Rose Gardner's Florist

by Dee, Bonnie

  I would be if you’d let me sleep, she thought. Then memories of why her head ached so badly flooded in. Her eyelid creaked open and she beheld Will’s concerned face hovering above her.

  “They’ve taken Candace. A pair of…of men sent by Edward Merker. We fought them, but they dragged her away.” She tried to rise and blackness swirled at the edges of her vision. Touching her forehead, her fingers came away with blood.

  “Shh. You’re hurt. You must rest. When I arrived the door was open and you were lying unconscious.” Will, crouched beside her, laid her gently back on the floor.

  It spun and nausea almost overtook her. “This is worse. Help me to sit. We have to—”

  He interrupted, “I will get a cloth to staunch the wound and take you to my physician.”

  “I’ll be all right, but Miss Sweet’s situation is dire. Heaven knows what Merker will do once she’s back in his clutches. Help me sit,” Rose insisted.

  Will carefully guided her upright, then fetched a glass of water and a cloth for her head.

  Rose sipped gratefully, while telling in greater detail about the encounter with Merker’s men. “We have to do something!”

  “I’ll handle it. Once I’m certain you’re all right, I will deal with this Mr. Merker.” With clenched jaw and steely eyes, mild-mannered William Carmody looked quite dangerous.

  Rose felt too weak to argue. Truthfully, it was a relief to have Will take charge. He pressed the damp cloth to her head and went to telephone his physician.

  Rose rested her eyes, and listened to the exchange from a sleepy distance.

  Seconds later, Will returned to her side. “I was not able to reach him, but will drive you to the hospital for treatment.”

  Rose forced the fog away. “No. A doctor would only dispense an aspirin for the pain. We must go to Merker’s home right now and demand her release.”

  “We have legal grounds,” Will pointed out. “And are you certain that is where these thugs have taken her?”

  “I don’t know, but it is a good guess. We can’t rely on a constable for help. We must rescue her,” Rose wailed. “Please don’t argue.

  Will nodded curtly. “Right. I shall go then. But you must remain here.”

  “I will not. Two of us might stand a better chance, and I wish to be there for Candace.” Her friend might even now be suffering intimate physical abuse at the hands of her caretaker.

  Will did not argue further, but lifted her body in his arms and rose as if she weighed nothing. He carried her through the open doorway and did not set her on her feet until they were beside his motorcar, where he helped her inside.

  As he drove toward the address Rose gave him, they maintained silence. Rose had managed to sound confident in convincing him of the urgency of helping Candace, but how would they gain entry into Merker’s house if he didn’t want them there?

  When Will drew up in front of the residence, he addressed Rose with a severe expression. “I will go to the door. You will remain in the vehicle. If the man calls a constable, you aren’t likely to be arrested since you will not have trespassed.”

  Arrested! The word brought her to earth with a jolt, as she realized what he sacrificed by offering his aid. “What do you intend to do?”

  “Free Miss Sweet,” he replied grimly, then got out of the vehicle and closed the door.

  Rose watched his tall figure stride up the steps to the front door of a townhouse in a row of respectable homes. Lights shone from the windows, but no one answered the door after Will rang the bell. Perhaps the staff had been given instructions to ignore any visitors that evening.

  What might the servants think of a young woman carried unconscious to her bedroom and locked in, if that is where she was? Just how dangerous were these thugs, and did they possess firearms? She could not sit idly by while Will walked into potential danger alone. Rose found a closed umbrella with a stout handle beneath the seat. She grabbed it up, ready to go to his aid.

  Just then the front door finally opened and light spilled out to illuminate Will on the stoop. The fellow who had answered said something then began to close the door.

  Will put his shoulder into it and shoved his way inside.

  Heart pounding, Rose gripped the umbrella tightly and let herself out of the automobile to follow him—illegal entry be damned!

  Chapter Seventeen

  Will felt like a character in some detective novel, performing actions almost without conscious thought. The hallmarks of everyday Will were weighing options, wavering, and second guessing. Tonight, he was a fellow who pushed aside butlers and forged his way into another man’s home. What would he do next?

