Creighton Manor (12 page)

Cyrus’ nostrils
flared. “Zachary Creighton, you have proved a thorn in my side and I plan on removing it.”

“Don’t threaten me, Mr. Locke.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. It’s a promise.”

Zachary would have said more, but he noticed Ellery stood in the doorway
of the saloon
, motioning to him.

“Well Cyrus, I guess it will have to be another night. I have business that needs my attention.” Zachary stood and swayed. He blinked the room into focus and headed over to Ellery.

They left the saloon and walked toward the waterfront. “So
did you find out something about Gillian
?” Zachary slurred, making Ellery look at him questionably.

“Have you been drinking?”

“What of it? A man can drink, can’t he?” He managed to say even though his tongue felt like it was three times its normal size.

Ellery shook his head. “Really Zachary, you must slow down.”

“Just tell me what you have.”

“As you wish. What I found out was the lady you are married to must have given you an alias. No one has heard of Gillian Metcalf
.”

They had reached the river’s edge and came to a halt. The fog had rolled in, giving the water an eerie effect as if it swirled with smoke.

Ellery continued, “Not only did she not give you her correct name, she lied about the city. There isn’t any Huntington Beach. She must have made up the town, too.”

“Hell and damnation!” Zachary ran his hand through his hair. “Who is she?”

“I can keep checking if you want. She couldn’t have appeared out of thin air aboard the Ida Belle. There must
b
e someone who knows her.”

“It’s him that’s behind this?” Zachary slurred. “I should have known.” He let out a loud bark of laughter. “What a fool I have been. It’s so obvious.”

“What are you babbling about?” Ellery asked.
“Just how much have you been drinking?”

“I haven’t had that much to drink.” Zachary leaned heavily on him.

“Your foul breath betrays you, my friend.”

He rolled his eyes. “Do you want to hear what I have to say or not?”

“By all means, continue.” Ellery steadied him on his feet.

“Cyrus Locke set this up. Gillian must know him. That’s how she ended up in my room. He arranged it, from her screaming and him coming to the rescue, finally his accusation, which I couldn’t readily defend. He’s trying to ruin my name, my reputation. Gillian has no intentions of staying with me.” He snapped his fingers. “That’s it. That’s who she’s in love with.”

“With whom?” Ellery frowned.

“Cyrus Locke.” Zachary said, as if this was a known fact.

Ellery burst out laughing. “You really have had too much to drink if you think Gillian would be interested in Cyrus Locke. That’s ludicrous.”

“Is it? He has Creighton Manor.”

Worry darkened Ellery’s expression. “I know you will disagree, but not everyone wants possession of Creighton Manor
.”

Zachary frowned and waved his hand. “Fine, then it is money. Cyrus is loaded. He didn’t lose a dime during the war since he kept his money tied with his Northern connections. He probably offered her a fine price. Well, I won’t let him get away with this. His little scheme won’t work because he forgot something.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m married to his mistress and I won’t—”

Ellery placed a hand on Zachary’s arm to quiet him.

They both heard the distinct echo of boots on the wooden planks and searched through the drifting fog for the men.

“Who’s out there?” Zachary demanded. “Show yourself
.”

Two men burst through the haze, guns drawn. One grabbed Ellery, holding a gun to his head. The other aimed a gun at Zachary. His mouth curved in an evil grin. “Good bye, Mr. Creighton.”

Zachary lunged at his assailant
, slamming into him as he pulled the trigger
. The bullet
went wild,
whizz
ing
over his head. They rolled on the ground both grappling for the weapon.

***

Gillian followed Molly, but she worried she wouldn’t be able to find her way back to the house. Then another worr
y
flitted across her mind. The heart of the town loomed ahead and she recalled how the people aboard the Ida Belle reacted toward her
twenty-first
century attire. She glanced down at what she wore with a sigh. “I should have changed.”

They reached the water’s edge where the fog thickened. In the distance she could hear a piano playing and laughter from the Under-the-Hill saloon. Just great, Molly took her to the questionable part of town where killings probably happened and no one lifted a hand to stop them. She
’d
had enough and wanted to head back, but then she heard the gunshot. Molly’s fast pace turned to full speed charge. Gillian ran to keep up. Her heart pounded in her chest with a sinking feeling. “Zachary!” she cried and ran faster to reach him.

She came upon Ellery first and a man holding a gun to his head. Molly circled them, nipping at the assailant’s ankles. The distraction aided Gillian. She jumped on the assailant’s back, pounding his head with her flashlight. The man let go of Ellery, trying to fend her off. Ellery whirled around and grabbed the gun away
.

Ellery gasped. “Dear God. Gillian? Is that you?”

“Get this crazy woman off me,” the man screamed.

Gillian was more than happy to oblige now that she saw Ellery held the weapon. She jumped off and pushed him forward.

“Get on the ground and put your hands over your head,” Ellery demanded. The man threw himself down.

Gillian searched the dock for Zachary. She could hear scuffling and grunts. Then she saw him. Zachary fought with another man who towered over him. She saw a flash of what looked like a knife in Zachary’s hand. The man must have had a knife too for he lunged at Zachary. Zachary grabbed his side and staggered backwards. Gillian screamed and ran forward, but she couldn’t reach him in time as she helplessly watched him fall backwards into the water. Without a thought of what might be below, she jumped in after him.

It was dark and foggy, but she saw him break the surface. She swam as fast as she could to him, grabbing a hold of his shirt, as he was about to go under again.

Gillian treaded water grateful for all the years of training she had when she was on the swim team back in college.

