A Traitorous Heart

by Tammy Jo Burns

  “Poor Miss Kala,” Luke sat on the ground and held her hand. He’s good at that, Tessa thought. Already bruises were beginning to pop up around Kala’s neck in the shape of fingers. Her face on one side swelled to twice its normal size. Sarah gasped and tears formed in her eyes at the sight Kala made.

  “Sarah, pull yourself together. What is your name?” she directed the question to the uninjured driver.

  “George, my lady.”

  “George, check on the other driver and see that his arm is bandaged. Ask him if he feels strong enough to drive. If not we may be forced to abandon that carriage for now.”

  “Aye, miss.”

  “I would like to leave as soon as we can,” she announced, praying that the riders coming through the fog were friends, not foes. He nodded and moved off to take care of the other driver. Tessa tenderly tapped Kala’s good cheek, calling her name. It took several times doing this to revive her. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

  “Two,” she whispered. Tessa tried not to show her worry as she held only one finger up. Kala’s blurry vision clearly indicated to Tessa that she needed to see a doctor. “Do you want us to help you into the carriage, or wait for the men?”

  “I don’t need their help,” Kala insisted mulishly. Tessa helped her sit up. Luke held her there while Sarah stood. Sarah and Tessa each put a hand under Kala’s arm to help her stand. She weaved quite a bit, but steadied between the two women helping her. They made their way to the closest coach and Sarah climbed in while Tessa and Luke supported Kala. Between the three of them and George, they got her settled as comfortably as possible on the forward facing seat of the coach. Sarah sat with her at the moment. Luke stood next to Tessa, a large branch in his hand, prepared to defend her.

  “How is my driver?”

  “He will make it. It was a flesh wound and he didn’t lose much blood. I have bandaged it and the bleeding is slowing. He feels that he can go on.”

  Tessa nodded her acceptance. “Tell him to call out if he begins to feel the least bit weak.”

  “Aye, my lady.”

  “And you might want to find a gun, just in case the approaching riders are not who we hope they are.”

  “Aye,” George made haste back to his coach.

  Tessa had one hand on the door and one holding up her skirts. She had been about to climb into the carriage when two figures finally materialized out of the fog. She immediately recognized Derek. A sense of relief did battle with burning rage bubbled up inside her as she released the door and stomped over to his horse. He stood talking with George, whose hands were waving in the air as he related the events. She walked up to the three men. George took one look at her and scurried off. Gabe hung back several yards, and Derek swung off his mount and approached Tessa.

  “Tessa, I should have...”

  “I don’t want to hear it. Where in bloody hell have you been?”

  Chapter 14

  Tessa’s tone of voice and words caught Derek off guard. He stared at her in disbelief. The woman standing in front of him reminded him of the woman he knew in Portugal in looks only. The girl he married had been sweet, shy, and docile. This woman before him could have been a general in the king’s military.

  “Well?”

  “I had thought to catch up with you at the last posting inn and accompany you the rest of the way. Our plans were waylaid when I met Gabe at the office. The director called us to his office. Duty first,” he explained.

  “Duty first? What about the duty to your wife and sister? What happened to that duty?” The question came out very calmly, but emotion vibrated beneath the surface. She turned and walked back to the coach and once again grabbed onto the door.

  “So you only decide to be my wife when you think it will help your cause?” he fought back, becoming angry at her accusations.

  “Please, can we just go home?” a shaky voice wafted from the carriage.

  “Someone should ride with this driver. He’s been injured, and regardless of what he says, I’m not sure he can manage that coach for however long it will take us to reach your home.” She got in, slamming the door of the carriage behind her.

  “It is our bloody home and what do you mean injured?” he asked the empty fog. Finally realizing he would not be receiving an answer any time soon, he called back to Gabe, “Follow us.” Gabe nodded and pulled his gun. Lucas looked around forlornly not sure where he belonged. Derek tied his horse to the back of the last carriage and grabbed Lucas, placing him atop Goliath.

