So Fair a Lady (Daughters of His Kingdom Book 1)

by Amber Lynn Perry

  Thomas kept his eyes on Samuel, but his voice was directed at Eliza. “Are you hurt?”

  “No.” Eliza’s heart slammed against her ribs.

  “Nathaniel!” Kitty bolted for him as he writhed on the floor, scooting his way to the fireplace, leaving a dark smear of blood as he went.

  Samuel yanked Kitty back, but she jerked her arm from his grip. “Let go of me!” Dashing to Nathaniel’s side, she spoke quiet as she attended to his wound.

  With the one round used, Samuel tossed his useless weapon on the ground. “I warned you. Both of you!” he yelled, slinging his sword from his side and waving it in front of Thomas as he stalked closer. “Eliza needs me to care for her. She needs someone to think for her, Thomas, not force her to think for herself.”

  Thomas wrenched his neck to look behind his shoulder at Eliza, and spoke so calm it was as if nothing terrifying had happened. “Help Kitty with Nathaniel. Samuel and I will put an end to this.”

  As much as her muscles willed her to stay next to Thomas, she obeyed, leaving her heart behind her.

  Nathaniel sat against the wall next to the fireplace. He probed his own wound and gritted his teeth as he searched for the musket ball. Kitty stared at him, her own face so warped with worry it was as if she experienced the pain with him. Blood gushed from the dark hole in his flesh and Eliza breathed through her lips to keep from vomiting.

  “What do you need me to do?” Eliza asked.

  She tried to focus on the task in front of her but her peripheral vision strained for any glimpse of what was happening behind her.

  “Stoke the fire,” Nathaniel said, his face pale but his eyes steady.

  “What?” She couldn’t have heard right.

  “Stoke the fire.”

  Eliza winced and shot a questioning glance to Kitty. Was Nathaniel’s wound so terrible he was already delirious?

  She glanced to her left, toward the fireplace. The flames wobbled over the dilapidated logs. “I’ll take care of that after I—”

  The fire poker!

  She stopped mid-sentence and her mouth opened upon recognition. Nathaniel nodded. Thomas needed a weapon—something, anything to defend himself against Samuel’s sword.

  She squashed the escalating panic that surged upward from her toes and moved toward the fire.

  Lord, I can’t do this without you, please help me!

  Eliza looked between Samuel and Thomas, leaving her eyes on her hero a second longer, hoping he would somehow sense what she was about to do. Thomas closed his lips and dipped his head ever so slight.

  “I’ve been dreaming of this day you know,” Samuel said. “Eliza was mine long before you ever knew her.”

  Thomas took a step back. “God doesn’t want people to be forced or coerced. Let her decide the future that she wants for herself, Samuel.”

  Eliza grabbed the poker with two hands, fearing her trembling fingers wouldn’t perform the needed calling. Dear God, guide this from my hands to Thomas’s.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Thomas’s muscles flexed as he gauged his adversary’s every move. Samuel proceeded gracefully, with the same reserved strength of a tiger, ready to pounce.

  Thomas kept a careful side-glance on Eliza. His body wanted to heave forward and snatch the weapon, but he used every measure of resistance to wait for just the right moment.

  “She made her own choice, Thomas. Or don’t you remember?” Samuel said. He straightened an inch. His face lit with mock surprise. “Oh! That’s right. She chose me!” His hissed the last words as the muscles around his mouth contorted.

  Now!

  Thomas gave a slight nod, still locking eyes with his foe. The poker soared in a perfect arch. He reached out his hand and the heavy, impromptu weapon landed directly in his waiting palm.

  Samuel recoiled in momentary surprise, then lunged. Thomas parried the attack, the sound of metal on metal clanking in the air. Samuel repositioned with lightning speed and swiped downward. Thomas dodged to the right before he could be sliced in two. He swung the poker against the sword with a powerful smack.

  His muscles throbbed, raw energy pulsing through him as Samuel’s fight grew desperate. He slammed the sword over Thomas, but Thomas held both ends of the poker above his head to shield himself from the hit. He released one hand and held to the poker with the other, vaulting it through the air in a perfect arch, forcing the sword away from him.

