Felicia Andrews

by Moonwitch

  Carefully she cautioned.

  "Fine, dear. Doc Manley is with him now. He just has a headache and a little scratch. "

  Eagleton shifted, and she thought she saw him smiling.

  "Very nice," Maitland said, moving off the top step. He was leaning forward slightly; she guessed he must be squinting. "But now that you see--"

  "Bess, do they let you read or anything?''

  "No," came the sullen answer. "They won't let me do a thing. "

  "This is not a school, Amanda, " Simon said angrily. "We have important business here and I want you to get to it."

  "All right," she said.

  He moved down a second step, obviously not expecting her answer, and just as obviously expecting some sort of trick. Without turning around, he raised his voice: "Spar, you see anything out there?"

  Spar! It was all Amanda could do to keep from pulling out the knife.

  "Not a damned thing," called a nightmarishly familiar voice. "Good t' see you again, bitch. "

  "That's enough, Spar!" Maitland snapped, his left hand chopping at the air impatiently. He waited a moment. "I imagine your coming here means you will agree to my proposition. "

  Amanda nodded.

  "And I suppose you have some way of proving that before I release your daughter?"

  She nodded again.

  Waited.

  "Simon," Eagleton said, 'Tm taking the girl back inside . "

  "No!" Amanda spat. "She will stay where she is. I want to see her safe, all the time. This is . . . this is hard enough, in case you hadn't noticed. "

  ''I've noticed, " Eagleton said. "And I don't trust you for a minute, Amanda. Somewhere out there you've got yourself an army. " There was a sharp click, and she saw his right hand move from behind his back, saw the glimmer from the inside light of the barrel of his gun; it was pointed at Bess's head. "One move, Amanda. Just one move."

  "Mother, " Bess said suddenly. "Mother, please don't do it!"

  "It's all right, darling, " she said. "You just do as you're told and no one will get hurt."

  "Don!" Trevor said suddenly, before Maitland could speak again. The shadow at the side of the house moved slightly.

  "Yeah?"

  "You come around back, take some of the men, and get into those trees. It's too quiet out there."

  "I don't imagine you'd consider the fact that I came alone," Amanda said.

  "Not for a minute," Eagleton answered, his tone telling her he was smiling. She almost smiled back.

  "All right, all right!" Maitland said loudly. "Now what do you have for me, damn it! It's cold out here."

  Slowly, keeping her left hand extended away from her body, she slipped her right hand under her tunic, slipped it over the butt of her revolver, and grabbed a piece of paper. Just as slowly, turning so that Spar and Eagleton could see her, she pulled it out.

  "The deed," she told Maitland. "If you look at it in better light, you'll see it's the original. If you agree, I'll sign it over to you. Now. Right here. "

  With Eagleton warning his partner to be careful, and with the sudden muffled sound of horses galloping through snow behind the house, Maitland stepped off the last riser and moved cautiously toward her. The light from the open front door brightened as Eagleton, unable to resist, pushed Bess ahead of him onto the porch.

  "You'll know it?" he asked Maitland.

  "I'm a businessman, damn it! I know a right deed when I see it. "

  He sidled almost comically around Wind's head, keeping well away from the idly chewing teeth. Amanda held the paper at arm's length, and when Maitland made a grab for it, it slipped from her fingers and floated to the ground.

  Amanda grinned, but she made no move.

  Maitland quickly retrieved the paper and held it up over his shoulder, turning it to one angle and another, front to back, his lips moving soundlessly.

  "Bess," Amanda said then. "Bess, if they wouldn't let you read, then you should have told them about some of the books you have home."

  "Shut up, Amanda, " Eagleton warned.

  "They wouldn't listen to me anyway, " her daughter answered as if she were sulking. "All I did was sit in there and count the holes in the wall. Brother!"

  "Too bad," she said, looking to Maitland, who was beginning to nod and grin. "You could have told them about Mr. Clemens. "

  "But he's so silly. "

  "Amanda!"

  "Yes, " Maitland muttered. He turned around and waved the paper toward the house. "This is it, Eagleton! This is the real one all right." He turned back to her. "In the house," he ordered. "Come into the house and we'll get the signing over with."

  She hesitated as Maitland began scrambling back through the snow toward the porch, then nudged Wind into a slow walk. Eagleton, though his face was in total darkness, kept his eyes on her and his hand on Bess, not moving at all until Maitland scurried by him and darted inside.

  "Bess," she said then, her voice urgent and sharp, "the book Alex gave you. "

  "Damn you, Amanda!" Eagleton said, then suddenly howled as Bess jammed her foot hard down on his instep and threw herself to one side, rolling toward the porch railing. At the same time Amanda whistled sharply and Wind did not hesitate--he bolted for the porch, his hooves like gunshots on the winter-dry wood. Eagleton dived for the doorway, but the palomino's shoulder was already there; Amanda low on his back as the animal lunged into the house. A shot sounded from the rooftop, and a sudden volley from the snow around the building answered it. Glass splintered inward while Wind thudded around the large living room, rising partway and kicking out at Maitland who was scurrying like a crab to get away from the sharp iron shoes.

