STEPHEN USED JUST enough chloroform to ensure Quincy was unconscious and then began the surgery. It was relatively easy to remove the bullet, so the operation was brief. He finished closing and then he and Christine cleaned up. Since Quincy’s breathing was even, and Stephen didn’t see any signs of distress, they left the room and found Victoria pacing the hallway.

“It went very well and he’s resting comfortably,” Stephen said.

“Thank you.”

“It’s almost four, so we should get going to the train station,” Christine said. “I hope you’ll consider staying with us, Victoria.”

“I hadn’t thought about the two days before Hannah is due to arrive, to be honest.” Victoria forced a smile. “Yes, thank you. I would appreciate the hospitality.”

Stephen laid a hand on Christine’s back. “Let’s go. I’ll walk Christopher and Hannah through what they need to do for Quinn when he wakes up.”

“I’ll be right there,” Victoria said.

* * *

Victoria waited for the couple to start their descent of the stairs and then slipped into Quincy’s bedroom. Her heart clenched with both relief and sadness as she stared down at him. He was obviously resting comfortably, so she took his hand in hers before leaning over and placing her lips gently on his. “Heal quickly, please.”

As the tears rolled down her cheeks, she left him behind.

The instructions were given to the Butlers and then the three travelers went on their way. Stephen navigated the women through the station and onto the platform, tipped the porter who loaded their luggage, and led the girls onto the train.

“We have a private car, so feel free to make yourself at home,” he told Victoria.

Victoria took her seat and stared out the window. Within minutes, the hiss of the steam indicated their departure and she watched as the landscape flew by, leading her farther and farther from Quincy. She was miserable.

She hadn’t expected to feel that way. She missed him already and she’d only known the man two days. It was irrational.

“Are either of you hungry?” Stephen asked an hour into their trip.

“Yes, sweetheart, I am,” Christine said.

Stephen stood with a smile. “I’ll procure some refreshments.”

Victoria glanced at him. “Thank you.”

Stephen left the parlor car and Christine moved to sit next to her. “Victoria?”

“Yes?”

“Are you all right?”

Victoria raised her eyebrows in confusion. “Yes, why?”

“You have sighed three times in the last five minutes,” Christine said with a gentle smile.

“I have?”

Christine smiled sympathetically.

“Sorry.”

Christine patted her hand. “Don’t apologize. You miss him. I understand.”

Victoria shook her head. “No, I don’t,” she protested too much, then shook her head. “Fine. Maybe a little. But it’s irrational.”

“What’s irrational?” Stephen asked as he walked into the parlor car, his arms laden with sandwiches. A porter followed with glasses of lemonade.

Victoria shook her head. “Nothing.”

Stephen handed her a sandwich and a glass of lemonade and then took his seat. Once everyone had their food and beverages, the porter left the car. The three of them finished their lunch, just as a porter arrived to remove their dishes. Before she knew it, Victoria heard the hissing steam, indicating the arrival into the station. Stephen’s buggy awaited the group and they climbed in and made their way to the house.

As they drove up the long driveway, Victoria had a sense of déjà vu. The ten-thousand-square-foot mansion still existed in the future and was on the register of Pennsylvania historical homes. It loomed atop a large hill, in the exclusive Allison Hill area of Harrisburg. Four white columns formed a welcoming portico, and if memory served, a porch covering the back and one side would have been added the year before.

Unprecedented in the modern day, the Paxton family still owned the hundred and forty acres the house and outbuildings sat on. The home had sweeping views of the Susquehanna River and Blue Mountains, and twice a year, the family allowed tours, even into their private rooms.

Victoria let out a low whistle as Stephen set the brake on the buggy. “I know this place.”

“Oh? How so?” Christine asked.

“Well, it just so happens, your home lasts forever.”

Stephen raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Victoria nodded. “Yes, there are tours and reenactments here. It’s kind of cool. My junior high class came for a few days and we toured Gettysburg and got to come to your home.”

Stephen jumped down and raised his arms to Christine, who wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her down. “Well, that’s good to know.”

“It’s also still in the family.” Victoria took Stephen’s outstretched hand and stepped down. “Your descendents own it and live in it.”

Christine shook her head. “That can’t be right.”

“Why not?” Victoria asked.

“We won’t be having any children,” she said emphatically.

“Huh?” Victoria frowned. “The story that was told on my tour was that an elderly woman deeded it to a young doctor when she died.”

Stephen grinned at his wife. “Yes, that’s all true.”

