by Rose Gordon
Turning around, she saw the owner of that voice. He was halfway down the aisle that ran through the middle of the dairy, holding a lantern and sitting on a stool with his back to the door of one of the stalls and his feet resting on the stool across the aisle, his legs blocking the walkway. “Mr. Swift, I have nothing to say to you,” she said stiffly, clutching her suddenly cold hands together in front of her. “I’m sorry, but you’ve come to your senses too late. However, I’ve no regrets.”
“Sure you do,” he said silkily. “Remember how good it was between us? It can be that way again.”
“No, it cannot,” she replied, taking a step backwards.
He leaned forward and grabbed her wrist in a hard, almost bone crushing grip. “And why not?” he questioned with a hint of disbelief.
She tried to pull her hand free. “I’m married to Benjamin now.”
He scoffed. “Get it annulled. Or better yet, don’t. Then he can claim any children we might have. Just think I’ll get to be the father of the next duke,” he said excitedly as if it was some great boon that she’d cuckold her husband with him and his bastard would inherit Benjamin’s title.
Bile rose in her throat. “Never,” she said through clenched teeth. “You’re despicable to even think such a thing.”
He shrugged lazily. “Do you really think you two share some great love?” he asked with a sneer.
“That’s none of your business,” she snapped, trying to back away from him.
He stood and grabbed her by the shoulders, his fingers holding her so tightly she knew she was bruising. “Do you know his past, then?” he asked with an intent stare.
“I know all I need to know, thank you.”
Robbie scoffed and his fingers became even tighter. “Does he know yours, I wonder,” he mused with a sickening smile.
Much to his dismay, she’d never been very ladylike, and felt not a hint of shame as she cleared her throat and spat in his face.
As she predicted, his right hand released her shoulder and he wiped his face. “That’s disgusting, Madison,” he criticized. “I see even as duchess you still act like a fish wife.”
Madison didn’t care about his criticism of her. She took advantage of the situation and wrenched her body from his hold and ran toward the end of the aisle as fast as she could. She knew Billings had locked her inside. But perhaps there was a window she could climb out.
She quickly realized there were no windows from which to escape through, they’d all been boarded up. Instead, she found a dark corner that was blocked off by a trough in one of the far stalls. She squatted down in the corner and waited.
She could hear Robbie’s footsteps coming closer to her. He’d probably taken the time to properly clean himself up with a handkerchief before bothering to pick up his lantern and start his search for her, she thought sourly. The man had always been vain. Immature, but vain.
“I know you’re still here,” he called from a stall away from the one she was hiding in.
Madison’s foot slipped a bit and her backside hit the ground. She put her hands down to help push her off the ground, and stilled when her hand landed on something round and hard, the size of an egg. Without thought, she picked it up and put it in her lap as she kicked off her slipper and peeled down her stocking. She’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this. But apparently it had; and she needed to be ready in case she had to knock some sense into him—literally.
Robbie’s feet shuffled down the hall and Madison’s heart picked up its pace when she heard his hand hit the door of the stall she was in. Besides the slivers of sunlight sneaking in through the space between the wooden planks of the exterior walls, his lantern was the only source of light. She hoped it was dark enough in the room she was in that he’d just do a quick glance and move on.
The door creaked on its rusty hinges and Robbie came into the room. She dared not make any movements as she held her breath and waited for him to move on.
“I know you’re in here, Madison,” Robbie said tonelessly. “Just come on out and we’ll talk. Don’t make me move that trough and pull you out.”
Madison’s mouth went dry and her breath caught in her throat. Was he bluffing? Or had he seen her? Very carefully, she clenched the hand that held the hard object and her stocking and moved them behind her back before standing up. “All right, Robbie. What do you want?”
“You,” he said with a slow smile.
She shook her head. “As I already explained, that is not an option.”
Robbie’s face went red and he shook his head. “That’s not the right answer,” he said angrily, reaching into the back of his trousers. “I will have you, or no one else will.”
