“God! When I think of it, I could kill myself for not finding some way to do so. It would have been so much better than letting her go through what she did.” He sagged against the covers, the plate and cup clattering to the floor. His eyes squeezed shut against the memories. “I’m so sorry, Patrice.”
“What happened to her?” Micah’s quiet question brought Noah back to the present.
“Micah, he needs his rest.” Claudia picked up the china. “Can’t this wait until later?”
“No, it can’t. I need to know now.”
“Micah,” she tried to reason with him once more, the rest of her words dying on her lips at the look of anguish on his face.
“He’s right,” Noah said from the bed. “You have to hear it tonight.”
“Just take your time, then.” Claudia settled next to her husband to await the worst.
“When the clipper ship was loaded with women to sell in the Far East,” Noah continued his tale, “the women were treated with the utmost care. They were given fine foods to eat, and rich clothes to wear. The men were never allowed near them. This was so that they’d bring the highest price from the buyers. Damaged goods were useless. Part of the payment for these women was tons of opium.
“But as soon as Patrice came around, Stephen let it be known to the men that the woman in the smallest cargo hold was free to all. Her screams were endless that first day, even though several men tried to stop it, myself included. I still hear them in my sleep. Her own brother did that to her.” He paused again, disgust and pain on his face.
“At the end of the first week of her torment the men had grown sated, and she was only used upon occasion. By this time her spirit was broken and the men complained it was like using a corpse. That was when I managed to get below often enough to make contact with her. I started at first by cleaning her cuts and bruises, bringing her food and water. After she was sure I wasn’t going to hurt her, she began talking to me, baring her soul. I learned her name and the reason she was enslaved by her brother.”
“Why?” Micah asked, his voice tight with rage.
“Because she saw the men abduct a woman off the street. That, coupled with her outrage over their involvement in the opium trade, forced her brother and stepmother to decide to get rid of her. But first, Stephen, the sick bastard decided to torture her.”
“Just like he used to do to our slaves and any animals he came across. He hasn’t changed in all these years.” Micah leaned over his knees, his head hung down and his hands intertwined behind his neck.
The silence in the room as they absorbed the horror was suffocating.
“Uhh…” Micah broke the silence with his rage. He shoved himself out of the chair and stomped to the doorway.
“Where are you going?” Claudia lunged, grabbing him by the arm and stopping him at the door.
“Out. And this time, you will stay right here.” He shook her loose and the fierce look he gave her before striding out the door made the hairs stand up on her neck. This was a primeval man, one striding determinedly on the warpath of destruction.
“Leave him be, Claudia.”
“Oh, my Lord.” She spun around to see the look of approval on Noah’s face. “You think he’s right. You think he should kill his brother. The man is evil, Noah. Micah could just as easily lose his life, let alone his freedom.”
“If the cause is just, then he will prevail.” Noah closed his eyes, lying back against the pillows, wishing he was beside the giant man.
“I can’t believe you two. I have to stop him.” She ran out the door.
“Claudia!” Noah called from his bed. He forced himself to sit up, leaning on his good arm. The pain sent lightning bolts through his body, but he steeled himself against them. “Claudia, come back here!” He maneuvered himself to the door, grasping onto it with his arm to steady himself. Leaning there, willing the waves of nausea to pass, he heard voices at the bottom of the stairs.
“Adam and Joey caught the carriage at the corner, Claudia,” a male voice said below. “We’ll know soon where he’s gone, and what he’s up to. He went armed. Do you want me to go around and fetch Colonel Duncan?”
“No, Robert, rig the carriage. There’s no time to waste waiting for the Colonel.”
She dashed back up the stairs and paused at Noah’s door. He stood wrapped in a sheet, sweat beading on his brow from the sheer effort of remaining upright.
“He doesn’t want you there, Claudia. You heard him.” Noah grabbed onto her arm, gently squeezing it in restraint.
“He’s my husband, Noah.” The quiet statement held more than mere words. It held her heart. Looking at her face, Noah read all he needed to and released her.
“And you love him.” It wasn’t a question.
She nodded, then flew down the hall to her room.
Noah wobbled his way to the dresser. He struggled into a pair of pants he found there, then sat in the straight-back chair. He could do nothing to help the Turners, but he could regain his strength as quickly as possible. Patrice needed him.
Closing his eyes and listening to Claudia prepare to leave the house, Noah awaited the return of his equilibrium and the giant man, Micah Turner. When the mountain man returned, and he had no doubt that he’d be the victor in this campaign, they had a trip to take.
Claudia rushed to her armoire. Her robe and nightgown landed on the floor as she went. She searched through the clothes there until she located her britches and sweater, scrambling into them and grabbing her dark sailor’s jacket.
“Stupid man. Rushing off without anyone to cover his tail. If I did something like that, he’d lecture my ears off.” She gathered up her hair, stuffing it into the wool cap. Reaching into the top drawer, she pulled out her small derringer. She slid it into her pocket. She needed some sort of protection with her.
Heading back down the corridor to the stairs, she stopped briefly at Noah’s door. His eyes were closed and she assumed he slept. When she turned to be on her way, he called out, “Watch your back, Claudia.
