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noticing the flow of blood gushing out of his shoulder.
“Bullet wound or stab wound?” she asked, looking at the wound with terror in her heart.
“Stab wound.” His face was drawn and paler than usual. Without thinking, she reached and ripped off part of her underskirt. “Let me help you.” She padded it against his shoulder, instructing him to hold it there. “We’re going to have to get that sewn up soon, I don’t think that will stop you from bleeding, though I’m hoping it will staunch the flow of blood.”
“Get Elizabeth and Susan to safety,” he ordered, his voice transforming to a tired rasp.
“You don’t understand, I think we’ve gained the upper hand, your men finally realized we’d been infiltrated, and their fighting tooth and nail out there for you. Who is that Spaniard?” she asked.
“Mallory, please, tell me he isn’t one of Antonio’s men,” Elizabeth implored.
Some of the fright etched across Elizabeth’s face had faded.
“No.” Mallory winced when Gemma placed extra pressure on his shoulder. “He’s someone I knew during the war … I don’t think he’s affiliated with Antonio … but then, I wouldn’t exactly be surprised if he was.”
“Who is he?”
“His name is Herrer. I’m not sure what his first name was … they called him Don Herrer. I don’t know much more than that, except for the fact that he was one hell of an army officer.”
“But you were in the navy.”
“Yes, and we did have to take a jollyboat to shore once and while for some
reconnaissance missions. That’s where I first ran into Don Herrer. He was one of the Spanish aristocrats that capitulated with the French, in order to keep his way of life. We had been given word that he wanted to give the English some much-needed intelligence about the movement of troops in the Spanish Peninsula. Instead, we got a bloody turncoat that wanted to see my whole landing party swing in the gallows. We managed to escape by the skin of our teeth, but not before I put a bullet hole through one of Herrer’s brothers. I’d hoped he’d been killed during the war, but it would seem that man never got what was coming to him. And now, he’s determined to get his revenge against me. He is a bloody monster, Gemma. He’s madder than someone that’s already traveled to Bedlam. You have to help Elizabeth get Susan back to the house. In fact, knowing Herrer, he’s probably set up explosives on the perimeter of the estate. I wouldn’t put a bloody thing past him.”
“And here I thought the worst of your enemies were made during your pirating HIS LADY’S KEEPER Marly Mathews 47
days,” Elizabeth murmured.
“Oh, some. I also made the best of my allies during those days as well. Herrer will be planning to escape by sea. He’s probably got a ship waiting up by Balneikal Bay.”
“Mallory, fine. Far be it for me to try to go another round with you, especially when so much is at stake. I’ll make sure Elizabeth and Susan get back to the hall safely.
But if you’re right and Herrer has made alternate plans what’s going to make the Hall safe? He could have the grounds swarming with his little parasites.”
“Hart will be intelligent enough to send a rider for help.”
“Where the hell is he going to find help up in this remote area? I don’t think Lord Kildare will be able to help us … even though he does love his hunting.”
“Hart won’t be sending the rider to Lord Roberts’s estate, he’ll be sending the rider to his family.”
“His family? Oh … I see. His father must be a local villager right?”
“Gemma, right now, I’m not in any mood for your snobbery.” There was
unmistakable anger in Mallory’s voice, not just the usual annoyance he displayed whenever she said things that he deemed snobbish. She didn’t try to be hoity-toity, it just seemed to sneak up on her now and then. She knew she had to take pains to change her attitude, and she would, once they were all safe and sound.
“Come on, Elizabeth since Mallory wants to stick around right in the thick of it, we should make our way to safety.”
Mallory gave her a silent appraisal. “You look like hell, it becomes you.” He gave her another once over. “Where are your weapons? How in the blazes did you get as far as the carriage?”
“I employed some of those fighting skills you and Andrew gave me.”
He nodded his head and grimaced. “How’s about you employ those sword
fighting skills we taught you? Take one of their cutlasses and get back out there …
you’ll need something to defend Elizabeth and Susan with, if you are confronted.