Madison tried to keep panic from settling in her chest as he brought a pistol from his waistband and leveled it at her. “Now, Robbie,” she said calmly, using her sweaty palms to work her stocking just right. “There’s no need to be rash. You’ve a lot going for you in America. There’s no need to ruin your life because a temporary sense of disappointment.”
He laughed harshly and the gun tip waved wildly. “It’s not so grand, I assure you,” he said roughly.
“And how is harming me going to change anything?”
“It’s not,” he said with a shrug. “But if I can’t enjoy you, no one else will be able to, either.” He cocked his gun and pointed it in her direction. “Anything you want me to tell your widower?”
“No. There’s nothing to say. He’ll not be made a widower today,” she said firmly, her fingers still working her stocking behind her back. She’d have only one shot at this and didn’t want to miss due to her carelessness.
“What’s behind your back?” Robbie barked. “Show me your hands.”
Madison’s hands stayed safely behind her back as she grabbed the two ends of her stocking and got ready to whip it forward and fling the rock at him.
Robbie’s free hand reached out to grab her and Madison jumped back. “Get away, or I’ll hit you,” she yelled.
“With what?” he taunted. “Are you going to throw a pebble at me?”
“As a matter-of-fact, I am,” she said proudly, bringing her newly fashioned weapon out from behind her back. She knew she looked foolish holding a rock-like object wrapped in a stocking, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
He laughed. “You’ll never hit me with that. Watching Brooke doesn’t make you an expert,” he explained rather rudely.
“And who do you think taught her?” Madison countered coolly, bringing her makeshift weapon up above her head and giving it a hard spin.
His eyes went wide and he jumped back in shock, accidentally squeezing the cocked trigger, making the gun fire. Simultaneously, Madison let go of one end of her stocking and the egg-shaped object flew out and hit the hand Robbie was using to hold his gun, eliciting the most excruciatingly painful scream she’d ever been subjected to hear as her victim lost his grip on his gun and dropped to the floor to wallow in pain.
“Madison! Madison!” a new voice boomed a second later as its owner ran through the door of the dairy, leading with his shoulder, taking the door, hinges and all, with him as he barged through.
“I’m all right,” she said with a weary smile when she saw her frantic husband rush to her side. “It was this ninny you heard scream,” she explained, pointing to Robbie who was rolling around on the ground writhing in pain.
“I’m not a ninny,” he said with a sneer.
Madison snorted. “Yes, you are. You had a gun and I had a rock—or at least I hope it was a rock it could have been a petrified piece of a cow pat for all I know.” She wiped her hand on her skirt and grimaced. “You missed me by a good ten feet,” she pointed to the bullet hole in the stall wall that was at ankle level and in the opposite direction she was standing in, “and I hit you dead on where I was aiming.” She flashed her husband a bright smile, which he didn’t return.
“We’ll talk later about why you’re not with Jamison,” Benjamin said sternly to Madison befor
e turning to Robbie. He placed his booted foot on the man’s chest. “You have a lot to answer for.”
Robbie made a choking sound in his chest and tried to use his uninjured hand to bat at Benjamin’s foot.
Benjamin applied more pressure to Robbie’s chest and a cracking noise broke the silence. When more moans and whimpers resulted, Benjamin swore and removed his foot from Robbie’s chest. “Get up,” he barked.
Robbie rolled around on the ground, making no move to get up.
Benjamin grunted with irritation, then reached down with one hand and yanked Robbie to standing position before slamming him into wall and holding them there with his hand, squeezing Robbie’s neck so tightly his mouth hung open and he made strangled choking sounds.
“Benjamin, stop,” Madison said, placing her hand on Benjamin’s flexed forearm. “He’s not worth it.”
Benjamin’s cold eyes snapped to hers. “I know that,” he spat. “I don’t plan to kill him.” He brought his eyes back to Robbie. “Not until I find out a few things first, that is,” he amended.
Robbie’s bloodshot eyes widened in fear.
“Benjamin, the gallows,” Madison whispered.
