Lost Bride Chapter 13

ELEVEN

THE PRICE OF PASSION

Lucy was in her room in a chair by the window when she heard a gunshot. Hunters. She shook her head and went back to her book. She’d been staring at words without reading until she finally gave up and set it down. She paced back and forth in front of the fire then decided that, as restless as she was, a walk would do her more good than a book. She was on her way downstairs when she heard the stable boy breathlessly talking to the butler.

“I heard a gunshot, then Mr. Munro’s horse came back on its own.”

Lucy rushed down the stairs. “Which Mr. Munro?”

“Master Rory is missing,” the butler said before continuing his search for the captain.

Lucy bent down and held the boy’s shoulders. “Which way was he going?”

As soon as he told her, she was on her way out the door but then stopped to consider. What if he couldn’t get on a horse on his own? She couldn’t hoist him up by herself. It had rained all afternoon, and the boggy ground was too soft for carriage wheels. Did they even have a carriage? She hadn’t bothered to notice. Her mind raced. He would have to be brought back on horseback. The only men around were the elderly butler, the still-weak captain, and Angus.

Lucy hurried to Angus’s door and knocked loudly. When she got no response, she pounded until her fist hurt.

Through the door, she heard Angus’s voice. “God’s teeth, what’s all the fuss?” He opened the door, whisky glass in hand.

“Angus, I think Rory may have been shot.”

“What?”

“We don’t have time to talk now. We’ve got to go get him.”

Despite his slow and deliberate speech, Angus slurred most of his words. “Lucy, I’d like to help, but I cannae.” He leaned closer as if telling a secret. “I’ve had a few drinks.”

“I don’t care. The cold rain will sober you up. Now, come on.”

She hooked her arm in his and dragged him to a chair. On the way, he stumbled but regained his balance with Lucy’s support. She struggled to put on his shoes.

He leaned forward and grinned. “You know, most women pull my clothes off.”

She rolled her eyes as she finished then stood.

“Slow down, lassie.” He smiled and reached for her, but she took the extended arm with a yank and pulled him out of the chair.

“For once, would you think of someone else? Angus, your brother needs you. Let’s go.”

Through driving rain,

they rode, trying to see through the mist that obscured everything beyond a few feet ahead. It got so bad, they had to get down and walk for fear of not seeing Rory and trampling him with their horses.

Lucy followed Angus closely. “How do you know where to go?”

“I’ve spent all my life here. Between that and the moonlight, we’ll find our way somehow.”

They inched along, aided by occasional patches where the drifting mist thinned.

Angus talked most of the way, which helped assure Lucy of his presence beside her through the thickest fog. “It’s not like Rory to let a horse throw him, especially my horse, which has brought me home when I was three sheets to the wind.”

“Angus, shh.” She reached over and clutched his sleeve. “Rory?”

Angus stopped, and they listened but were met with silence.

“I’m sure I heard something.” She called out again. “Rory? Please, Rory? Where are you?”

“Lucy, is that you?”

“Effie?”

“Over here. I’m here with Rory.”

They stepped carefully, following Effie’s voice until a clear patch revealed Rory in a heap on the ground with Effie beside him.

“Rory!” Lucy knelt next to him. “What happened?”

Effie had wrapped a bandage around Rory’s head. He was conscious but disoriented.

Agitated, Effie said, “When my father came back from seeing you”—her troubled eyes flickered toward Angus—“he took his rifle and left. I followed him and watched him climb up the hill. I didnae ken what he was doing until I saw Angus’s horse. I ran and called out to Rory, but he fired. Rory’s horse reared, and he fell.”

Lucy started to ask why he thought Angus would be there, but what evening didn’t Angus ride by on his way to the inn?

“He thought it was Angus. I did too.” She looked up at Lucy. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t move him. I didnae ken what to do, so I stayed here with him.”

Lucy gripped Effie’s shoulder. “That’s okay. Look at me. We have to help Rory now.”

Effie calmed herself as much as could be expected. “Aye.”

He couldn’t ride on his own, and the three of them tried but couldn’t hoist him onto Angus’s horse. So Lucy mounted her horse, while Effie and Angus managed to get Rory on the horse behind her. Then Angus tore a strip of Rory’s plaid and tied them together at the waist to keep Rory from falling.

Angus looked at Effie. “Go home, lass.”

“No,” Lucy said before Effie could move. “Angus, her father has already beaten her and shot Rory. You can’t be so cruel as to send her back there.”

Maybe if he’d been sober, he might have protested, but Angus looked at Effie and said, “C’mon, then.”

The girl hesitated, brow furrowed.

Angus reached out his hand. “There’s no other way but with me.”

Effie grasped his hand, and he pulled her up behind him. They rode back slowly through the mist at an agonizing pace, but they made it home and got Rory to bed.

Fearing the worst,

Lucy had left instructions with the butler before they had left to call for the doctor, so he was waiting there when they arrived home. While he tended to Rory, the others waited in the library. Angus slouched in a chair by the fire while Lucy paced and tried not to unload her resentment on Angus. There would be time for that later. Effie had chosen to escape to the kitchen, where Mrs. MacEddie provided her with tea and comfort.

