by Stobie Piel
Patterson seized the certificate as Irene MacCallum entered the church. "What's going on here?"
Brother Xavier folded his hands over his stomach. "The most beautiful ceremony, Your Ladyship. Dr. Patterson has taken Miss Lindsay . . . Mrs. Patterson, to wife."
Blood drained from Irene's face. Her gaze shot to Miren, shocked, as if she knew something to be true that she had long feared. "No . . ."
Something scratched at the office door again. It whined, and it barked. Miren closed her eyes. Molly. Nathan opened the door quickly and Molly sprang out, tail wagging with glee. Patterson noticed her, and his eyes narrowed.
"Where did that dog come from?"
The duke patted Molly's head and laughed, tensely. "Came in our coach, Doctor."
Irene started to speak, but her jaw set hard. Her gaze fixed on Patterson, and such pure hatred sparkled in her pale eyes that Miren stepped back. "Allow me to pay my respects, Dr. Patterson, on your wedding. Such a surprise."
Patterson cast a quick glance Irene's way. He looked nervous, but he smiled. "It was necessary."
"Was it?"
He dampened his lips in a hurried lick. "So many surprises. Not all are welcome. Are they, Irene?"
He was threatening Irene, as if he knew something about her past that was enough to ensure her silence now. Miren didn't have time to wonder. Brother Xavier stumbled, separating Miren from Patterson. Patterson reeled back, but Nathan jumped forward and grabbed Patterson by the neck.
Brother Xavier pulled Miren back, but Patterson tore his dagger from his waistcoat and stabbed backwards. "No!"
Nathan caught Patterson's wrist and wrenched until the dagger dropped. Patterson laughed, and Miren's heart caught in her throat. "Nathan, did his dirk touch you?"
"It's nothing, Miren. Just a scratch."
"It's poisoned!"
Nathan refused to release the doctor. Brother Xavier yanked off his habit, revealing Simon's familiar face underneath. "You stay back, lass."
"There's no time!" Miren struggled free of Simon's grasp and ran to Nathan. She tore at his sleeve and found a small point where the dirk pierced his skin. "Miren, get back!"
Patterson twisted to free himself, but Miren grabbed Nathan's arm. She placed her mouth over the tiny spot and sucked. She shook violently, her tears fell to his skin. She spat, then sucked again.
"Such a brave girl! Did it work, I wonder? You won't know, Miren." Patterson grabbed her hair and yanked her back. He wrenched the butcher knife from his boot and held it to her throat. "Didn't think I'd left this behind, did you? Never know when it comes in handy. Let go, Indian, or I'll rip her throat."
Nathan backed away. "You're surrounded, Patterson. You'll never get away."
Patterson clutched Miren's hair, tipping her head back to his shoulder. "Won't I? Gyvers! Get my coach!"
Gyvers hesitated. He glanced at the cross above the pulpit, but Patterson sneered. "Don't turn heroic now, Gyvers. Unless you want my wife's blood on your guilty hands."
Nathan nodded to the decrepit coachman. "Do as he says."
Gyvers turned and raced from the church. Patterson laughed. "Thought you had the upper hand, didn't you, Indian? Know that I won't kill her until I've had my fill. Your ruse worked, but mine worked better. Poison flows in yoursavage blood even now. Maybe the wench got enough out by her tender sacrifice. Maybe she didn't. But you'll be on your knees within the hour, gasping and shuddering. Maybe you'll get enough air to live, maybe you won't. I'm sorry I won't be here to see it."
Miren kicked and struggled, but Patterson pressed the knife against her throat until he drew blood. Miren felt its hot moisture running in a tiny stream down her neck.
"Uncle, Uncle!" She heard Nat running up the stairs.
"Nat, no!" Glenna charged up the stairs and caught the little boy.
Miren strained to see Nathan's face. "Please don't die. Please."
Glenna gasped and started toward Patterson, but Simon caught her arm. "No, lass. He's gotten the upper hand back, and he's got his own survival at stake now. Fellow like that don't have much else."
"Miren . . ."
Miren tried to see Glenna, but Patterson dug the knife deeper. "He cut Nathan with a poisoned dagger. Help him."
Tears streamed down Glenna's face, but she backed away, allowing Patterson to pass. Grainger and Brent stood on the stairs, both shocked. "You won't get away with this, Doctor."
