“You think he’ll come back for us?” Isabelle asked after she swallowed hard to keep her voice from shaking too much.
Kate wrapped an arm around her. “Of course he will. You’ll see, we’ll be out of here in no time.”
The two were sitting on the floor of the tent with their backs propped against wooden crates. “Who was he?”
“That was Johnny Lancer. I met him and his brother yesterday. Their daddy owns the orphanage.”
To Isabelle Johnny Lancer might as well have been a knight. ‘Lancer, what a noble name,’ she thought sleepily. She should like to see him up close to judge if he lived up to his name.
After a few minutes, Kate could feel Isabelle relax against her and guessed that the girl had gone to sleep. The interior of the tent was pitch black. The only source of light was outside the flaps in the moonlight where the edges didn’t quite meet, and the lanterns that the two guards carried with them. Since the dinner dishes had been picked up, no one else had come inside the tent.
She listened carefully, wanting to be prepared if Johnny did come back. She knew a rescue attempt would be foolish with the guard so close, but she hoped that something was happening for their benefit.
When Elizondo’s men had brought her and Isabelle to the camp, tied and gagged, Elizondo had looked appraisingly at her with his smug aristocratic nose in the air. They had met before. She’d been not much older than Isabelle, but she’d never forgotten the queasiness she felt in the man’s presence.
It probably didn’t help her cause that she’d slapped his face as soon as her hands had been untied. He had merely laughed at her, but her instinct told her that wouldn’t be the end of it.
The two lanterns at the front flap had separated and one moved around the perimeter of the tent. She could follow its progress completely around and then back to its starting place.
After the two lanterns came together again, a moment later, one of them moved off and faded into the night. After a few more minutes the second lantern moved off quickly.
She heard a brief scuffle and a muffled thump, and then nothing. She jostled Isabelle. “Isabelle! Wake up!”
Isabelle sat up and strained to look into the blackness, not realizing that she held her breath. After a moment, she saw a faint light bouncing toward the flap. It became clearer as it got closer and she could see it through the gap where the two halves didn’t quite meet.
“You ladies ready to go home?” Johnny stuck his head in and grinned, holding the lantern up.
Kate was on her feet with Isabelle right behind her. “Johnny, thank goodness.”
“My horse is around back. C’mon.” He held the flap back to let them pass.
Kate stopped just outside the tent and looked into the darkness of the woods. “Johnny, they took our shoes…,” she said as she held her skirts up to show him.
He lowered the lantern and looked at her bare feet, and then over at the girl’s. Then a hand shot out, “Hi, I’m Isabelle Blue Mellon. You must be Johnny Lancer.”
He raised the lantern as he examined the girls face. “Pleased to meet you Miss Mellon,” he said as he shook her hand, momentarily nonplussed.
After a moment he swung the lantern to Kate. “Here, hold this.” She took it and Johnny swung her up in his arms. “You stay right there Isabelle Blue Mellon. I’ll be right back,” and with that, he and Kate disappeared around the corner of the tent and into the darkness.
Isabelle shuffled her bare feet to the corner and peeked around, trying to follow their progress, but they were swallowed up by the deep shadows. “Don’t worry Mister Lancer, I’ll be right here.”
Less than a minute later, she saw the lantern bobbing back toward her. She ducked back just inside the flap and waited. Johnny came around the corner. “Ready?”
She nodded and he handed her the lantern and scooped her up. Isabelle held the lantern in front of them so Johnny could see where he stepped, but her eyes were memorizing his features from her up-close position.
In his own way, he was as handsome as Jess, about the same age and had the same intense blue eyes. The similarity pretty much ended there. These eyes were a lighter blue and they sparkled with humor and crinkled at the corners. She winced sympathetically when she noticed the deep bruising around his ear and down his neck. She was idly wondering if she would judge all men in the future against her ideal of Jess, when they suddenly reached their destination and Johnny swung her up on his horse in front of Kate.
Chapter 47
The going was slow in the woods. Johnny could barely make out where to step and had to lead his horse around fallen logs and through thick underbrush. The moonlight could not penetrate the thick canopy of trees. Without sight, and with his hearing half gone, Johnny’s concentration was heightened to headache level.
They emerged from the copse of trees into the moonlight north of the camp. He had to get them safely around the perimeter and then head for the orphanage. Looking back over his shoulder, he could see the campfires and some movement, but so far, no one seemed to be gathering to come after them. The fact that the guards had just changed was to their advantage, giving them a head start.
To their disadvantage was the fact that they had only one horse. He had no choice but to ride all three of them on Barranca. The girl couldn’t weigh more than eighty or ninety pounds. Although Kate wasn’t slight, she was hardly man-sized either. Johnny figured Barranca could handle the load for the short distance to the orphanage, but he decided it would be better without the heavy saddle.
