Elizabeth Drake

Chapter Five

“Here you are, Sir,” Mr. Halis carried a tray of glasses into the room and set them on the desk. Without showing any sign of appreciation to the man, Vincent looked over to Elizabeth.

“Andrew Roshire is a businessman. He may be as honest as a thug, but he is not a murderer.”

“I saw him.” Ryan came to Elizabeth’s defense. “And I know him better than you do. Don’t underestimate what Andrew is capable of,” he added.  “Whether he killed your father or not, he wants your sister, and I don’t think that he wants to invite her to tea on Sunday.” Taking a glass that the butler offered him, he looked over to Elizabeth.

The soft glow of the lamplight made her look innocent as she held her hands in front of her. The white gloves were clasped together next to the pink roses. Her head hung slightly low, allowing a few of the golden curls to fall over her neck and rest against the white satin gown.

Ryan found himself staring at her. She was easy on the eyes, although he had no other thoughts about her. He was a fan of married women. With a married woman, there was almost no complication and he could leave anytime he wanted to. In his mind, women were perfect if they were independent, or dependant on someone else. A woman like Elizabeth was a train wreck waiting to happen.

“Hawke,” Vincent brought Ryan’s attention back.

“You know what I cannot figure out? Why someone that killed your father, and has been asking around about his children, has not come to you yet.” Looking at the glass that he held in his hand Ryan continued. “You are a public figure, well known, and live in the same city.” He took a drink of the brandy as Elizabeth refused the wine that the butler offered. “Anyone could have put you two together by your name. If I were you, I would really want to see that letter right now.” Neither of the men looked toward Elizabeth.

She kept her head low as she looked over toward the door. Elizabeth would have to move behind Ryan’s chair to get out of the room. Vincent was leaning on his desk, and there were a few pieces of furniture in between him and the door. If either of them tried to get the letter from her, she could easily make it out of the room, but with her foot the way it was, Elizabeth would not get much further than that.

“It all comes down to money,” Ryan offered. “The only reason men like Andrew Roshire do anything, is because of money. Did your father have a sudden surge of income at all?” When Elizabeth looked confused, he restated the question. “Did he all a sudden start bringing home anything unusual like more food, of more booze, or new women?”

She was not about to answer the question. Every word was insulting to Elizabeth and her father’s memory. Vincent set his glass on the desk and crossed his arms in front of him.

“Beth,” Vincent took a more subtle approach. “Did Daniel ever come home from work with any unexplained marks, bruises, or injuries of any kind?”

 “No, not that I am aware of.” Keeping her mind on the distance between her and the door Elizabeth answered.

“What did he do?” Ryan asked as he sat back in the chair.

“Nothing of interest, odd jobs and maintenance at a glass factory,” Vincent said as he thought about the letter that his sister held.

“He was a shareholder that was also in management and distribution!” Elizabeth offered sharply with pride.

Looking at her with curiosity, Vincent wondered when Daniel had decided to take a job seriously. Ryan turned his head quickly toward Vincent, but Vincent anticipated his thoughts.

“Oswald Roshire owns the glass factory in Caterwood. Andrew is controlling most of the family’s business right now.”

“Maybe your father saw, or knew, something that he was not supposed to.”

 “Like what?” Elizabeth looked down at the flowers on her dress and decided not to crush the beautiful decorations by sitting down, even though her foot was killing her.

“And again, we are back to the letter,” Ryan pointed out.

“Did he ever come to Burdery,” Vincent looked at his sister as she stood near the bookshelf.

“No,” she answered. “Not that I am aware of.” After the conversation about the letter had seemed to drop, Elizabeth began to wonder what else might be relevant. “Whenever Jacob or Jarred Sanderson would come to the city, Father would always have them see how you were doing, but he never sent anything or received anything.”

“And you are sure, that the man that you saw at your friends house, asked for me.” Vincent kept his eyes on her while he waited for an answer.

“Not by name,” Elizabeth shook her head as she remembered the encounter. “He asked for Daniel’s son.” Ryan turned his head and noticed a flicker of light out on the road.

“I was going to suggest that Roshire did not know that you were related.” Ryan took another large drink of brandy. “But that is not the case.”

“We have different mothers and I was never in Caterwood. It is very possible that he has not put us together.” Vincent rubbed his cleanly shaved chin as he thought further.

“No,” Ryan said as he stood up out of the chair and began to walk to the door. “He knows you are related.”

