Oliver smiled broadly and inclined his head again.
“Friends?” Lady Wellington repeated, placing a hand to her forehead as she tried to sit up.
“Best ye stay still a bit, my lady,” Oliver warned. “Ye’ve ’ad quite a punch to the ’ead.”
Leah stood, reached for the knapsack, and placed it beneath Lady Wellington’s head. “This will ’elp ye some, and I’ve a jug o’ wine in the cupboard. I’ll fetch it and will pour ye a cup.”
“If there is enough, Leah, we could all use some of that wine,” Gabriel said.
“Aye, sir, right away.” Leah hurried off to accomplish the task.
Lady Wellington surveyed Oliver with a rake of her eyes, then she turned to Gabriel and did the same. “I fail to understand how you knew where to find us...I mean, Miss Riley.”
“Top Hat Tom told us.” In a far corner, Oliver sat on an old wooden church pew, covered with a dirty sheet and a few tattered pillows.
Gabriel joined him, pushing aside one of the pillows. A pang of remorse knotted his stomach for the way Leah had tried to make such a dismal place look homey.
Lady Wellington took an audible breath. “And who the bloody hell is Top Hat Tom?”
Oliver smiled. “Tom’s our friend. The bugger that captured ye two ladies tried to kill ’im, but ’e’s a tough ol’ bird. Lived to tell about it all and where ’e ’ad an idea Miss Riley might be.” He shook his head. “Naomi wasn’t so lucky, though.”
“Naomi!” Lady Wellington shouted, turning to glare at Riley. “You were a friend to that bitch?”
Something deeply sensual appeared in the way Riley raised a delicate brow and defiantly tilted a dimpled chin. He shifted in his seat, for such an action stirred him to his very core and teased again his manly desires.
“Aye, I was her friend, as was my mother at one time,” Riley admitted. “But she was never a friend to me, as you can obviously see.”
Lady Wellington screwed her lips into a sneer. “Aye, now I remember the scandalous talk about you. The gossip was that you grew up on the streets, was born from scum, a beggar’s child, the reason no reputable chap would have anything to do with you,” she spat. “Except, it wasn’t gossip at all, but the blatant truth.”
Oliver stood with clenched fists. “’Twould seem I should ’ave left yer fat bum where it fell, instead o’ ’aulin’ it to safety.”
An overwhelming sense of pride filled Gabriel’s heart for his young companion. Oliver was loyal to those he loved, even though he lacked the proper way to speak to a lady. Then again, right now Lady Suzanna Wellington did not really stand up to her title. He stifled a smile. Perhaps she deserves what she gets.
Riley held up a hand to quiet Oliver. “Please, sit down. I will handle this.”
Reluctantly Oliver obeyed, but his face resembled a thundercloud ready to burst at a moment’s notice.
“You are correct, my lady,” Riley kept her voice calm, the words precise. “I didn’t grow up a child of society. I didn’t have a pair of shoes that fit until I became Lady Lucinda Collins’ ward.” She motioned to the large, dirty boots upon Lady Wellington’s feet. “It is very uncomfortable wearing another’s footwear, don’t you agree?”
Lady Wellington’s face reddened as she curled her knees so the ugly boots would not be so clearly viewed. “I had no other choice.”
“Aye, so you didn’t, as was my case. And yet when you have nothing else to wear, you find yourself grateful for whatever you get.” Riley went on. “There was nothing scandalous about the way I grew up. Being poor hardly means you’re bad or daft or scum. My mother, the good and decent woman that she was, wasn’t scum. She wasn’t a drunken wench who warmed any man’s bed. Nor did she steal, cheat, or lie. She was a hard-working woman who merely fell upon hard times but did the best she could with what she had and was proud of her efforts. And I am also proud of her, for she loved me well and taught me right. I might not have a title, but I am an honorable person who was born of proud blood. And not you or anyone else will look down your nose at me, or at Oliver, or Leah, or anyone else who has to work for their wages.”
Gabriel fought the urge to walk over to Riley, gather her in his arms, and kiss her fully on the luscious lips that were now defiantly pressed together. Suzanna Wellington’s malice-laced words and the precision in which she wielded them were obviously murderous to Riley’s most vulnerable spot, yet she kept her calm and answered intelligently. She was a woman after his own heart. Why had he not seen this before?