“Well, he married, and he and his wife ended up having three boys and two girls.”

“Five?” Christine let out a squeal. “Five?”

“Perhaps I have another wife?” Stephen joked.

Christine shook her head. “I’m not having any children.”

Stephen chuckled. “Apparently, the future says otherwise.”

Christine’s face went white as Stephen kissed her cheek. The front doors opened and a large black woman smiled as she ushered the group into the foyer. “Welcome home, Dr. Paxton. Mrs. Paxton.”

Christine nodded and smiled but seemed to have difficulty forming words.

Stephen smiled at the housekeeper. “Ellie, this is Miss Carrington. She’ll be our guest for a few days.”

Ellie nodded. “I’ll have a room prepared.”

“Thank you.” Stephen wrapped his arm around Christine’s waist. “Please send refreshments to my office.”

“Yes suh.”

Ellie shuffled off to take care of the requests and Stephen ushered the ladies to the back of the house. Entering a large room, Victoria noticed medical journals stacked on bookshelves, and a desk Hannah would have loved, covered with piles of paper and nib pens.

She sat at one of the chairs by the window. A maid came in and delivered tea and cookies, and when she left and closed the door, Stephen sat in his large desk chair and pulled Christine onto this lap.

“Stephen!”

“I know, sweetheart, we’re not alone, but I highly doubt Victoria cares whether or not I show you physical affection.”

Victoria giggled. “I don’t mind in the least.”

He grinned at his wife. “And I feel the need to have you close.”

Christine raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’d personally like some tea, and I can’t do that if I’m sprawled across your knees.”

Stephen grinned. “Now, that’s a visual.”

“You are a devil, Dr. Paxton.” Christine sighed and climbed off his lap.

Stephen grasped her hand and kissed her palm. “I’ll show you how much of one I am later.”

Her cheeks red, Christine smoothed her skirts and held her hand out to Victoria. “Let me show you to your room, Victoria. Tomorrow, I’ll take you over to Sophie. You and she are about the same size and I know she’ll have some dresses that will work for you.”

Victoria rose to her feet and smiled. “Thank you.”

* * *

Quincy woke two hours after Victoria’s train left. He was still groggy, his thoughts cloudy and his body heavy with lethargy, but he knew enough to know that it wasn’t Victoria tending to him. Hannah laid a cool cloth on his forehead. Quincy forced himself to focus on her. “Where’s Victoria?”

“She’s indisposed,” Hannah said.

He allowed his exhaustion to overtake him as Hannah changed his bandages, and he fell into a deep sleep before she was finished. He didn’t wake again until the next morning, when his mother came in with breakfast.

“Good morning, dear,” she said as she set the tray on the bureau.

Quincy felt better than he did the day before, but still had to force himself to focus. “Mama, where’s Victoria?”

“I don’t know, but I asked if I could tend to you.”

Not wanting to upset her, he pretended not to be concerned about the fact that Victoria seemed to be avoiding him until a few hours later, when Christopher came in to check on him.

Quincy shifted on the mattress. “Where’s Victoria?”

Christopher turned and moved things around on the bureau. “She and Hannah went for a walk.”

“Chris?”

Christopher turned, and Quincy narrowed his eyes and glared at him. Christopher walked to the window.

“You’re lying.”

“Why would I lie to you?” Christopher asked as he continued to stare outside.

Quincy let out a frustrated growl. “Where’s Victoria?”

“We’ll talk about it later.”

Quincy sat up. “No, Chris, we will talk about it now.”

Christopher rushed back to the bed. “Careful.”

“Damn it, Chris. Where the hell is she?”

“She left.”

Quincy’s heart raced painfully as panic hit him. “What do you mean, she left?”

“Quinn.”

“Tell me, damn it!”

Christopher ran his hands through his hair. “She asked that we not tell you.”

“I smell a rat, here, brother.” Quincy slid a leg over the side of the mattress. “Tell me where she is, or I will get on a horse and scour the countryside to find her.”

Christopher pushed him back onto the bed. “Don’t be daft.”

“Tell me.”

Christopher paused for a few minutes, but Quincy knew he’d fold. “Harrisburg.”

Quincy threw the covers back and stepped out of the bed, nearly passing out in the process. Christopher caught him. “Easy, Quinn.”

He fought back the prick of tears. “Why?”

Christopher shook his head. “It’s not my place to say.”

Quincy grabbed his brother’s shirt. “Whose place is it then?”

Christopher sighed. “Quincy.”