“I’ll not be going to the gallows,” Benjamin assured her, as he tightened his grip. “As for him, he’s a dead man either way. If I don’t kill him, he will go to the gallows for his attempted murder of both a duke and a duchess.”
Robbie made a sound of severe distress and soiled himself.
“Not to worry,” Benjamin said with a mock reassuring smile. “You’ll not be alone. Your partner in crime will be dangling right along with you.”
Madison’s eyes went wide. Billings. Benjamin had to be talking about Billings since he was the one who locked her into the dairy. How had he known?
Robbie made another choking noise and Benjamin relaxed his grip—slightly. “Now, are you going to tell me who’s been helping you, or am I going to have to beat it out of you?” He made a fist and pulled it back where Robbie could see.
Robbie swallowed convulsively and looked down the aisle to where the door of the dairy once stood. Benjamin and Madison followed his gaze and their eyes went as wide as Robbie’s when they saw the whole far end of the dairy was on fire.
“What do we do, Benjamin,” Madison cried, panic evident in her voice.
Benjamin dropped Robbie and stepped back as the weaker man collapsed to his knees. “We’ve got to get out the other end,” Benjamin said firmly, his eyes searching the rest of the structure for an opening of some sort to leave. He looked down at Madison’s feet. “Go put your other slipper on,” he barked. “I’ll be right back.” He scooped down and snatched up Robbie’s forgotten gun then ran down the end of the hall.
Madison quickly put her abandoned slipper back on and watched as Benjamin came running back down the aisle with an axe. Benjamin carelessly grabbed Robbie by the arm, dragging his body as he ran to the other end of the dairy. Madison was only a step behind and almost crashed into Benjamin when he suddenly stopped.
“Back up,” he commanded. He brought the axe above his shoulder and got ready to swing.
“Stop!” Madison screamed. She pointed through the slats where someone stood outside with a large flaming torch running it down the middle of the wall where Benjamin was about to axe.
Benjamin jumped back just in time to not get scorched by the fresh flames that licked their way through the old, dead wood.
Madison stepped back and hit her hip on a stray board. “Ouch,” she said automatically, rubbing her hip.
“Good thinking, my girl,” Benjamin said with a thin smile. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he added, brushing a quick kiss across her cheek. He bent down and grabbed Robbie off the ground then slung him over his shoulder as if he were nothing but a bag of feathers. “Come.”
Madison quickly followed behind Benjamin as he went into a little dark space then climbed up a hidden ladder. At the top was a lighted loft covered in scattered hay. “A window,” Madison breathed, standing motionless as Benjamin dropped Robbie’s body by the window.
“Right,” Benjamin said, nodding. Using his elbow, he broke the pane of glass in the middle and knocked as much out around the edges as he could. “This’ll have to do. I’m going to jump down first. Then when I tell you to, you’ll jump to me. Understand?”
A lump of unease settled in her chest. She didn’t want to jump out a window. It had to be more than fifteen feet from the bottom of that windowsill to the rocky ground. That could kill her. “Is there no other way?” she asked, panic making her voice waver.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but no,” he said sadly. “You’ll have to jump. You’ll be all right, I promise. I’ll be right there,” he assured her, throwing his leg over the window. Without waiting for another protest, he dropped to the ground.
Robbie started moaning, reminding her of his presence.
“What do I do with him?” Madison yelled to Benjamin.
“Leave him, Madison,” Benjamin called back. “He’ll die either way. We haven’t much time and you’re all I care about. Are you ready?”
She bit her lip. “I think so,” she said shakily. She held onto the edge of the window and looked down at Benjamin. He was a tall, broad man, but just now, he seemed so far away. “I don’t know if I can,” she whispered.
“Yes, you can,” he encouraged. “Just jump. I’ll catch you. I promise.”
“I don’t know,” she breathed, tears forming in her eyes as fear and panic took over. The flames were getting close to her. She could feel their warmth heating the loft behind her and the fire was climbing the wall beneath the window.
