Secrets In Savannah (Phantom Knights) (10 page)

“What can I say?
Mr. Madison knows more than you would think,” Hannah said.

“So be it. You
will remember the night that you found my sister,” I said, and Andrew’s
expression grew grim. “The men who murdered the man you found her with are now
here on the wharf. They have come for my wife.”

Andrew
straightened, his back rigid. “Then let us do away with them at once.”

Leo’s straight
brows rose; Hannah grinned, but I knew that Andrew did not fully understand.

“I did not
believe your sister that night when she told me the truth, and it has been my
greatest regret. You must allow me now to try to atone for the injustice that I
placed upon your family,” Andrew’s voice held a plea, but also authority. He
would not allow me to say him nay.

Nor would I. If
Andrew was willing, and was in earnest, then we would accept his aid. He did
owe it to Bess after the pain he put her through. His breaking their betrothal
had nearly ruined my sister.

Agreeing, I laid
before them my plan, and when the boat was anchored, and Andrew’s carriage
arrived, Andrew disembarked from the ship first. After we saw him speak to his
coachman, we made our descent from the ship. Leo and I led the way with
Guinevere in the middle and Hannah, the captain, and five sailors following us.

As soon as our
boots touched the wharf, men approached from every direction. Leo and I
shielded Guinevere until she stepped into the carriage. Hannah leapt in beside
her, and I slammed the door. Andrew had instructed his coachman to drive as
fast and as far from the harbor as he could. He whipped the horses into action,
and the carriage lurched forward. I saw Guinevere’s astonished face through the
window before my shoulder was grabbed, and I was wrenched around.

“Where be that
carriage going, my spritely gentleman?”

“Did he just
call me a fairy?” I asked Leo. “Nay, my large and,” I leaned forward and
sniffed, “smelly gentleman. I am but a small man in stature. Though gifted in
beauty, wings were never granted me.”

The senseless
man’s brow creased. “This one here’s a
loon
.”

The man who had
a hold on the captain’s coat puffed in what could be annoyance. “Then he should
be easy
pickin’s
.”

“I
didn’a
sign on to deal with a crazy. Switch off with me
now,” my captor demanded.

“Do
yer
job or ye won’t be paid,” the other man retorted.

“Right he is,” I
interposed. “You must always do your required work if you expect to be
recompensed.”

“Oh, shut him
up!” the other guard demanded.

My guard turned
to me with a grin on his atrocious mouth, so I popped him one on his jaw with
my fist, and set off the battle.

Pulling out my
knife, I cut down the front of his coat. He leapt back, but two men behind him
who were fighting some of the sailors knocked him toward me. Sidestepping as he
stumbled, I slammed the handle of my knife against his head.

As he swayed, I
wrapped my good arm around his throat. The excitement of battle chased away the
pain that had been in me for the last month. Could it be that I missed the
fight?

Holding on with all
of my strength as he tried to force me off, I knew that I had missed it a
little. There was something rather appealing about vanquishing evil.

When he lost
consciousness, I released him to fall to the ground.

“One,” I said
with a triumphant nod.

Leo, who was
fighting near me, scoffed aloud. “Four. Get to it,
Loutaire
.
Such a dismal beginning.” Leo dodged a blow to his head and came around with a
right jab to the man’s ear.

“You do realize
that I am injured,” I said as my glance took in the battle.

“When has that
ever stopped you,” Leo replied as he twisted around one man to punch another.

Shrugging my
good shoulder, I threw myself into the fight beside Andrew, who was taking on
three men by himself.

For the last few
years that we were Phantoms, we had made a habit of keeping score during a
fight. The loser was responsible for the making of the evening meal, a duty
none of us, save Leo, had enjoyed. It was not done out of sport, but rather as
a guard against guilt and shame.

Leo did his best
to shield me, but I kept trying to attack as many men as I could reach. I had
sliced one’s arm, another’s leg, and had knocked two out with my weapons when I
was grabbed from behind. My captor’s fingers dug into my shoulder where I had
been shot by Lucas.

My vision blurred
for a moment as tremendous agony sent sparks through my shoulder. My body was
dragged backwards, away from the fight as my eyes blinked away spots.

He released me
when we were between two buildings, and without prompting, I dropped to my
knees with a hand to my wound. Another man appeared before me, placing the
barrel of a long pistol against my forehead.

“Where’s the
girl?”

Why did ruffians
always believe that they could coerce me into speaking? Coercion only worked on
those who had something to fear. With Guinevere well away there was nothing
left for me to fear. If anything should happen to me, I knew that I could trust
my Phantoms family to protect Guinevere.

A flash of red
out of the corner of my eye caused me to tense. Guinevere stepped into view, and
the men switched their attention to her. The one holding the pistol against my
head laughed at the sight of her, but he did not see what I did.

Guinevere raised
her dagger, taking aim, and fired the small pistol that was attached to the
blade. The shot struck the man behind me, and he screamed as he clutched his
arm.

Hannah darted
forward from behind the building with a stick about three feet in length held
out before her. She brought her stick down against the man before me as quick
as the striking of a serpent. It struck the man’s head, and I shoved off my
knees away from his gun.

As he twisted
toward Hannah, she brought her weapon against the man’s cheek with a crunch.

The man
Guinevere had shot was on his feet and making a run for it. Before either Hannah
or I could do a thing; Guinevere had a knife in his back.

