The Lady and the Earl (56 page)

“You have
nowhere to go, Luca
s!” h
e shouted at the door, jiggling the locked handles uselessly. 

“
Declan
!” h
e heard Allana scream, followed by the sound of a slap.  There was a thump, as though someone had fallen to the ground.

“If you to
uch her again, I
’
ll kill you!”
Declan
shouted angrily. 

“She
’
s mine, Cunningham, and I will
do what I want with her,” Lucas sneered from the other side of the door. 

There were some scuffling sounds, followed by their muffled voices. 
Declan
hacked at the door handles with his sword furiously.  He had to get this door open
!

*
             
*
             
*

Allana tumbled to the floor from
Lucas’s
unexpected slap.  Her head spun, her body ached, and she could
not
focus, and right
then
she needed to be able to focus her mind on what Lucas was doing.  She stared at him a moment in confusion.  It looked like he was counting the bricks on the fireplace:  ten to the left and seven down.  He pushed ever so lightly on that brick,
and the fireplace began to move to reveal a hidden staircase.

“I knew it,” she whispered.  “
Declan
, there i
s a secret passage
—
”

“Shut-
up!”
Lucas shouted as he leapt toward her and backhanded her.  It was enough to knock the fight out of her for a bit.  He picked her up and carried her over his shoulder down the cramped flight of stairs.

*
             
*
             
*

Declan
heard Allana’s shout then the silence.  Lucas, with Allana, was escaping down one of his passageways. 

Declan cursed
as he slammed his fist into the door one last time, yelling in frustration.  He dashed toward the stairs, taking them two and three at a time.  He
needed
to find the exit to the passageway before Lucas slipped from his grasp and disappeared for good. 

William Meredith halted his men a short distance from the Hoffman estate.  Thomas and Garret were scouting out the premises, and William was awaiting their return before ordering his men to attack.  Fifteen minutes passed before the two men returned to report what they had seen.

“There are twenty men standing guard outside the manor.  They should be easily dispatched, especially since they are Rupert’s men,” Garret said for William’s ears only.

Rupert and his men were scoundrels.  They robbed their victims
.  T
hen, depending on their mood, they killed, tortured, or raped them.  William
despised them for it.  He would
n’
t feel any remorse for cutting them down. 

“Ready the men.  We will charge at once,” William ordered.

Thomas gave the necessary signs, causing the group to move forward cautiously.  No sense alerting their enemy until
they
absolutely had to.  At the edge of the trees, William pulled out his pistol and spurred his horse to a silent sprint.  His men copied his actions and charged in silence.  As they drew closer, William brought his pistol up, aimed it at an unsuspecting guard, and fired, killing the man instantly and ending the silence among his men.  Turmoil broke out from within the gates as the hired guards spotted the charging men.  This unexpected attack caused several mercenaries to simply leave their posts and run.  Others fought, but were cut down quickly.  In a matter of minutes, the twenty guards were wiped down to only a few who surrendered willingly.

*
             
*
             
*

Connor hurt all over from the fall.  He lay in the heap of men, hands tied behind his back, feeling so
meone’s boot in his ribs.  He’
d been somewhat protected by the guard who had fallen with him, but Connor soon ended up at the bottom of the pile.  Men were climbing off of each other, moaning from the aches and bruises they had suffered.  The boot finally moved from Connor’s ribs, as well as the body that was pressing the air out of him.  Connor felt like he was floating when the last man climbed off of him.  He inhaled deeply only to be cut short by a boot in the gut. 

“Get up, slime,” a burly, tall mercenary said
angrily
. 

Connor looked up at the man and smiled to see the blood pouring from the large man’s nose. 

“What are you grinning at?”  In anger
,
he kicked Connor in the gut again.  “Pick him up,” he ordered two other men. 

Before Connor could regain his breath, two sets of arms pulled him to his feet. 

“Do you think this is funny?  Look at Ramon,” the man ordered, grabbing hold of Connor’s chin and yanking his head toward a body lying on the floor. 

The body looked mangled and beaten.  The fall, along with the added weight of other men, had broken the man’s neck and twisted him into a position that did
not
look possible. 

“Do you think he’
s laughing?”

“Well, no.  But it looks like he might be smiling,” Connor answered smartly.  The large man smashed his fist into Connor’s jaw, making his head jerk to the side.  He might have even fallen if it
wasn’t
for the two other men holding him up.

“He was my brother!” t
he man roared as he landed another punch in Connor’s ribs. 

T
he other men
snickered
as he grunted
heavily
from the blow.
 

“Is that al
l you have
?”
Connor taunted raggedly only to be rewarded with another punch to the face.  The blow knocked Connor senses around a bit, but that did
n’t
stop his taunts.  “Why don’t you cut me loose and see how tough you really are?” 

The man stared at him coldly, contemplating his words.  “Cut him loose,” he ordered.

“But Leon
—
”

“Do it!” t
he man named Leon roared. 

The two men holding Connor cut his bands and released him.  Other mercenaries were now entering the large hall to see what all the commotion was. 