  Eagleton grabbed for her legs; the bulk of the horse and its maddened spinning prevented him from using his revolver, so intent was he on trying not to be pinned against the wall.

  A shout was heard, and several men ran through one of the hall doors, rifles up, but when they saw their employers being attacked by a huge golden horse and a white-buckskinned Indian, they froze, bolted as one, and retraced their steps toward the rear doors.

  They never made it. The doors slammed open and Doug raced in, fire spitting from his guns.

  "I'll kill you!" Maitland screamed as he made for a side window.

  Amanda tried to turn Wind after him, but a hand on her leg tightened and she was thrown from the animal's back as it bucked before she was ready. And as soon as the weight was gone, Wind whirled and charged back out the door, just as a figure rolled from the porch roof and began running for the safety of the faraway trees.

  Wind saw it, did not recognize its scent, and instantly assumed it was an enemy of his mistress. Spar, glancing over his shoulder, saw the white-maned palomino thundering after him, saw--though he did not immediately recognize--Amanda and Eagleton thrashing about together on the living room floor. It was too much for him. He tried firing a shot at the horse, but he could not run and aim at the same time, so he tossed away his weapon and gave full attention to the fear that spurred his running.

  His hat flew off, his eyes began to water from the wind of his own making . . . and the sound of hooves grew into a continuous explosion of thunder that soon filled his ears and drowned his own breathing. He stumbled, rolled, and leaped to his feet again, somehow managing to breathe a quick thankful prayer when the cloud cover once more gave way and the moon gave him light.

  The line of trees bounced in front of him. But he knew now he was not going to make it.

  He swerved to the left, to the right, wild glances now showing Wind's eyes wide and blazing, his teeth bared, the breath from his nostrils streaming down his flanks.

  Spar tried looking and running at the same time. His feet tangled, and he sprawled onto his back.

  He had only a moment to throw his arms up over his face before the palomino reared and blotted out the moon.

  Doug retreated back out the door, dropping to a crouch in front of the stoop. Eagleton's men had pressed themselves tight against the hall walls, and while
Bert and the others were encircling those they had trapped in the woods, he waited, listening. At last he heard a few scattered gunshots before the night quieted down-for a moment.

  Suddenly a piercing, spine-rending scream split through the new moonlight, only to be cut off, leaving but the echoes.

  He waited, not knowing what it was he had heard, staring into the dark of the hall. There were four of them left, He had seen two fall before he darted outside again, and he wondered if they would have the nerve to try to rush him.

  They did. And the night again was shattered by the sound of explosions.

  "Bitch!" Eagleton hissed, but he could not take Amanda's hands away from his hair, his throat, feeling only dimly the deep traces of her nails that had coursed bloodily down his cheeks. Finally, with an effort that cost him his grip on his revolver, he threw her to one side, and she groaned when her head struck a protrusion of the baseboard. Eagleton, however, had already seen his men in flight and had heard the unearthly scream outside. He had been in this position once or twice before, with others of Maitland's ilk who paid for his time, and he knew full well that this was the moment to cut his losses.

  With a snarl at Amanda, then, he ran out the front door, hoping he would see the little girl who had ruined it all for him.

  Amanda shook her head to clear it of pain, scrambled to her feet just as she heard the renewal of shooting at the back of the house. She felt no indecision, however. She followed Trevor outside, closed her eyes for a moment to gain her night vision, and spotted him racing away to the right, toward a deep bow in the tree line just a hundred yards away.

  At the same time she saw Wind. He was standing beside something dark huddled against the snow. She whistled piercingly, and the animal shook its head once and broke into a run.

  Eagleton slowed for a moment, his pale features ghostly as he glanced over his shoulder and saw Amanda and the palomino closing in on him from two sides. With a muttered curse he increased his speed, his long legs taking the ground hungrily, his arms pumping to urge himself forward. The trees. He had to reach the trees. Once there he would not have to worry about that hellish animal, and it would be a simple matter to take care of Amanda.

  And for a moment he felt a slight twinge of regret, that things had not been different and he had not met her as he had been ordered. But the hate in her eyes and the strength in her hands buried the feeling quickly, and he gulped at the frigid air, measuring the growing distance between himself and Amanda, then looking back at the tree line . . . and skidding to a halt.

  Wind was there, his eyes wide and staring. The moonlight that was caught in his mane and the silver medallions on his bridle seemed supernaturally bright.

  He heard running footsteps.

  "Damn," he muttered and spun around to face her.

  Amanda slowed, stopped, then reached into her boot and pulled out the knife.

  Eagleton held out his hands, palms toward her. "All right," he said. "All right, you've got me. "

  She took a step toward him. "You'll do it again, won't you?" she said. "Somehow you'll get away from jail, you won't be hanged, and you'll do it again. To me. To someone else."