  Samuel reared back and poised for another strike.

  The room around Thomas blurred. All that existed was the man who’d subjected him to years of blackmail. All that existed was the man who had taken Eliza against her will. All that existed was the man who wanted him dead.

  “Give up, Thomas! All this dancing around is only postponing the inevitable. I am going to kill you.” Samuel lunged again. The sound of his slashing blade ripped the air.

  Seeing the half-second opening, Thomas moved in. He gouged forward with his two-pronged poker. Samuel weaved to the side. Thomas jumped. He dropped his weapon and lunged at Samuel’s hand. Thomas gripped the sword, using both of his arms for added stability. The men wrestled for control, grunting and shaking.

  Thomas worked all his muscles and wrenched Samuel to the side, smacking his wrist against the wall.

  A hollow roar cut the air, and Samuel dropped the sword but pushed into his aggression and launched forward. He plowed his shoulder into Thomas’s gut and wrapped his arms around his back.

  Thomas fumbled backward. He slammed into the table beside him as he fell to the ground, sending the burning oil lamp crashing onto the floor.

  The air popped from his lungs as he hit the solid wood beneath him. Samuel released his hold then jumped on top of him, jamming his elbow into Thomas’s exposed ribcage.

  Thomas’s vision blurred as the bones in his chest cracked, sending a stabbing sensation into his back. He battled for air and blinked to clear his sight when another blinding pain sliced into his jaw.

  As if from a tunnel, Eliza’s panicked voice reached his ears. “Stop, Samuel! You’ll kill him!”

  “That’s the point, my dear.” Samuel grunted, as he molded his iron-like fingers around Thomas’s neck.

  Ears ringing, head pounding, the taste of blood trickled into his mouth.

  Suddenly, Eliza’s scream climbed two octaves. “Fire! The house is on fire!”

  All his senses collaborated in a second. The acrid smell of burning wood filled his nose and his ears honed in on the crackling that grew ever louder. The flames devoured the wood and made their way across the floor toward the walls.

  Powerful reservoirs of strength flooded into Thomas’s arms and legs. He thrust his knees into Samuel’s chest, shoving him to the side. His assailant’s grip loosened and Thomas pried Samuel’s hands away from his neck. He leaped to his feet and took an aggressive stance, ready for another attack.

  Eliza tried to beat the spreading flames with a cloak while Kitty helped Nathaniel to his feet.

  “Get out of here, all of you!” Thomas yelled. “Get out now!”

  Samuel ran toward him, snarling and sweating. Thomas jabbed his knee into Samuel’s groin sending him writhing backward.

  Eliza dropped the cloak as Kitty and Nathaniel made their way out the back, her face twisted with worry, before escaping into the freedom of the field.

  Thomas turned to Samuel just before another blistering punch to his stomach bent Thomas at the waist.

  The charring smoke swirled around him, burning his lungs. His muscles ached for air, forcing him to take deep breaths of the soot-clogged gasses.

  Samuel launched again, this time bellowing and clawing. Thomas deviated Samuel’s aggressive arms and landed a fist in the center of his face. Blood splashed from Samuel’s nose, but the pain he must have felt only seemed to heighten his ferocity. Samuel attacked again and again, releasing a kind of demon into his continuous blows.

  The flames licked up the walls as several portraits fell to the ground. Thomas shielded his eyes fr
om the vicious heat. “Samuel, quit this! We must get out of here before we’re burned alive!”

  “Burned alive? So be it.” Samuel wiped another stream of blood from his nose and streaked it up his face.

  Perspiration dripped from Thomas’s every pour and trailed over his muscles. The oppressive heat drained the remaining reserves of strength in his weakening limbs. The flames consumed the room at terrifying speed and the smoke annihilated the breathable air.

  Thomas stepped backward to dodge another fist when his foot knocked something hard.

  The sword.

  In one quick motion he bowed to pick it up, but instantly tossed the scorching metal aside. The sword flew, lodging the handle in an open crevice between the wall and the floor. The blade stuck out into the room at a forty-five degree angle only inches from where they fought.