“I never meant to hurt anyone,” Angus said as he stared at the fire.

Lucy didn’t even bother to look at him as she spoke. At that moment, the less she saw or heard Angus, the better. “You know, Angus, I believe you. The thing is, it doesn’t matter. By the time you’re done with them, people hurt just the same.”

The doctor came in. “It’s only a flesh wound. All the blood made it look worse than it was. He’s lucky.”

The rush of relief was almost too much for Lucy. She trembled but held it together.

“Keep him in bed,” the doctor told Angus. “He needs to rest. If there are any changes, send for me. Otherwise, I’ll come back in a few days to see how he’s doing. Oh, and I looked in on your father. Rory’s injury came as a shock, but he’s resting. He should be fine by tomorrow.”

While Angus thanked the doctor and walked him to the door, Lucy rushed to the kitchen and shared the good news on her way up the servants’ stairs to see Rory. He was sleeping, so she pulled up a chair and sat beside him with no plans to go anywhere anytime soon.

In the stillness of his room, all the tension and worry came out, and she silently wept. She hadn’t shed a tear since arriving, but now it came out, and she didn’t try to stop it. She sniffed.

“There’s a handkerchief in that first bureau drawer over there.”

She looked over to find Rory smiling at her.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

He pointed toward the bureau. “Go.”

She smiled with relief and retrieved the handkerchief. As she sat beside him, he said, “Dry yourself, and then you may throw yourself on me, in that order, please.”

Lucy laughed as she dried her eyes and her nose. Then she took his hand in both of hers. “The doctor said it was only a flesh wound.”

“Aye, enough blood and mess for a good deal of sympathy.”

“Well, you must be feeling all right.”

In hushed, conspiratorial tones, he said, “Oh, aye. Just a wee headache.”

Lucy smiled, and as she did, she knew that everything in her heart must have shone through her eyes, but she didn’t care. She’d nearly lost him, but he was alive, and he soon would be well.

Although his head

wound bothered him, Rory insisted on being up and about the next day. Angus, on the other hand, made himself scarce. He wasn’t missed, at least not by Lucy. The captain, who was fully recovered, sat at the desk, looking over the ledger. The few times Lucy glanced his way, he looked serious, but she assumed that was his normal expression when poring over estate numbers. Lucy was content where she was, beside Rory, reading to him while he lay reclined, eyes closed, with a headache.

The butler quietly walked over to the captain and whispered something. The captain frowned but stood and followed the butler out of the room. A few minutes later, the captain returned with the constable close behind him.

With effort, Rory sat up.

“We’ve apprehended Donald Vass, the man who shot you.”

“Aye?”

“What will happen to him?” Lucy asked.

The constable turned to Lucy. “He’ll stand trial, and if he’s found guilty, I imagine he’ll be transported to the colonies or Australia.”

The captain nodded approvingly.

Lucy did not relish the idea of such a harsh sentence for Effie’s father. But she thought of how he had beaten Effie when he’d learned she was pregnant. He’d gone straight from beating his own pregnant daughter to lying in wait to shoot Angus. He had wound up shooting the wrong man and then fled. Those were all choices he’d made on his own, and there were consequences for them. He was lucky he hadn’t killed anyone. They were all lucky, most of all Rory.

As the silvery

afternoon sky cast soft light through the library windows, Angus ventured into the room. His first stop was on the opposite side of the room, where the captain sat at his desk. They spoke in hushed tones, too quiet for Lucy to overhear. When they’d finished, Angus ambled over and sat beside Rory. “I’m sorry to you both. I said things I shouldn’t have said, and I didnae mean them.”

Lucy found Angus convincingly contrite, which took her by surprise. Rory’s reaction was different. Considering what he’d been through, he accepted Angus’s words with such ease, she could only presume they’d been through this type of apology before. Perhaps Rory was simply far better than she. There was such a dark history between them, but the bond between brothers was strong.

“I’m most of all sorry that you took a shot that was clearly intended for me,” Angus said.

Rory’s mouth turned up at the corner. “Well, I’ll not borrow your horse again, that’s for certain.”

Angus laughed. “There’s a lot to be said for walking.”

Lucy squeezed Rory’s hand. “We could have lost you.”

Angus cleared his throat. “You could’ve lost me too.” His eyes crinkled at the corner.

She reached over and squeezed his hand. “But you’re here, aren’t you?”

“Thank you for noticing,” Angus said with an impish grin. He leaned toward Rory. “She loves you, you know.”

Lucy couldn’t help the smile that bloomed.

Rory gazed at her. “I was hoping she might after all the trouble I’ve gone through to get her attention.”

Lucy was thoroughly flustered. She wasn’t sure what to say or do, so she did what she always fell back on. She turned the attention away from herself. “So, Angus, what are your plans?” she asked quietly.

That line of questioning had the effect she had hoped for. Rory’s smile faded as he turned to Angus.

