A crow of laughter came from the other side of the door, and Andrew’s head turned to look. He was confused, and I could not help but feel sympathy for him. Tossing a smug look at the door, I put my hand behind Andrew’s head and pressed my lips to his. He did not react for a whole second, but then he leaned nearer. Once I broke the kiss, Andrew looked at me in a daze.
“I should quote poetry more often if that is what I am to receive.”
I placed my hands against his cheeks. “No, my dear, I do not need flowery words, I need only you.”
“Elizabeth Martin, will you marry me?”
My flutters were returned, and I sighed in my complete and utter happiness. “Yes.”
Andrew kissed my hand and sat beside me. We held hands as he told me about how excited his family would be.
The parlor door opened, and my mother and Jack entered. “Let impropriety rule thy heart, and it shall rule thy ways,” Jack announced.
I glared at Jack as Andrew and I rose. “It is perfectly acceptable in a betrothed couple, brother dear.”
“I took your advice, John. I made my way with what haste I could,” Andrew looked into my eyes, “and have found myself at last.”
Mother came toward us with her hands held out. “Such glad tidings. Welcome to our family, dear Andrew.”
Andrew took Mother’s hands while I moved toward Jack. He took a step back. I smiled and put every ounce of sinister in it that I could. “That poem was a dog’s trick.” I hugged Jack, whispering against his ear, “I shall repay you one day.”
“I shall make Leo stand sentry over me while I sleep,” Jack retorted then laughed as he kissed my cheek.
After hugging my mother and receiving her exclamations of joy, Andrew led me to the window.
“I have a gift for you. Look out there.”
Rather amused, I looked. Outside the house, a groom was walking a pure black horse around the drive.
I turned to stare at Andrew. “You have brought me a horse?”
“Not just any horse, but a lovely creature bred on my family’s land.” Andrew placed his hands on my shoulders as we both looked out the window. “With her spirit, she and you will suit magnificently.”
We all walked outside to see the animal. She was a lovely creature as Andrew said, and I was so pleased with the gift, that I smiled like a child receiving their first pony.
“What is her name?” I asked, as I stroked her mane.
“That I leave to you, my dear.” Andrew took his leave a few minutes later, but informed me that he was returning for dinner per Mother’s invitation.
After Andrew had gone, Jack and I took the horse to the stables. “The poetry was a dark trick,” I informed my brother, before laughing. I was in a complete state of bliss, unable to be upset.
Jack chuckled, looking positively gleeful. “So it was, but no less than he deserved for leaving you like he did.”
“Jack, you must forgive Andrew. I have.” Jack remained silent, so I nudged him.
He did not look at me as he replied. “Now that Andrew has come forward it would be best if you left the Phantoms now, before any danger can come to you.”
I halted, turning to stare at him. “Jack, you are not serious.”
Grabbing my hand, Jack moved us forward. “I am, dear sister. Andrew needs never to know about our work, but if you choose to tell him, I would rather you were not still working when you break the news to him.”
He wanted me safe. He had always wanted me safe and protected, but I could not give up because I now had the future I craved; I owed more to my father, to my team. “Once we have Levitas, then I shall leave the leading of the Phantoms to you,” I said with decision, and this time Jack was the one to stop. He began to protest, but I halted him. “This is what our father would want,” I started to walk on, but paused, looking over my shoulder at him, “and it is not open for discussion.”
Chapter 30
Bess
We met George at his house on the expected day, and for the first half hour, he did nothing but rant. He wanted Richard in irons. He wanted a noose around Nicholas’s neck. Most of all, he wanted the white phantom. Jack looked harassed, but never spoke. None of my team spoke. Freddy and his five men along with me and my five team members filled nearly every available corner of the dining parlor, and what we did not fill, George did with his pacing.
When George completed his tirade, we were able to form a plan. George had let himself be seen at a party that Richard was attending. He did not speak to Richard, but he did tell us about Richard’s astonished face when he watched George walk into the room. George dropped a word in a friend’s ear that Monroe was to stay with him on the night of the tenth before Monroe journeyed to Virginia. As it was the last time James would be in the city until after the election, it was the only time that Levitas could strike. George knew that Richard had overheard, and our plans were set in motion.
After the meeting Jack, Leo, and I stopped at the Inn that Jack bought his brandy from. He said that with Frederick staying in our town house, there would be none left.
Since I was dressed in my work clothes, I was able to sit in the taproom with Leo and Jack. We were seated at a table, my back to the door, when Leo’s brows rose, and his eyes followed someone across the room. Jack and I turned. Dudley Stanton was standing at the bottom of the stairs that led to the bedchambers.
A feminine voice called out to Dudley, and my surprised gaze shot to Jack. His brows were lowered over his blue eyes. When Dudley went up the stairs, we jumped up, moving swiftly to follow. Dudley was at the top of the stairs passionately embracing Hannah Lamont. I gripped Jack’s arm for support, nearly falling over from astonishment. Without taking their eyes from each other, they disappeared through a door to a bedchamber, and it closed behind them.
Surely it was the apocalypse, the heavens were going to open, and the stars would burst into thousands of pieces raining sparks upon the earth. For no other reason could I credit Dudley, doing things I would not even think about, with Hannah Lamont.