The gunshot must have roused the people of the town. Gillian couldn’t see anyone, but she heard people shouting to her. She had to hold onto Zachary. He had become so very still.

“There they are!” She heard someone yell. She felt something hit her. It had been a rope, but it slid away before she could grab hold of it. The second time it was thrown, she was ready. She pulled the loop over her head with one hand and under her armpit. That’s the best she could do, she couldn’t let go of Zachary. Slowly, she felt herself being pulled in and someone taking Zachary from her.

She shivered and Ellery tried to put his coat around her but she refused, pushing her way through the crowd in desperation to reach Zachary. She saw a man leaning over him and shaking his head. Gillian screamed, “No!” She didn’t risk her life to see him die. She shoved the man aside. She knelt down beside him and tilted his head back, blowing air into his mouth in a desperate attempt to breathe life back into him.

She heard someone’s horrid cry, “She’s kissing a dead man. Get her away from him
.”

Gillian felt hands trying to pull her away. She shook them off. Every moment was vital if she was to save him. She sat on him and pushed upward on his midsection trying to force the fluid out of his lungs. A few more thrusts and water spurted out of Zachary’s mouth. He choked as he struggled to draw in air. The man to her side moved in quickly and lifted his head.

“She saved him. By God, he’s alive!”

Shaking, Gillian rose unsteadily to her feet and this time she allowed Ellery to place his coat around her.

“Gillian, you risked your life. You could have drowned.”

She looked up at Ellery. “Zachary would have died if I didn’t go in after him.”

His brows lifted. “You do care for him, don’t you?”

“Of course I care. Why would you ask such a thing?”

“Why indeed.” His lips
pursed
together.

“What?”

“Nothing
.”
He shook his head. “Let’s get you home and into some dry clothes.”

“But Zachary–”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Zachary is in capable hands.”

CHAPTER NINE

Gillian may have rescued Zachary from drowning, but his life hung in the balance as fever racked his body. The knife hadn’t hit anything vital, but the mud and dirt from the river must have caused an infection. Gillian knew a quick dose of antibiotics would have taken care of this but there was none to be had. Instead, they had to wait and pray his body would heal.

Tyler walked over to Gillian. “Don’t let him die too, Aunt Gillian
.”

She looked at the small boy, drawing him near. He had lost so much. Losing his parents at such a young age was more than he should have to endure. “I don’t want anything to happen to him either, but it’s in God’s hands
.”

Tyler nodded. He stayed for a while, but Dora dragged him away.

Gillian refused to leave.
She
leaned close to Zachary’s ear and whispered, “You have to fight to live. There’s a little boy who needs you
.”
She brushed the matted hair from his brow and added tearfully, “I need you, too.”

Zachary stirred giving her hope he heard her.

Zachary felt disoriented, lost. What happened to him? He felt like someone had set him on fire and he was slowly burning. His eyelids were matted to his face and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t open them. When he thought he would give up all hope, he heard an angelic voice, a beacon calling to him. Then he remembered he had been on the dock, fighting for his life. The man had a knife and he
’d
used it, hitting his mark. The pain
robbed him of his breath and he couldn’t stop himself from falling back into the water. When he broke the surface, he could have sworn he saw an angel soar through the air after him. Her arms closed around him as the all-consuming darkness overtook him.

She was here with him now. He wanted to reach out to her but his limbs wouldn’t obey. They felt heavy, weighted down. He yelled to her to help him, but she couldn’t hear his silent plea. Then her voice fade
d
into the fog-like darkness and he was alone again.

***

Tyler worked the mathematical problem Gillian had given him. If anyone else had asked him to do school work during the summer, when he could be down by the river or playing catch with the other kids, he would have flat out refused. He really liked his Aunt Gillian. He admired her too for saving his Uncle Zachary from drowning, and would do anything to please her. He glanced to where she sat on the porch, petting Molly. “Do you know everyone wants to meet you?”

She looked up. “Me? Why?” 

“You’re famous that’s why. They’re calling you the
angel of the night
. You survived the perils of the river, and you brought the dead to life,” he repeated what he heard Ellery tell the man at the paper.

Gillian’s gaze drifted to the upstairs window. Tyler looked, too. His uncle slept fighting for his life. It had been two days, and he still hadn’t regained consciousness, but he knew he’d be all right. Aunt Gillian said it was in God’s hands. Surely God wouldn’t let Aunt Gillian save Uncle Zachary if
He
didn’t mean for his uncle to get better.

Gillian sighed. “People are making more out of this than they should. Anyone could have done what I did.”

Tyler smiled. “Yeah, but they didn’t, did they?”

***

Lotti looked out the window from Zachary’s room. She could see Gillian and Tyler below with Molly not far away. Truth be known, Lotti had had her doubts about Gillian and Zachary’s marriage. She sensed that there was something out of the ordinary about it, but whatever it was that made them rush into matrimony, she was glad for it. She saw the way her grandson’s eyes lit up when Gillian walked into the room, and for once, he seemed more interested in something other than Creighton Manor. As for what Gillian had done the other night proved right there how much she cared for Zachary. The woman had saved her grandson’s life without a care for her own. If that didn’t speak of love, nothing did.

Lotti glanced at Zachary, who hadn’t stirred. Although she never would let anyone know, she was having a difficult time dealing with all of this. She couldn’t endure the thought of having to bury another loved one.

When she looked back out the window, she noticed Tyler and Gillian had risen. She knew Gillian would be back up here to check on Zachary. Unless she was forced to, the woman barely left his side for more than a few minutes. Lotti moved to the seat next to her grandson’s bed and waited. Just as she had predicted, Gillian opened the door and came in.