Elizabeth Drake

Time To Read

Elizabeth Drake

Chapter one

“Elizabeth!” He called, running into the house. “Elizabeth hurry, there is no time.”

“What is it?” She asked as she came out of the parlor.

The look of terror on his face was enough to make the young woman drop her tedious mending. Daniel Drake was normally a laid-back, easy-going type of man, but his wide eyes and rapid breathing were completely out of character. Daniel wiped the sweat off his brow as he reached for his daughter.

“Come with me.” Taking her hand, Daniel led her to his study.

Elizabeth followed quickly as he pulled her into the small room and closed the door behind him. The study, decorated in a deep green color, had been a room that she had always left to her father. Elizabeth could feel the fear building inside of her. However, she had no idea why. The expression in his eyes and the hurried way that he moved began to bother her.

“What is happening? Are you alright?” Elizabeth asked.  It was not even noon, yet he had left his office. Shaking his head, Daniel turned to face her.

 “I can’t explain right now. Just listen to me.” The fear in his eyes caused her to remain silent. “You have to go away.”

“Go away?” She asked.  The idea seemed ludicrous. “What are you talking about?”

“You have to go, now!” Daniel walked over to his desk and pulled a key out of the top drawer. “Do you remember me telling you about a man named Oswald Roshire?”

As he tried to talk quickly without scaring her, Daniel walked to the wall beside his desk. Elizabeth watched as he pulled the portrait of her grandfather away from the wall. To her surprise a small metal safe was hidden behind it.

“Father, you are frightening me.”

“None of that now,” Daniel began. “I need you to do exactly as I say.” Elizabeth’s big blue eyes stared back at him.

“Yes, but what is going on?”

A whirl of confusion swept around her as she tried to imagine what was happening. Daniel was a strong man. He had always seemed young for his years and maintained a carefree lifestyle. It was not in his nature to act irrationally, yet it was happening.

There was no difference between that day and any other. He seemed fine when he left for his office that morning. However, as he frantically pulled her to his attention, Elizabeth knew that something was very wrong.

“Elizabeth, do you remember Oswald Roshire?” He asked again as she desperately searched for a memory. “Answer me! Do you know Oswald Roshire?” He shook her hands firmly.

“He is the man that you bought this house from.” She watched carefully as he used the key to open the safe.

“Yes, and he is a very good man, a fair man.” Reaching into the safe, Daniel pulled out a rather large stack of money and a folded envelope.

“Where did that come from?” Elizabeth had never seen so many bank notes before and was becoming more afraid. Dropping his head as he closed the safe, Daniel tried to find a way to explain.

“I have always done right by you,” he whispered. “But this is not one of those times.”

“Father…” She stopped as he raised his hand.

“I don’t have time for this! Listen to me.” The sudden raise in his voice made the young woman jump.

He seemed to have aged quite a lot that day. His light hair that had been decorated with a few silver hairs seemed to have almost entirely grayed.

“Take this letter to Oswald Roshire. It is imperative that only he handles it,” Daniel instructed. Taking the envelope, Elizabeth began to wonder how much trouble her father was in. “The money is yours.” She did not hold out her hand to him. So, Daniel reached for her arm and placed the stack of money in her palm. “Promise me that you will go to your brother’s house in Burdery.” Waiting for her to nod, Daniel squeezed both of her hands in his. “He will take you to Oswald, but do not tell him why!” Looking at her deep blue eyes, Daniel pulled her close to him. “The less you know the safer you both will be. Let Oswald handle the details. You are to stay with your brother, until I send for you.” Elizabeth had not seen her brother in years, and the thought of locating Vincent made her more than nervous.

“Where are you going?” Elizabeth looked into his gray eyes. Daniel ran his hand over her long golden hair before placing his hands on her shoulders. Then, he gently eased her away from him.

“I love you. Do you know that?” He took a second look at the only woman that had ever held his heart for more than a few months.

“You have to tell me something.” Elizabeth noticed the strange appearance of his eyes. Daniel began to pull her toward the hallway.

“Giles will take you to Burdery.” Entering the hallway, he looked out the window to the man that sat in the driver seat of the carriage. “He knows nothing, and do not trust him!”

“What am I not supposed to trust him with?” Elizabeth asked.  