“I will, Noah.” She ran down the stairs, then headed to the waiting carriage in the back alley. Henderson was talking to Simon and Cain, who’d just arrived with information for Micah. Henderson was bringing them up to date on the occurrences of the morning. They all looked up when she entered the yard.
“Claudia?”
Cain seemed surprised to see her dressed as a dock urchin. She stooped by a pile of ashes from the furnace one of the boys had been in the process of dumping when they left to follow Micah. Scooping up a handful of ash she smudged her nose and face. Any hint of femininity left by her disguise disappeared.
“What are you doing?” Cain asked.
“Going after my husband.” She headed for the carriage, her hand in her pocket.
“No, you’re not.” Cain stepped in front of her to block her path.
“You can go with me and help me protect him, or you can get out of my way.” She pressed the barrel of the pistol into his gut.
“Then I guess I’m going with you.” He stepped aside, allowing her access to the vehicle. “Do we know where he’s headed?” He climbed in beside her and buttoned up his coat to cover his uniform jacket from view.
“Kelly found out from Henderson earlier today where Stephen’s lodgings were. I daresay that’s where they went first.” She called out to Henderson to head for that location, as Simon joined them in the carriage. “What was it you were here to see him about?”
“We returned to the ship last night, to see what was in the cargo hold. This group is planning its move soon.” Cain spoke to her as she worriedly watched the passing streets. “There were boxes of army-issue guns on board, ammunition, powder, and dynamite, too. My guess is they plan to storm the White House in some sort of military takeover of the government. Given the state of confusion the new presidency has just begun to work its way out of, they must feel this is the best time to strike.”
“They know we took you off of that ship last night, ma�
��am.” Simon continued their thoughts. “Could be that’s why they’ve called together their men. Pardon me for saying so, but Micah could be walking into a real hornet’s nest.”
“More than you know.” The two men exchanged glances, wondering what she was talking about.
Turning to stare out the window, she prayed Micah and the boys were all right. Micah wasn’t thinking straight right now. Killing his brother, no matter how much he deserved it, would be something he’d regret the rest of his life.
She knew now why he lived the life of a hermit in Colorado. He didn’t want to risk getting involved with people. He’d been betrayed by Julia and abandoned by his father. Now his brother had sold their sister into a life of misery. Family was not a kind word to Micah. She needed to show him that his family was her, the boys and Henderson. That they could all be trusted. But first she had to stop him from taking Stephen’s life in anger.
* * * * *
They arrived at the town house that was Stephen’s home. The door hung off of its hinges, wood splinters and plaster covered the tile entranceway. They searched the house, following the path of destruction Micah had left in his wake. Given the empty chests and drawers, they concluded no one was at home when Micah arrived.
Climbing back into the carriage, they headed for the docks in Alexandria. Cain and Simon took out their weapons, checking to see that they were fully loaded.
Claudia reached into her pocket. Her fingers closed around her pistol. The cold steel gave her a small measure of comfort. She’d do what she had to do in order to protect her husband. Until Noah had said the words out loud in the upstairs hallway, she hadn’t admitted to herself how much she loved Micah. He’d swept into her life, turned it upside down and taught her to trust a man with her life and her body. She’d be damned if he’d die at the hands of murderers and traitors.
At the beginning of the warehouse district they were stopped by a frantically waving Joey. Pulling to the side, Henderson stopped the team of blacks in an alleyway. The boy darted up to the adults as they climbed out of the carriage.
“You have to go on foot from here.” The words breathlessly rushed out of the boy. “We jumped on the carriage and followed him here. He went crazy at that big house we stopped at earlier. He was like a wild man, he was. The door went crashin’ down, and he was yellin’ for someone named Stephen, callin’ him a bastard and…”
“Joey,” Claudia interrupted his tale. “Where is Micah now? They didn’t capture him did they?”
“Naw. He and Mr. Kelly are behind some boxes close to the boat. Adam and I were watching a little ways back. Adam told me to come and get you when they started carrying out the guns.” He pulled her hand in the direction of the docked ship. “Come on, we’re missing all the goins-on.”
“Hold up there a minute.” Cain stopped them before they could get three feet. “Joey, how many men were there on board that ship?”
“I didn’t count them, but there looked like a lot.” He tugged at Claudia again.
Cain held her arm tightly. “Claudia, we passed the garrison at Fort Runyon. If I go back, I can bring a detail of men that might help us out of this. The five of us—”
“Six.” Claudia corrected him.
“All right then, six of us are no match for a mob of armed men. We need all the help we can get.”
“Do what you have to, Cain.” Pulling free, she hurried after Joey, Henderson and Simon. “I have to find Micah.”
He watched them run down the alley then unhitched one of the horses. Grabbing onto the thick mane, he hurled himself up onto its back and headed back toward the garrison. He just prayed this was not the day General Wallace was to be in camp.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Joey stopped the small group several hundred feet from the clipper ship where Claudia had been held the night before. They ducked in behind some giant crates. Adam waited quietly for them. From their vantage point they could see well over fifty men milling about on deck, but no sign of Micah or Kelly.