“You have to,” Benjamin insisted firmly. “Now, Madison.”
Shakily, Madison lifted her right foot and brought it up to the windowsill, just then Robbie’s hand closed around her ankle. “I think not,” he spat, yanking her ankle and making her fall backwards to the loft floor with him.
“Let me go,” she screamed, trying to hit and kick him anywhere she could as he held her body down with his brutal grasp.
“No,” he said cruelly, kneeing her in her ribs as hard as he could before rolling over her to bring himself closer to the window. “I’m going first.” He slid his hand up the wall and grabbed onto the bottom of the window. Using whatever muscle he possessed, he quickly pulled himself up the wall until his face was able to rest on the bottom edge of the window. Bracing his feet on the floor, he pushed up a little further until his mid chest was level with the edge of the window. Placing both hands on the edge of the window, he gave a feminine shriek and propelled himself forward just enough so the top half of him went out the window and he teetered with his waist on the edge of the windowsill. With a mighty grunt, he started wiggling his hips and trying to slither forward, causing gravity to come into play and pulling him headfirst, straight down through the fire and to the ground.
After a brief three-second scream followed by a crunching noise, silence filled the air. No more screams. No swearing. No scuffling. Nothing.
“Madison,” Benjamin screamed hoarsely, bringing her back to the hellish reality she was currently trapped in.
“I’m here,” Madison croaked weakly, pulling herself to stand up at the window. Her body was bruised from her tussle with Robbie, but she felt numb. The fire was closer now and the loft was so smoky she could barely see in front of her face. Robbie was undoubtedly dead. And now it was her turn to jump.
“Now jump, Madison,” Benjamin yelled. His gaze was trained on hers and his arms were wide open. Just like the day in the stream.
“What if you don’t catch me,” she whispered.
“I will,” he said confidently. “I will. Just trust me. Please.”
She went to the window and carefully put a leg over.
“Good girl,” he encouraged. “Just rest your foot along that ridge and bring the other one over to join it.”
She did.
“Good. Now count to three, then let go of the sides of the w
indow and push off.”
Her lips trembled and her skin burned as she felt the heat from the flames that surrounded her, threatening to engulf the loft at any moment. “I…I…”
“Just jump, Madison,” Benjamin pleaded. “I’ll catch you. I promise. You just have to trust me. Please, just this once, trust me.”
Madison closed her eyes, counted to two, removed her hands from the edges of the window, and was about to jump when another arm snaked around her midsection.
She shrieked and started fighting, heedless to what was going on around her. Turning her head ever so slightly, she saw it was a very sooty and out of sorts Billings who was holding her.
“Let me go,” she yelled, choking on the smoke that burned her throat and caused her eyes to sting.
“Nay,” he yelled back, dragging her back into the burning hayloft.
Fire surrounded them and the sweat which had covered her face from the flames was now dripping off her chin at a surprising rate. “There isn’t any time. I need to jump.” She tried to yell, but her words came out barely more than a whisper
“Nay,” he said harshly with a nasty cough, pulling her to the floor of the raging inferno. “Yer hu’ban’ took sum’un from me. I is gwine take sum’un from him.”
“What are you talking about?” she croaked hoarsely. Her vision blurring from the smoke as her throat worked convulsively, trying to keep from choking. “He’s been nothing but kind to you. He’ll give you a pension and a cottage if you ask.”
“I donna wanna dat. E kilt me broter wit fire. I canna kill him. But I can kill ye,” Billings spat, tightening his grip where he held her waist and one shoulder.
“Your brother was the man-maid?” she rasped, still fighting the vice-like grip that kept her pinned to the floor of the now catching hayloft.
Billings’ eyes turned hard as steel. “Aye. An’ I was ta git part ‘o de blunt. But nay. Dat hu’ban’ ‘o yers had to git invol’d.”
“So, because your brother accidently died trying to rob His Grace you want to kill me?” she rasped disbelievingly, struggling to free herself from his tight hold.