Even though he did not know how to answer her, Daniel opened his mouth to say something when he noticed three men coming toward the house on horseback. Pulling Elizabeth with him, he made his way through the house.

“Stay down!”

As soon as the order was given, Elizabeth looked up to the front window. Giles was raising his head to speak to the approaching riders, but he never got the chance. All three riders were wearing long coats. She could not see their faces, but she was certain that they were the cause of her father’s distress.

The rider on the far left removed a pistol from his side. Gunfire sounded around the small house. Daniel pulled Elizabeth low and swore beneath his breath. She did not see if Giles had been shot. The sound made her cower near the floor as she placed her hands over her ears.

“Damn,” Daniel looked around the small house as he searched for the best way out. “When I tell you to, run out the back door, but stay off the road!” Looking through the hall the small country house, Elizabeth tried to gather courage from the terrifying moment. Another gunshot rang through the air causing Elizabeth to try to scream. Daniel acted quickly and covered her mouth before any sound escaped.

“What is going on?” She cried softly as he pulled her along the floor to the front door. Raising his hand Daniel cut her off.

“Get into the woods. From there you can make it to the Sanderson house.” He watched the back door as he heard one of the riders call out from the front of the house.

“This is not one of your wiser moves, Drake!” The man yelled. “You should have reasoned with me when you had the chance!”

Looking over at his daughter, Daniel began to sweat heavier as Elizabeth cowered in confusion and fear. “Once you get to the Sanderson house you should be alright, but do not trust anyone with that letter,” he whispered. Elizabeth took her father’s hand.

“Will you meet me there?” Seeing the fear in her eyes Daniel decided that it was best not to lie.

“I will see you when I can, but you have to promise not to wait for me.” He squeezed her hand gently as he looked toward the gun cabinet in the den. Another shot rang out around them and Elizabeth realized the full extent of their danger.

“What do they want?” She asked.  Her father breathed fast and heavy.

Daniel made his way over to the gun cabinet on his knees and grabbed the rifle. The shaking of his hands made it nearly impossible to load the gun, but he somehow managed.

“It is going to be alright. Do as I say. Get to your brother,” Daniel instructed again.

“Drake, can you hear me?” The man outside called again. “I can always just come in!” The two other men could be heard laughing, but Elizabeth had no idea who they were.

“Go Elizabeth!” Daniel ordered in a hushed voice as he nodded toward the back door.

“No!” She shook her head. The situation instantaneously became too much for her. “I am not going without you!”

“Go now!” Daniel let go of her hand and pushed her towards the door. Elizabeth took one last look at her Father and shook her head. “Damn it woman, do as I say!”

Staying low to the floor, Elizabeth turned and made her way to the back door. She looked out the window before touching the door to be sure that no-one was there.

“Gatler, I thought you were still in France.” Daniel waited for a response as Elizabeth reached for the doorknob. Her father had taken a step out of the house.

She could not see him from where she was. A few more shouts and orders were yelled out by one of the men, but Elizabeth could not hear the details. However, when she finally opened the door, she heard the sound of the rifle, followed by two pistol shots.

Elizabeth threw herself out of the house and ran for the woods as fast as she could. The sound of the gunfire terrified her as it continued to echo around her. With a quick turn, she almost called for her father, but the sound of unfamiliar laughter led her to run forward into the trees.

“Father,” she whispered.

Shock and confusion kept her from crying. Elizabeth did not understand what was happening well enough to become emotional. As she ran further into the forest, there was no way for her to know what happened to Daniel.

Clutching tightly to the envelope and the money, she continued. The woods seemed deep as she made her way down the slope to the farmhouse that was a mile down the road. The air was thick with fog and the mist clung to her gown.

The Sanderson’s were a kind and young couple that had taken over the farm when old Sam Sanderson died the year before. Elizabeth had gone to the market a few times with Fanny Sanderson, and Jarred Sanderson had helped Daniel fix the leak in the roof that summer.

Once the house came into view, Elizabeth stopped. Lifting some material of her dress she hid the envelope and the money in the waist of her petticoat. She could see Fanny walking toward the house from the barn, but before she stepped out of the trees, a rider approached from the road.

Keeping herself behind a tree, she watched as one of the men with the long dark coat approached Fanny. The woman was not afraid of him. She walked toward him with her arms full of firewood.