“Where’s Micah, Adam?” Claudia whispered when she reached the young boy.
“He and Mr. Kelly are up behind that stack of boxes.” He pointed to the group closest to the ship, but hidden by the shadows of the early-morning sun shining off the wooden structure and the damp fog rolling in off of the water. “I haven’t seen them come out.”
“Simon, do you think we can get up there without being seen by anyone on the ship?” She turned to look at the stocky Pinkerton man.
“Might take some doing, but if we worked our way around the left side of the ship, I think we could do it. But the big man isn’t going to be too pleased to see you, if you don’t mind me saying, ma’am.”
“Thank you for your advice, Simon. But I don’t really care if he’ll be pleased or not. I’m going. Adam, you wait here. Joey, Colonel Duncan went back to secure some assistance. You go back and wait for him where you found us. He’ll need to know exactly where we are.” She watched Henderson and Simon creep through the fog to the next stack of crates, then turned to the boys.
“No matter what, I don’t want you boys anywhere near this ship. Do you hear me?”
They each nodded their agreement.
“Good. And be careful.”
She pulled out her derringer, secured it in her gloved hand then crept around to the left side of the crate. She darted out into the fog until she came to where Henderson still waited.
He pointed to the next set of boxes, which Simon had just stepped behind. She went back out into the fog, running on silent feet. Simon crouched just inside the shadows of the boxes. He pointed up ahead to where they could now make out the outlines of Kelly and Micah.
Thank God, he was still watching. Her heart did a little flip just knowing he was still safe.
As soon as Henderson joined them, they all ran up to the last stack.
Micah and Kelly watched the comings and goings on board the ship. After he’d spent his initial anger at Stephen’s empty town house, Micah’s temper had cooled enough to allow saner emotions to prevail. Now he was glad his brother hadn’t been home. He much preferred to catch him trying to overtake the government. Then everyone would see him for the coward he really was.
He hoped the boys were safe, wherever they were hiding. He’d seen them on the side of the road as they left the town house, and felt them catch a ride to the wharf when they jumped on the back of his carriage. But he’d been in too much of a hurry to get to the ship to put them off. Claudia would kill him if she knew they were with him.
For a moment his thoughts flashed to images of the boys over the last two weeks. The two of them scrambling into nooks and crannies to hide as lookouts, helping with chores neither one wanted to do, listening to any story he told about the mountains and living out west. They even protected Claudia with all the cleverness and know how they possessed.
They were good boys, despite living on the streets for most of their lives. He’d been shocked to learn they’d lived alone so long that neither one knew what his last name was. If he had his way, they would’ve gone out west to live for the rest of their lives. But now? Now—thanks to his family—that would be impossible.
Micah turned at the sound of approaching feet, holding a bowie knife in his hand. He moved to the edge of the crates to see who would come in out of the fog. When Claudia’s face appeared before him, he drew her into his arms. Knocking her cap off of her head, he kissed her as if his life depended on it.
She pressed her body into his.
“What are you doing here?” He pushed her back to stare angrily down at her. “I told you to stay at home.” He looked up to see Henderson and then Simon join them all. He released Claudia to grab Henderson by the collar. “Why the hell did you let her come here?”
“Micah, put him down. He couldn’t stop me.” She grabbed his arm. “You know better than anyone else how difficult that is.”
Her words registered past his anger and his tension eased a degree. He released Henderson.
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“Don’t you see? This is how it is in one of those dreams.”
The pain in his voice sent chills over her.
“The one where I’m covered in blood?”
“Yes, the fog is all around. It’s early, the sun just beginning to rise. This is where it’s going to happen.” He pulled her into his arms again, this time crushing her to his chest as if he could absorb her into his very soul. “And damn it, I’ve never been able to stop them.”
“I won’t go anywhere near the ship, Micah. I swear I won’t. I’ll stay hidden right here. I’ll do anything you ask, just don’t send me away. I need to be here until it’s over.”
He looked down into her whiskey warm eyes filled with pleading and slowly nodded his consent. “You’ll stay right here out of the way?”
“I won’t come out until you come in and get me, I swear it.”
“Then men, we’ve got our hands full.” He addressed the others, never taking his hands from Claudia. “There are at least a hundred men on that ship. Several are the military men we’ve targeted as involved in the opium houses.”
“Colonel Duncan and I figured they’d try something like this today, sir.” Simon filled him in on what they had found the previous night. “What with us rescuing your lady, they were bound to know they’d tipped their hand.”
“Where is Cain?”
“He went back to the garrison.” Claudia brushed a strand of damp hair out of her mouth as she spoke. “After we talked to Joey and found out how many men were here, he thought we might need help.”
Micah gave her a speculative look then turned to Henderson, asking, “Can you shoot?”
“With the best of them, Micah.”
“I mean, can you kill a man if you have to?”
“I have before, in the Massachusetts militia.”
“A damn Yankee.” Micah handed Henderson one of his Colts. “It doesn’t pull to either side, so set your sights for the center of any man that comes close to this pile of crates. Understand?”
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