  “Think you can manage?”

  “Yes, my lord,” the boy’s eyes sparkled.

  “Hold on tight to the saddle horn. Yell out if you need to get down,” Lucas nodded his understanding, and Derek ruffled the boy’s hair and hoped someday he had a son like him. He climbed up on the second coach next to the driver. Derek noticed a red-stained bandage wrapped around his upper arm. “I’ll take over and you can tell me what happened.” He grew angrier as he heard how the events unfolded.

  In the carriage, his wife fumed silently. How dare he come charging up like some hero to be fawned over, when Kala could have so easily been killed? Any of them could have. The best-laid plans could go awry and often did. Sarah’s sniffing caught her attention. The maid braced Kala against her to try to protect her against the jostling of the carriage on the rough road.

  “Kala, how do you feel?”

  “I hurt,” she moaned in a soft whisper.

  “Are you talking in a whisper because your throat hurts?”

  “A little. I can’t seem to get much else out. Tessa, I think my eye is about to explode. I can’t believe he punched me,” she said tenderly touching her swollen face.

  “She’s bleeding a little as well, my lady.”

  “Where?”

  “On the back of her head. It’s just a small cut though, not like yours,” she finished on a sniff.

  Tessa moved to the other side of the coach almost losing her balance. She braced herself as best she could to lean Kala forward. She felt the small gouge at the back of her head.

  “I think you must have scraped it on something when he pushed you against the carriage.” She leaned her back against the seat and took her place once more. “Try to rest some, it will make the ride pass quicker.” Tessa watched Kala close her eyes, but noticed she never truly relaxed.

  Tessa’s anger with her husband and his friend escalated the longer they traveled. How dare they not consider Tessa and Kala more important than duty to their work? Oh, she knew they supported the government and their jobs were very much needed at this time, but their lives had been in danger! And that dark hearted villain that disrupted all their lives! The sooner they removed him the better. She found herself becoming angry at herself as well, if truth be known. If she could remember anything important about her life, not just her childhood, this might never have happened. She would hate to see her leave, but Kala needed to be moved out of harm’s way.

  Tessa’s thoughts ran rampant and in so many directions that she did not notice anything around her. She strained to force memories that would not surface and became aggravated in the process. It took several attempts on Sarah’s part before she roused her from her thoughts.

  “What is it?”

  “Miss Kala is feeling a bit clammy to the touch.”

  Tessa leaned over and felt her forehead. She noticed that Kala clutched her stomach, her jaw locked. She remembered her own carriage ride with an aching head and recognized the look of someone about to be violently ill.

  “How much farther?” She asked after raising the hatch door.

  “Just around this bend. We made good time. Another ten minutes and we should be there.” She closed the hatch and sat back down.

  “Kala, can you make it? If you can, blink once, if not, blink twice,” she also remembered what moving a throbbing head could do. Kala blinked once. “Good girl. Sarah, hold her as still as possible. When we stop, I am going to jump out, and you just let her go, all right?”

/>   “I understand.”

  “Good.” Tessa and Sarah tried to keep up a string of soft chatter to distract Kala, but they both knew she barely held herself together. She tried to control her breathing to help control her stomach. It seemed an eternity before the carriage slowed and finally stopped.

  Tessa jumped out the door of the carriage and Kala stumbled out behind her. She stumbled to a row of nearby bushes and fell to her knees and began the laborious task of emptying her stomach. Tessa did not think she would ever stop retching. Derek stood nearby and yelled for a footman. He gave him some instructions and then the footman untied Derek’s horse, removed Lucas, and took off down the lane at an impressive gallop.

  “What is wrong with her? Something not sit well at lunch?” Gabe rode up a few minutes later and Kala still heaved, but nothing made an appearance now.

  “I do not know,” Derek shrugged. “Kala’s seldom ill.”

