Chasing Eliza (18 page)

When she
turned, she saw the scabbard handle being held out to her and
glanced at him in horror. Instinctively she shook her head, only
for him to shake his and glare at her in silent warning. Slowly she
took the heavy weight in her hand with a shudder, hoping she
wouldn’t have cause to need it. She had no intention of using it,
but the unfamiliar feel of it in her hand was vaguely
reassuring.

Standing
silently between the two horses, Eliza watched as Edward slowly
lifted the latch on the door and tugged its squeaking weight
inwards.

Within
seconds of daylight flooding the room, chaos ensued.

A
scruffy-looking man who was taller than Edward, lunged through the
door with a feral snarl of intent on his face. Eliza caught sight
of the wicked looking scabbard that was thrust toward Edward before
her attention was caught by a second man immediately behind the
first.

At first
he didn’t see her in between the larger bulk of the horses, but her
gasp of fear for Edward caught his attention. He grinned evilly as
he moved towards her. Eliza knew there was nowhere she could go. As
he reached out to grab her, Eliza instinctively wrenched away only
for him to lunge forwards. Instinctively she lifted the hand
holding the scabbard and watched, as though from a distance, as the
man looked at her in astonishment for several long seconds.
Eventually he broke eye contact and looked blankly down at his
chest. The long handle of the scabbard stuck out starkly against
his grubby shirt, a steady flow of blood turning the brownish
colour black.

Eliza
felt sick. She was vaguely aware of the thumps coming from the
corner of the room and watched in frozen horror as the man before
her staggered backwards, pulling himself off the wicked blade that
would prove to bring about his demise. Within seconds he slumped to
the floor in a bloodied heap.

Bile
rose in her throat and she watched as a third man burst through the
door. She watched him glance down towards the wicked blood soaked
blade she held and hesitate. That hesitation was enough to give
Edward the edge. Quickly he stepped over the heap on the floor and
lunged towards the latest arrival.

As she
watched him trade blows with the man before him, Eliza wondered how
Edward did it. His face was calm and stolid. The lack of emotion
bespoke a lethal intent that made her shiver. It was a side to him
she had never seen before. Although it should have repulsed her, it
made her feel intensely protective and even proud. This man, this
warrior, was fighting for her; to protect her and keep her safe
from Scraggan and his thugs.

She
realised at that moment just what he was sacrificing for her. He
was a Lord of the realm. An entitled man of noble blood who had
significant wealth and undoubtedly family expectations placed upon
him. He should be at home, setting up his estates and building the
foundations for his future, not sleeping in a desolate shack in the
middle of nowhere, fighting of a bloodthirsty band of ruthless
pirates.

Snapping
out of her horrified trance, she watched as yet another man
appeared in the doorway. Edward was still engrossed in his new
skirmish and hadn’t yet seen the new arrival. Eliza immediately
moved to the side of her horse and mounted. Within seconds,
scabbard pointed, she kicked her horse forwards blocking the space
between Edward and the new arrival. Kicking out with her booted
heel, watched as the big man fell to the ground with a thud.
Grabbing hold of Edward’s horse, she led the horses outside and
scanned the area for anyone else. Not that she would be able to do
anything against a man with a cutlass, but she could at least warn
Edward.

Within
seconds he appeared, dishevelled and bleeding from his lip beside
her.

“
Let’s go.” He snapped, swinging his horse around. Unsure what
he had planned, Eliza followed, keeping as close to his horse as
possible. She watched as Edward took off through the woods, clearly
expecting her to follow.

A
natural haven that was teeming with wildlife; the ground beneath
was rough and uneven, littered with fallen branches, twigs and
foliage. Eliza found the fast gallop was difficult to sustain and
unfortunately despite trying, so did her horse. With a loud squeal,
her horse tripped over a hidden branch and fell onto the floor with
a heavy thud. The steep bank beside them was too much for the
frightened, unbalanced horse to avoid and it began to roll
downwards towards the stream in a tangle of legs. Eliza didn’t have
time to scream as the heavy weight of the horse rolled over her,
pushing her deep into the soft forest floor. It landed at the
bottom of the stream with a splash and didn’t get up
again.

Eliza
lay spread-eagled on the floor, the pain in her ribs and arm
unbearable for several moments as she waited for her breath to
return. Stars danced remorselessly before her eyes as she gazed
upwards at the dark thunder clouds high above. As she lay
motionless, she felt the steady splash of raindrops on her face as
the drizzle began to fall.

She
wondered briefly just how much worse the day could get.

Silence
descended and she slowly turned her head to study the area around
her. The stream at the base of the grass bank was shallow and
trickling slowly, its cheery tinkling in stark contrast to the
heavy rumbling of the skies above. Even the birds had fallen
silent, leaving the only other sounds to be the rustling of the
leaves in the trees and the occasional whisper of the
winds.

“
Eliza?” Edward’s voice was a vague echo through the
silence.

She
didn’t know how many of Scraggan’s men were nearby. She had been so
intent on getting through the woods and away from the assailants
she hadn’t dared glance backwards, instead assuming there were
more, close behind. She glanced down at her now still horse and
felt a pang of remorse. She shouldn’t have pushed it so hard, in
such dangerous territory. Clearly Edward was more used to riding in
such rough terrain.

As shock
began to fade, pain replaced it.

“
Good God, are you alright?” Edward slipped and slid down the
sodden bank towards her, digging his heels into the soft earth when
he reached her side to stop himself landing on top of
her.

Eliza
couldn’t find the words to reply and instead lay gazing up at him
as he leant over her, his face tense with concern.

“
Eliza? Talk to me.” His voice was harsh and commanding as he
swept his worried gaze over her, looking for blood or any obvious
injuries.