“Good afternoon, Sir,” Fanny adjusted the wood in her grasp as the rider came to a stop before her.

“I seem to be a little lost Ma’am. Could you tell me where I could find Daniel Drake’s place?” Elizabeth stepped back behind the tree and hid her face as she listened to the man’s voice.

“What is your name, stranger?” she asked unkindly.

“Layton.”

“Well Mr. Layton, what do you want with Daniel Drake?” Fanny asked.  There was a moment of silence as Elizabeth prayed that she would be quiet.

“I used to work with him in Welton. I was hoping to see how he and his boy were doing.” The man spoke. Fanny was unfortunately quick to be helpful.

“Of course,” she offered. “You are only a mile off. Take this road back up that hill a mile and he is at the top.”

“Are you sure? I was just up there and there was no answer.”

“He is probably at his office,” Fanny added.

“What about the family? Is his son still living with him?” Thoughts of her brother invaded her mind as Elizabeth tried to remember the last time, she saw Vincent.

There was a hint of uncertainty in Fanny’s voice as she answered, “No, no son has never lived there.”

“Thank you, Ma’am.” The man sounded discouraged, and Elizabeth peered slowly around the tree at him.

The man that rode the chestnut mare was even larger than she had first thought. She could not see his face in detail. However, she could easily see the longer brown hair that hung past his ears and trailed down, just past his shoulders. The brim of the black riding hat was pulled low on his forehead, hiding his eyes from her view.

Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief as the rider began to turn his horse around. Hiding behind the tree once more, Elizabeth waited for him to leave.

“Excuse me, Sir.” Fanny began again to Elizabeth’s surprise. “I don’t know when Mr. Drake will be back, but his daughter should be there.” Stiffening her back and holding her breath, Elizabeth closed her eyes.

“His daughter?” His voice held a deep curiosity.

“Elizabeth.” The woman volunteered. “She might be out in the barn.” The man held a blank expression. He looked back the way he came and paused for a moment before returning his stare to Fanny. “She may even be on the road.” The simple woman added matter-of-factly. “If you see her, tell her that I have that honey she asked for.”

“Hya!” The man called out quickly just before his horse sped back down the road. The quick turn shocked Fanny, but only for a moment.

Elizabeth moved slightly around the tree to keep herself out of sight. Fear rose within her as she realized that she had been safe up until then. However, Fanny’s kind nature had placed her in the same danger that Daniel was in. Elizabeth did not want to pull the Sanderson’s into her predicament by following her Father’s directions, so she kept to the woods and tried to weigh her options.

 Vincent lived in Burdery. The town was about thirty miles from where she was. Placing her hand against the waist of her gown Elizabeth felt the money and the envelope she concealed. The only other people she knew were the townsfolk that ran the market and the men that worked with her father in the glass factory.

She needed to think of where to go. She was not about to bring trouble to her friends. As a mental list of the people in the town began to form, she could not come up with one person that she could turn to.

Her father had a friend that had come to the house a few times. The man owned the pub in town. Elizabeth knew him well enough, and she was running out of options.

The walk was made in haste, but it was not fast enough to keep her mind numb. Tears started to fall as she thought of her father’s face. She had no idea if he was dead or alive. However, it was unlikely that he avoided the three men.

Daniel was either dead or wounded. The realization was too much for Elizabeth as she leaned against a tree. The dark brown dress began to weigh on her heavily as the mist turned into rain. She was becoming aware of how her life had altered in a matter of just minutes. She could not survive without her father. Tears started to fall heavily as she held herself against the tree. Praying that Daniel had somehow managed to avoid the shots that rang out, she pressed on toward the town.

The rider would be trying to find her. Once Fanny had said Elizabeth’s name, he was in too much of a hurry to return to the house on the hill. He sounded as if he would look for Vincent as well. Elizabeth had to get to Burdery before the man with the long hair and long dark coat.

Mud clung to her boots as she continued. The two miles to the town seemed more like ten as the rain pelted her relentlessly. Every step was taken with caution as she looked over her shoulder for the men on horseback.

A plan began to form as Elizabeth stepped under the branch and continued down the muddy slope. She would be safe in the town, and her father had at least one good friend there. She could easily find Mr. Lara at the pub and ask him to check on her father, while she took a coach to Burdery.