“Did you not agree, my lady, to stand united with us?” Riley continued.
Lady Wellington crossed her arms over her chest and glared in silence. Though she was an arresting woman, Gabriel did not see a pure and natural splendor in her facial features, as he did in Riley. Even Collette, with her exotic features, was not as striking as the spirited woman he gazed upon now with much respect and admiration.
With a pout like a stubborn child, Lady Wellington finally relented. “Aye, that I did, and I suppose you’ll hold me to it.”
He could not help but believe, even if Suzanna Wellington was to grow a second heart, she would still be too selfish, self-centered, and spoiled to understand about or have empathy for the plight of others. Or even to know the true meaning of loyalty and teamwork.
“It is the only way, you must realize, that we will all get out of this situation alive,” Leah added.
Lady Wellington gave a taut nod in agreement.
“Then I ask that we call a truce between us,” Riley offered. “After we leave this place, and I pray with all my heart that is very soon, you won’t have to ever set your eyes upon me again. Nor I, you,” she added.
Lady Wellington raised her aristocratic nose in the air. “That settles with me just fine...” She stopped when Rufus jumped upon the bed. He stared with round, amber eyes. “God save the Queen and all her children. What on earth is this dreadful animal doing here?”
“I told ye once before, not to worry so for the Queen,” Leah said.
Gabriel caught Riley suppressing a smile and wondered about the inside joke.
“And Rufus is not dreadful. ’e is part o’ my family and treats me better than most folks.” Leah went on. “’e lives ’ere along with my dog, Nellie,” she said, gesturing with a nod in the dog’s direction.
Lady Wellington curled up her nose in disdain as Rufus snuggled comfortably against her thigh. “Well isn’t this just cozy.” She scooted away from the feline.
“Aye, ’tis,” Leah said with a giggle. “’e must find ye pleasin’.”
Oliver nudged him and leaned in to whisper, “Can’t imagine why.”
Gabriel chuckled lightly. “Perhaps Rufus is not quite himself yet, due to his injuries.”
Oliver nodded. “That must be the reason.”
He narrowed his gaze in Lady Wellington’s direction. “I am thinking it might be wise for us to keep silent the fact Suzanna Wellington’s rescue and testimony is important in putting these scoundrels behind bars. With such knowledge beneath her cap, she just might act all the worse toward us commoners as your people call us, then she already is accustomed to.” He took a deep breath. “And I do not know how much I will be able to take before I do something I will regret.”
Oliver nodded in agreement, Oliver’s mouth twisting into a smirk. “Well, I know exactly what my auntie would do. She’d ’ave this twit’s bum bared and thrashed in nay a time it takes to blink an eye.”
Gabriel smiled and whispered. “Where is dear Addie when we need her?”
Oliver scowled. “At this point my own bum’s pleased she’s in London,” he said.
He patted the younger man on the shoulder. “All will be well, my friend. In any case it will do you no good to fret about such things, not when we have much more pressing things to deal with.”
“Now, my dear, kind, Leah,” Riley said, a smile of genuine care spreading across her tired, yet beautiful face. “Please, may we have that wine?”
“Aye,
miss. I ’ave it ready and waitin’,” Leah said, moving to serve them each a cup.
Riley raised her mug. “To our victory,” she saluted.
Her pale complexion reminded him of piano keys...the white ones made of ivory...come from the tusks of elephants, he was told, all smoothened and pearled. Her laugh lifted light upon the air, like the wings of a bird. And her ginger hair, the locks of curls escaping the man’s cap she wore, were highlighted with gold and auburn tones, reminding him of the flames glowing in the fire pit he sat around in the wickiup, or like the red birds he loved to watch soar in the sky.
She is an ivory flame...or better yet, a red bird. Ah yes, that is what my people would call her, Redbird. And how enchanting she would look wearing just the buckskin.
The others repeated the cheer, their voices bringing him from his thoughts. He raised his cup in agreement before taking a sip. As the sour brew graced the back of his throat, he raised another salutation, a silent one all his own.
To the proud and beautiful, Redbird, my sort of woman.