“Why do you say that?” Elizabeth asked.

“Because if he didn’t know that you were related, then Harland Fening wouldn’t be walking up to your house right now.” Vincent looked out the window towards the street and saw the carriage outside.

“Get her out of here,” he said to Ryan.

“You could always just give her to them,” Ryan suggested as he admired the shocked look on Elizabeth’s face. “Just, go see what he wants. He is not going to start trouble all by himself.” Reassessing the situation, Vincent looked from Elizabeth over to Ryan.

“Keep her in here.” Opening the door to the study, Vincent met Mr. Halis in the hallway and walked across the den to the front door.

Silence surrounded them as Elizabeth strained her ears to hear what was being said. Ryan seemed unconcerned about the situation. He continued drinking his brandy and returned to his chair.

“What is Mr. Roshire going to do to him?” Elizabeth asked.

“Mr. Roshire is not here. It is Harland Fening at the door. Although he can be a drunken bastard at times, he is not dangerous on his own.” The entire time that he spoke, Ryan never even glanced at Elizabeth. “In fact, he is almost comical.”

“How do you know him?” She asked as she watched him stare at the glass.  Instead of ignoring her curiosity, Ryan decided to answer her.

“I move in all the wrong circles.” When Elizabeth did not look like she understood, Ryan continued. “We used to work together.” When Elizabeth realized that she would not be able to hear Vincent, she questioned him further.

“At the bank?” She asked. Ryan twirled his brandy once more before he looked at her. Elizabeth had been staring at him, and she diverted her eyes quickly.

“Not exactly,” he answered. It was obvious that she was trying to listen for Vincent. “You won’t be able to hear anything, he is two rooms away.” When Elizabeth did not respond, Ryan came to his feet and walked over to the brandy decanter. “Why don’t you just give your brother the letter? Or do you want him to end up like your father?” Without realizing it, Elizabeth stepped toward him.

“Unlike you Mr. Hawke, I have morals!” She did not intend her outburst to be easy to ignore, but he managed to accomplish the feat. “My Father gave me strict instructions. He did not tell me to give it to my brother, and he did not tell me to give it to the first swindler I met in a flashy suit.” The anger burned in her eyes as she faced him boldly. “You may have intimidated the man at the banquette Mr. Hawke, but I am not afraid of you or my brother.”

As soon as the words escaped her lips, Ryan set his glass down on the table. There were no sudden movements, although she could not seem to back away from him in time. Ryan stepped over to her and held a very stern expression. His eyes seemed to warn her about the danger that was to follow. Without raising a hand, Ryan watched the color of her eyes as they widened with alarm.

“Don’t raise your voice to me.” He spoke in a calm manner. “I can hardly tolerate you to begin with.” His eyes continued to stare into hers, while she tried to correct the dryness that had been bothering her throat. “You need to give the letter to your brother.” Even as he hovered over her, Elizabeth was not going to budge.

“It is not meant for him.”

“Even if it gets you both killed?” Ryan asked as he raised his eyebrows slightly. Swallowing again, Elizabeth did not know how to answer him.

“Please keep at a distance, Sir.” She spoke quietly. The crack in her voice gave away her uncertainty, but Ryan was quick to correct the situation.

“What an excellent idea.” In an instant, he walked back over to his brandy glass on the table.

Almost as quickly as Ryan reached for his glass, Vincent walked back into the study. Elizabeth did not know her brother well enough to understand the look in his eyes, but Ryan leaned back against the table and waited for the information to unfold.

“Beth, we need to get you out of the city,” Vincent stated.

“How about getting her out of the country altogether?” Ryan took a drink before he pulled his lips tight across his teeth as he swallowed the warm liquor. “I hear that Finland is nice this time of year.”

“Not now, Ryan.” Vincent walked over to Elizabeth and took both of her hands in his. “Will you let me see the letter?” He asked. When it looked like she was going to refuse him again, Vincent tried to reason with her. “These men are dangerous, Beth.” He maintained a soft tone. “They know that we are related, but they don’t know that you are my sister. Andrew Roshire is not a man that you want to toy with. If you have something that he wants, he is going to get it.” The concern in his eyes was easy to see as he continued to hold her hands. “He will hurt you.”

The letter that was once concealed so well, that even Elizabeth could hardly feel it, began to cut like a thorn in her side. Her mind traced back to the look on her father’s face the moment before he sent her running out the back door.

