by Natasja Rose
Finally, the two women simply stood in Lizzy's room, holding each other close. Lizzy pulled back slightly, a hand against her best friend's cheek. "James and I did some research before we decided on the plan. Muskets are notoriously inaccurate, and the angle of the gun means that it probably nicked an artery, rather than hitting Bess in the heart, which means that you have time to get help."
Tina sniffed and tried to pull herself together. They had been friends long enough for her to realize that Lizzy was managing to keep her head because she knew that Tina wouldn't be able to handle her going to pieces as well.
Lizzy's attempts at soothing didn't go as well as she had hoped, because there was really no way to be reassuring about these things, but it was enough for Tina's kick-butt stubbornness to kick in. If Tina couldn't talk them out of the plan, then at least she wasn't going to let them go down without one heck of a fight! "What about John… or is that James… I mean… oh, blast it!"
Lizzy smiled. "We'll go with John, for the purposes of discussion. Unless they got him at point-blank range, the blunt-force impact probably knocked him off his horse and unconscious on the road as he bled out. Like Bess, it was more likely severe blood-loss and untreated wounds. We'll be able to get medical help, so you're not losing me that easily."
It was a sound argument, but Tina still frowned, stepping away. "I would have felt a lot more confident if you hadn't changed to a British accent half way through that, Bess."
The accent, plus the slight change in posture and tone, indicated that the Innkeeper's Daughter was back. "Even so, your friend is correct in her surmise. Regardless of what you think of John and myself, we don't want to see either of them dead."
There was a knock at the door before Tina could open her mouth for an especially scathing retort, and James walked in with his friends, his more formal and upright stance indicating that John was, if not in control, at least listening in. Tina directed another hard look at him. "I'm still considering just taking Lizzy and running, by the way. So, how were you planning on getting James and Lizzy shot?"
She paused a moment, "And even with my crazy psychic sight, that is something I never thought I would hear myself say."
A slight smile danced across the other two faces. "We thought that through, as well, with some help from the current Innkeepers. This is a tourist town now, so every couple of months they put on a display of some kind. Last time it was a Market Day with everyone dressed up in period clothing. This time they're doing a parade in remembrance of when the Militia spent some time garrisoned here."
John took up the plan. "James will be there to 'show the visitors around', and a mis-fired or bounced shot will hit Lizzy. Likely they will be using rubber bullets, as a precaution, though even those can cause a bit of damage – "
Bess caught Tina's expression and nudged him hard, causing John to hurry on. "But still very little! Anyway, James knows Senior First Aid, so he will run over to check on her. In the panic, someone will forget to put down their musket and he will get hit, too."
Tina growled. "I don't suppose you've considered the consequences for the unfortunate 'soldiers' who happen to fire the shots? I can tell you now, Lizzy's family will go nuts, and James is the Innkeeper's grandson, so getting them angry is hardly a good thing, either!"
Bess looked uncomfortable. "We have. They are descended from the very men who went above and beyond to kill John, and they've clearly inherited more than just looks from their ancestors."
John scowled darkly. "You're being polite, love. The ones who killed us took orders to catch me, and creatively twisted them to justify attacking and taking advantage of innocent civilians. They were terrorizing the surrounding villages before Tim gave them a tip-off, and there is nothing that justifies beating your father over the head when he did nothing but try to stop them dragging you upstairs for God knows what purpose. It was sheer luck that they were so intent on catching me that they didn't dare waste time by…"
He shuddered, torn between anger, fear and guilt, and Bess wrapped her arms around him just as Lizzy had hugged Tina earlier. For the first time, Tina saw the similarities in the two women, though born centuries apart, and for a moment, she almost understood why the ghosts had Chosen Lizzy to help. Understood the logic behind it, anyway; 'understand' was a difficult concept to apply to the supernatural.
Bess continued the tale. "Anyway. That aside, they hold the common 'Rupert Attitude' and have been acting very 'holier-than-thou' ever since they moved here a year or so back. It wouldn't be the first time that they've ignored instructions while trying to show off."
John, seeing James's memory of the events, offered a shark-like smile. "It will be the first time that they won't manage to buy their way out of anything worse than a few months of community service, since sheer luck has been the only reason no-one has been seriously hurt by them so far."
Tina still didn't like it, and wasn't about to give up trying to stop them, but she reluctantly nodded. It was just her luck that Bess returned to being Lizzy exactly in time to see her agree. "Besides, after the dream from last night-"
She cut herself off, as James suddenly turned bright red. Tina blinked. "Is this something I'm not going to want to know?"
There was a noticeable shade of pink in Lizzy's normally fair cheeks. "Not if we want to be able to look each other in the eye in the near future."
One of those stories that even deprivation of chocolate wouldn't torture out of the brunette, then. Tina decided not to pry. Guy Fawkes had been a pointed lesson that there were some things about ghosts and their influence that shereally didn'twant to know.
Chapter Eight
By the next morning, after several hours of nightmares, Tina had changed her mind about helping or even agreeing to the Plan.