Chapter Seventeen
Riley finished her wine and placed the cup on the floor beside the cot where she lay. Fatigue and hunger made her head throb, along with her injured knee. The pain inched its way into every fiber of her body. Leaning her head back against the wall, she closed her eyes.
“Are you ill, Riley?” Gabriel probed, his deep voice filled with concern.
“Nay, just tired,” she responded, keeping her eyes shut. Suzanna Wellington’s words cut her to the core, humiliated her in front of Gabriel. Least he think no man would ever be interested in her was a blow to her pride and vanity.
How foolish I am being. There are more urgent matters to worry over at present then my past accomplishments at securing a husband. Besides those Suzanna spoke of, and there were only a few, were all incredibly boring and superficial. I would have never accepted a proposal even if asked.
She shook the haunting words from her thoughts and opened her eyes to search better her surroundings. As she turned her injured limb to rest comfortably upon the other, she glanced in Gabriel’s direction. His eyes widened when he spotted the blood staining the knee of her britches.
In an instant he was beside her, looking down at her with a concerned frown creasing his brow. “In the dark and with all the commotion, I had assumed you favored your leg from a twisted ankle. I did not realize you were hurt and bleeding.”
“I fell when I was first brought to the cave and split my knee on a jagged rock. The second fall, during the skirmish with the cook, did not help matters,” she explained.
“I’ve salve and bandages ’ere, miss,” Leah offered. “Clean water and rags, as well as a bit o’ brandy for keepin’ out infection.”
“And how is it you are so medically stocked?” Suzanna droned.
Riley almost wished she hadn’t called a truce with the snotty bitch, because pulling her hair from its roots would sure do wonders for her morale right about now.
“This is where I care for Rufus and Nellie,” Leah said. “So I’ve made sure to ’ave what is needed to ’eal their injuries and wounds.”
“Aye, that’s right, they’re your family,” Suzanna mocked, raising a smug face.
“There is nay a thing wrong with God’s beasts being loved well.” Oliver came to Leah’s defense.
“I agree. My people understand and respect the creatures that roam the earth. And right now I am very pleased you are well-prepared because I will need all those things to care for Riley’s wound,” Gabriel said, removing a dagger from his boot. It was the same blade that had felled the cook.
“Aye, sir,” Leah gathered the items together.
Kneeling beside the cot, Gabriel slit the leg of her britches and then gently pulled the soaked material away from the old bandage, which was drenched even worse with blood. “I wish I had the wisdom of a medicine man, but the Shaman of my tribe guarded his remedies well. Only he knew the language of the plants, herbs, and roots the land gifted him to use.”
“And he never once divulged his garden secrets?” She clenched her teeth as he removed the old binding.
“No, and I never asked,” he said.
She held her breath while he cleaned the wound and applied the salve.
“I wish I had paid more attention to what the women ground in their bowls, what poultice to use when, and how to apply it where,” he said.
“You are doing just fine,” she praised. And in truth his administrations were considerate as he cared for the injured area, which was boldly displayed before him, her leg naked from the thigh down.
For a moment, while wrapping the new dressing around her knee, he hesitated. His gaze deepened and roamed the length of her. His fingers, touching now the place just above her knee, heated her flesh. No one, especially a man, had ever taken such liberties with her body in such a fashion.
She swallowed hard. He only means to help, so I must keep my wits about me.
But then he lowered his voice for only her ears to hear. “The other men Lady Wellington spoke of...” he paused and raised his gaze to lock with hers. “I am most fortunate they were fools.”
A surge of desire flowed through her. Strange and pleasing sensations momentarily quieted her pain and heightened every other facet of her being as he affectionately squeezed the fatty part of her thigh.
“I thank you for that,” she whispered.
“I only speak the truth,” he said, turning his attention back to wrapping her wound.
If they had been alone, would he have attempted to lean in to kiss her? It appeared for a moment he contemplated the idea. Would she have let him?
Gazing at his full lips, she smiled to herself.
Aye, I would have welcomed his kiss.
Then she grimaced inside at the thought of her appearance. Here, at such a tender and wonderfully personal moment between them, she is dressed in dirty men’s clothes, an old cap covering her hair. Could she look more disheveled and pathetic?