“As I live and breathe, nothing will ever have the power to surprise me again,” I murmured.
Leo laughed then mumbled, “Just you wait.”
Jack went up the stairs to the door. He was listening at the keyhole. Four minutes later when Jack ran down the stairs, his brows were still pinched, but he told us we must depart immediately. We were riding away from the Inn when he told us what he had heard.
Hannah had been spending time with Nicholas, and in his cups, he had told her about Levitas and their plans to capture James and replace him, but he would not say with whom. He said that his men would ride up to the house in a borrowed carriage, capture James, and none would be the wiser. Why Hannah was sharing her information with Dudley astounded me, but what rankled me more, was Dudley’s apparent relationship with Hannah after spending years chasing after me; unless my betrothal to Andrew drove him to her. That I could almost believe. I shoved thoughts of them away, for it was least important. We had a date, we had the plans, and I was sure we could not fail. We were finally going to capture Levitas.
10 August 1816
George’s country house was a comfortable, brick, two story structure built in the Federal style. Windows overlooked the front lawn and the woods that surrounded the house. Freddy and his five deputies were outside the house hidden among the trees and outbuildings, while Mariah and I were hiding in the two bedchambers that had windows overlooking the front drive. The drive was a long one that split the forest in two.
Mariah’s accomplished weapon was the bow, and as I was skilled in archery, as well, we were to open the windows at the first sign of trouble and shoot down anyone who tried to enter the house. Jack was keeping guard over Monroe in the parlor, while Jericho and Levi were outside with Freddy’s team.
Great black clouds were rolling through the sky, and there were a few flashes of lightning as thunder rumbled the earth. We were in store for another rain storm. The last week, we had seen nothi
ng but rain and cold. The sun had been absent, and nothing but gloom surrounded the city and the countryside.
The clock in the foyer below started to chime the hours, and I could feel each ding in my nerves. I was stretched tighter than the string on my bow. We had gone over the plan many, many times, but I had been a Phantom a long time, so I knew missions rarely went according to plan. After seven chimes, all went silent. I was seated before the window, when I caught sight of a flash of light down the drive.
A black carriage moved up the drive with lanterns illuminating it until it stopped before the door. One of Freddy’s men was there to meet the carriage in the guise of footman. The two men on the box seat stared down at Anthony but said nothing. The light from the parlor windows illuminated their black eyes. Fear skittered down my spine as I saw our mistake. They knew we were here. I threw open the window to yell a warning, but Anthony had opened the carriage door. The first gunshot exploded from within the carriage, hitting Anthony in the chest. A cry caught in my throat as I gripped the windowsill.
Phantoms ran forward from their places, and the driver whipped the horses. The carriage lurched forward moving straight for the trees. Freddy and the Phantoms fired upon the carriage. They hit the driver and the man beside him. The bolting horses ran the carriage straight into a tree.
From the front woods, six horses charged onto the lawn, their riders armed and firing upon my team below. I grabbed for my first arrow, and when I looked out, Mariah had shot two. I took aim at one of the riders as he pulled to a halt, unsheathing his sword and raising it in the air. He, like the rest, was masked. My arrow pierced him in the chest, knocking him off his horse.
Mariah and I let arrows fly, as Freddy and Jericho charged with swords drawn to fight the horsemen. Six more men came running from the trees, and I turned my aim toward them, hitting one, missing one, Mariah hit one and then another. The men mixed together in their fighting; all of them masked. In the dark, I could no longer make out one from the other, so I set to guard the front door. If anyone approached I shot at them.
An arrow of fire flew down from Mariah’s window, and then another. She shot her fire arrows, until she had formed a line before the front door. A man ran toward the arrows but stopped short. He raised a pistol toward Mariah’s window. I dropped my bow, reaching for my revolving triple barrel pistol. Before I could aim, he fired at her window.
With the swift jerk of my finger, a ball flew from my pistol and the man fell back. I jumped to my feet and flew out of the bedchamber, sliding on a hall rug before running into the chamber Mariah was using.
She was lying on the floor, but she was unharmed. I helped her up, and she crawled to the window. She peeked out from the side and jerked back as another ball flew through the open window. She picked up her own triple barrel pistol that was identical to mine and inched closer to the window. She fired three shots and tossed the pistol away, picking up another arrow. She continued shooting arrows into the darkness, and I left her to go back to my own window.
Levi was guarding the door on the back of the house, but I felt a sudden, strong urge to check on him. Grabbing my sheath of arrows and my bow, I ran across the hall to the back bedchamber. When I reached the window, he was not at his post. Searching the grounds, something flew from within the trees. Levi? I bumped my head against the glass as I leaned into the window. A man’s form was on the ground unmoving, but from the length of his body, he was too tall to be Levi. Then, three more figures appeared. Levi was wildly struggling against two men who were trying to pull him back into the woods.