He stopped beside a large fallen log, and whispered to Kate as he reached up for Isabelle. “We’re gonna stop here for minute. I need to take off the saddle, then we’re all gonna ride.” Isabelle slipped down into his arms and he swung her to the ground. Kate followed and landed lightly on her feet.
“Johnny, shouldn’t we be heading back for town?” Kate asked.
“The orphanage is closer, and besides, my brother and father should be there by now. I need to let them know what they’re facing.” Johnny worked the cinch loose and dragged the saddle to the ground, leaving the blanket in place.
“I don’t think you’ll be goin’ anywheres, Madrid.”
Johnny turned, raising his hands slowly and instinctively stepping between the Tripps and the women.
“I knew I smelt a woman somewhere near,” Tripp said, as his silent cousin snorted with laughter and rubbed a hand down the long blade of his skinning knife. Johnny could see the spit running down his chin.
“This ain’t none of your business, Tripp. This here’s my woman,” Johnny bluffed.
Both Tripps burst out in loud guffaws at this. Kate hugged Isabelle close and tried to shield her from the leering men.
Johnny knew gunfire would bring the whole camp to them, and he also knew that the Tripps didn’t want that anymore than he did, but for different reasons. Both of them had knives and their intentions were clear. Oh, they’d bring Madrid back to Elizondo, eventually, but they would take care of their personal needs first. Johnny doubted they would draw.
Johnny never knew their first names, if they had any. He mentally labeled them Tripp One and Tripp Two. Tripp Two was quiet, but deadly. Tripp One was loud and arrogant and confident. Johnny smiled and casually, with his arms still raised, swung around to smile back at Kate and Isabelle.
Without a hint of warning, and with strength born of desperation and no other choices, Johnny lunged sideways into Tripp One, knocking him off his feet. Tripp hit the ground hard and the knife flew out of his hand. Johnny grabbed his gun and flung it away as far as he could. He felt Tripp Two grab one of his legs and begin pulling him off his cousin. Johnny thrust his other leg out and kicked him off connecting hard with the other man’s leg.
Johnny pounded Tripp One’s face as hard as he could in the few seconds he knew he had before Tripp Two was on him again. Tripp One managed to push Johnny up and off and they rolled on the ground. Johnny continued with the rolling and the pounding as much as he could to confuse Tripp Two, who he could see was waiting for his chance to jump in.
The battle took on an unreal feel for Johnny, almost as if he was fighting underwater. Both men were on him. He could tell he’d inflicted damage and Tripp One was not fighting as much, but Tripp Two was like a wildcat. Johnny could feel a sharp pain and a burn in his side, he knew someone had landed a kick on his already bruised ribs, and possibly busted one or two. He used his feet to push and kick until he was almost exhausted. Somewhere along the way, he had lost control of this fight and he knew it wouldn’t be long. The pain in his ear and neck was distracting as it shot bolts of lightening through him.
His hope was that he could hurt them enough before they killed him that they would leave Kate and Isabelle alone. Then suddenly, as quickly as it had begun, it was over. Johnny felt a weight fall on his back and pin him to the ground. The body underneath him was not moving and he tried to roll off of it, but the weight on top of him prevented it.
“Wait a minute, Johnny.” It was Kate. Johnny looked over his shoulder and saw her climb off of Tripp Two, which relieved some of the weight on his back, and then the rest of it lifted when Kate, with Isabelle’s help, pulled Tripp’s body off him. Johnny rolled to one side and lay gasping on the ground. Kate was at his side and pressing her skirt into his side. He lifted his head and looked. Blood seeped around her fingers. Lightheaded, he lay back down.
“You’ll be okay. You took a knife in the side.”
Her voice sounded muffled and far away. “What about them?” Johnny whispered, still sucking air into his starved lungs.
“Don’t know yet. I think you got one with his own knife and I hit the other one with a tree branch.” Kate pressed harder, making him pale and wince. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to stop this bleeding.”
Isabelle had moved to Johnny’s side and watched Kate as she tried to staunch the flow of blood. “The other one’s dead too. He fell on his knife.”
Kate’s eyes flew to the bodies and then to Isabelle. At once distressed that she’d contributed to a man’s death, and dismayed that Isabelle had witnessed it.
The girl was pale, but her strength shown through and she had done what needed doing. Her instincts told her to check lest one of them get up and hurt them again. She hadn’t thought of it herself. She gave the girl a reassuring smile and returned to her task.