“I can’t give it to you,” she whispered. “If we can just get it to Oswald, everything will be better. I know it will!” Although she had convinced herself of her theory, Ryan and Vincent shared a glance that bothered her. “Just help me get it to him,” she pleaded.

“Beth, the man that came here warned me that there was a charge on your head.” Releasing her hands, Vincent stepped back. “They will be watching the bank and the house from now on. You are not safe here.” As the clock on the fireplace sounded the late hour, Elizabeth was not sure that she understood her brother.

“Do they mean to kill me?”

“Whatever you are holding,” Vincent tried to stay calm even though he wanted to yell at her for being naïve. “Whatever is in that letter could save your life.”

“Or in her case it is going to get her killed,” Ryan added with a smug look.

“Damn it, Hawke! Not now!” Vincent knew that he had to keep Elizabeth calm if he was going to get her cooperation.

The tone and the insults that were coming out of his mouth were not helping her consider trusting them. Ryan was driving her further away with every comment that he made.

“I am going back to the Inn. I have to return this dress and pick up my things. Then I will find a way to get to Oswald.” Placing her weight on her sore foot, Elizabeth looked up at Vincent. “You are a coward,” she whispered. “I have no idea what my father lost his life for, but if this is it?” She placed her hand above the letter concealed in her gown. “Then, I am going to see that it gets to the person that it was intended for.”

 Vincent stood in front of her and ran his hand through his hair as he exhaled. For being a man of tall stature, He was not enormously powerful. His shoulders were round and slanted down off his neck. Although he did not appear ill or sickly, he was a very thin and wiry man. With an almost pale complexion, Vincent looked very much like a businessman. However, he was still bold, conceited, and self-assured about his abilities.

“I may be a lot of things little sister, but I am no coward.” The tension in the room was becoming too much for her, Elizabeth stepped around her brother and began walking toward the door of the study. When he realized that there would be no stopping her, Vincent looked over to Ryan and lifted his head. “Take her to the Inn. I am going to see what I can find out.”

“No,” Ryan set his glass down on the table. “No one will tell you anything. You play nanny for a while. I have some things to take care of.” Ryan was not in the habit of waiting for permission or being polite. So, there was not even a pause or a glance to either of them before Ryan opened the door and walked out of the room. Elizabeth turned back to her brother after the door closed behind Ryan.

“What are you doing with him?”

There was no answer as Vincent picked up his jacket and walked over to Elizabeth. Placing a hand under her arm, he guided her and her limp out of the study and waited for Mr. Halis to call for his carriage.

***

 “I tried to stop them from coming in,” Lewis said as he held a cloth to his brow. The small lobby was in shambles. Stains of blood covered the linen and Elizabeth looked around the room franticly.

“Where is Anna?” She asked, hurrying toward the back of the Inn.

“I sent her away when they got here.” Keeping up to her quickened pace, Lewis continued to explain. “They came only a few minutes ago, two men with long dark coats.” Vincent had released Elizabeth’s arm and was walking down the hall in front of her. “When I refused to show them to your room, they threatened to hurt my Anna.”

“I am so sorry Lewis. I didn’t mean for this to happen.” Elizabeth continued down the hall until she came to the room that she had been staying in. All the furniture had been overturned. Much of it was destroyed. The mattress had been ripped open, along with the upholstery on the chair in the corner. Everything had been torn off the walls. The green gown and country dress had been shredded.

 “Whatever they were looking for was not here. They were even angrier when they left, than they were when they arrived.” Lewis stepped into the room and looked around the floor.

It was obvious that something was wrong when they reached the front door of the Inn. The frame of the door was broken and a vase that had sat on the front desk had been thrown on the floor, but when Lewis stepped out of the parlor, Elizabeth was overcome with guilt. The cut on his head was deep. It was bleeding severely, but the fact that he could not stand upright without showing the pain in his abdomen terrified her. It was a senseless act of violence. There was nothing there of hers except for the clothing. Lewis had paid dearly for his kindness to her.

“Is Anna alright?” She asked as she continued to stare at the mess around her.

“Yes,” he answered with a short groan of pain. “They allowed her to leave unharmed when they came in.” Vincent turned to her with an appearance of shock and disappointment.

“This is only the beginning, Elizabeth.” He warned her. Lifting the purse that was at her side, Elizabeth reached into the stack of money that her father had given her.