Elizabeth will have to protect Susan, she won’t be able to help you.”
Gemma snorted. She couldn’t see Elizabeth wielding a sword even if she wasn’t holding Susan. Elizabeth was just too much of a lady, fighting didn’t seem to be in her soft nature.
“Mallory,” Elizabeth started, cutting short when Mallory groaned.
“Elizabeth, don’t argue with me. You should know better, you can’t worry about me. Your first priority, our first priority is Susan. So, go now!”
“Mallory St. Martin, I love you. Good luck!” Elizabeth inched her way toward the other side of the carriage. “Gemma, are you ready?”
“Do I look ready?” Gemma looked down at her torn evening gown, she touched
her wayward hair, and smiled. “You bet I’m ready. I don’t take kindly to some blackguard threatening my loved ones. They will all pay dearly for this!”
“I know they will definitely pay. They’ve pissed off Mallory.” Elizabeth
chuckled and then immediately sobered. “I wouldn’t be so scared if I didn’t have Susan.
Promise me, Gemma that you will make sure Susan gets to safety.”
“Of course I will, ‘cause you’re coming with me.” She touched Elizabeth softly on the arm. “Just stay close behind me, I’ll make sure you and Susan aren’t hurt.”
Slipping the shoe back on that she’d knocked out Mallory’s attacker with, she reached for HIS LADY’S KEEPER Marly Mathews 48
the carriage door. The noise of the battle still carried to them through the carriage. There was no telling how the tide had turned … if it had turned at all. “It’s now or never,” she breathed nervously.
“Now.” There was a hardened edge to her voice, which Gemma had never heard
before. Maybe Elizabeth wasn’t all sugar and honey after all.
Creaking it open, she carefully looked around for anyone that might try to kill them as they were alighting from the carriage. “The coast is clear, let’s go. Mallory, just make sure you come back to us in one piece. I don’t feel like burying another brother of mine!”
“I’ll try to make your wish my command.” She could feel Mallory’s presence
behind them, she wished that Mallory would come with them, but she knew he was gunning for Herrer’s ass, even if she thought it was a noble gesture, it was a foolish one right at the moment.
She stepped out of the carriage first, constantly keeping an eye out for more attackers. Her heart stalled at the sight of Hart engaged in battle. She bit her lip. She wanted to jump into the fray with him, but her duty to her family came first.
“There seems to be a clear path to the house. Let’s get a move on.”
“I’m right behind you,” Elizabeth whispered.
She kept her eyes pinned on Hart for a moment or two longer, and then even
though she felt a deadening sensation in the pit of her stomach, she proceeded toward Mallory Hall.
Elizabeth followed her so closely that she kept brushing up against her. Susan was unusually quiet. How her niece had managed to sleep through the entire adventure was beyond her.
“I just hope there aren’t more of Herrer’s men in the house. If we do walk into another damn trap, Elizabeth, I’ll create a distraction and you can slip unnoticed into one of the secret passages, wait there until more help arrives. I know you’re going to fight me on this, don’t!”
<
br /> “I won’t. Ordinarily, I’d be inclined to challenge you since you’ve taken charge of the entire situation without really consulting me, yet, I can understand where you’re coming from. I’m a mother and my duty is protecting Susan.”
“Good. At least we both know what our duties are.” She stopped at the sound of rustling in the bushes. Holding her hand up, she heard Elizabeth skid to a halt behind them. They were so close to the front entrance of the hall. She looked behind them.
Somehow, Mallory and Hart had managed to drive Herrer’s men farther away from the house, giving Elizabeth and her lots of room to breathe. She scanned the area for Herrer.
She couldn’t see the bugger. Why did she get the feeling that she was walking into a booby trap? She knew she couldn’t go back … and she couldn’t go forward … but they had to go forward. Susan had to get out of the night air.
“I have a bad feeling about this, Elizabeth.”
“You too?”
