Countess of Scandal (33 page)

"Forget him now, Anna," Caroline said firmly. "He was an animal who deserved to die. We have to try and get away."

Eliza glanced back at Will.

"Yes, go now, Eliza!" he shouted. "1"I1 cover your retreat"

"Will, come with us!"

"I can't, not yet Don't worry—I'm an officer, remember? Go!"

Eliza nodded, trying desperately to tell him with one last look what she could never say. I
love you. Stay alive. Come back to me.

She grabbed Anna's arm, running with her family as fast as she could away from the waning battle. They didn't stop until they had climbed over the crumbling wall into that barley field, burrowing into the sun-scented earth below the swaying, dried-out stalks.

She could still hear the fighting, but it was muffled, muted, like in a nightmare. She held on to her sisters, keeping them down as the hot sun beat on their heads. The smell of powder, smoke, and blood was duck in her throat

"I murdered someone," Anna whispered, as if coming to some sudden, horrifying, life-changing realization.

Eliza couldn't bear that pain in her sister's voice. She never wanted this, not for lighthearted, sweet Anna. She raised her head to look into Anna's cloudy blue eyes. "You had no choice at all. You had to save yourself, save all of us. You were very brave."

"When I felt his hand on my ... I was so
angry.
I couldn't see anything. I just had to...."

"Hush now," Katherine murmured. "Eliza is right— there was nothing else you could do. It's all right now; you will see."

The four of them lay there in the dirt for what seemed like a very long time to Eliza. The sun started to sink again, and the air grew mercifully cooler. A silence settled over the land.

But where was Will? Had he been killed or captured?

Eliza's worry threatened to tip over into panic, but there was no time for wild fear or desperate thoughts. Anna had done what she had to do; Eliza had to do the same.

"We need to leave as soon as it gets dark," she said quietly. "We can start toward Dublin."

"I need a fresh gown," Anna said. "I can hardly wander about the countryside looking like Lady Macbeth."

Eliza glanced down at her to see that her sister was still pale, but her eyes were clearer, her shaking ceased. That was a good sign, surely.

"I have clothes in the cart," Katherine said. "But..."

But who knew where the cart—and Will—were now.

"I will go look soon," said Eliza. But in the end, she didn't have to go searching. Will found them.

The sunset had turned the barley around them pink and orange when they heard soft footsteps in the dirt. Eliza sat up straight, drawing out her gun again in case it was the soldiers come to find them. Then she saw the gleam of his golden hair, and her arm fell back to her side. Her heart pounded in sudden relief.

He looked dirty and tired, his coat gone and his shirt torn, but he was
alive.
Alive and whole and beautiful.

In front of her family, Eliza jumped up and ran to him, throwing her arms around him to hold him close. She
buried her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling deeply of the warm, precious life of him.

His arms came around her, too, just holding her there for a long moment.

"We were going to leave as soon as it's dark," she said, drawing back to examine his shoulder beneath the blood-streaked shirt. The stitches held firm.

"I think we should go
now"
he answered. "I left the cart on the road. One of the horses is dead, but the other should get us as for as Dublin."

"And the soldiers?"

He gave her a bitter little smile. "I did as you said—I told them who I am. I told them I had been on my way to rejoin my regiment when I was captured by the rebels. The Rossmore soldiers heroically rescued me."

"And they believed you?"

"I can be persuasive enough when I try."

Oh, Eliza knew
that
all too well.

"But they should not see you or your family here, especially Anna," he said "We need to leave now."

Eliza nodded. On to Dublin—and whatever they might find there.

Chapter 29

Halt! Let me see your pass." The soldier strode out of the guardhouse, his weapon at the ready as Will drew up the cart They had reached Dublin at last, all of them in one piece. Sanctuary was just beyond those walls. Eliza swept an exhausted, longing glance over their dark stone ramparts, at the curious faces that stared down at them, and she felt the burn of irritation that anyone would block them now.

She was tired to her very core, dirty and hungry, and worried about her mother and sisters. Anna had said scarcely a word since the battle in the woods, just staring off into the distance. They needed food and sleep, not guards leveling guns at them and demanding passes!

Her shoulders stiffened, but before she could say anything, Will laid a warning hand on her arm. He looked just as tired as the rest of them, his eyes lined with purple shadows, but he sat up military-straight and swept the cap from his head to focus the full force of his bright blue gaze on the man.

"I am Major William Denton," Will said sternly,
drawing a paper from inside his coat They must have given it to him in Rossmore, for the rest of them certainly had no passes. "And I am escorting the Countess of Killinan and her daughters to safety. They are most eager to reach home."

The guard hesitated, his glance sweeping over Katherine's dignified mien, Anna's pale, pretty face. He gave the papers a quick glance. "I'm sure that's all in order, Major. We've had many families fleeing into Dublin these last days. But we have to make sure they aren't the rebels. Hard to tell now."

Will gave him a terse nod, urging the exhausted horse forward. Eliza leaned against his shoulder, suddenly aware of just how very tense she had been. She had been balanced on a sharp edge of fear ever since they left Killinan, never entirely sure they would reach Dublin at all Even now, as they rolled slowly along the familiar streets, she could hardly believe it.

Those streets, usually so crowded and bustling at that time of day, were silent and almost deserted, the heat shining on the cobblestones and the blank windows. Houses were shuttered, many with doors draped in black mourning; shops were shut But there was the constant echo of marching patrols in the distance.

"I'm glad to see Dublin is so well guarded," she said wryly.