She didn't care how set Lizzy and James – or Bess and John – were on their plan, her mind was made up; unless they managed to come up with a different plan that involved no injury at all, Tina was going to do her very best to thwart it. It wasn't like this was the first crazy idea of Lizzy's that she had managed to waylay.
Unfortunately, if Tina had practice at thwarting Lizzy's ideas, Lizzy had just as much experience at thwarting Tina's plans, usually when the brunette thought that Tina was about to over-exert herself into a sick-spell.
Yet another reason to hate her psychic abilities.
Tina tried to suggest that the small historical centre that served as a museum of sorts, conveniently located on the opposite side of town to the fair, would be a better pastime for the day, especially as far as recorded facts were concerned.
Lizzy countered with a raised eyebrow to let Tina know that Lizzy knew perfectly well what she was doing. "The historical centre is small enough that we can do both, and it doesn't do demonstrations. Or Stalls, for that matter, and I promised to bring back souvenirs."
Tina retaliated with a subtly cold look that only years of friendship allowed Lizzy to pick up on, perfectly well aware that she was starting to sound like her five-year-old cousin. "I don't want to go and see a stupid demonstration!"
Lizzy didn't even dignify that with a response, and it was actually Marissa who shot Tina down that time. "Well, if you don't want to go, then you don't have to. You can meet up at the Historical centre later, but Lizzy shouldn't have to plan her life around you just because you're being a stick-in-the-mud!"
James caught the murderous glint in Tina's eye and stepped in before the blonde woman could blow up completely, placing himself firmly between the arguing women, even as Marissa ducked behind Sean. "All right, this is getting nowhere fast. Tina, you can go or stay as you please, but the rest of us will miss the opening if we don't get a move on."
There was a sudden rush for the door as a fuming Tina opened her mouth to say something spiteful. Lizzy cut her off, her voice soft and gentle in the now-empty Common Room. "I understand if you don't think you can witness it, but this is the only chance we're likely to get. I don't want to spend the rest of my life sharing my bo
dy with a ghost and wondering what is me and what is her. Wish me luck."
Lizzy jogged off after the rest of the group as Tina glared at nothing. She sighed; better to witness and be on hand when something went wrong than to stay here and drive herself crazy not knowing. Tina followed after the others, muttering curses under her breath.
If she hadn't been fully aware and worried out of her mind about what was going to happen, Tina probably would have enjoyed the fair. Lizzy had always been better at reconciling herself with unpleasant events or situations, and was talking a mile a minute with questions and random facts as she walked hand in hand with James.
It wasn't all them, of course. Bess and John were now a very strong presence, almost eclipsing Tina's best friend and her beau. Tina supposed that during John's years as a soldier and then as a Highwayman, the couple would have been unable to simply spend time together like this, especially given the strict protocol of Georgian England.
It was understandable that they were vicariously enjoying it while they could, but Tina still had every intention of resenting them for it. She thought about demanding that the ghosts give James and Lizzy their bodies back right this very second, but decided against it. Lizzy hid her anxiety beneath an air of determination, as she always had, but Tina knew that her best friend was scared. There was no need to make things worse.
Bess and John had been waiting for far too long to let fear have any effect on them, and would have to take over at some point anyway. If it gave Lizzy some peace of mind, however temporary, then perhaps it was better this way.
But no amount of self-reassurance could prepare Tina for when the announcement came that the weapons demonstration was about to start.
Tina made a final, desperate attempt to grab Lizzy and get out of there, lovelorn ghosts be damned, but Lizzy evaded her with the easy grace of a barmaid well-used to navigating a room of inebriated men.
Tina knew that she didn't have a prayer of catching a man – or the possessing spirit of a man – who had spent several years with his life dependent on not getting caught, and the crowd was so thick around her that she could do nothing but stand and watch the events unfold.
Standing off to the side, Tina felt as though she was seeing everything in double-vision.
Lizzy, putting up a good act of a tourist just enjoying a day out when one of the soldiers pulled her up for a 'demonstration' on how the muskets were used.
Bess, playing the part of a smiling barmaid for the redcoats who came hunting for her love, until Tim the 'Ostler joined their table and whispered that Bess was the key to catching John.
Lizzy, knowing the plan and trying not to show fear as the two 'soldiers' displayed the separate parts of the musket, their names and what they did, before offering the gun for Lizzy's inspection, barrel first.
Bess, tied to the foot of her bed, the barrel of a gun bound against her breast, terrified and trying to stay brave as she watched and waited for nightfall.
Lizzy, who knew exactly what she was doing when she nudged the gun just a little. The soldier had forgotten to uncock it, his finger on the trigger as he held it out, and a shot rang out as Lizzy fell back, blood staining her white shirt.
Bess, who deliberately pulled the trigger of the musket intended to keep her silent, but which served to send a warning when the shot rang through the night as Bess slumped in her bonds, blood staining her white chemise.
James, who turned when Tina screamed at the sight of her friend, instantly starting to run toward the demonstration area, shouting for medical aid. The other 'soldier' panicking, forgetting to lower his own musket as he spun around, and James falling down next to Lizzy, crimson staining his own shirt.