Patterson twisted sideways, so that Miren saw both into the church and the road beyond. Nathan stood in the doorway, edging closer. Glenna clutched Nat, both crying. Irene walked from the church and stood on the steps. She dropped Muffin, and the little dog crept to Glenna' feet.
Molly growled and snapped, but Patterson ignored her. Miren looked at her dog. "I love you, Molly. Stay with Nathan. Good dog." Her voice choked on tears, but Molly obeyed. For the first time. She backed away, one ear cocked thoughtfully.
Miren had seen that look before, but she hadn't recognized it until now. Molly was scheming. She wasn't an innocent,
soft, round puppy anymore. Maybe she never had been. Miren believed she had picked Molly. Suddenly she knew that it had been the other way around. And Molly didn't intend to lose her.
Molly bounded down the stairs and raced away. Miren couldn't see where she was going. Patterson laughed. "Finally got rid of your hound, darling. A shame. I'd thought of shooting her."
He dragged Miren down the stairs, but Brent blocked his escape. "Get out of my way, fool. Gyvers!"
Gyvers brought Patterson's coach to the bottom of the stairs. The lead horse held its foot aloft. "Ain't getting far with this team, Doctor."
Patterson twitched with fury. "Get MacCallum's then! Now!"
Gyvers ran to Brent's coach and directed the team to the stairs behind the other coach. Miren saw the two gray horses. One and Two. "Miss Lindsay, I give you my word to use their names at every meeting, if you will remove your sheep from my path."
Miren twisted her head to see Nathan one last time. She froze his image in her mind as he stood with his monk's habit torn open, revealing his white shirt. The breeze from Loch Fyne caught his long, black hair, and she saw his silver hoop earring.
Despite her fear, despite the butcher's knife held against her throat, Miren smiled. "Indian. Pirate. Scottish laird. . . .
Chapter Twenty
Humans bungle everything. A good house pet knows when to take matters into her own control.
Molly raced toward the sheep pasture. She bounded over the stone wall and darted toward Flip. Flip wouldn't understand, but he might follow . . .
The cruel man had Miren again. He would take her away in his coach. Molly had smelled her mistress's blood. She couldn't stop Miren's attacker, because she was too small. She couldn't stop his coach, because wheels didn't obey. They didn't herd . . .
Sheep herd.
She had to get them through the gate. It had broken once beneath the weight of a fat ewe. The ewes were even fatter now than they had been the day of the garden party. The gate would break again.
If something scared them enough. Molly growled and charged, but the sheep paid no attention. She wasn't a threat. She needed something so vicious, so terrifying . . .
Molly leapt back over the stone wall and charged back toward the abbey. Patterson's dirty servant brought another team forward, and Patterson dragged Miren down the steps. Nathan followed, but Patterson cut Miren's flesh, and he stopped.
Molly considered another attack, but she'd learned that biting was useless when a human was insensitive and fixed on other matters. Molly barked, a taunting bark. A call to adventure. A call that would inspire a wolf to hunting.
Muffin responded with a torrent of fierce yips. She bounded down the stairs and tore after Molly. Molly took the lead, keeping enough distance to attract her tiny nemesis.
She bounded over the stone wall again, but Muffin wasn't big enough to jump over it. But she could go under. Molly ran to the gate and barked. Muffin followed.
&nbs
p; Then Molly saw the sheep, and every portion of wolf blood came alive in its dormant system. It growled like a fiend and charged. The sheep responded. Blossom first, because she had a long memory.
They panicked. But not in the right direction. Flip was after Muffin. He would be no help.
Something deep, deeper than she ever had known, came alive in Molly. She wanted them through that gate. She wanted them fast enough not to allow a simple latch to stand in their way.
She darted left and turned their leader. Blossom spun right, circled, then galloped across the field. The other ewes followed. Earnest's chubby body plunged forward with greater speed than Molly had imagined he possessed.
She darted right, then tore in at Earnest, driving him toward the gate. She spun back and drove the rear sheep forward, crashing into the ewes in front.
They couldn't stop, they moved as a tight group. Flip abandoned Muffin and sensed Molly's goal. He took the left front, she the right rear. And Muffin stopped in the field, gaugingtheir purpose. She abandoned her bloodthirsty attack and drove the sheep from behind.