Johnny was sweating and had closed his eyes. “Isabelle, I need your help. I need you to rip a long strip around the bottom of my petticoat. I’d do it, but I don’t want to let go of this.”
Isabelle moved over to Kate’s side and began tearing the white cloth. She managed to tear a six-inch strip all the way around, about two and a half yards of fabric. She rolled it up and showed it to Kate.
“That’s good. Now tear off about a foot of it and hand it to me.”
Kate took the fabric and folded it into a four-inch square and pressed into the wound on Johnny’s side. The light was poor and she couldn’t see how bad the wound was, but the bleeding was down to a trickle now. Taking the strip of fabric, she began wrapping it tightly around Johnny’s middle. He sat up with Isabelle’s help. Kate tore the last few feet into two strips and tied them off around Johnny’s waist.
“Well, that’s the best I can do for now. Do you think you can get up?”
Johnny nodded silently and held out his hand. She grasped it and pulled, while Isabelle helped support him. Gathering breath from he knew not where, Johnny whistled for Barranca and the horse trotted to him from out of the darkness. He led the horse over to the fallen log, grasped a handful of mane and hauled himself painfully aboard. His head swam and he had to stop and breathe deeply for a minute.
Finally, he opened his eyes and found Isabelle patiently waiting for him on the log. He reached down and she clambered awkwardly up behind him. Kate wouldn’t allow Johnny to use his arm to haul her up, and she managed to mount with sheer grit and a little help from Isabelle.
Johnny gathered the reins and looked around to get his bearings. Then, with a few soft clicks, urged Barranca in the direction of Our Lady, and the battle yet to come.
Chapter 48
“Dammit, Johnny, where are you?” Scott said for the…he’d lost count how many times. Staring anxiously into the darkness, he was beginning to wonder if he’d made a mistake not going after him. He wouldn’t let Jess ride into Elizondo’s camp after Isabelle, placing all his trust in his brother to take care of both her and Kate. He didn’t trust his brother any less now, but as the hours went on, he worried about the odds Johnny was probably up against.
Murdoch had brought fourteen men including Val, the sheriff of Green River and two deputies. Val had no jurisdiction here, but he was a friend and wouldn’t have missed the fun for the world. If there was trouble, and Johnny was involved, Val wouldn’t be far away. He’d heard that the sheriff of Everafter had left town suddenly and mysteriously six days ago. It had been odd, but didn’t effect him or Green River. When Murdoch had asked him to go to Everafter with him, he couldn’t resist.
Scott leaned heavily on the barricade, his rifle at his side as he scanned the darkness looking for any movement. It had been hours and nothing had happened since Murdoch had ridden in. Murdoch was inside with the Reverend Mother. The two old friends had much to talk about.
“Feels like we’re waitin’ for doomsday. Wish we could ride out there instead of waitin’ here like lumps on logs for them to come get us,” Slim said, not attempting to temper the frustration in his voice.
Jess had been mostly silent. His breathing was noisy at times, and he still coughed some, but Slim figured that was good to clear out his lungs. He’d tried to get Jess to go inside and lay down, but Jess had refused. Slim had to grin. Jess must be better if he was standing up on his hind legs at him. He’d watch him, but wouldn’t make him do anything he didn’t want to. Isabelle was important to him, and it was tearing him up that he couldn’t help her. Slim knew if it were Andy, he’d be in a state too.
“Someone’s comin’!” one of the men on the roof shouted. Jess scrambled over the barricade and moved smoothly and quietly to a tree on his left, closer to the archway and yet still out of sight. He pulled his rifle up to his shoulder, chambered a round, and waited.
What do you see, Jess?” Scott whispered loudly.
“Nothin’ yet,” he answered without looking around.
Jess was closest to the rider and was the first to hear the pattern of horse hooves on hard packed dirt. It sounded like only one. He lowered his rifle and moved cat-like to another tree farther out toward the archway.
When the horse was close enough to see in the moonlight, he recognized it as the one he most wanted to see. The distinctive golden color of the palomino that Scott had described as his brother’s shown in the moonlight, giving it a silvery wash. Jess could see a figure slumped on the horse’s back and at least one other behind him.
“Scott! Slim! Don’t shoot! It’s Kate!”
Jess dropped his rifle and ran, hearing the others close behind him. He reached the horse first and his face broke into his first smile in hours as Isabelle looked down at him. He reached up with both hands and she slid into his arms. Hugging her fiercely and spinning her around, he moved her away from the others as they helped Kate and Johnny down from the horse.
Jess was speechless, and Isabelle, for the first time in her life was too tired, too scared, too exhilarated to speak. She clung to Jess’ neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, content only to be held, and to just for a minute forget the horrors of the day.