  Samuel plowed his fist into Thomas’s jaw. He reeled backward, shaking his head to make the smoky orange room stay still.

  “Thomas! Samuel! Get out of there!”

  Both men turned at the sound of Eliza’s voice. She stood in the opening of the back door while the dangerous blaze swayed fatally close to her skirts.

  Rage split Thomas’s skull. “Eliza, what are you doing—”

  “Thomas, look out!”

  He whirled around to see Samuel charging toward him, screaming like a mad man with the fire poker raised above his head. With less than a second to react, Thomas jumped to the side and shoved Samuel away before the poker met his chest.

  The following seconds moved slow, dream-like. The sword, still jammed in place, glowed from the reflecting flames. Samuel pitched and slammed onto the waiting blade. It popped through him with sickening ease, splattering blood into the air. His body went immediately limp and heaved forward.

  He was dead.

  “Samuel!” Eliza’s shrill cry stabbed through the smoke and ravenous flames.

  Thomas stared at the gruesome sight, heedless of the fire that threatened to consume him.

  “Thomas! Thomas, get out!” Eliza’s voice called to him again.

  He twisted toward her, his lungs shriveling from smoke, his limbs quaking.

  “Eliza, get out of here now!”

  She hesitated before disappearing outside. Once convinced of her safety, he turned and weaved through the hungry fire. He pushed through the front door and tumbled out just as Nathaniel and the girls rushed from around the back of the house.

  Thomas careened from the burning building and rested on all fours. Coughing and choking, his lungs devoured the clean night air.

  Eliza flew to his side and brushed her hands along his body. “Are you hurt?”

  He raised his throbbing head and tried to give an encouraging smile, but none would surface. “I’m fine.”

  Large tears flooded her dark gaze and spilled over her cheeks. Their eyes communicated what their voices could not.

  The unbelievable had happened.

  Nathaniel sat next to Eliza, then laid flat on his back still clutching at his shoulder. Kitty perched at Nathaniel’s side, brushing his hair away from his face, and pressing a wad of cloth to the hole in his shoulder.

  The heat from the inferno throbbed against their bodies as the flames consumed the screaming wood. A towering cloud of smoke rippled through the air, lending a vile smell that burned his nose and throat.

  Eliza’s soft voice cracked, her eyes shimmering. “It’s all my fault, Thomas. I should never have gone to the rally. I should have listened to you.”

  “It isn’t your fault—”

  “Look what’s happened! Father’s home, all our memories are gone. And Samuel’s dead!”

  Thomas’s throat thickened. “We can talk about all this later, my love.”

  She nestled her head into his neck and cried harder, gripping tighter to his back.

  Kitty moved closer and tugged on Thomas’s arm, her large eyes swimming with tears of her own. “We must get Nathaniel some place warm, some place we can treat his wound.”

  Thomas nodded. “Of course, we’ll go at once.” He wrapped his arms tighter around Eliza and helped her to stand. Her arms were freezing. They needed to find shelter and fast. He knelt by Nathaniel and helped him to stand, lacing his arm around his waist and allowing his friend to lean into him.

  “It is a fair distance to my cousins, but I’ll walk beside your horse while you ride, Nathaniel. The girls can both ride mine. Do you think you can walk to where we left them?” Thomas’s tone carried more worry with it than he intended, but the pale look of Nathaniel’s face caused his gut to harden.

  Nathaniel huffed tiny breaths through gritted teeth before he nodded and rested the bulk of his weight into Thomas. “Remind me not to come with you on your next adventure.”

  Thomas couldn’t help but chuckle. At least his friend hadn’t lost his sense of humor.

  Eliza came to the other side of Nathaniel. Kitty followed and rested a caring hand on his forearm.

  “Samuel was right, you know,” Nathaniel croaked. “He’s dead, and we look strangely suspicious. It’s only a matter of time . . .”

  Thomas flashed his eyes at Eliza. From the tight form of her lips and the roundness of her eyes, she had already surmised as much. Thomas stiffened. What terrifying implications awaited them now?

  A resounding crash thundered and the four of them whirled toward the tumbling house. Massive plumes of smoke and ash exploded and raced for the stars as the house crumpled into itself, the flames still devouring the victim within its grasp.

