Elizabeth Drake

Chapter Nine

By the time they reached the small town it was getting late. The Inn seemed quiet and abandoned. Ryan eased the carriage to a stop at the front of the Inn and looked to Elizabeth.

“Go inside and wait for me. I am going to take the carriage in back.” Elizabeth came to stand on the solid ground. The rain had fallen in the small town, but there was not nearly as much mud as there was in Caterwood.  “Here, you might want this.” Ryan tossed her the brown package with the new dress.

With the parcel in hand, Elizabeth turned to the Inn and walked up to the door. An old man stood behind a small front desk, reading the newspaper.

“Good evening, Miss. Are you in need of a room?” He removed his spectacles and set the paper down.

“Two actually,” Elizabeth answered as sweetly as she could. “Do you have two to spare?”

She waited in fear as the man opened a drawer that held a box of keys. If he told her that there was only one room available, she would not know what to do, but as the thought continued to take over her imagination Elizabeth looked out the window to see if Ryan was anywhere near.

“Yes.” The innkeeper smiled as he opened the box. “We have plenty of rooms, don’t you worry about that.” Elizabeth drew in a deep breath as she looked behind her. Ryan came into the Inn with his normal cheery disposition. “Is this the other guest for the evening?”

“Yes,” she answered.

“We are going to let Vincent pay for the night,” Ryan said as he took his wallet out of his inside pocket. “Were you able to secure two rooms?” The innkeeper smiled as he looked at Ryan’s harsh expression.

“Yes, she did.” The odd look that he gave, made Elizabeth realize that he thought they were a couple. “Maybe you should say you were sorry,” he chuckled as he avoided Elizabeth’s annoyed glare.

“I beg your pardon?” She asked rather rudely.

 “Show us to the rooms and mind your own damn business.” Ryan paid the man and took the keys from him. The little man cleared his throat and replaced his spectacles.

“Up the stairs and down to the left, they are right across the hall from each other.”

“Thank you,” Elizabeth said rudely as she walked ahead of Ryan.

Lamps that hung from the ceiling lit the hall as they climbed the steps to the second floor. A thick musty smell made Elizabeth wish that they had continued to Burdery, but Ryan was right. The horses were tired, and they would not have been able to travel fast enough.

The creaking stairs sounded like they were going to break under the pressure. Elizabeth held on to the railing as she made her way to the hallway above. Every step seemed to make the floorboards bend under her weight, and she looked back at Ryan with concern. The establishment was a little less than repulsive.

“Go on, you are fine,” he whispered. When she reached the rooms at the end of the hall, she looked at the two doors. Ryan stepped up behind her. “Would you like the parlor room, decorated in fine silk and embroidery?” Turning to wave at the door behind him, Ryan offered another quick description. “There is also the lovely state-room, with periwinkle velvet and a grand view of the gardens below.”

“I will take the periwinkle. It is quite a lovely shade at this time of year.” She smiled back at him as he held up the keys. Trying the wrong key in the lock he lifted his head.

“Are you sure, I am rather fond of velvet.” The second key opened the door and a damp musty smell escaped the room. Elizabeth raised her hand to cover her nose as Ryan looked inside. “Hold on,” he said as he turned to the other door and used the key. The second room was much less offensive to the nose.

“You can have the velvet,” Elizabeth said as she walked into the cleaner room.

“Thank you.” Ryan gave an awkward smirk as he handed her the key.

“Enjoy the view of the gardens,” she began to chuckle.

Ryan stepped into her room and walked over to the small table, before lighting the lamp. The blanket on the bed was made of green wool and the shutters on the window had been locked. Walking over to the corner, Ryan checked for anything that might be offensive to her. It was the type of room that you would find a dead animal lying in.

“You are being a little ridiculous,” she whispered.

“Obviously, you did not see the vomit stain on the floor in the stateroom.” He turned to face her with the same rare smile. “At least I hope it was vomit.” Elizabeth felt strange with him inside the room, but at the same time she did not want him to leave.