In the middle of
Guinevere’s attack, the man Hannah was fighting got her stick away from her,
though it looked to me as if she allowed him to take it. Reaching into the band
of her breeches, she brought out a second stick, smaller and thicker.

Moving with the
grace of a dancer, and the speed of an athlete, she struck the back of his
knees, forcing him to drop. Hannah spun around him, jabbing his stomach.

Even though his
face was swollen, and I was sure she had broken some part of his leg, he still
tried to lunge at her.

I grabbed his
discarded pistol and rose. The man was groaning through clenched teeth, but he
had a hold on the end of Hannah’ stick. His groaning ceased the instant I
placed the pistol against his head.

“I have a finger
itching to relieve the world of scum such as you. Give me a reason, I beg of
you,” I said with enough feeling that the man released his hold on the stick,
and his hands went into the air.

“Are you all
right?” I asked Guinevere as she came up beside me.

“Yes,” she said
before looking at the man she had shot then stabbed. “There is something wrong
here if General Harvey only sent ten men to apprehend me.”

Twelve,” Andrew
said with a brief smile as he limped toward us, “but they have been expunged
from the ranks.”

“You allowed him
to fight instead of me?” Guinevere demanded of me.

“Now is not the
moment—” I began.

“I will not be
left out! Neither now or in the future,”
Guinevere
hissed
in a low voice so that only I could hear her.

Leo came into
the alley, breaking into the heated moment. “Four are dead, but what shall we
do with the living?”

“Make them dig
the graves then bury the living with the dead says I,” Hannah said with an Irish
lilt then proceeded to dance a little jig.

Leo shook his
head; Guinevere smiled despite her anger, and Andrew looked confused.

As Guinevere’s
smile faltered, I followed her line of sight. The man who had been fighting
Hannah was smirking at her.

She moved toward
him. “You are not from General Harvey.”

The man’s smile
was sly. “He was right about
ye
. Ye are a right
knowin
’ one.” The man leaned his head forward a little. “He
be
issuin
’
ye
a
warnin
’. More
be coming
an’ there
be naught ye can do.”

“Thank you for
the warning and the information.” His smile faltered, and Guinevere turned her
attention to Leo. “George Crawford is running scared, and now we know what to
expect.”

“Forgive my
ignorance, but did you say George Crawford sent these men after you?” Andrew
asked.

Guinevere huffed
out an exasperated breath. “You had to involve him,” she threw at me. “So it
would seem,” she said to Andrew, “but it is nothing to bother your mind with. I
thank you for your aid, but any further assistance is unnecessary.”

Guinevere and
Leo left the alley to join the captain and his men, as well as many others who
worked along the harbor.

“Did I
misunderstand, or is she also a Phantom?” Andrew asked.

Sailors entered
the alley to take charge of the ruffians, and I was able to speak with Andrew
alone as we walked toward the others. Giving him a brief explanation of what
was afoot, Andrew surprised me no small amount when he spoke.

“I always knew
that Harvey was a scoundrel, from the moment that he warned me away from your
sister. Well, should you have need of my aid at any time, please, send for me.”

As we joined
them, the captain was saying that he and his men would take care of the
villains, so we did not need to worry about them.

After thanking
the captain and loading our baggage on the carriage, we set out for Warren
Square.

“Where did you
learn to fight like that?” I asked Hannah.

“I was trained
in the art of
bataireacht
from an Irishman.”

I knew of such a
man, but to think that he had trained Hannah was not a reassuring thought.

As we reached
Warren Square, I stared out the window at the passing houses. Savannah was a
port city made up of fifteen district squares. Houses and businesses were
located on streets that surrounded a park in the center of each square.

It was well known
that the plantation owners in the north, east, and west sides of Savannah
provided the commerce for the newer thriving city. My mother’s plantation was
one of them.

The scenery had changed
since I used to live here. This city was where my parents first moved us when
they wanted to try out their abilities of disguise and manipulation on a
society. My father had bought a plantation on the northern side of the city and
after only a few short months they were the toast of Savannah society.

At the end of a
year, my father deemed it time to move to a larger scale. We uprooted to
Philadelphia where the Phantoms worked for several successful years.

Besides the
plantation in the country, my mother also had a house in the city that was left
to her in Richard’s will. It was there that we would stay because I did not
want to run into any of my mother’s servants who still took care of the
plantation.

When the
carriage stopped before an elegant two story home, I saw Richard in every line
of the house and was not sure I could stay there. The man had been a peacock,
but vicious. He had treated Guinevere abominably as well as trying to marry my
sister to his ridiculous protégé Nicholas Mansfield.

As I stepped
down from the carriage, I was just turning to help Guinevere when I heard a
voice that made my stomach drop.

“Jack Martin! I
say, Jack!” Looking over my shoulder, I let out my own exclamation. A perfectly
polished dandy came sauntering toward us with a formidable looking older woman
on his arm.

His coat was the
color of a buttercup; his too tight breeches were the color of red wine, and
his heavily starched cravat had begun to wilt in the Savannah heat. His brow
was dotted with beads of perspiration, but his full face was grinning, and soon
my own matched his. Dudley Stanton was in Savannah.

GUINEVERE

D
udley Stanton was in Savannah. Of
all the ill luck!

“Dud, what in
all that is holy are you doing here?” Jack said as he moved toward him, holding
out his hand.