“I thought there were only fifty of you,” Connor said
,
rubbing his sore jaw and eyeing his opponent carefully.  There had to be at least twenty men in the hall now with more still coming in, not to mention t
he twenty or so guards outside.

“You were poorly informed.  There are
far more than fifty
of us,” Leon snarled.

“
I see. 
Thank
you for correcting me,
” Connor replied with a smirk.  He hadn’t really
expected an answer.  He was just stalling in order to gain some of his strength back.

The two men began circling each other.  Leon had blood in his eyes
.  He was hunched over with his hands out in front of him, looking
like a bear ready to maul his prey.  Connor stood upright with confidence, staying on the balls of his feet as he stepped lightly to the side. 
Connor loved a good fight, and he was good.  Many opponents had underestimated him in the past.  He was tall and lanky, making him look like an easy target.  But he was smart in his actions, and he was fast and agile.  Usually his speed
and quickness
made up for his lack in bulk.  It should today as well. 
He just hoped his aching body would cooperate long enough to let him get the advantage.

The surrounding mercenaries were chanting and hooting for Leon to
crush
Connor.  As though inspired by his comrades, Leon leapt toward his prey.  Connor danced to the side and kicked the man hard in the back as he dove past, causing him to tumble to the floor.  Leon leapt to his feet quickly, glaring hard at Connor.  The crowd booed and jeered at Connor, but he simply smiled pleasantly, waiting for another attack and receiving it.  Leon dove once more at Connor and received a right hook to the jaw.  He fell to the ground, and Connor kicked him hard in the gut.

“Ooh!” t
he crowd responded in unison. 

“H
ad enough?”
Connor asked. 

His calm, pleasant attitude was maddening
, and he knew it.  It usually aggravated his opponents quite nicely
. 

Unexpectedly, the
other
man yelled ferociously and dove at Connor, taking him to the ground.  They wrestled fiercely.  Leon jabbed Connor with punches to the ribs and back while Connor tried to throw his own.  The group of men surrounding them was going mad.  It was so
loud in the room they didn’t hear the commotion outside or the call of their leader, Rupert.  He was yelling for them to stop, but no one heeded his word.  The fighting continued, and the crowd seemed to just get louder.

Connor could feel his body weakening.  He was fast, but Leon was twice as wide and almost as tall as him.  He had to do something fast or
—

The front door burst open and a flurry of men charged into the room with swords drawn and pistols aimed to shoot.  Shots rang out as pistols were discharged, causing several of the mercenaries to go down.  All havoc broke out as fighting followed the unexpected intrusion.  Leon didn’t let up, however.  He continued to grind Connor’s face into the floor while holding his arms behind his back in a locked position.  He was digging in his boot for a knife, something Connor knew he
didn’t
want the beast to get.  He squirmed beneath the weight of the other man, using the last of his energy to buck his body as ferociously as he could.  The sudden movement knocked Leon off balance, giving Connor the opportunity to free his arms and heave the giant man off of him.  Connor then leapt to his feet and snatched up a sword from a fallen mercenary.  As he turned to face Leon, the large man’s thrown knife embedded itself just below Connor’s left collarbone, only inches
above
his heart.  Connor grabbed at the wound in pain and fell to his knees. 
He yanked the dagger out
quickly, cringing from the pain.
  He swore viciously.  He hadn’t anticipated that.

Leon was now above him
,
wickedly grinning down at him with a sword drawn.
 
“This is for Ramon,” he hissed at Connor as he raised his sword above his head. 

Connor brought his own sword up and plunged it into Leon’s stomach.  The man looked down at him in shock, dropping his weapon and grasping the blade in his belly. 
He’d
thought Connor was done for.  In his rage, Connor twisted the embedded sword before yanking it out,
dropping Leon to the floor in a heap of blood. 

*
             
*
             
*

Once
Declan
was on the second floor, he heard fighting.  Had it b
een going on for a while?  He’
d been so preoccupied trying to get to Allana; he hadn’t noticed the loud noises until now.  Staring down the grand staircase that lead to the first floor,
Declan
saw chaos among the mercenaries.  They were fighting each other, and Connor was in the middle of it, wrestling with a man twice his size. 
Declan
charged down the stairs to assist his friend, fighting like mad to get to Connor before it was too late.  Some of the mercenaries fought him while others seemed to assist him.  He was thoroughly confused by their actions until he realized not all of them were
Lucas’s
hired thugs.  One man in particular gave
Declan
this impression.  He was tall, with reddish-brown hair and a matching beard both streaked with gray, and he was shouting orders to the new group of men.  He made eye contact with
Declan
, smiling slightly as he parried and stabbed his opponent in the back.  This man had to be the leader of the new band of men, and he
’d
brought his men here to…to what…help?  The man fought his way over to
Declan
, cutting down the man
Declan
was dueling with from behind. 

“Quick,” he said to
Declan
.  “
Lord
Hoffman was spotted with your woman through there,” he continued, pointing down a hallway to
Declan
’s
left.  “M
y
nephew went after them, but I’
m sure he could use your help.”