John, shrieking curses as he galloped down the highway, half-mad with grief, spotting the redcoats and spurring his horse onward, rapier lifted high as he prepared to cut them down, only to be shot and left to lie in his own blood on the highway.
The First-Aid people rushing over, one of them pulling out a walkie-talkie to make a call as they fought their way through the crowd of gathering onlookers. Tina swearing as she kicked and shoved her way through, forcing herself not to panic at the amount of blood that flowed from the wound just under Lizzy's collarbone.
The villagers who had refused to leave, staying to tend the Innkeeper and ready to rush to Bess's aid at the first chance, running to the stairs as they heard the gunshot and a muffled, female cry of pain. The scuffle as they ran into the King's Men rushing down, paying no heed to the dying woman above them as they ran after the fleeing Highwayman. The wails of grief when they finally reached Bess, still and cold, drenched in her own red blood.
James's grandparents, running at a speed that belied their age, frantic for his safety, followed by Sean, who had dashed back to the Inn to tell them. Both of them stepping back to let the medical team do their jobs, rounding on the 'soldiers' whose 'carelessness' had caused the injuries with a fury totally opposite from their cheerful, friendly natures.
A soldier who had once served beside John, but had managed to keep his post and his ear to the ground, running beside two poachers who had brought the news of Bess's death, all chasing the grief-stricken Highwayman, hoping to find him before the Redcoats did. Seeing the fallen figure and trying to stop the bleeding, but only able to watch as the fire faded from his eyes.
Lizzy and James being rushed to the Medical Centre, so intertwined with Bess and John that their figures blurred in Tina's psychic sight, though that could also have easily been the tears that Tina didn't even try to stop. Trying to stay calm as she joined the Innkeepers in the waiting room, minutes crawling by as they waited for news.
Tina's senses so dulled, her vision wavering so much between past and present, that she couldn't tell if the distant sound of a Death knell was for Bess, echoing from centuries past… or from the church a mile away, tolling for Lizzy.
Epilogue
Lizzy was not dead, Tina told herself, though she may soon be wishing otherwise, because the blonde fully intended to give her the scolding of her next three lifetimes for worrying her like that. She had even started comparing notes with Madge, James's grandmother, who was planning the same thing for her grandson.
And that would be nothing compared to when Lizzy's parents got hold of her. The nurse in charge of contacting the next of kin had been trying to get off the phone with them for almost half an hour.
Tina didn't know how long they sat in the waiting room until the doctor emerged, but she was sure that time had never passed so slowly.
It had been a very close call, the doctor told them, but Lizzy and James had been pronounced mostly out of danger, and the worried friends and family could now enter for a brief visit to see for themselves.
They were shooed out again almost immediately for 'distressing the patients' with the start of a lecture, though Tina could tell from long association that Lizzy was totally hamming up the "distress" to get out of being scolded. Those dark eyes were far too expressive for their owner’s own good.
As friendly retaliation, Tina took the opportunity for a small dig as they left. "The doctor says that you'll probably be fine, but you're stuck here under observation for a few days anyway."
She ducked into the corridor as Lizzy sent Tina a filthy glare, muttering something that Tina was glad that she didn't catch, and was almost certainly as rude as Lizzy would ever get. Somehow, that little gesture was all it took to make everything all right between them again.
Back in the shared hospital room, the injured girl sulkily lay back, glancing over at her fellow prisoner. "You know, I'm not sure that we were ever properly introduced. Without the ghosts butting in, I mean."
James grinned ruefully. "I don't remember it, but allow me to fix that problem. I'm James Dawson, and pleased to meet you, though I'm pretty sure that your name isn't 'Where-Have-You-Been-All-My-Life'."
Lizzy snickered. Deliberately bad pick-up lines or puns were one of her weak points, along with foreign accents. "If Puritans weren't so
self-deprecating, it would sound like one of their names. I'm Elizabeth Hall, better known as Lizzy."
They tried to reach over enough to shake hands, but the beds were too far apart for them to do more than barely touch fingertips. Both of their beds gave a sudden jerk closer, nearly making them fall off, and Lizzy's long hair fell over his arm to brush James's shoulder as she caught herself. They exchanged almost conspiratorial looks, grinning through the pain of their injuries.
James yawned. "I don't know what the nurses gave me, but I don't think I'll see you until tomorrow. Hypothetically, what are my chances of asking you out at that point?"
Lizzy's ironically raised eyebrow did nothing to hide her blush as she let out an uncharacteristic giggle. "You mean a flurescent-lights night over bland, wholesome food for dinner? Sounds fascinating."
Her attempt at a calm expression turned into a shy, but genuine smile. "If you mean somewhere nice and non-haunted after we escape hospital custody, and I haven't had any worried family show up to drag me back home, then I would love to."
Tina backed out from where she had been lurking in the doorway as James laughed and a psychic wisp escaped each of them, merging and glowing white before it vanished entirely.