Quincy fell back on the bed. “Get Hannah for me!”

“Cover yourself first,” Christopher demanded.

“I will, but make it quick.”

Christopher left, and Quincy covered his body as promised to await his sister-in-law. He heard them arguing as they came down the hall.

“Knight, you didn’t.”

“None of us have ever been able to lie to each other, sweetheart. He knew the minute the falsehood was out of my mouth.”

Damn right.

“Lovey,” Hannah said. “Did you tell him where she went, or just that she was gone?”

Quincy didn’t hear his response.

“Well, shit!” Hannah snapped. “What else did you tell him?”

“Am I that transparent?”

“To me you are,” Hannah said. “But that is not the point.”

“I didn’t tell him anything else; however, he’d like to speak to you.”

“Christopher, he should really be talking to her.”

“Well, she’s not here to answer his questions.”

Quincy heard them lower their voices as they arrived outside his door.

“Fine,” she huffed.

“One thing first,” Christopher said.

“What?”

There was silence for several minutes and then Christopher checked to make sure Quinn was decent before he let Hannah through the door.

“Hi,” she said.

Quincy leaned forward. “Why?”

Hannah sat in the chair by the bed. “It’s a long story, Quinn.”

Quincy made a sweeping motion with his hand. “Where am I going to go?”

“I’ll tell you what I can, but if you want details, you’ll need to ask her.”

“Fair enough,” he said.

“In high school, she fell head over heels in love.” Hannah felt his forehead as she spoke. “His name was Logan and she met him during her senior year of high school.”

Quincy frowned. “Senior year?”

Hannah nodded. “In the modern world, we have schools that go past the age of thirteen. Public education is free and high school generally goes from the age of fourteen, to seventeen or eighteen. College is an option after that.” Hannah stalled.

Quincy squeezed his eyes shut. “Hannah, please.”

“He was unfaithful.”

Quincy tightened his jaw in an effort to stay quiet.

Hannah sighed. “She’s very wary of handsome men, and when you asked to court her, she just couldn’t open herself up. She’s scared to death of being hurt again, Quinn. So, she ran.”

“She shouldn’t have,” Quincy whispered.

“I’m sorry.” Hannah took a deep breath. “May I change your bandages now?”

Quincy cocked his head and studied her. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re a terrible liar, Hannah,” Quincy pointed out.

Hannah busied herself with gathering bandages. “It’s totally insignificant.”

“It’s not if you feel the need to hide it from me.”

“Your brother may have said something that scared her.”

“Christopher the Big interfering again,” he snapped as he pushed himself up from the mattress. “Get him for me please.”

Hannah shook her head and rushed to the bed. “Lie down, Quincy. It wasn’t Chris.”

“Jacob said something?” Quincy frowned. “What?”

Hannah patted his arm. “I’m sure he was just looking out for you. Nothing to worry about.”

“What did he say, Hannah?” Quincy ground out.

She reluctantly filled him in on the conversation and for the first time in his life, Quincy felt like killing his little brother.

“Get him for me.”

Hannah rubbed her forehead. “Can I change your bandages first?”

“No, Hannah. I’d like to speak to Jacob before you change my bandages.”

“Fine.” She wagged a finger at him. “But do not hit him. If you pull your stitches, your mother will have to put you back together, because I can’t sew worth a lick.”

Quincy raised an eyebrow but didn’t admit that her comment pinpointed exactly what he wanted to do to his brother. Hannah shuffled from the room and Jacob arrived a few minutes later. “Hannah said you wanted to see me.”

“What the hell were you thinking, Jake?”

“I had a feeling you’d hear about our conversation.” Jake ran his hands through his hair as he paced the room. “I find the circumstances suspicious, Quinn. Don’t you?”

“No, I don’t,” Quincy snapped. “And I’ll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself in the future.” After several minutes of back and forth curse words, Quincy took a deep breath and tried to calm his rage. “Jake. Victoria Carrington is going to be your sister-in-law, and you need to show her respect.”

“You’ve already proposed?” Jacob asked in shock.

“No. But I’m working on it.”

“You know nothing about her.”

Quincy pushed aside the pain as he shifted to a sitting position. “Sit down, Jake. I’ll tell you all about her.”

* * *

The entire family spent the day taking care of him. Quincy and Jacob resolved their conflict, although it took almost an hour, and Quincy wasn’t certain Jacob would drop the subject entirely. Mild-mannered though his brother might be, at times he could be like a dog with a bone.