“Thank you,” she spoke in a hushed whisper. “I will be fine.” Ryan liked the way that she looked at him. He did not realize it until then, but he was beginning to find her much less annoying.

“I am right across the hall,” he reminded her as he backed away.

“I know,” she answered, but when Ryan turned around and walked into the hallway Elizabeth felt a moment of dread. “Mr. Hawke,” she called quickly.

In that one moment he thought about it. He thought about taking her back into that room and kissing her, until she would call out his name in a less elegant fashion. When he turned to face her, he wondered if the look in her eyes meant that she had thought about it as well. Unfortunately, Elizabeth did not know why she had called for him, but she did not want him to go.

“Goodnight,” she whispered after an awkward moment.

“You are going to be fine Beth,” Ryan said in a calm tone.

The way that he spoke her name sounded sweeter to her than she had ever heard before. He had called her ‘Beth’ a few times before, but as he stood there in his white shirt and black jacket with the lamplight showing a different depth to his eyes, Elizabeth found him nearly irresistible. Without another glance, Ryan closed the door behind him.

***

Despite the constant tossing and turning, Elizabeth had fallen asleep. Her dreams were filled with thoughts of Ryan, until a strange sound forced her awake. The squeak of the door hinge caused her to sit up straight. Her heart was in her chest as the form of a man walked into her room.

“Ryan?” Elizabeth whispered as the man crossed the room quickly. At about the same time that she realized it was not Ryan, he reached out for her. Elizabeth fought to scream, but a hand quickly covered her mouth as she drew in a deep breath.

“Get in here and shut the door!” The man called over his shoulder. Elizabeth watched in horror as Harland walked into the room with his tall and lengthy form. “Get her clothes,” Gatler ordered as he looked at the gray dress on the chair. “I am pretty sure that Mr. Roshire does not want to see her like this.” Harland grabbed the dress and the boots as Gatler lifted her off the bed and placed her bare feet on the floor.

“Your man Hawke is getting a little careless, Miss Drake,” he said placing a pistol to her side. “If I were trying to protect you, I would have done it from within the same bed.” Elizabeth’s eyes were wide with fear as Gatler pressed the pistol hard against her ribs. “Now listen very carefully.” He grabbed a fistful of her hair and forced her to look up. All she could see was the large bloody slice above his broken nose. “You are going to remain silent. If you even blink loudly, I will spill your blood all over this floor. Nod if you understand me.” The grip of his hand made it difficult to move her head, but Elizabeth withstood the pain as she nodded.

“What about Hawke?” Harland asked.  Gatler looked down at Elizabeth and pulled even harder on her hair. She wanted to cry out, but fear kept her silent.

“What do you think,” Gatler hissed in her ear. “Should we just kill him now and get it over with?” Elizabeth closed her eyes as he stood behind her and continued to breathe down her neck. “Or should I believe that you will stay quiet long enough to get you back to Burdery?”

She was about to die. Elizabeth had no doubt that it was her last night alive and she was not about to have Ryan killed as well. Through her terror, Elizabeth remained quiet.

“Tell me where the letter is, and I will let him live,” Gatler ordered. Even though she was young and naïve, she was not completely stupid. She knew that they would kill Ryan no matter what she said, but the pain in her head was hard to bear.

“Ryan has it,” she lied.

“It’s here,” Harland said as he lifted the letter out of the gray dress. Gatler turned back to Elizabeth and forced her to look up at him.

“You lied to me,” he whispered. Then as quickly as he came into her room Gatler released her hair and pulled back his fist, before slamming it into her face. Elizabeth heard Harland chuckle as she fell against him. “Give me that!” Gatler ordered as Harland handed him the letter. “Take care of Hawke.”

The room swayed around her as Elizabeth reached up to her face, feeling the excruciating pain. Everything seemed to swirl around her, and it was hard to move. However, when she turned to see Harland walk toward Ryan’s room with a gun in his hand she ran after him.

“Where do you think you are going?” Gatler asked as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

Harland kicked open the door with a quick aim and took a single shot at the bed inside. Elizabeth screamed for only a second before Gatler wrapped his hand around her mouth and pulled her close to him.