  Trevor looked back at Wind. Why did he seem larger?

  "Amanda, you're not going to kill me in cold blood. That would be murder. And you're not a murderer."

  Amanda clucked, and he heard the palomino move toward him. Perspiration drenched his shirt, ran down his arms and legs and froze on his flesh. She clucked again, and he could feel the animal's breath on his back. Her eyes, in the moonlight, reflected nothing but green. Her voice seemed to echo.

  "You attacked me. My children. My home! Everything I live for you tried to destroy. "

  "Amanda, this is crazy. " He felt bile in his throat, tasted acid on his tongue.

  Wind pawed at the ground.

  Eagleton, suddenly sure of himself, straightened. He smiled. He brushed at his lapels and combed back his hair with both hands. He was less than an arm's length from the knife, and he saw how her hand trembled. His smile broadened.

  "It could have been nice, Amanda, " he said, his voice soothing, softly hypnotic. "We could have had a lot of things, you and I. Do you think we still could? San Francisco. St. Louis. New York, Amanda!" He took a slow step toward her, his eyes fixed on hers. "New York," he whispered, and he tensed to grab the wrist in one hand, her throat in the other. "Amanda, think of it. "

  He moved.

  And suddenly she was not there, and he felt as if a fire had begun in his stomach. He gasped and staggered backward, hands grasping the hilt of the knife embedded in his abdomen. And as he fell into the snow, she grabbed for Wind's neck and buried her face in his shoulder.

  THIRTY-FOUR

  She did not know how it happened, but by the time her head had cleared and the nausea that had filled her stomach subsided, she was standing in front of the house, still clinging to Wind. She could see nothing inside, no movement at all, until a dark form at the comer of the porch rose slowly from the flooring and staggered toward her.

  "Elizabeth!"

  She raced up the stairs and grabbed the girl into her arms, tears filling her eyes as she hugged her, then pushed her away to examine her for injuries, and hugged her again. Bess, too, was crying, and the trembling that racked her tiny frame soon forced Amanda to pick her up and carry her inside.

  At her entrance Doug stepped out of the back. A tom shirt was wrapped around his left arm, and streaks of dried blood rippled from his right temple.

  "It's all right," he said, smiling when Amanda began to move toward him. Then he grinned at Bess and tousled her hair. "I guess it" s done. "

  "God, I hope so," she said. "Are Bert and the others-"

  "They'll be here in a minute, I expect. I don't know how many were waiting in the woods, but from the sounds of it, we got them all. " He glanced around the battered room and shook his head slowly. "Incredible," he whispered. "You know, Mandy, I have to admit I thought you were crazy, I really did."

  "Well, " Amanda said, feeling her legs begin to weaken, "if Bess hadn't remembered A Tramp Abroad . . . " She shuddered and pulled her daughter even closer.

  "Mother!"

  Douglas laughed and dropped into the only chair that had not been toppled. "She's your daughter, all right. "

  "What does that mean?" the girl demanded.

  "You'll find out soon enough, believe me," he said, then opened his arms and she dropped into his lap. "I'm going to marry you, you know," he said, winking over her head at Amanda.

  "You can't," she told him.

  "Why not? Don't tell me you've already got a boyfriend."

  "I can't marry you, silly. You're marrying Mother. "

  Amanda looked away, listening, then slowly creasing her brow in a deep frown. "Doug," she said as she walked carefully toward the still open door. "Doug, where did you put Maitland?"

  "Put Maitland? I didn't put him anywhere. When I ran in, I thought you . . ."

  She met his horrified gaze, could not take the notion of the man's living, and leaned hard against the jamb. "He . . . he must be outside."

  "It's snowing again, " Doug said meaningfully, not wanting to say it all with the child in his arms. "Let him go. "

  Amanda would have said something then, but she heard the sound of horses breaking out of the trees and ran out onto the porch. "Doug, come here." She estimated more than three dozen churning up the open ground, four of them peeling off to surround the dark form she had seen Wind standing over before she'd gone after Trevor. When they reached the house, she saw Jake in the lead.

  ''This was your idea?" she asked him.

  He shrugged. "Seemed like a good one at the time. "

  "Well, as usual, Jake, you're too late."

  The man's eyes widened while the others could not help smiling and nudging each other. ''Y'mean, I missed it?"

  "All but the mopping up," Doug said from over her shoulder.

  "Hey, Sheriff," a few of the men said.

 
"Not quite," Doug said, though Amanda could feel the sharp and sudden pride in his voice. Then she moved aside while he directed them toward picking up the bodies in the back, and those that Bert and the other hands might be having trouble with back in the trees. It took him nearly ten minutes before he got all the work teams sorted out, and by that time Amanda had looked inside and saw Bess sound asleep in the chair.

  "He's going to freeze to death out there, you know, " he said quietly, pulling her away and embracing her.

  The warmth, the strength . . . she lay her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes.