China Rose

by Canham, Marsha

  Justin's face darkened and he started for the servant's staircase. Before he could reach it, Tina cried out again. "He hurt her, Master Justin. Slapped her, he did, and cut her on the face. He had her locked into her room and gave orders she was not to be let out, only to him. I...I went up the stairs and knocked, real soft-like, because Master Eugene was with her and I..I thought I might help if she was poorly. But there was no answer."

  "Where is Mrs. Biggs?"

  "I...I don't know, Sir, but she has the only key."

  The tic shivered in Justin's cheek as he glanced at Ted Bates. "If anyone moves, shoot them."

  "Aye. With pleasure, Cap'n."

  Justin took Tina by the hand and half dragged her out of the kitchen and up the servants staircase. He took the steps two at a time to the second storey, passing only one other servant along the way, a maid who had been hired for the evening and was too frayed and overworked to notice anything odd in Justin's appearance.

  "Bit o' luck that," Tina whispered when they emerged, out of breath, at the end of the hallway.

  Justin ran along the corridor and stopped outside of China's door, glancing both ways along the hall before he stepped up and rapped his knuckles softly but urgently on the wood.

  "China? China, are you in there?"

  There was no response, no sound of movement coming from the other side of the door and he knocked again, louder this time, then rattled the knob ineffectually.

  He was debating his next tack when he saw the crack of light at the bottom of the door darken briefly, as if someone had passed in front of it.

  "China! Stand back from the door I am going to kick it open."

  Before he could draw back and make good on his threat, he heard a key slot into the lock and turn.

  "Thank Christ, girl, you're--"

  The door swung open and Eugene Cross stood swaying in the entryway. His face was bloodied, his shirt was stained, his eyes seemed glazed over and confused. "Justin? Justin, is that you?"

  Justin brushed past his brother and went into the room. It was a shambles, with books strewn everywhere, furniture crashed over, deep gouges in the wall and bookcase.

  "What the hell happened here? Where is China?"

  Eugene leaned heavily on the poker he was holding, using it like a cane as he touched a hand to his head then stared at the blood on his fingers. "Gone, I'm afraid. Ranulf came and dragged her out of here not long ago. He heard you had escaped from your jailers--perhaps he thought this was the first place you would come looking for her? In any case, they had one hell of a bloody row. I believe he was trying to take something from her that she was not prepared to give...if you know what I mean. There was a lot of shouting and banging. I was in my room--someone had spilled punch down my trouser leg--and I heard her screams and came to assist...to no avail, as you can see."

  "Ranulf did this to you?"

  "I vow I do not know what came over him," Eugene said. "I think he has gone quite mad."

  Justin's expression turned murderous. "Are you all right now?"

  Eugene nodded. "I will survive. You look as though you might have some difficulty though."

  Justin backed out of the room and return to the hall, staring hard, thinking. The horsemen they had passed on the lane! Ranulf must have been among them...and China! But where would he take her? And why would he leave Braydon Hall when there were a hundred wedding guests who could, at the very least, testify that Justin had come back, intent upon killing him.

  Another oddity struck him. Eugene had said he had been in his room changing his trousers when he heard the commotion, yet Tina said he had been locked into the bedroom with China. And where was Mrs. Biggs? She had been told to keep China locked in her room and was strident about following orders; why would she have given the key to Eugene?

  The skin was prickling on his neck even before he heard Tina scream out a warning. He ducked instinctively to his left, narrowly missing the hooked end of the iron poker as it slashed across the space just occupied by his head. He had no time to wonder why Eugene was attacking him. He saw the poker wielded full circle and raised to strike again, and he reached for the pistol at his waist. The split second it took the screaming muscles of his injured arm to respond and draw the gun was all Eugene needed to change the direction of his swing. The gun cleared Justin's belt the same instant the end of the poker was tearing it out of his hand, stinging his fingers and sending the weapon spinning across the floor.

  Justin screamed inwardly as the poker glanced off the injured forearm. There was enough force behind the blow to gouge the solid wood paneling beside the door, and enough on the return arc to sweep a nearby table of its vase and flowers.

  Justin snarled and leaped forward, catching the arm of the poker on it's next descent, shoving it back hard enough for the bulbous end to jab deep into Eugene's midsection. The move was not anticipated, but neither was it debilitating and Justin was startled to feel, instead of a soft paunch, the rock hard muscles of someone who kept himself in shape beneath the foppish clothes.

  Eugene roared and shoved the poker back into Justin with enough force that the tip gouged through shirt and flesh. Justin's left arm was all but useless now and the strain on his right, to keep the poker from thrusting clear through his belly, was driving him back across the open hallway. He knew he was weakening fast, while Eugene was only coming on stronger and harder, relishing his power as it brought Justin closer to his knees.

  Justin maneuvered an opening and knew it would be his only chance. He feinted right as if to clutch at the wound in his side and when Eugene leaned to drive the poker home, he came up sharp and fast with both hands knuckled together to form a truncheon. He counted on Eugene being slightly off balance and drove his fists up and under the unprotected chin, snapping his brother's head back, sending him staggering off to the side. The poker swung free and entangled itself on a length of tapestry hanging on the wall.

  There was no brotherly hesitation on Justin's part this time. He came in close and fast, using his fists, his knees, his elbows to rain a barrage of sledging blows to Eugene's stomach, jaw, and kidneys. His face was streaming sweat and blood, his whole body was on the verge of exploding in agony, but he did not let up until he Eugene was sent sprawling and moaning onto the floor.

  A final kick to the side of Eugene's head ended it and Justin staggered back. He likely would have fallen if Tina had not rushed out of the niche where she had been cringing, and caught him under the arms.

  Justin swayed unsteadily as he stood over his barely conscious brother. He shook the sweat out of his eyes and bent over to retrieve his pistol, noting the rank smell of perfume rising from Eugene's still form. He snatched up the poker as well, trying not to think about the deep gouge in the wood paneling that might have been left in his skull instead.

  The wall.

  Justin stopped and stared. He ran back into the bedroom and noticed what he had missed before: the bookcase stood slightly ajar. Would she...could she have escaped that way? Eugene had said Ranulf had come and dragged her away, but there was every good reason to doubt that. The locked door, the state of the room, the fresh wound on Eugene's head...even the stench of perfume told a much different tale.

  He dashed back out into the hall and burst into the room opposite China's chamber, the one she had visited once before while exploring the secret passages. But there was nothing out of place, nothing to say she had been here. The panel beside the mantel was undisturbed, the room dark and quiet.

  "Master Justin?" Tina's fearful whisper came through the doorway. "He's groaning and making little gurgley noises in his t'roat."

  Justin strode back into the hall. He cocked the pistol and handed it to Tina. "Do you know how to use one of these?"

  "Lord save me, no Sir, I do not."

  "Just point and pull this trigger." He put the gun into her trembling hands. "If he so much as moves, just point and pull. Do you understand?"

  Tina looked from Justin's face to the sprawled fo
rm of the man who took pleasure in using her in coarse, brutish ways; hurting her, then laughing at her when she confided her shame.

  "Yes, Master Justin," she whispered, "I understand. Point and pull."

  But he was already gone, vanished back into China's bedroom. He pushed the bookcase wide open and snatched up a lamp. If she had attempted to escape, she might be hiding up there somewhere in the dark. Or she might have found another passage. Or...

  Justin put the thought out of his mind without finishing it. Instead, he climbed up into the attic, holding the lamp high over his head.

  "China?"

  He listened, but there was still too much ambient noise drifting up through the walls from the ballroom. He walked halfway across the span of the hallway below and cast the glow of the light from side to side, and was about to turn back when he saw something white against the stone chimney.

  It was a piece of lace and looked too clean to have been there very long. He quickly descended the steeper steps, but the narrow passage was empty. The lamplight glinted off the lever and pulley and touched on the shadows beyond the bulge of the fireplace. Something made him follow the passage around and that was when he heard it.

  A moan. Or a whimper. Or it might have been a sob.

  "China? China are you there? It's me, Justin. Answer me if you can, my brave darling."

  He heard it again and moved further along the passage, stopping at the edge of another set of steps that led down to the main floor. He held the lamp over the opening and found himself staring down into a pair of big, blinking blue eyes.

  "China!"

  "Justin?" She unclasped her arms from around her knees and reached up to him as he set the lamp aside and helped her to her feet. In the darkness, she had slipped over the top stair and tumbled down several steps before the bulk of her skirt and petticoats stopped her fall. She had remained huddled there, partly through shock, partly through fear.

  "Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

  She tried to speak, but the words would not come. Justin lifted her into his arms and brought her up into the light then without letting go of her--not that he could have, for she was clinging to him so tightly it would have required more strength than he had to pull her away--he gently and painstakingly ran his hands over her legs, her arms, her ribs, her shoulders. Apart from one ankle that was puffed and elicited a small cry of pain when he touched it, nothing was broken. The gash on her cheek set his blood to boiling again, but he fought to keep his voice smooth and calm.

  "A devil of a time I had finding you, Miss Grant. Perhaps the next time you could mark your path more clearly?"

  She turned huge, tear filled eyes up to his. "I...I didn't know what else to do. I didn't know where to go. It was so dark and I didn't have a light and he was after me. He was chasing me. He was....oh! Oh Justin! It was Eugene. He was behind everything...the blackmail, the murder...everything!"

  Justin's senses reeled for a moment. He stared at her, trying to absorb what she said, but then he pushed his confusion aside and clenched his jaw. "There will be time enough to tell me everything later. It's over now, Eugene cannot hurt you or frighten you any more."

  She sobbed harder and clung to him. "Ranulf forced me to marry him! He said he would have you killed if I refused, and then I heard him talking with Chambers and it was all a trick to use me, to use you to catch Jason Savage, and I...oh Justin, I was so angry and so hurt...I told him. I told him you were Jason Savage."

  "And saved me the trouble of doing so," he said, wiping at the tears that refused to stop flowing down her cheeks. "High time it was too. I am a little old for games of cat and mouse."

  "But he means to kill you now. He was so angry. He has taken his men to look for you and he will have the King's men looking too, and..."

  "No one is going to kill me, not if I have anything to say about it." He kissed her hard and fast then handed her lamp and swung her up into his arms. "Mr. Bates is waiting for us belowstairs and I fear he may soon become impatient. Hold fast and keep the light up. We will take the quicker exit out this time."

  He retraced his steps to the lever and carried China out into the room he had been using. The strain on his arm was excruciating and it showed on his face when they left the confines of the dusty passage.

  "You're hurt," she gasped.

  He grimaced. "I agree we do make a fine couple at the moment."

  "I can walk. If you put me down, I can walk."

  "Aye, I will do that directly." But he walked out into the hallway without bothering to close the panel, stopping only when he saw the empty space on the carpeted floor where Eugene Cross's body should have been.

  Tina was gone. The gun was gone. Eugene was gone.

  He expelled a breath and cursed himself softly when he heard the soft tread of a footstep behind him and felt the cold metal barrel of the gun press into the back of his neck.

  "Put her down."

  Justin only tightened his grip under China's shoulders and knees as he slowly turned.

  She was standing in the niche, her hair askew, her starched black frock torn at the waist, exposing white petticoats beneath. Justin recognized the gun she was holding. It was one of Ranulf's prized brass and cherrywood dueling pistols.

  "Where is he?" Mrs. Biggs asked, her voice a thready rasp. There were marks around her throat as if someone had grabbed her and tried to strangle her. "Where is Master Eugene?"

  Justin shook his head, uncertain if he was speaking to friend or foe. "I don't know. I left him here not ten minutes ago. Tina was with him and--"

  "Tina!" The gun wavered in Mrs. Biggs' hand. "You left her alone with that animal?"

  "I had no choice," Justin said evenly. "I had to find China."

  Mrs. Biggs' glazed eyes moved in jerky stages as she took in the bloody clothes, the cuts, the scrapes and bruises on both of them. She looked directly at China and the aim of the gun followed.