“What the bloody hell is this place?” Suzanna pulled Riley from her thoughts. She now wished Oliver had left Lady Wellington’s fat bum where it fell.
“I’ve ’eard it called Saint Isaac’s Church,” Leah said.
“And we’re below it?” Suzanna glanced around the chamber, her nose wrinkling with disgust.
“Aye, we are,” Leah confirmed.
Suzanna glared at Leah. “And what is so secret about this place?”
“Nay a thing, ’tis just my secret place,” Leah said, her hands clenched into fists beside her. “’Tis a secret that I coome ’ere.”
“Is mocking and tormenting Leah your way of being united?” Riley said, trying her best to keep the rage mounting deep within her under control.
Suzanna arched a brow. “I am merely trying to understand why Leah would think this place was safe when obviously it is well known?”
“Because nay a soul dares to step through the doors,”
“And why is that?”
“They are afraid o’ Father Gillian ’erman’s ghost,” Leah explained.
Suzanna’s face paled. “Are you saying the place is haunted?”
“Aye,” Leah said. “Most truly and definitely.”
The blood drained from Riley’s face, as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She hated the supernatural and had slept with the covers pulled over her head whenever Top Hat Tom told her a ghost tale.
Suzanna swallowed hard, her expression mirroring how Riley felt. “And how did you come to that brilliant deduction?”
“I’ve seen Father ’erman’s spirit myself, standin’ right over there by those wooden pews.” Leah pointed to the right corner of the room.
She glanced at the pews, almost fearing she’d spot Father Herman’s apparition there and then.
“’Twas the night I rescued poor Nellie,” Leah went on. “I didn’t think she’d live, and I was cryin’ and prayin’, and then I saw ’im...Father ’erman. ’e wore a long black coat and hat. ’e
looked at me with the most sad and kind expression, then marked off a blessin’ with ’is ’and before vanishin’ right in front o’ my eyes.”
“Blimey, did ’e speak to ye?” Oliver questioned with wide, terror-filled eyes.
Truth be told, her own eyes, as well as Suzanna’s, were just as wide.
“I’ve ’eard many a ghost tale, and it is quite a well-known fact that a ghost is ’onor bound to remain silent until spoken to,” Leah said.
“And ye remained silent?” Oliver scrutinized further, the tone of his voice piquing.
“Aye,” Leah said. “But I didn’t get the feelin’ the priest would ’arm me. I felt a bit at peace with the whole episode because soon after Nellie started to ’eal. So I figured maybe Father ’erman was lookin’ out for us.”
“Blimey,” Oliver said again. “I would’ve definitely said somethin’ to the chap.”
“And why is that?” Leah cocked her head with interest.
“I should think, that if such a sightin’ ever ’appened my way, after I wet my britches, that is, the best thing to do would be to speak to it, ask it why it could not go forth to enter the light o’ its reward,” Oliver explained. “And if nothin’ much else came o’ it, the sound o’ my own voice would at least reassure me I was fully awake. And perhaps with a show o’ kindness toward the poor thing’s restlessness, the whole o’ the matter wouldn’t render me insane.”
“I do see yer point,” Leah agreed.
Suzanna cleared her throat. “Do you know why he still remains here?”
Leah nodded. “I’ve ’eard it told a long, long time ago there was a young woman in the parish, a farmer’s daughter. She would bring daily a bouquet o’ flowers to the church and place them at the feet o’ the Blessed Mother statue. ’er gift pleased the priest so much ’e taught the young woman ’ow to read and write, as this was ’er ’eart’s desire. It seems she ’ad a love away at war and ’e’d send ’er letters. She wished to read them with ’er own eyes and write one in return, by ’er own ’and.” She let out an audible breath. “But spendin’ so much time with the priest, who I ’eard was quite young as well, caused suspicion in the town. Soon gossip spread and Father ’erman was accused o’ wrong doings. Anger mounted and the townspeople became out o’ control. An angry mob beat the priest to death, and the young woman was shamed and dishonored. ’er betrothed’s family forbid ’im from marryin’ the poor girl, as they believed she was unfaithful to ’er promise. She was sent to a nunnery where she lived ’er life out doing penance.”
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