“It’s alright, Miss Drake. You won’t have to suffer his loss for long.” A thick chuckle escaped Harland as he walked into Ryan’s room and stepped up to the bed.

“I never thought that I would be the one to kill Ryan Hawke,” Harland whispered as he reached for the blanket on the bed. “Damn,” he said loudly.

“What is it,” Gatler looked up from Elizabeth.

“He’s not here!” He yelled. Elizabeth looked over to the room across the hall and felt hope begin to rise.

“What do you mean?” Gatler asked as he pulled Elizabeth into the hall in her underclothes. The room was empty, and Harland had shot a whole through the center of the bed. “Damn,” Gatler said as he reached up and grabbed onto Elizabeth’s hair again. “He is setting a trap, let’s go.”

“Maybe we should just kill her now.” Harland followed Gatler down the stairs. Elizabeth held onto the fist that Gatler had imbedded in her hair. The pain was agonizing, and she could feel blood dripping from her nose.

“Now what fun would that be?” Gatler asked.  “I’ve gone through a lot of effort to get a hold of this little harlot. I am not about to do away with her, until I get paid for my services.” As he reached the halfway point on the stairs Gatler decided that Elizabeth was not walking quite fast enough. “Get moving!” He ordered as he pushed her.

There was no way for her to catch her footing. The force of his arm had sent her tumbling forward without any chance of stopping the fall. Elizabeth cried out again as she reached for the rail. Her momentum caused her legs to stumble and she fell hitting every step until she landed on the floor.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Gatler said as he reached down and grabbed a fistful of hair once more. “Did you hurt yourself?”

The room spun around her as her body was wracked with pain. Elizabeth felt the large hand pulling on her hair, and she had no choice but to come to her feet. She cried out as she was forced to stand. However, it was not until she opened her eyes that she saw a pool of blood near the front desk.

Tears came quickly as she placed her hands above Gatler’s fist again. The old man that had given her the keys laid in a slump on the floor behind the desk. His throat had been sliced open, and his eyes were fixed in a dead stare. Elizabeth turned away and tried to keep her legs under her, but the pain of the fall spread throughout her body.

“I didn’t say that you could sit down.” Gatler continued to hold her up by her hair. Even as her legs wanted to give way, his fist alone held her upright. “You are in for a hell of a night, Miss Drake. I would hate for you to miss the fun.” Looking around the Inn, Gatler called out loudly. “Did you hear that Hawke? I’m going to let Roshire kill her, but she will wish that she were dead long before then.” Gatler continued to look up the stairs as he called out.

Tears ran down Elizabeth’s face as she tried to find an escape. Blood ran from her nose and her mouth and the only movement that she made was to force her feet to keep up to his pace. Gatler pushed her toward the door and out into the street, keeping the pistol at her ribs the entire time. Then, as if she weighed less than a feather, he lifted her onto his horse and climbed up behind her.

“What do we do about Hawke?” Harland asked.

“Wait for him to find us. Then, he can watch while I play with his little toy.” She could not see his face, but Elizabeth closed her eyes as Gatler’s breath passed over her shoulder.

 With a kick of his boots the horse took off in a run. Every movement caused her body to tense up in pain. The huge man held his arm tightly around her waist, but her only thought was about Ryan.

Elizabeth felt complete agony when Harland had pulled the trigger and shot into the bed. She thought for sure that Ryan was dead. It was hard to believe Ryan was not in the room, but as she saw for herself that the bed was empty, she prayed that he would save her.

Her eyes remained closed as her body absorbed the shock from the horse’s stride. Gatler pressed against her in a way that made her fear for more than her life. His hand around her stomach pulled so hard that she tightened her muscles to handle the pain. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw where they were going. Gatler did not lead his horse to the main road. Instead, he kept to the field near the forest.

The horses ran at a steady pace for several minutes. Then without warning she heard Harland groan as his horse fell forward. Elizabeth heard a bone snap as the giant stallion rolled forward over its own head. Harland was thrown as it landed on the ground.