  Kitty wailed and flung herself into Eliza’s embrace. She cradled her sister’s head as tears plummeted down her own cheeks.

  It wouldn’t be long before the far away neighbors came rushing up the road. The flames could likely be seen from a great distance. And with them, would come the sealing of their fate.

  “We must face whatever comes,” Thomas said. “It was I who fought him, so I shall take the blame.”

  Eliza pressed her hands to her mouth, a chirping kind of sob escaping her lips. She released Kitty and grasped his arm. “No, Thomas, please. There must be a way to—”

  “You need not worry.”

  A shadowy figure emerged from the trees. Eliza gripped tighter and sucked in a frightened breath. Thomas gripped around her small waist as his blood congealed in his veins.

  “Donaldson. What are you doing here?” He kept his voice strong, not wanting to show how his knees had turned to jelly.

  Donaldson moved forward, looking casually between them and the fire. He stopped within a few feet of the group, one hip cocked as he pressed the center of one hand into the pommel of his sword.

  As if knowing what might happen, Nathaniel moved away and rested against Kitty’s much smaller build, allowing Thomas unmitigated access to the approaching foe.

  Thomas straightened, fists clenched at his sides. His reserves of energy renewed at the thought of an impending battle, but Donaldson waved his hand.

  “I’ll not fight you.”

  Thomas jerked to a halt and his brow dove toward his nose. He relaxed his rigid fingers, though his heart still pounded against his lungs. “What do you want?”

  Donaldson took a step forward, his hands raised in front of him, showing his desire for peace. He looked at the raging blaze and pointed. “’Tis a tragedy. I’ve been serving with Martin for a while now, and I’ve worried for him.”

  Thomas flinched back. He turned to Eliza who gave a slight shake of her head. Confusion dribbled over him, and he maintained his defensive stance.

  The soldier talked to the ground as he dug in the dirt with the toe of his boot. “He hasn’t been himself of late. I just never thought he would take his own life . . .” He looked up and stared, as if hoping Thomas would understand his meaning. “A terrible tragedy.”

  Thomas’s jaw fell to his knees and when Eliza’s fingers twined with his, he gripped tight.

  What is he saying?

  Donaldson nodded as his eyes flowed over the ragged group. “I’m
sorry for what’s happened, Miss Campbell, Miss Katherine. Having to witness someone lose control of themselves in such a way is terribly distressing. I’ll report to my superiors the details of this evenings events and I can promise you will have no trouble from us.”

  Eliza folded into Thomas, her tone clouded with emotion. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

  At that moment, the sound of voices and stomping hooves echoed through the night.

  “What’s happened here?” The first rider approached and hopped down. Two more followed close to him, buckets in hand. “Is everyone well? More help is on the way.” He looked at the home, immediately assessing the damage. “It appears there’s nothing our buckets can do now. I’m sorry.”

  Donaldson came forward, assuming an air of authority. “Yes, it will burn out soon enough. Thank you, gentlemen, for your willing assistance. All is well. It’s simply a terrible accident.” He looked at Thomas and nodded as if to say they were free to go their way.

  A wave of relief whistled through Thomas’s still tense muscles. “Come, let us find some place warm.”

  Eliza and Kitty huddled together, absorbing the unreal scene before them for the last time. The glow of the fire reached into Eliza’s soul and burned her very heart. Kitty turned her head into Eliza’s shoulder and wept.

  She stroked her sister’s hair and cooed whatever encouraging words she managed to assemble in the barren desert of her brain. All of their family treasures, gone. Father’s precious journal, a heap of ash. That thought alone pushed a hard sob from her chest. The rooms and halls where she’d run and laughed as a child, where Father’s tender voice still echoed, were ascending to heaven as spirits of smoke.

  The surreal moment bathed her with unquenchable grief. The gruesome picture of Samuel’s hunched and bleeding body jumped out from its hiding place in her mind and slapped her. She cupped her mouth as another cry made its way to her lips, but it stopped just short of release. There was nothing that could have been done. He’d gone mad, and only God could sort that out now.