Will gave a humorless laugh, urging the horse to go marginally faster. "You can't imitate such military bearing as mine, Eliza. It is entirely bred in the bone."

"You're teasing me," she said uncertainly.

"Just a bit, my dear." He looked around at the silent dwellings. "This place needs a bit of joking. But the
signature of the commander at Rossmore seems to be an influential one."

At last they turned down Henrietta Street, rolling to a halt before her own front steps. The marble was unswept, and the curtains were drawn over the windows. "I would say it definitely needs some humor, among many other things."

Will swung down from the cart, reaching up to help Eliza to the pavement as her mother and sisters climbed out of the back. Anna leaned on Katherine, her mother's arm going around her waist to hold her upright

And Eliza held on to Will for a moment, reluctant to let him go. It was as if she could feel him slipping away from her, slowly but inexorably. Slipping back into Major Denton as the city closed in around them.

"Thank you," she whispered, "for bringing us back here."

He briefly pressed a kiss to her temple, chuckling. "I think it's entirely due to chance that we're here at all."

"Oh no. If it was up to chance, we would all be dead long since."

He let her go, turning to take Catherine's medicine case from the cart as Eliza made her way up the steps and through the unlocked front door. Much to her surprise, the vast, drafty place looked just the same as when she left Had she really been gone only a few weeks? She felt like an entirely different woman than the one who departed here.

"Oh, my lady! You've returned!"

As she dragged off her cap, Eliza looked up to find Mary running down the staircase.

"I am returned, Mary," she answered, turning to take
the valises from Will as he stepped into the house. He watched her in solemn silence, that brief flash of humor vanished. "And I've brought my mother and sisters and Major Denton with me, as you can see. I hope there is someone still here to make up guest chambers for everyone?"

"And a bath," Katherine added, her arms around her weary, drooping daughters. "I feel like I'm covered in acres of dust!"
 
                                                           

"Of course, my lady ," Mary said. She stared at their party with round eyes, as if astounded and scared by their sudden appearance. "Most of the servants are still here."

"Indeed?" said Eliza. "I thought we would find the place deserted, as most of Dublin seems to be."

"Some people have gone, my lady," Mary said. "But mostly everyone just stays inside, waiting for news."

"Is there any news to be had?" Eliza asked.

Mary glanced nervously at Will. "Not much, my lady. They say ten thousand men are on their way from England, but no one knows for sure."

"Well, whatever news there may or may not be," Katherine said, "we need sleep and food. I'll just take the girls upstairs if you will send a bath to us, Mary."

"Of course, Lady Killinan. At once," Mary said, bobbing a hasty curtsy. She looked to Eliza, her eyes wide and pleading, as if she had some secret to impart.

"I'll send for the maids, Mama " Eliza said. "You take the girls upstairs." As Katherine led Anna and Caroline up to their chambers, Eliza glanced at Will. He watched her carefully, as if he expected—or suspected—something. She smiled at him. "You go upstairs, too, Will. I know
you're exhausted, and I need to speak to the servants for a moment."

"I should leave," he said, gesturing toward the front door.

"Where will you go?" she answered, studying him across that vast marble silence. How very strange it was to be here with him again, in the very house where their affair began. How long ago that seemed. "No respectable landlady would take you in looking like that!"

A smile flickered over his lips. "Perhaps you are right I do somewhat resemble a scarecrow."

"And you're about to fall asleep where you stand. Go on—I will be up soon."

He nodded and slowly made his way up the stairs, his boots clicking on the cold marble. Eliza waited until she heard her bedroom door close above before she turned back to Mary.

"All right, then, Mary," she said briskly. "Tell me what is happening."

"I... oh, my lady! I did something terrible while you were away."

"Something terrible? Did you steal the silver?"

"Worse."

Eliza was tired, and she feared her patience was in rather short supply at the moment She crossed her arms and said, "You had best tell me, then. It can't possibly be any worse than anything else I've seen in the last few days."

Rather than answer, Mary turned and led Eliza through the green baize servants' door and down the narrow stairs. There was the murmur of voices from the servants' dining room, but Mary slipped past them and went even farther down, through the wine cellar. The doorway to the
secret room was unsealed, barrels rolled in front of it for concealment

"I'm so sorry, my lady," Mary whispered, tears thick in her voice. "I just didn't know what else to do."

Eliza frowned as she studied the door, the secret space where she herself had hidden so many people. "I think you should show me, Mary," she said gently.

They pushed back the barrels, and Mary unlocked the door. Inside, the small room was dim, lit only by one low-burning lamp. A tray of half-eaten food sat on the table, and a man lay on the rumpled cot pushed up against the brick wall. Despite the hot summer day, it felt cold and damp in there, the air sweet with the smell of medicine, wine, and coppery blood.

"Mary, what..." the man said, his words heavy with panic. He sat up quickly, the bandage wrapped around his chest stark white in the shadows.

"It's all right, Billy," Mary cried, leaning over to urge him back down to the pillows. "It's only Lady Mount Clare."

He resisted her gentle push, glancing at Eliza. "You said she was in the country, that no one would know. I won't put you in danger anymore, Mary!"

"She just now returned. You know she won't give you away."

Eliza stepped forward, her hands held out as if to show she meant no harm. "Mary is quite right. I won't turn you in. I only want to help, if I can. You are Mary's brother, yes? The fisherman?"

Billy cautiously lay back, his feverish gaze never leaving her. "Aye, or I
was
a fisherman. Not much work now, especially for an Irishman."

"Especially an Irishman who joins the Defenders?" Eliza said