  “Miss Sweet. Are you here?” he called loudly.

  “Please, sir. I must ask you to leave.” The harried man stepped in front of Will to bar his passage.

  “Stand aside,” Will snarled. “If this young lady is being detained against her will and you are a part of it, you will be implicated in the crime.”

  He had no idea if this was true, but the butler collapsed like sails without wind and let him pass. Out of the corner of his eye, Will saw him slink toward the servants’ door to downstairs.

  “Mr. Merker! Edward Merker,” Will shouted. “Show yourself, sir.”

  Instead of the house’s owner, two very strong and capable looking chaps descended the stairs toward the grand hallway. One, as tall as Will and, broad across the shoulders, had his hand in his jacket pocket as if he might produce a pistol. His shorter partner’s crooked nose and scarred eyebrow suggested he knew how to fight.

  Will sometimes boxed with Guy, but he’d never laid a finger on anyone with the intent to cause damage. But his hands knew what to do, fingers beginning to curl into fists at the sight of the men who’d left Rose unconscious.

  “Get out!” the tall fellow demanded.

  Will took a moment to push his glasses firmly into place and take a breath. “I will speak to Mr. Merker,” he said with uncompromising authority.

  His partner scowled. “He says to throw you out of the house.”

  Will stalked forward. “I will not leave without Miss Sweet.”

  “Don’t know who yer talkin’ about,” the fellow lied.

  The pair had reached the foot of the stairs and split up, approaching him from either side like a pair of menacing dogs. He could not observe both, so Will concentrated on the man with the potential gun, while attempting to keep the other in his peripheral vision.

  “Whatever Merker has paid you, I will double it if you leave now. No need to come to blows or for the police to become involved.” Now that sounded like the peacekeeping Will he knew.

  The stocky chap edged closer. “Get the ‘ell out right now. This is family business and none o’ yours.”

  Blood roared through Will’s veins like a steam locomotive. This was happening.

  He was about to—he charged the boxer, running his shoulder into his chest to knock him backward. Then he landed a surprise punch on that crooked nose. Blood spurted.

  Will whirled around to ensure the other fellow hadn’t drawn a weapon, only to see the astonishing sight of Rose running toward the man with an umbrella leveled like a lance. She howled like a Valkyrie and jabbed the sharp point into the tall man’s side.

  He cried out and grabbed the umbrella, jerking it from her hands. Will had but a second to see Rose seize a huge vase from a pedestal, and hurl it at the man. Then he returned his attention to the boxer, who’d recovered from the injury to his nose. The lower half of his face masked in blood, the man darted in to deliver a sharp blow to Will’s stomach.

  Breath left him. He wheezed and struggled to inhale. Meanwhile, his opponent rained a series of punches to his face and drove him down to the floor.

  Will landed on all fours, using one arm to protect his head from the barrage. The speed and precision of the blows made it hard to fight back.

  This man kicked Rose! End him! His ferocious alter ego ordered.

  Will dug deep to find enough
strength to match the other man’s skill. Expecting little resistance, his opponent had drawn too near. When Will reared up, the back of his head connected with the underside of the fellow’s jaw.

  The boxer staggered backward as Will lunged to his feet. He leaped toward the man, his superior height and weight knocking the off-balance fighter to the ground. Will straddled his body and began to pummel his face like the bag at the gymnasium where he and Hardy practiced boxing. Thank god, Guy had dragged him there when Will did not wish to go.

  Rage fueled him as he beat his opponent into submission. I might kill him. I might very well kill him. It took that realization to make Will halt his fist in mid-air and allow his fists to go slack.

  With his antagonist no longer a threat, Will hurried to face the other enemy. He climbed off the unconscious boxer, and turned to find Rose standing over the man who lay amidst the shards of the broken urn.

  She poked at the fellow’s still form with the umbrella and looked up to meet Will’s gaze. “I don’t think he’s dead.”