A rock beneath her boot gave way under her weight and the mud. Elizabeth called out as she reached for a branch but was unable to keep her balance. Twisting her ankle on the rock, she fell hard to the leaves and twigs that covered the ground. The pain in her ankle surged through her as she sat on the ground and held tight to her boot. She held her eyes closed once the pain began to subside, but when she tried to stand the real agony set in. Easing herself back to the ground Elizabeth held her boot tight once more. Without giving in to the tears that threatened to fall, she held her composure. Just a foot away was a long branch. Grabbing the wood, she pulled herself up and supported her weight on the make-shift crutch.

Elizabeth wiped her hair away from her face and stood. Fighting the pain, she continued putting extraordinarily little weight on her injured foot. However, the downhill journey was excruciating and seemed to take forever. Finally, at the bottom of the hillside, the Caterwood came into view.

“Lord Beth, what happened to you?” Mr. Lara asked as she entered the empty pub.

Using the stick to her full advantage, Elizabeth walked across the floor of the small establishment and towards him. The short round man stood behind the bar as the woman covered in mud leaned on the staff.

“I need your help.” Before she got the words out of her mouth, Jacob Lara had come around the bar to her side. Placing his arm around her shoulders, he led her to a chair.

“Sit down here. I will go get your father.”

“No,” Elizabeth began, “You can’t!” Jacob looked confused as he helped her into a chair.

“Why can’t I?” Letting her head fall into her hands, Elizabeth began to cry again.

“My father came home early. Something has happened. I don’t know what is going on, but some men came to the house looking for him. They had guns.”

“Hold on, slow down there.” Jacob pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. The woman was obviously distraught. “Who came to the house?” Shaking her head quickly she tried to explain.

“I don’t know who they were, but they were looking for my father, and he made me leave. He said that I needed to get to my brother’s house.”

Jacob Lara had spent many drinking nights with Daniel. He was not as surprised as he should have been. Daniel had come into the pub a few weeks earlier and set about to drink like there was no tomorrow. Even though he could easily hold down his share of alcohol responsibly, Daniel made no effort to try. Jacob had asked what the occasion was, but Daniel had no intention of answering him. After that, Daniel came into the pub a few more times and drank with less passion. However, he had never been quite the same.

 “I need you to see if he is alright.” Elizabeth looked around the pub to be sure they were alone. “I don’t know what happened to him. I am afraid that…” Placing a hand over her eyes and rubbing her forehead, she continued. “I don’t know if they…”

“Alright,” Jacob took her hand in his and tried to calm her wave of emotions. “I will go up to the house.”

“Do you know what is going on?” She asked. Jacob sighed and shook his head.

“I’m afraid not, but he hasn’t been himself lately.” Keeping his face turned to the side like he always had, Jacob hid the worst of his scar from her view. “But he made me promise to take you to Vincent if you ever asked to go. So, I am thinking that he knew something was coming. How long has it been since you left the house?”

“About an hour,” she guessed. “I need to get to my brother.” She sniffled and raised her eyes to his.

Jacob was a hardened man. His features would have frightened a finer woman, but Elizabeth knew him as a kind man with a good nature. The fact that he was missing an eye would have bothered most people, especially since he refused to wear an eye patch, but the burnt skin that covered the side of his face had never bothered Elizabeth. Daniel had warned her about his accident at the glass factory long before she met him.

“You stay there.” He walked behind the pub and picked up his dagger and removed his pistol from a cabinet under the bar. Every few seconds, Jacob would glance at the young woman that sat in the chair. Her face was as muddy as her dress. She looked terrified as well as exhausted. “Did your father tell you anything? Did he say who the men were or what they wanted?”

“No,” she shook her head. Elizabeth was not about to give out any more information than she needed to. “There was gunfire,” she added. Jacob grabbed his coat and nearly bolted toward the door.

“Stay here! I am going to get Robbie. Then, I am going to head up to the house.” Opening the door, Jacob waited for a coach to pass before he crossed the road to the glass factory.

There seemed to be something wrong with the clock on the wall. Even though the pendulum was swinging, it hardly seemed to move at all. Elizabeth tried not to think about her father, but she found herself limping across the room and staring out the window for Jacob to bring him back.