In the meantime, his family made sure Quincy ate, and his bandages were checked almost obsessively. Hannah secretly gave him Advil every three hours and told him not to worry about Victoria. He joined everyone for dinner but was irritated to find Millicent Atwood sitting at the table.

“Quincy, you must be in so much pain,” Millie said once everyone was seated.

Quincy shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“Well, if you need anything, please let me know. I am at your service.”

He nodded.

“Where’s Victoria?” Gwen asked.

“She’s in Harrisburg with Christine,” Hannah answered.

Gwen frowned. “How odd.”

“Why did she leave?” Charity asked.

Hannah gave her a pointed look. “She wanted to see Sophie.”

Gwen lowered her fork. “I didn’t realize she knew her.”

“Gwen!” Christopher admonished.

His snap earned him a warning scowl from Andrew, but Gwen simply grinned at her husband and then turned to her brother. “Yes, Christopher?”

“Stop,” he warned.

She raised an eyebrow at him but took the hint. When dinner concluded, the group made their way to the parlor.

Before Quincy realized what was going on, Millicent had him cornered in the hallway. “Quincy, darling.” She placed her hand on his arm. “Tell me how you really are.”

“I’m fine, Millicent.” He stepped away from her with a snort. “Please remove your hand.”

Millicent folded her hands in front of her. “I’ll excuse your rudeness, due to your injury, Quincy, but just know that I’d do anything for you.”

He tried not to glare at her in disgust. “Millicent, I appreciate your concern, but it’s not necessary.”

“I care deeply for you,” she crooned. “You know that. Of course it’s necessary.”

“I’m quite tired. The injury and all. Would you please let my family know that I’m going to turn in?”

“Of course.”

He didn’t linger, rather turned and walked up the stairs. He knew Millicent would deliver the message and probably feel quite important, as though he had just shared a secret with her.

Quincy lay down on the bed with a sigh. He missed his rebel and the pain in his chest was almost worse than the throb in his shoulder. He was surprised by how quickly this tiny slip of a woman had taken hold of his heart.

He had to get her back. At any cost.

Just as Quincy suspected, Christopher came to check on him later that night. Quincy feigned sleep until he heard him leave the room and close the door, thankful his brother was so predictable.

Climbing slowly and painfully out of bed, he finished dressing, donning an extra shirt and one of Christopher’s heavy coats in case the night was cold. He also grabbed a pair of his heavy gloves and a warm hat, knowing the weather was not always predictable.

Earlier that day, he’d secretly packed food and extra clothing into saddlebags and hoped he could also leave the house without detection. His shoulder was killing him, but he had additional bandages and several of the pills Victoria left.

He waited thirty minutes before leaving his room, relieved that the house was quiet as he snuck out the back door. Finding one of Christopher’s grooms smoking a cigarette outside of the carriage house, he ordered him to saddle one of the horses.

“Yes suh. Is Mr. Butler comin’ with ya?”

“No. Just me,” Quincy said. “No one else will require your assistance tonight.”

The groom rushed to tack up one of the horses, and Quincy allowed him to assist him into the saddle. Despite his embarrassment, he thanked the groom and took off toward Harrisburg.

Riding throughout the night and most of the morning, he stopped only briefly to rest the horse and make sure his shoulder wasn’t bleeding. He knew he should have waited until the morning so that he could take the train, but he felt restless and needed to find Victoria.

Quincy made great time but arrived in Harrisburg hungry and in excruciating pain. Pausing briefly to look around, he determined he had a few miles to go to get to the Paxton’s home and going through the middle of town would be the fastest way.

“Quincy Butler?”

He turned when he heard his name. It was Richard Madden, Clayton’s brother.

“It is you.” Richard pulled his horse up beside him. “Are you all right? You don’t look well. Have you been in a tight scratch?”

“I’ve been better,” Quincy admitted.

“What are you doing here?” Richard leaned over the saddle horn. “Wait. Is this about the young woman staying with Dr. Paxton?”

Quincy didn’t comment.

“Ah. Well, she’s not there currently.”

“Excuse me?” Quincy panicked.

Richard nodded. “She’s with Jamie and Sophie at the Wades’. Michael’s butler, Daniel, will be able to assist, if the Wades are not at home.”

“Thank you, Richard.”

“My pleasure. Have a good day.” Tipping his hat, Richard turned his horse and went on his way.

Quincy let out a sigh of relief, thankful that he didn’t have to ride as far as Stephen’s.