“I haven’t any. I find life more palatable that way.” He was trying to be flippant, but he failed miserably.

Lucy’s eyes fixed on Angus. “I’m sure Effie would also have found her life more palatable than it is at the moment, but any choice either of you had is long gone now.”

Angus folded his arms and said slowly, “It’s different for her.”

“Yes,” Lucy said. “She’s got to carry your baby and give birth to it. All you have to do is just be there.”

Angus’s eyes darted about, but he said nothing.

Lucy looked at Rory, who had been very quiet. Beads of sweat covered his forehead. “Are you all right?” she asked, alarmed.

“Aye. I’m a bit too close to the fire.” He sat up and paused, touching his head with a wince. “I think I’ll go lie down.” He stood up with Lucy’s arm hooked in his. He only managed a few steps before collapsing in her arms.

“Angus!” Lucy called, but he was already there, holding Rory up while bringing him back to his seat.

Lucy put her hand to his feverish forehead. She lifted the bandage to look at his wound. It was swollen and red. She wanted a doctor to see him, but these doctors wouldn’t be able to help him. It didn’t take a medical doctor to know that he had an infection. If it went untreated, he could die. With her layperson’s knowledge, she did what she could. She cleaned the wound with whisky and put cool compresses on him. But by morning, he showed no improvement. If anything, he seemed worse. His breathing was labored, his pulse was fast, and he was beginning to murmur delirious nonsense.

She got up and went to the window to think. He needed antibiotics. It was such a simple fix but one that was impossible there. If she could get him to a modern-day doctor, she could save him. But how many times had she been to the cairn and failed to find the way through? It had worked for her only once. She shook her head helplessly. Apparently, she had to have her heart broken to get through it. She froze for a moment.

Or be in some sort of heightened emotional state

. All along, she’d been thinking it had something to do with the sun or the time of day, which might be the case. But what if it also had to do with emotions and the resulting energy? She exhaled with frustration. She was making no sense, even to herself. It didn’t matter how or why the cairn worked. All that mattered was whether she could get him through it. All Rory needed was a doctor, and she knew where to find one.

When the captain left the room to send for the doctor, she pulled Angus aside. “I need you to trust me.”

He shrugged. “Have I ever not?”

“You’ve never had need to, but I’m asking you now to listen to me.”

His brow creased as he watched her intently.

“Do you remember when you were children and Rory told you he had gone through the fairy cairn?”

He thought for a moment then chuckled and nodded.

Lucy looked straight into his eyes. “You’ve got to believe me. Your brother’s life depends upon it.”

He shook his head. “Lucy, you’re making no sense.”

“I know.” She took a deep breath and let it out as she lifted her eyes to his. “I came through the fairy cairn.”

His suspicious smile made it clear that he didn’t believe her.

She grabbed his arms. “I came through the fairy cairn from the future. I didn’t mean to. Rory found me, and he brought me here.”

He eyed her with disbelief.

“Rory told me he went to the future when he was a child.”

“Lucy, I ken you’re upset about Rory, but have you lost your mind?”

“No, but you’ll lose your brother if we don’t get him to a doctor.”

“Father’s sending someone to fetch him.”

Frantic, Lucy shook her head. “Only a doctor from the future can save him.”

Angus frowned but did not disagree or protest, so Lucy continued. “We need to get him to the fairy cairn. I don’t know if it will work. I’ve been trying to get back myself. But if we don’t try, he’ll die.”

Angus’s frown was gone as he studied her. “You’re in love with him.”

“Yes.”

“So you’d do him no harm.”

“No.” She peered at him with pleading eyes.

He leveled a frank look. “You ken you sound mad as a hatter.”

“Yes.”

Angus looked at the door to the hall. It was clear for the moment. He nodded. “All right.”

“Angus, I could hug you!”

“I’d get in more trouble that way.” He had already turned to get Rory. When they reached the door, they heard the captain upstairs, telling the butler to prepare a room for the doctor, who would likely be spending the night. They moved along close to the wall, hoping the afternoon shadows would mask their presence from anyone rounding the corner to come down the stairs. They heard the captain’s voice at the top of the stairs as they pulled the door closed behind them.

Rory mumbled as they dragged him along to the stable. They placed Rory down on some hay, then Angus helped the groom and the stable boy hitch up a cart. They laid Rory in it with Lucy beside him, and Angus drove.

Having found Rory’s room and the library empty, the captain came outside as they were riding away. He called after them, “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“Saving his life!” Lucy cried.

The sun cast

its last rays on the cairn as they arrived. “Just help me get him inside.”

“But I’m coming with you,” Angus said.

Lucy looked up. “No, you need to stay here. Effie needs you.”

His brow furrowed, but he didn’t refuse. “God’s teeth!” A stunned Angus stared at the cairn.

Lucy turned to see light coming through from the other side. Rory moaned as Lucy hooked his arm over her shoulder and pulled him along. “C’mon, Rory, just a few steps.” He was too tall and heavy, but she managed to stumble with him toward the light, then they fell.