  He nodded. “That’s good. But give him another hit to make sure he stays out cold.”

  Rose nodded, delivering a vigorous whack to her fallen adversary.

  After that, they both looked toward the stairs. Up there, somewhere, Candace Sweet needed their rescue. Will nudged the boxer with his toe. The man didn’t even groan. Will decided he wasn’t likely to regain consciousness any time soon.

  Together, he and Rose headed upstairs.

  The house was not overly large and there were not many bedrooms. On either side of the hallway, Will and Rose tested door knobs, all unlocked, no room containing Candace or her guardian.

  When a knob would not turn beneath her hand, Rose leaned close to the door. “Candace, are you in there? It’s Rose.”

  If she were inside, the young woman was unable to reply, either unconscious or with a weapon held upon her. Not knowing what this Merker even looked like, Will imagined a mustachioed villain from a stage melodrama with a knife to her throat.

  You’ve invaded the man’s home. Too late to worry about legality now, Alter-Ego Will pointed out. The lock wouldn’t budge without a key, so Will took his umbrella from Rose and wedged the tip below the bottom pin of one hinge. Many hard taps later, the bolt came free of the hinge.

  Will repeated the process with the other hinges, while Rose continued to talk through the door. “Edward Merker, if you’ve harmed Miss Sweet, you will be held accountable. If not, I suggest you surrender her to us now.”

  With the hinges freed, Will just managed to pry the door from its frame and pull it open.

  The moment there was space enough to fit, Rose charged into the room. “What have you done to ‘er, bloody wanker?”

  Will let go of his burden and entered to find Rose facing Edward Merker. The man bore no weapon and appeared a surprisingly average fellow with such nondescript features one would not recall him two seconds after leaving his presence. With thinning, light brown hair and pale blue eyes, he was of medium height and build, clothed in a brown tweed suit.

  He might not hold a knife to Miss Sweet’s throat, but the young woman lay on the bed behind him, unconscious and tied to the bedposts.

  If Merker was terrified at the sight of them, he barely displayed it, instead adopting a tone of put-upon annoyance as if inconvenient visitors had arrived to spoil his tea time. “I must ask that you leave. You are not welcome here.”

  Rose pushed past him to lean over Candace. She felt for a pulse in her wrist, before starting to loosen the knots.

  Merker’s composure crumbled at the edges as Will advanced on him. His voice quavered. “The police will be on their way. My butler will have telephoned them.”

  “What would you tell them about Miss Sweet’s condition; brought here against her will, sedated, and restrained?”

  “A little laudanum to soothe her nerves was necessary. And restraint was the only option lest she hurt herself,” he replied. “I’ve done nothing wrong. It is my duty to care for my ward, a sacred vow to a friend which I have fulfilled for years. She has never lacked for anything, nor will she. I intend to marry her, you see, and continue to protect her from the world—and even herself, if that is necessary, the poor child.”

  “Enough!” Will roared so loudly his throat ached. “You will allow her to leave with us, Mr. Merker. And you must swear not to trouble her again.”

  “Who precisely are you to make demands?” the fellow adopted false bravado like a rat backed into a corner.

  “Lord Carmody. Do you recognize the name?” Adding a title gave his words more authority to cow this fellow into submission. “In addition to acknowledging Miss Sweet’s autonomy, you will relinquish control of her inheritance immediately. No court battles. No diverting the money to hidden accounts. Every penny owed will be released to her this very day. Is that understood?”

  Will held his breath, praying his gambit and stellar acting would do the trick. If he’d assessed the fellow correctly, he would acquiesce to a perceived superior.

  Merker had retreated so his back was to the bureau. “She is my ward. I have every right to guide her as I see fit. Any court would agree.”

  “Not once they learn you drugged her and tied her up to force her into marriage.” Rose had loosened the ropes and now chafed feeling into Candace’s wrists. “How much did you give her? She’s limp as a corpse.”