Gemma stared at the rustling bushes, and breathed a sigh of relief when a rabbit popped its head out of the bushes.
“Thank God for small blessings,” Elizabeth murmured.
“Indeed.” They walked up the steps leading to the entrance to Mallory Hall. “If the door doesn’t immediately open … then we know Herrer has somehow gotten into the HIS LADY’S KEEPER Marly Mathews 49
Hall. The servants will no doubt be otherwise indisposed.”
“Agreed,” Elizabeth said.
Just as she stepped up onto the threshold, the grand door swung open. Her heart skipped in her chest, the family butler had unmistakable fear glimmering in his eyes.
She was about to speak, when she heard something that topped her night right off.
“So, we meet again, Lady Gemma. I’m afraid, I’ll have to pay you back in kind for this!” She looked to where Herrer stood behind her butler. He lifted his pistol, aiming it directly at her. She could hear Elizabeth moving to the side. She was doing just as Gemma had instructed. While Herrer’s attention was completely focused on her, Elizabeth was making a fast getaway, getting her and Susan out of the line of fire.
She was glad. She didn’t fear death—Andrew and her father would be waiting for her. At least now, she didn’t have to marry Hart. She smiled.
Herrer smiled back at her, and discharged his pistol.
HIS LADY’S KEEPER Marly Mathews 50
Chapter Ten
Gemma should have felt pain. She should be dead. She’d closed her eyes when he’d shot, but unless you could die without feeling anything, she was still alive.
Impossible.
She looked to the side. He’d hit her butler instead.
“No!” Tears welled in her eyes.
Stewart’s eyes were cloudy with pain. She breathed a sigh of relief realizing he was still alive.
Without thinking, she moved to his side, and supported him, leading him over to the wall. He was bleeding quite heavily and his blood splattered her dress.
“You’re going to be alright,” she whispered. She helped him to slip out of his jacket so that he only wore a shirt. She bunched up the jacket and put it against his wound, hoping the pressure would slow the bleeding. By what she could see, the shot had gone straight through.
“Not if I put another bullet hole in him—I might decide to do that if you don’t cooperate with me. Do you think I missed the duchess slipping away? How did she disappear like that? You will tell me, or I will kill him!”
“No,” Stewart rasped, clutching her hand. Stewart was old enough to be her father, and he’d served their family faithfully through thick and thin—to think he could die, was sucking the strength out of her.
“I don’t know where she went. Do you honestly think that I would be privy to everything my brother, The Duke, would want to share with his wife about this estate’s many secrets? I am merely a woman. I am just as you said before, the daughter of a dead duke. I have no real power or authority when it comes to the running of my brother’s properties. And if you truly knew how my brother treats me, you’d know that glaring truth.”
His dark cold eyes flickered with doubt. Then, he chuckled. She felt as if someone had rubbed icicles down her back.
“In that case, I will have to finish your butler off.”
“No! Not that.” She crouched in front of Stewart blocking the Don’s next shot.
She was sitting in a most unladylike position, and yet, she didn’t give a damn.
“I hate to disappoint you, Don Herrer, but you’ll simply have to shoot me first.”
“Such bravery from such a selfish looking woman. How astounding … and in
some ways rather refreshing. Your brother must have remembered me well, since you now know my name.”
“Somehow, I’m thinking you made quite the impression on my brother,” she
lowered her voice and put as much hatred into it as she could muster considering the circumstances. She really wished that Hart would get a move on fighting his way back to reclaiming possession of the house. She had all of these fighting men around her, and yet, why did she find herself staring down the barrel of a pistol?
“And he made quite the impact on me, when he killed my youngest brother. He HIS LADY’S KEEPER Marly Mathews 51
was seventeen … did your brother know that? He was no more than a boy, and your brother took him before he could live into manhood,” he snarled. Rage enveloped his features like a clap of thunder.
She shivered. She could feel the man’s seething hatred for Mallory. In fact, if Mallory had been present, she felt certain that Don Herrer would try to kill him with his bare hands.
