father now.”
Lawrence didn’t hesitate. I saw the fury on his face as he lunged for me. I
jumped back out of his reach. He stood there, panting, staring at that small gun
I was aiming at him. I said, my voice low and vicious, “Come at me again, old
man, and I will put this bullet right between your eyes.” I waved my hand at him.
“Yes, do come on. Do you wonder if I have the guts to shoot you? Do you think
that as a female I cannot do it? That I will perhaps whimper and start to weep?
Well, come on, take the gamble.”
He didn’t move, just stared from my face down to the gun in my hand. “That gun,”
he said slowly. “Where did you get that gun?”
“I bought it in the village, from dear Mr. Forrester. I believe he traveled to
York to fetch it for me. I am not a complete idiot. I knew I had to protect
myself. Father, are you all right?”
He had sagged back down onto the bed, breathing hard. “I am all right, Andrea.”
Lawrence still stared at that gun, disbelieving. “You shouldn’t have a gun. It
never occurred to me that you would have a gun. You’re only a woman.”
I laughed. I actually laughed. “That makes you a fool, then, doesn’t it? No, the
three of you, don’t move, or the old man here is dead. In an instant?that’s all
it will take. Don’t even think about twitching, or he is dead.
“John, come here and let me untie you.” The man who was behind him shifted to
the side. “Hold still, you fool, or I will kill the man who had paid you. I am a
good shot. My grandfather taught me well.”
I thought Lawrence would howl. He was flushed nearly scarlet in his rage, in his
frustration, but he had no choice. For the first time I had the power and the
means to hold him in check. John stepped away from the men and ordered them onto
the floor. “Lie on your bellies and put your hands behind your heads.” Once they
were down, John moved closer and I began to work at his tied wrists.
“Well-done, sweetheart,” he said, never taking his eyes off those three men. “In
war, a man likes to have someone he trusts guard his back. I am very proud of
you.”
I think I grew three inches taller at his words. I nearly had the knots
unfastened, nearly. I looked away, down at those blasted knots, not longer than
a split second?but that was all it took. Lawrence pulled a knife from his cloak,
and in a single fluid movement, he hurled it at my father. It struck him cleanly
through his wounded shoulder. My father yelled.
The three men jumped to their feet. They looked determined, ready to kill us.
“Stop, damn you all, or I’ll shoot the earl.”
They didn’t stop.
I pulled the trigger.
Chapter Thirty-one
I didn’t shoot him between the eyes. My rage, the urgency of the moment, both
made my hand jerk. I got him through the thigh. He howled, grabbed his leg, fell
to his knees, then toppled to his side.
John was free. The three men were scrambling, but John was faster. He grabbed up
two of their guns, and I saw the soldier in action. He was so very calm, so
steady, and his voice was deadly. “I have two bullets, gentlemen. One of you
will escape death, but which one? Who wants to take the chance? Come on, don’t
be cowards, do something. Look at the man who paid you to kill innocent people.
He isn’t going to help you. He will lie there until his leg rots off and he
screams his way to Hell. Come on. Don’t you want to bring me down?”
The three men looked among themselves, then, very slowly, they lowered
themselves back down to the floor.
“Lace your fingers behind your heads.”
They did.
I ran to my father. He was unconscious, the knife sticking obscenely out of his
shoulder. There was so much blood. I closed my eyes an instant, getting a hold