  "Did that bastard force himself on you?"

  China swallowed hard. "N-no. I managed to get away."

  The pistol shook for a moment then dropped slowly back into the folds of her skirt. Justin set China gently down then probed gingerly at Mrs. Biggs sloped shoulder.

  "It is broken. You need to see a doctor."

  "Not until I have seen to him."

  "Him? You mean Eugene? He did this to you?"

  Mrs. Biggs stared at the door to China's bedchamber. "I had my orders from Sir Ranulf to lock Lady Cross in her room. He helped me carry her up the stairs, but then he wouldn't leave. When I left to find bandages, he bathed her cuts and seemed genuinely concerned but when I came back and she was sleeping and I told him he should leave now, that I would sit with her, but he...he refused. H-he tried to choke me and when he thought he had, he threw me into the dressing room and left me there for dead.

  "I should have done something before now," she added in her broken whisper. "He ruined my Aggie. Ruined her then laughed when I threatened to go to Lord Ranulf. He needs to be stopped before he harms anyone else." Her eyes came back into focus and her expression hardened again. "You take the girl and get away from here, Master Justin. Leave while you are still able."

  "Martha, you are in no condition to chasing after Eugene. Let me--"

  China gasped and clutched Justin's arm. Her ankle gave way and she staggered against him, but not before she cried out a warning and pointed to the two shadowy figures at the end of the hallway.

  Eugene was there, grinning through the blood on his face. He had his arm around Tina's waist, holding her in front of him like a shield, the nose of the pistol shoved up into the underside of her chin.

  Justin grabbed the dueling pistol out of Mrs. Biggs hand and pushed her behind him, stepping in front of the two women as he swung the gun up and aimed it down the hall.

  "My, my," Eugene sneered. "What a cozy family scene. I can hardly wait to see how it ends. Will he shoot? Knowing I will blow off the top of the girl's head if he does, will he shoot?"

  He dra
gged Tina forward a few more steps.

  Justin blinked the sweat out of his eyes. He was looking straight down the gleaming barrel of the pistol, straight into his brother's grinning face. Tina's eyes were round as medallions, filled with terror as the gun wedged deeper into her flesh.

  "Let her go, Eugene," Justin said evenly. "This is between you and me. Let her go and I'll meet you on equal terms."

  Eugene's grin remained fixed. "I rather like the terms as they stand now." His eyes flicked to China, who was leaning against a credenza to take the weight off her injured ankle. "I see you found our brother's lovely bride."

  "I found her...no thanks to you."

  "None to Ranulf either." Eugene laughed harshly. "It was a charming ceremony with her looking as if she had to swallow poison and Ran looking as if it would give him the greatest pleasure to feed it to her once the marriage was declared legal. She brings an astonishing financial consideration into the family coffers, you know."

  Justin was only half listening. He knew the pistol Eugene was holding had a hair trigger; the slightest twitch and it would fire. His brother's hand looked cramped and stiff having to exert the constant pressure on Tina's throat. The muscles in his own arm were stretched taut and each passing second the dueling pistol grew heavier and heavier.

  Someone screamed.

  The sound did not come from the hallway, but from the floor below and was supplemented almost instantly by the acrid smell of smoke. Eugene was sufficiently startled to ease his grip a moment and glance down the main staircase toward the sound of panic and running feet. At the same time, Justin saw a dark blur out of the corner of his eye as Mrs. Biggs rushed past him, the discarded iron poker in her hand.

  Eugene swung the gun around and fired. The lead ball tore into Mrs. Biggs' chest, driving her back off her feet before the poker could leave her hand. The awful pain of the shot twisted her features as she fell. Tina screamed and twisted out of Eugene's grip to run to her mother's side, leaving him fully exposed as Justin's finger squeezed the trigger. There was a spark and a flash of powder, followed by the loud explosion of the shot leaving the barrel and flying straight and true to the center of Eugene's forehead. It made a very small hole and very little blood appeared to mark the spot, but Eugene's mouth sagged open and his eyes locked on Justin, as if he had not really believed him capable of shooting.