A strangled cry came from my throat while my heart beat too fast, hard. I would not let them take him! Unlatching the window and throwing it open, I pulled out an arrow and took aim. Breathing in and out, I watched and waited. If I took the shot too early I could hit Levi, who was fighting valiantly. He thrashed against them, threw his head around like a wild animal and finally got an arm free. They were at the edge of the trees. Levi kicked one of the men into the clearing, and I let my arrow fly. The arrow went through his stomach.
Levi and the other man stopped fighting to look toward me. The man beside Levi raised something that looked like a thick tree branch and hit Levi over the head. Levi pitched forward onto the lawn.
Terror washed over me like the waves of the ocean during a hurricane. As I unleashed a flow of arrows, the man ran back into the trees. I shot until my quiver was empty. The man appeared through the trees and wasted no time in picking Levi up, tossing him over his shoulder, and disappearing again. I ran to the bedchamber door, about to run down the stairs and chase after the man, when I heard a gun fire. It did not come from outside. It came from the parlor. I had been afraid many times in my life, but I never knew true fear until that night.
Chills were imprinted all along my arms and weak legs, but I ran to the banister. Another shot fired in the parlor, and I sank to my knees, my legs unwilling to carry me further. My head ached fiercely with all the terror pouring into every part of me.
Gripping two balusters, I looked to the foyer below. Two men carried a body from the parlor with a gunshot wound in the chest. It was Monroe.
“No!” I screamed. My pistol was out, and I was running down the stairs, but it did not feel real. I was moving, but it was as if I was moving through a fog, unable to feel, unable to see clearly. The men carrying Monroe paid no heed to me, exiting through a door at the back of the house. My feet hit the foyer floor, about to run after them, but I glanced toward the parlor and everything else blurred.
Lowering my pistol to my side, I whispered, “Jack.”
Jack was lying on the floor, red staining the shoulder of his coat. The walls were closing in on me from every direction, but I had to reach him. I had to help him. My little brother. I ran forward. The parlor door flew at me, slamming against my face.
Stumbling back, I took a moment to shake the pain from my head. A growl forced its way up my throat and across my lips. I shoved the door against the wall, ready to commit murder.
Jack had told me that the only times he had killed men was because he was trying to save someone else. He said that when you are in the situation, you don’t have time to think; you can only act. That is why it is vital to know your limitations before you ever commit to something. I knew my limitations, but I lived my capabilities. A man stood between me and my brother, and he had to be eliminated.
The man with more fat than muscle had a pistol pointed at Jack’s head. I took a step into the room. He cocked his pistol. “Take her,” he demanded, of who I was not sure, until four strong hands clamped around my arms from behind.
I swung wild. I jerked and lashed out with my boots. They had my arms, but I still had my pistol. I pulled the trigger. The ball grazed the side of the fat man’s face. His scream was nothing to my own. I screamed for my team. A large hand smacked against my mouth and stayed there.
Guinevere walked into the room and knelt down beside Jack, and then my vision exploded with black.
***
When I awoke my head was pounding with pain that quickly transformed into fear. All I could see was black wherever I looked.
Am I blind? I prayed that it was not so, but one of my eyes did hurt something fierce. I could not get my hands up to touch it. Scratchy material rubbed against my forehead. I realized with a little cry of relief that I was not blind, but blindfolded.
The seat against my bound hands jerked. I was in a carriage. The door opened, and when a hand grabbed my arm, I thrashed myself side to side, trying to kick where I thought the person to be. My feet struck the inside of the carriage, never once hitting the person whose strong clasp was relentless. I was pulled harshly from the carriage and set on my feet. A hand clamped onto my shoulder, and started guiding me forward. To force me to stop, the hand on my shoulder tightened. I could see nothing and I had no notion where we were. Until I heard them.
“You cannot do this!” A woman’s voice declared, and I instantly recognized it as Guinevere’s. “She is not
without family. I have given you Loutaire,” dear God, no, “and if you do not uphold your end of the bargain I will go to the Holy Order and have you eliminated.” Her voice was cool, but I had heard the crack in it when she said Loutaire.
“My dear girl, is this emotion I hear? Do you care for these traitors?” Richard asked.
I cringed, but took a step forward, not caring if I was blindfolded. Fingers dug into my shoulder, and I jerked it down trying to get away from the pain that those fingers were causing.
“Of course not,” Guinevere sneered, “but all the same you shall not kill her.”
Boots sounded before me, and the blindfold was ripped off. For some reason, I could not see out of my left eye.
Richard was before me, smirking down at me. “Take them to the cellar.”
The guard with the touchy fingers shoved me ahead of him and on down to the same cellar where I had last seen Pierre. I was shoved to the far wall where he chained my hands above my head before leaving me alone.
Pulling on the length of chain, I was able to sit on the cold stone floor. My hands shook, but I ignored them as best as I could.
A stone hearth was to my right and beyond that was a table with iron tools all across it. I shuddered before forcing my gaze to move on. There were two chairs in the room, but nothing else. To my surprise I was not afraid, at least not for myself. There was plenty of time for me to think about what had happened, for they left me alone for what felt like hours, before I received my first visitor.
Richard came in, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he walked. He stopped before me, and I had to lean my head against the wall to look up to his face. “My dear Elizabeth. I regret to see you thus.”
“Release me and you will not see me at all,” I retorted.
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