The first ewe collided with the gate. It creaked, but it didn't break. Muffin barked, and the rear ewes shoved themselves forward. Earnest slammed sidelong into the gate. It creaked. The latch gave, and the gate swung open.
The flock stampeded through the open gate, but they weren't headed toward the stone building. They aimed for the meadow.
Molly slowed and looked for Miren. Patterson shoved his servant aside and took the reins himself. He pulled Miren into the seat beside him and wrapped the reins around her neck. He whipped the horses, and they jumped forward.
Nathan ran down the road after them, followed by Brent and the others. But the coach was pulling away.
Molly barked. She raced to the fore of the flock and hedged their progress. Flip couldn't know what she wanted. He waited, following her lead. Muffin stayed out of the way, for once.
Molly met Blossom head on. Blossom saw a field of flowers and tall grass. Molly saw Miren. Molly crouched. She aimed at Blossom's front leg. She nipped. Blossom stepped aside, more annoyed than subdued.
Molly had been praised by a queen, and Blossom had the nerve to ignore her instructions! A queen. A queen who knew how to boss. Molly bristled and looked down her long nose at Blossom, though the ewe was much larger. Blossom hesitated. Molly growled, then jumped.
And Blossom turned aside.
They went wherever Molly directed. It was heaven. She nudged them back onto the road, then to the high wall that lined the pasture and the road.
The coach had to pass here to escape. Sixty Blackface sheep mulled in its way. Flip kept them from going into the meadow. Muffin kept them from returning to their pasture.
And Molly in the middle kept them just where she wanted them to be.
Miren saw her sheep. She saw her little black collie's head peeking up from the middle of the flock. She saw Muffin poised by the gate, and Flip by the meadow.
Patterson swore, then screamed in fury, "Go!"
One and Two hesitated, but Patterson lashed viciously at their backs, drawing welts on their flanks. Miren grabbed his whip.
Patterson shoved her aside. He tightened the leather reins around her neck, then wrapped the end around the handle. He jumped down from the driver's seat and flailed his whip at the sheep.
Miren fought to untie the reins, to free herself. Earnest butted into Patterson's legs, knocking him off balance. Earnest pushed between the horses' legs and made a break for the meadow. Flip cornered him and directed him back to the road.
Patterson struggled to his feet. "Damned sheep!"
Miren snapped the reins free and pulled them off her neck. Someone jumped to the back of the coach, then to the roof. Miren looked up. Nathan bounded over the roof, his black hair flying. He looked pale, and fear clenched inside her. If he spent his energy fighting Patterson, saving her, the poison in his system might still take hold.
"Nathan . . . No!"
He met her eyes and smiled. "Whatever it takes, Miren." She didn't know what he meant, but he leapt from the coach and landed among the sheep, behind Patterson. Blossom moved aside and took position by the coach door. Flip drove Earnest back, and he bumped into the coach. It swayed, and the door popped open.
Patterson cracked his whip at Nathan. Nathan ducked, but Patterson swung again. Nathan caught the whip and yanked Patterson to his knees.
Patterson drew his butcher's knife and aimed toward Nathan. Miren held her breath. Patterson lurched forward, nudged by a ewe. Nathan dodged his blow, then kicked. A good, strong kick that met Patterson's chest dead center. Perhaps the way Iroquois fight.
Patterson lowered his head and rammed toward Nathan. Nathan jumped back, pressing the ewes in toward the coach. Blossom put her front hooves on the steps, tested them, then climbed in. Molly picked her way through the sheep and followed.
Miren swung down from the coach and looked for something to aid Nathan's battle. Brent tried to wedge through the sheep. Simon shouted and waved his habit.
"Hold him off, lad! We're coming."
The duke was more agile, and thinner, so he squeezed alongside the coach. "Give it up, Doctor! The sheep have you."
Nathan stumbled, but no sheep bumped him. Miren's blood ran cold. His face went white. He looked to her, and his lips were blue. She held up her dress and tried to climb over the sheep.
Patterson saw his chance. Not to flee, but to kill. He clutched his butcher's knife and shoved his way through the sheep.
Irene MacCallum passed the duke. She didn't push or shove, she just walked through their round, soft, sheared bodies, her eyes fixed on Patterson. Nathan sank to his knees, and Patterson moved toward him.