  “Well, I followed the tracks as far as they would take me, which is why I just showed up. It appears the man headed across country. I lost his tracks at the crossroads. I have a general direction, but…” Gabe broke off when he saw Derek’s eyes go round and then begin to glitter with anger. He turned and saw the reason. A choker of bruises turning an ugly purplish color marred Kala’s throat. Half of her face swelled grotesquely turning various shades of green, yellow and purple from the bruising. “What the bloody hell happened to you?” Gabe asked angrily.

  “I tripped on my feet and landed on my face, Your Grace,” she rasped and turned to go inside the house with the aid of Sarah and Tessa.

  “Did you call for a doctor?”

  “Yes, but I had no idea the extent of her injuries. Good God, if I ever find this man I will kill him.”

  “Not if I get to him first,” Gabe muttered under his breath.

  * * *

  Tessa went with Kala up to her bedroom and helped her change into a comfortable nightgown and wait for the doctor.

  “I hate him,” Kala said mutinously, her chin trembling.

  “I know you do, but concentrate on getting better and then you can hate him all you want,” Tessa tried to soothe her. She felt sorry for her sister-in-law and wished she could change Kala’s feelings for the brute downstairs. She hoped that soon Kala would either get tired of his treatment of her or find someone who realized what a gem she is. Tessa perched on the side of the bed talking aimlessly to Kala trying to keep her awake until the doctor could examine her.

  Sarah brought not a doctor, but the village healer up as soon as she arrived and Tessa excused herself leaving her in very capable hands. She went downstairs and stood in the entryway unsure as to where her bags had been placed. She had not yet been shown around and did not take in much of the interior as she helped Kala to her room. A very slim, graying man dressed as a butler arrived before she had time to feel too uncomfortable.

  “Miss?”

  “Yes?”

  “Lord Blackburn wishes you to join him in the study. If you will follow me,” he did not wait for her answer but preceded her to the study expecting Tessa to follow. She found herself half tempted to find a room upstairs and make Derek find her, but decided against it. She followed the man to find Derek pacing behind his desk, and the duke scowling out a window.

  “How is Kala?” Derek asked after the butler had shut the door on the trio.

  “The village healer is with her. She made sense while talking to me, even if her vision is slightly blurry. I suspect she will be fine.”

  “What the hell happened out there?” Derek demanded.

  “If you had been there you would know, would you not?” Tessa questioned, hands on hips.

  “I told you why we were delayed.”

  “Yes, you did. Do you realize the lot of us could have been so easily killed out there? Or did that thought even cross your mind when you were meeting the director, seeing to your duty?”

  “Tessa, that is enough.”

  “No it isn’t. If I recover my memory, and if I find that I am innocent of the charges that you and he,” she pointed at Gabe, “want to accuse me of, there will be a lot of changes in this house. I refuse to let our family be put in danger because of a job, I don’t care how important it is.”

  “You put our family in danger,” Derek said with a deadly calm, regretting the words the instant they came out of his mouth.

  “You’re correct,” Tessa replied, refusing to let her hurt show. “However, have you stopped to consider that once we apprehend whoever this man is, I will once again have a normal life? You on the other hand will keep your family in danger because of the position you are in. No, you did not see that did you? So tell me, what will happen if some unknown person decides to go after you through me, your parents, or sisters? What if you have children? What happens then?”

  “Enough!” Derek stopped her, refusing to think of all the possibilities. “This is not about me.”

  “Tell us what happened,” Gabriel prodded, attempting to calm the volatile situation.

  “Fine. We were set upon by a masked man looking for me.”

  “How did Kala get hurt?” He asked, guilt overwhelming him.

  “He shot my coachman first. I’m not certain how that transpired.”

  “Sam told me he pulled his gun, but the other man already had his out,” Derek supplied. Tessa merely nodded. “Continue.”