“
I hurt.” She whispered as a wave of pain swept through her
when she tried to move her arm. “My arm.” She gasped, blinking
rapidly against the swirling mass of blackness that threatened to
overwhelm her.

“
Do you think it’s broken?” Edward murmured, glancing at the
arm furthest away from him as he leant over her. Even from where he
knelt, he could see the uneven lump that was forming on her bruised
flesh and cursed fluidly. He glanced at the steep bank behind them
before flicking a look at her unmoving horse, trying to gauge how
far she had fallen and what the likely injuries to the rest of her
could be.

“
Can you stand?” He glanced down into her pale face, sensing
the pain she was trying not to show.

“
I think so.” She shot him a trembling smile as she tried to
sit upright, puffing out her cheeks at the dull throbbing in her
side as her ribs protested to the movement.

Edward
helped her onto her wobbly legs, and waited patiently until she
could stand without swaying. He studied the trees at the top of the
bank, searching for any signs of their pursuers before turning back
towards her.

“
If you feel up to it, let’s get out of here.” He gave her his
arm and helped her pick her way down the stream towards the less
steep slope to his waiting horse.

By the
time she was sitting on his horse, wrapped in the safety of his
arms, Eliza was pale and trembling. The pain was unbearable but she
couldn’t voice it. If they had any chance of survival, she knew
they had to get out of the area and that meant ignoring any
discomfort. Their survival depended on her bravery.

“
How far are we from Huntingdon?” She murmured, trying
anything to take her mind off the increasing pain in her arm. With
each thud of the horse’s hooves her arm jolted, heightening the
stabbing sensations across her forearm. She gritted her teeth and
studied the rolling landscape around them blankly.

“
It is about three or four hours away. We won’t get there
today, so we will have to find somewhere to stay overnight.” Edward
took a moment to study the area behind them, not convinced that
there wasn’t someone following them. The small country lane they
were travelling on had low slung hedges on either side of them, and
very little else. Although they weren’t protected, nobody could
creep up on them without being seen either. He was fairly certain
they were safe for now

“
Why can’t we get there today?” Eliza queried with a frown.
She was thoroughly sick and tired of spending days on a horse and
wondered how Edward bore it.

“
It’s too far to ride with your injuries. You need to see a
doctor.” He hadn’t missed the fine sheen of perspiration on her
forehead. Not a sign of heat, but a sign of her intense pain. The
fine lines bracketing her mouth were gradually getting deeper as
they made their way to the meeting point. Edward mentally cursed
his own abilities. He should have been keeping an eye on her and
had failed miserably. He had been some distance away before he had
realised she wasn’t behind him. The sheer panic that had engulfed
him had been horrifying. The return journey, although unchallenged,
had been fraught with tension and worry.

Tension
and worry that hadn’t abated now he knew she was safe and well. He
frowned down at her and studied her arm now it was considerably
closer. Although the lump hadn’t gotten any bigger, it hadn’t
reduced in size either and that was worrying.

“
We need to get out of this blasted rain.” He grumbled
glancing upwards and cursing the Gods for the latest cruel trick.
Clearly she was in discomfort and there was deuced all he could do
about it. Now she was soaking wet and risked catching a chill. It
was imperative he find somewhere warm and dry, and
quickly.

“
I vote we carry on and get to the meeting place Edward.”
Eliza couldn’t bear the silence between them any longer. She felt
him tense to argue and continued. “I cannot stomach the thought of
another night sitting in a ramshackle old shed. We are already wet,
so cannot get any wetter. There is nothing to lose.”

“
You need to rest and get a doctor to look at that arm.”
Edward argued, acknowledging the wisdom of her suggestion but
reluctant to put her through any more pain than
necessary.

“
I will, as soon as we get to the meeting place.” Eliza turned
forwards and blinked back the wave of sickness that
threatened.

She hadn’t eaten anything so had nothing in her stomach to
lose.
She mused, trying to relax into the
rhythm of the horse beneath them.

“
If you are sure, then we will carry on.” Edward relented
finally. “But if you do feel that you need to rest I want you to
promise me that you will tell me.”

Eliza
nodded reluctantly, knowing he meant well and was most probably
right. If she did become ill then she wouldn’t be able to make the
journey to Padstow. It was a possibility she couldn’t
countenance.

“
I’ll be fine.” She reassured him.

The
journey seemed endless to both of them. Edward heaved a silent
prayer of thanks heavenwards as they moved through the milling
throng on the bustling main thoroughfare, in Huntingdon towards the
Hare and Hound. He had been there numerous times, and knew the
innkeeper well to be confident of the man’s silence – and support
if Scraggan appeared.

Eliza
had been quiet for some time and he wondered if she had gone to
sleep. Clearly she was exhausted and shocked from her near-death
experience. It had all caught up with her and her overwhelmed
senses had shut down.

Gently
he twitched his shoulder.

Nothing.

“
Eliza?” He murmured softly, kissing the top of her head
gently.

“
Eliza, wake up darling.”

“
Eliza?” He frowned when she moved against his shoulder but
made no move to reply.

“
Wake up for me darling.” Eliza didn’t move and he tipped his
head down until he could see her face. Her eyes were closed, and
her breathing was shallow, but there was no twitching of her
eyelids to show she was even aware he was there. This was no
sleep.

Fear
began to claw at him as he finally saw the swinging sign above the
large Jacobean structure that was the Hare and Hound. With the end
in sight, he nudged his horse forwards and within moments drew to a
halt in the stable yard.

Sliding
off the horse, he drew Eliza’s limp form into his arms, shouting
orders for the ostler to get a doctor before striding into the
inn.

“
Edward?”

Edward
turned at the sound of the blessedly familiar voice and heaved a
sigh of relief as Peter strode towards him.