  Will moved nearer to loom over Merker. “I know that the young lady’s father was your superior and you forged the signature on his so-called will.” He spoke as if it were fact rather than Rumsfield’s estimation. “There was no one to question the legality of the document then, but I am here now to contest the will. Would you truly wish to go against all of my resources in court?”

  The man’s gaze darted around, searching for an avenue of escape. The mere strength of Will’s resolve deflated him. “All I ever wanted was to protect the girl, such a darling little thing as a child and now a lovely young lady. But she has become too opinionated in her years away from home. She no longer recognizes that I know what is best for her.”

  “Sedating and restraining her sounded like the best cure for that,” Will said dryly.

  “Until she came to her senses, yes,” Merker replied quite seriously.

  Rose had succeeded in rousing Candace to drowsy consciousness and now called for Will’s help. “Between us we can help her walk. Let us get her out of this horrible place.”

  But he was not ready to retreat while Merker feared his threats. Later the fellow might realize his promises of legal action were hollow. “Before we leave, I will have a signed affidavit from you agreeing to immediately relinquish both Miss Sweet and her inheritance. My solicitor will review all documents and finish the matter tomorrow. If you defy me, I swear to have you prosecuted for forgery at the very least—fraud and kidnapping at the worst. Do you understand me?”

  Amazing what bluster and authority could do.

  Merker was reduced to obsequious fawning. “No need to become involved in a legal battle. As my ward is nearly of age, I will release her inheritance. I have not misused the money, but have, in fact, invested and expanded her holdings.”

  “Now all of it is hers, ya right bloody bastard. You’ll not control her any longer,” Rose helped Candace sit upright and slid an arm around her back.

  Will exhaled a long breath. It was time to get out of the house before those thugs regained consciousness. But he would not leave without Merker’s concession in hand. Finding some writing paper on the bureau, Will continued to intimidate Merker until the man had written and signed the requested affidavit.

  “Let that be an end to it. If you bother Miss Sweet again, there will be the very devil to pay, I promise you.” Will snatched the document from the Merker and stashed it in his pocket, then hurried to aide Rose with woozy Miss Sweet. Together, they propelled her from the room, the walk already seeming to clear the effects of chloroform chased by laudanum from her system.

  Will gl
anced back at Mr. Merker to see the diminished man standing in the doorway like a child whose favorite toy had been snatched away.

  They guided her down the stairs, bypassing the sprawled bodies of the two agents who would not halt their progress. Nearly to the foyer, Will observed eyes watching from the entry to the servants’ domain.

  At his notice, the door quickly closed. No one came out to impede them.

  “Home free,” he muttered after they had exited the house.

  Rose drew Candace’s slumped body straighter by tugging at the arm around her shoulders. “I can’t believe you pulled it off. You were magnificent! Anyone would have yielded.”

  “I wish I’d tried something sooner and saved the pair of you from a harrowing ordeal,” Will panted as he bundled Miss Sweet into the auto’s back seat. “It never occurred to me to cut straight through legal action for faster results.”

  “And you believe what you made him sign will be sufficient for him to leave her be?” Rose covered Miss Sweet with her own coat and smoothed her hair as the woman drifted back to sleep.

  “Legally, I believe so. Jennings will sew it up tight. One can only hope he will not hound her after this.” Will sat behind the wheel and started the engine. “I will stop at my physician’s home. Both of you should be seen to.”

  “I’m already feeling better, except for a headache, and it may be best to simply allow Candace to sleep off the drug. If either of us wakes in the morning worse for wear, that will be soon enough to go to a doctor.”

  “I won’t leave you two alone,” Will said firmly. No matter how strong Rose’s opinions, he would be Gibraltar on this point. He held up his hand to stop her arguing. “Merker might send his goons again. I will stand guard till morning and remain on the premises until I feel certain you are both completely safe.”

  With a nod of concession, Rose closed her mouth and relaxed into the seat.

  Now that the drama was over, Will had time to recall his overwhelming sense of horror upon seeing Rose lying on the floor, a puddle of blood beneath her head. For one galvanizing instant he was certain she was dead, and promised God he would do anything, give anything, if she were only alive.