“My brother would never kill someone so young without having just cause for it.
Your brother must have been shooting at my brother. I am quite certain that Mallory only acted in self-defense. Men act on instinct in times of war. He can’t be held responsible for his actions during that time.”
“Yes, you can keep on telling yourself that, Lady Gemma. But I’m still going to exact my revenge. I will not leave this estate without having the blood of His Grace’s cherished family on my hands.”
“Your brother was killed during wartime. And yet, you would come and kill us without any provocation? You are a butcher, and a madman. To come after his innocent family is revolting. You, sir, are a disgusting specimen of the human race.”
“I think I’m beginning to like you, Lady Gemma. Do not misconstrue my
affection for devotion. I will still take what I want from the Duke.”
“Not if I have anything to do about it,” she vowed, darting a quick look at Stewart. Smashed porcelain littered the marble floor beneath her, she hadn’t noticed it until now, but since Stewart had been shot, her awareness of her surroundings had intensified. Obviously, Don Herrer had been intent upon damaging as much of the Manor as he could. She looked up at the angel cherubs flanking the main stairwell.
Resting her eyes on the portrait of one of her ancestors, she inhaled deeply. Would she survive this night?
“You are a most unique female. I have only known one or two other women that would be able to bask in your glorious personality. You shine with radiance when you are in such a passionate state. I find myself intrigued by you. I am quite certain your hot-blooded temper could be well used by me in bed. You have such a passionate nature, I can only imagine how beguiling you would be when aroused.”
Dread slithered up and down her spine. She didn’t want Don Herrer putting one finger on her. She shuddered.
“Passionate? Well, if that’s what you want to call it. I, on the other hand, think I am only reacting with negative emotions. I despise you. You aren’t fit to look me in the eye.”
“You should be glad that I am being amused by your defiance, or you would be dead right now. I should like to take my revenge against Mallory by taking all that he treasures … but perhaps, I acted in error. Mallory didn’t take my wife from me, or my children, for I have no wife—and no children that I know of. To b
e brutally honest, I may have a few by-blows. But they are irrelevant.” He waved his hand in gesture of dismissal.
Gemma’s ears burned. Tiredness had finally taken its toll on her. The night had been emotionally exhausting for her. If they didn’t find a way to get rid of Herrer soon, he was going to kill someone. Stewart was still alive, even though he was bleeding terribly, and she knew he had to get medical treatment soon.
“Than, take me. Just as I’ve offered you before. I am the next in line to Mallory.
HIS LADY’S KEEPER Marly Mathews 52
We were very close to each other during our childhoods. My brother took your brother, so to be fair, you should take me! It is the only logical course of action.”
“To be fair, I should take his brother.” His eyes glittered like dark chips of onyx at her.
“Too late. The war already did that,” she whispered, her voice welling with pain.
A raging burning sensation crawled into her chest, impairing her ability to breathe evenly.
He inclined his head. His obsidian like eyes still glinted with hatred. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she exhaled. The moment suspended between them, like a frozen pendulum. For one brief second, they were locked in their own battle of wills. Now she knew who the true villain in her life was. She’d been so childish when she’d rebelled against Mallory choosing Hart for her.
Hart was a good man. Maybe one of the best she’d ever know. And, if she truly reached into her heart, she knew she cared nothing for Kilworth. If she made it out of this mess with Herrer alive, she would marry Hart gladly. He had shown her the true measure of a man, he had shown her kindness and tolerance, and he had shown her tenderness—all within a very short span of time. If she wasn’t completely in love with him now, she knew her heart was already falling. Her heart quickened when she heard his voice, and saw his face. They may have only known each other for a day, but she had experienced a lifetime of emotions during that short period, and finally, she was becoming the sort of woman and daughter her mother had probably always hoped for.
“I will take you up on your generous offer, Lady Gemma. You will be happy to know that I will also spare your niece, and her American mother. I always did have a hankering for the lovely English roses.”