Miren tripped over Earnest, crying, "No! Run away, you fool! Leave him alone!"
Irene walked up behind Patterson. He noticed her and started to turn. She held up his dirk in her bony hands, smiled, then plunged it deep into the back of his shoulder. His face went white as Irene withdrew the weapon.
"You dropped this." She held up the dirk. "I couldn't helpnoticing that the blade was still dampened . . . all the way to the hilt. With poison?"
"You bitch!" Patterson whirled toward her, clutching at her neck, but she stepped back as he fell to his knees before her.
Simon called to Flip. "That'll do, lad. That'll do, Muffin. Good dogs."
The dogs relaxed, and the sheep scattered, heading for the meadow as an assumed reward. Miren ran to Nathan's side, weeping as she drew him into her arms. "You're all right. He told me it will make you sick but it won't kill you. I got it in time."
Nathan looked into Miren's eyes, ignoring Irene and Patterson. "Miren, are you all right?"
Miren nodded, then kissed his forehead. "I love you so."
"The poison . . . you didn't get any . . .?"
"I spit it out. Don't worry."
Nathan relaxed and leaned his head against her chest. Molly jumped down from the coach and licked Nathan's face. Nathan touched her head and gently scratched her ears.
"Thank you, Molly. You're a good dog."
Miren tore off Patterson's ring and flung it aside. "You were with me, Nathan. I am so glad."
"I know." He sounded weak, but he was smiling.
Irene stood over Patterson. "Who will suck the poison from you, Drew? You've twisted and tortured people all your life. I think you were born liking to cause pain. You used people for what they could give. But who loves you enough to save you?"
"You're back to where you started." Patterson clutched at his throat as his breath came short, but his hatred and venom poured with his last effort. "Tell the duke where you started, Irene. A cheap whore, a dance hall girl."
"I came from hell, Drew. I married Colonel Edgington and I thought I'd escaped. But he died, and you paired me with the 'poor widower,' Kenneth MacCallum. Drunken, ragingKenneth, cheated by one woman, deserted by another. And all that rage came out at me. I came to you, begging for help.''
Irene kicked at
Patterson's chest. "You told me to stay. You'd found a better way. So I stayed. I stayed while he beat me until I couldn't walk."
"You wanted him dead. You wanted his money."
"Yes, I wanted it all. I deserved it! You set off to kill him, but you couldn't even do that right. You left an heir, you fool. When you came back, you said you'd kill the Indian, but instead you set yourself up with this girl. And now it's your turn in hell."
Patterson tried to stand. He lifted his fist toward the sky. "Hell! Hell! All of you, go to hell! I am in control." His lips went white, his eyes glazed. His fingers clenched at his throat, and he fell forward, dead.
Irene knelt and poised the dagger to strike again. Grainger walked silently to the side, caught her wrist, and removed the weapon from her grasp. "It's over, Irene."
She looked up at him, her face white and drawn but still remorseless. She cast a quick glance at the duke. Already focused on her own survival. "It was Dr. Patterson's idea to murder Kenneth."
The duke turned away, but Grainger faced her solemnly. "You didn't have to do his bidding, Irene. You could have turned tail and run out on the old laird, but you didn't. You stayed, because you wanted the position of Her Ladyship. For what? What did it get you?" He paused, and his tone softened. "How different things would have been if you had become my wife instead of tricking Edgington into marrying you."
Brent gasped, then made his way to his mother's side. "Wife?"
Irene rose to her feet and straightened. She turned her back on Patterson's lifeless body and lifted her chin. "I sent you to the finest schools. You had every opportunity to become something important."
Brent gazed at his mother, then sighed. "You didn't do it for me, Mother. You did it for yourself. I was a reflection of you, something to make you look good. That is all I have ever been, until now."
"You're nothing now! You could have been a laird, had power. Yes, I deserve that, to have a son of worth. You carry your father's useless blood."
"My father . . ." Brent turned slowly to Grainger, and his eyes widened with the light of understanding. "You are my father."
Grainger stared at the earth, but he nodded. "Didn't want to shame you with the knowledge. I used a threat on your mother to get my position here, but I didn't mean no harm. Just wanted to see you grow up into a man."