scratch.”

Andrew and Jamie walked in as Quincy sat down with a plate full of food.

“Good morning, everyone,” Jamie said.

“Where’s Sophie?” Victoria asked.

“She’s feeding Junior. They’ll be down soon.” Jamie turned to Andrew. “Did I see Sam?”

“Sam’s here?” Gwen asked with a grin.

Andrew scowled at Jamie. “He’s here to handle the enquiry into Bart’s death.” Andrew gave Gwen a quick kiss before sitting next her.

“I should greet him.” Gwen moved to stand, but Andrew pulled her back down.

“No, you really shouldn’t.”

Gwen pursed her lips and frowned at Andrew.

“You have a gunshot wound,” Andrew said.

“A wound that is healing perfectly,” she said, and then leaned over to kiss him. “Why don’t you come with me?”

“Conversing with Samuel Powell is not my idea of entertainment, beautiful.”

“Oh, well, then you can stay here,” she said, and made her way out of the dining room.

Andrew nearly knocked his chair over in his haste to catch her. “Gwen!”

Christopher rubbed his forehead.

Quincy chuckled. “It’s not as though she was ever a shrinking violet, Chris.”

“Quincy,” Christopher admonished.

“Our little sister has developed a backbone,” Quincy said, enjoying his brother’s discomfort.

“Why is that a problem?” Victoria asked.

“Because my knight in shining armor thinks women should be seen and not heard,” Hannah said as she walked into the room.

The men stood as she sat at the table.

“Hannah,” Christopher admonished.

“What? It’s true. Yes, you love me and I believe that you would hate it if I were any different, but in the instance of your sister—”

“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked, interrupting her.

Hannah raised her cheek for a kiss. “When it comes to your sister, you have a difficult time with her voicing her opinion.”

“I do not.”

Hannah laughed and squeezed his hand. “Yes, you do! Look, I get it. She’s your little sister and she has adored and looked up to you and Quincy her whole life. Now, she appears to be standing on her own.”

Christopher didn’t comment.

“You’ll be fine, sweetheart,” Hannah said. “In a few months, you’ll have a little boy or girl of your own who will need you forever. He or she will never grow up.”

Victoria smiled over at Quincy. “Can we go for our ride now?”

Quincy nodded. “Absolutely.”