“Here,” she said as she offered Lewis half of what she had. It was more than enough to cover the damages, but she could not cover the injuries that Lewis had suffered or the friendship she had lost. “I never meant for any of this to happen. I couldn’t have known that…”

Lewis turned to her as Vincent reached under her arm. “Just go,” Lewis said quietly as he turned away from her.

Tears had begun to form in her eyes as she watched the kind man continue to hold his stomach as he walked out of the room. Elizabeth reached behind her neck and unfastened the clasp to the necklace that Anna had lent her, before setting the beautiful item on the only shelf that was left on the wall.

“Where am I going to go?” She turned to Vincent with the tears just beginning to spill over.

He did not want to look angry. Even though he knew she was completely responsible for what had happened to the kind couple. Vincent did not intend to show the fury that he felt. If Elizabeth had simply handed over the letter, he would know what they were dealing with, but her loyalty had placed her life in jeopardy, destroyed two rooms at the Inn, and put him in nearly as much danger.

“Vincent,” she whispered his name as her eyes showed her fear and vulnerability. In the twenty years that she had lived, Elizabeth had never known what it was like to be helpless. Daniel had never left her alone and she had never been placed in danger.

It was either the glow of her eyes, as the tears reflected the dim light, or it was the subtle tilt of her head, but something made Vincent realize how scared Elizabeth really was. Before he could come up with an idea to help her, Vincent pulled her into his embrace.

She did not allow herself to cry. Even though she could hardly hold back the tears, she allowed her brother to hold on to her without fully confiding in him. Vincent had turned his back on her twice in the last week. She would not trust him so easily again.

“Come on,” he whispered as he pulled her to the door. “We have to go.”

“We can’t go back to your house,” she informed him quietly. “If they see you with me, they will do the same thing to you, or even worse.” Pulling away from his assistance, Elizabeth waited for him to understand.

“We need help,” he said as he took her arm once more. Pulling away from his grasp, Elizabeth held up her hand.

“Not Ryan,” she protested. Vincent sighed as he turned back to her.

“Well, we can’t go to the authorities with this. Andrew and Oswald practically own Burdery law enforcement. If we go to them, they will have us both locked away. Your precious letter will never see its way into the right hands.”

“I don’t like that man, Vincent.” She held her voice quiet as she stepped over a piece of broken glass. “That man will turn me over to them the minute you have your back turned.”

There was no point in denying the possibility. Ryan Hawke was not exactly a stand-up citizen in the community, but he was good at what he did. He could buy them a little time, while Vincent tried to figure something out. The only downfall was that, if Andrew made the deal sweet enough for Ryan, Elizabeth could easily be in even more danger.

“We don’t have a choice,” Vincent admitted. “We just need a day or two.”

Taking her hand once more, he led her down the hall and back out to the street. A million thoughts ran through Elizabeth’s mind as she looked back at the damage that was done to the Inn. When they reached the carriage that brought them across town, Elizabeth became terrified of seeing Mr. Hawke again.

“You cannot trust him,” she tried to warn Vincent. Her thoughts had led her to the benefit that night. “I saw him Vincent. I saw him threaten a man and take his money.”

“You don’t know what you are talking about.” Vincent assisted her into the carriage and crawled up to sit across from her.

“He cannot be exactly honest. He took that man’s money in a very unprofessional way.” As Elizabeth was trying to warn her brother, Vincent began to chuckle. “There is nothing commendable about him.”

 Vincent continued to smile as he knocked on the roof of the carriage to signal to the driver. The horses pulled ahead with a slight jerk, and Elizabeth waited for him to respond.

“You won’t have to deal with him,” he reassured her. “Just stay quiet when he is around. Try not to provoke him.”

“Try not to provoke him?” Elizabeth sounded insulted. “That is nearly impossible!” Elizabeth looked out the window as she slid her foot out of the small dress shoe. “The man probably wakes up in the morning provoked about one thing or another.” Once the shoe was completely off her foot, she sighed with relief at the slight feeling of freedom. “Even if I stay absolutely silent, he will still be just as verbally abusive.” Shaking his head, Vincent wondered how long Ryan would tolerate her.

“Just don’t talk back. No matter what he says to you or to me, just hold your tongue. Ryan has truly little patience, but we need him.”

“Need him for what?” Elizabeth asked.  “What can he possibly help us with?”