No matter how she tried to imagine the situation, there was no way for her father to survive. The pain in her foot drove her to retrieve her stick and lean heavily on the wood. Elizabeth remembered the layout of the small farmhouse and thought of a hundred different ways for Daniel to avoid the shots that were fired. Unfortunately, her heart felt heavy and she could not evade the probability that he was dead.

Daniel was the only parent she had ever known. He had worked at a manor just north of Burdery when she was born. The woman that lived there was a quiet gentlewoman. She kept mostly to herself while her husband was overseas with the military. The affair was short lived, but the child that was created would have been too much of a complication for the young married woman.

The pregnancy and Elizabeth’s birth were concealed to almost everyone, except for the few people that worked at the manor. Most of them were removed from the house after she was born. Daniel left the manor with Elizabeth, and never returned.

Elizabeth was told stories of her mother’s beauty and strength. Daniel swore to her daily, that her mother loved her as much as he did. That is why Elizabeth had to be sent away. The story had always seemed painfully romantic to Elizabeth. She remembered how Daniel’s eyes would shine as he spoke about her mother. Then, the memory faded with another tear.

Looking at the clock once more, she wondered if the minute hand had ever moved at all. The town seemed practically empty as she stared out the small window. Smoke rolled out of the glass factory as it always had, but the roads seemed unnaturally empty.

The small town of Caterwood seemed to survive off the small glass factory. In fact, the factory, mill, market, and church were the only large buildings in the whole town. The pub and the post were situated on the same street as the others, along with a bank and a tiny Inn, but the town was the center of the farming community. Everyone in it seemed to be barely above poverty, with the exception of a few wealthy families. Even they wanted to escape the cumbersome way of life.

Elizabeth leaned against the bar while she tried to avoid staring at the clock. When the door to the pub finally opened, her heart sank to a low that she could not have imagined. Jacob and a young man walked through the door with horror showing in their expressions.

“We couldn’t find him,” Jacob whispered as Elizabeth leaned more on the bar. A whirl of emotions and ideas surrounded her as she tried to understand what he meant.

“What do you mean?” She asked in a whisper. “Can he still be alive?” The young man walked over to her with an expression she couldn’t ignore. Elizabeth began to sway.

“Hold on there, Miss.” Robbie reached for her arm. Jacob shook his head and looked to the floor. He did not know how to tell the girl what he had seen.

“We looked everywhere. The house is tore apart, but your father was nowhere to be found,” Jacob explained.

“Then he is alive!” Elizabeth stood straight up as she felt hope for the first time.

“Hold her up Robbie,” Jacob said as he took a step closer. His good eye seemed bloodshot, glassy, and bewildered. “There is too much blood, Beth.”

“What?” She did not realize that she had begun to lean on the man that held her arm.

“Damn Beth, I’m sorry.” Jacob did not want to tell her that there was a puddle of blood all over the front porch. He did not want to mention that it was smeared across the grass, the drive, and the road as if a body had been drug behind a horse. “He’s gone.”

Pushing away from the man that held her, Elizabeth started to walk toward the door. Her only thought was that they did not look hard enough. She could not believe that he was dead, even though her heart told her it was the truth.

There was no pain in her foot as she tried to reach the door. Her body still limped, but her mind did not recognize the physical pain. Jacob reached out to her and stopped her from walking out. When his arms encircled her, Elizabeth gave into the scream that overtook her.

Jacob held her tightly as he looked over at his son. Robbie had never seen a gruesome mess like he saw up at the old farmhouse. The blood spanned across the grass, but the tracks and the gore, led them most of the way down the opposite side of the hill. The blood all over the driver’s seat of the carriage proved that Giles had suffered as well before he was dragged away. Robbie was not a boy, nor did he have a weak stomach, but what he saw at the farmhouse caused him to vomit more than once.

“Beth, do you know who did this?” Jacob asked again. When she shook her head, he decided to continue. “Beth, you might not be safe here.” Raising her head, Elizabeth looked into the deeps set blue eye.

“I have to go to my brother,” she whispered.

Elizabeth could not handle the thought of her father being dead or being away for more than a day. In her mind, she wanted to go home at that very moment. Pushing the thought aside, she wiped her tears as they fell uncontrollably.

The words were almost silent as she spoke, “I have to see Vincent.”