  “No surprise he wanted me. I told you I did not want to be the cause of someone getting hurt. You promised me everyone would be safe.”

  “Dammit, don’t you think I know that?” he charged back leaning over the desk.

  “Do not use that tone with me,” she challenged right back.

  “Calm down, both of you,” Gabriel said. “We are not going to get any closer to finding out who is behind all this if you two don’t quit going after each other’s throats.”

  “He forced Kala and Sarah from the carriage and searched the inside. Lucas and I quickly searched our carriage for weapons and found a hidden compartment with two pistols. I slipped out of ours, thanks to the cover of the fog, and into the foliage. There were words exchanged and threats spoken. He pinned Kala against the back of the carriage by her throat. I thought he would strangle her to death before my very eyes,” she took a deep calming breath. “Kala wouldn’t tell him anything and that’s when he began slapping her. She should have just told him,” she said almost to herself.

  “What then?” Derek persisted.

  “He searched the second carriage and found Lucas. Kala refused to tell him anything and got rather smart with him. Then I believe she attempted to unman him.”

  “She listened to what I taught her,” Derek beamed proudly.

  “That’s when he punched her.”

  “He what?!” the men yelled in unison.

  “He punched her. I knew I had to do something or Lucas and Sarah were next. I lifted the first pistol and aimed. When I pulled the trigger, nothing happened.”

  “Not loaded,” Derek guessed.

  “No, but it attracted his attention. So he gave chase and followed me into the trees. I found a rather large tree to hide behind. When he came closer, I stepped around it and held up the remaining pistol and pulled the trigger. Thank God someone had loaded that one, or you might very well be preparing my funeral.

  “We heard horses in the distance and I prayed very hard they were yours. He heard them too and took off running, but promised he would find me,” she gave a little hysterical laugh. “Of course he’ll find me. The man’s been very successful at doing that has he not?”

  “Do you realize he could have shot you and snapped Kala’s neck? Do you realize the risk you took? What would you have done if both pistols had been empty?”

  “What else do you propose I should have done? Handed myself over to him like a lamb to the slaughter? You were nowhere around. You were taking care of your duty!” She retaliated, blinking back tears of anger, refusing to let them spill.

  “Damn,” Derek cursed under his breath
. A knock on the door interrupted the argument. “Enter,” Derek called out. A rotund woman with a cherry red nose opened the door, a bag in her hand. “Mrs. Sikes,” Derek greeted and moved to give the jolly little woman a hug, recognizing her from his youthful days spent at Blackburn Hall and breaking a bone or two, “how is she?”

  “She’ll be fine. She has a bit of a concussion, which is causing the blurry vision, and she will have some bruises for a while. Her voice, however, may never be the same. We will know more as she heals. I have left directions with her maid in regards to her care. I should be called if fever sets in, otherwise I’ll return in a few days to see how she is fairing.”

  “And the coachman?” Tessa queried.

  “Will be fine as well after a few days of rest.”

  Derek thanked her and called for Jones, the butler at Blackburn Hall, to see her out.

  “This is my fault,” Tessa muttered deflated after Mrs. Sikes left the room. “If I could only remember...” she trailed off unable to say more.

  “I am altogether sick of that defeatist attitude. I much prefer the woman ready to tear me apart a few minutes ago. You have done nothing wrong, and we will find this bastard. Do you understand?”

  “I refuse to keep putting innocent people in danger.”

  “It isn’t your fault,” Derek corrected.

  “Like hell, it’s not,” Gabe stated and then crossed the room to exit, slamming the door behind him. A few seconds passed before the front door slammed shut, and then the sound of horses’ hooves faded down the drive.

  “He hates me.”

  “No, he doesn’t and he’s wrong. You were right, we, no, I, should have been there as promised. I should have been there for the entire journey and not have put you out like bait for a hungry bear.”

  “You’re right, but you also have to admit he has no warm feelings for me, if only he could admit he cares for Kala,” she suggested