Elizabeth Drake

Chapter Nine 2

“What happened?” Gatler pulled his own horse to a stop as he looked back at Harland.

“I don’t know. He just tripped on something.” As Harland came to his feet, he watched the large try to get up. The first time that it tried to use its front foot, sent him tumbling back to the ground. “I knew that we should have stayed to the road.”

“Take care of it,” Gatler ordered as the horse lay on its side in pain. It tried to get up several times, but when Harland pulled out his gun and aimed it toward the animal’s head, Elizabeth closed her eyes and turned away.

Gatler led his animal toward the woods as the pistol shot echoed through the pitch-black night. Branches and leaves swiped passed her arms and snagged her hair, but Elizabeth made no sound. Once he had rode far enough into the forest that he could not see the field, Gatler waited for Harland to catch up.

“Now what?” Harland asked.

“Take her,” he said, pushing Elizabeth off the horse and into Harland’s arms.

“We can’t get back to Burdery on one horse.” Placing his arms around her waist Harland watched as Gatler dismounted.

“No, we can’t.” Gatler walked over to his horse and took a long piece of rope out of the saddle. “You are going to like this,” he sneered at Elizabeth. “This is the same rope that I drug your daddy with.”

Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked at the long rope before she understood what he had said. Nausea took over her body as the realization came to her. She closed her eyes and tried to fight the tear that fell down her cheek, but the salty liquid burned the cut that she had received from the fall down the stairs.

“At least he was a man about it,” Gatler said. “It didn’t matter much. He was practically dead before we strung him up.”

Elizabeth struggled against Harland as she tried to break free. Her mind forced her to imagine what her father had to endure, even though she fought hard to ignore it. The visions that came to her mind ate away at her, until the emotions were too much, and the pain made struggling impossible.

“There is a farmhouse, just down the way.” Gatler nodded toward the field. A very faint glow of lamplight was visible through the trees. “You have fifteen minutes to get there and come back with a horse. If you do not make it in time, I will take her to Roshire, and you will catch up later.”

“You aren’t taking her without me. There is a lot of money riding on her head.” Harland pulled Elizabeth away from Gatler and her nearly limp body did not resist.

“And you will be lucky to see any of it if you do that again,” Gatler warned as he reached for Elizabeth a second time. Harland released his hold as Gatler wrapped the rope around her wrists. “Now hurry up, I am leaving here in fifteen minutes. If you want to go with, I suggest that you find yourself a horse.”

“You want me to steal a horse from there?” Harland looked through the woods.

 “Move!” Gatler leaned over and slapped Harland in the back of the head.

“No… please,” Elizabeth begged as Gatler continued to wrap the rope around her hands. “Just let me go.” Deep laughter was the answer to her plea.

“Do you even know how much trouble I have gone through to get to you?” He asked as his steel blue eyes peered down at her. “We asked your father for the letter. If he had given it up freely, we would have only had to kill you, and that would have been the end of it.”

“No!” She cried out as she fought against the rope. There was little strength left within her, but she was not about to fall to the ground. “Let me go!” Gatler walked over to a thick tree. As he moved his hands, one over the other, he brought her before him again.

“But your daddy had to try and be noble about things. He wanted to give his little girl a life that she never knew.” Elizabeth cringed as he wrapped his fist in her hair once more. “A life that meant taking money away from my employer, but that would be taking money away from me.” Forcing her head back, Gatler stared down at her. “Now, you don’t really want my money, do you?”

“No!” Elizabeth answered quickly as she started to break. There was no one for miles and she had truly little strength left to fight him. “I don’t want your money,” she swore. Lifting his head and looking around, Gatler leaned closet to her ear.

“Can you hear that?” He did not wait for an answer as he heard her sobs. “I don’t hear anything either…” Lifting his head again, he waited for another moment. “I don’t think anyone is coming to save you.”

Elizabeth tried to fight him as he raised her hands above her head. Looking to the thick branch that came just above her head, Gatler dropped the length of the rope on the other side and began to tie her hands to the branch. She cried out and tried to struggle, but it did nothing more than annoy him. The last cry was loud enough to be heard through the woods, and Gatler was not about to listen anymore.

“Shut your mouth!” He struck her hard with the back of his hand. The hit was enough to make her lose the ability to stand. Her weight pulled on her arms as she collapsed against the rope. “Oh, are you alright?” Gatler removed his jacket before he laid his hand against her cheek and turned her face to look up at him. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Elizabeth was not a strong woman. She knew that she could not stay conscious much longer. As Gatler leaned closer to her face, she used what she had left in her to stand on her feet once more.

“There you go,” Gatler smiled at her. “That’s a good girl.” His steel blue eyes terrified Elizabeth as he placed his hands on her hips and moved toward her.

Her thin chemise did nothing to protect her from feeling his body against hers. A wicked smile spread across Gatler’s face as he leaned forward and grazed his lips down the line of her jaw. As Elizabeth tried to pull her head away from him, he pulled hard on her hair. Without the ability to move her head, she cringed as he forced his lips against hers. Tears ran down her cheek as Gatler pressed his body against hers. The rope held her arms high above her head and Elizabeth was nearly helpless.

“Stop…” she pleaded. Gatler reached down to her leg and began to pull the fabric of her chemise upward while his mouth continued to assault her neck. The material of the gown continued to rise, until Elizabeth felt Gatler’s hand on the bare flesh of her thigh. She tried to pull her leg away from his hand and that is when she heard the ripping sound of the chemise in his hand.

Elizabeth made one quick movement and screamed out. She lifted her knee and hit Gatler between the legs with all her strength. A deep groan came out of his chest as he reached to grab himself, but the next thing that she saw was Gatler’s fist as it slammed against her face.

Even though she could not open her eyes, Elizabeth heard more than she expected to. Someone fell against her feet as a groan called out. Then, she heard a struggle. She was bumped twice by a large form but had no idea who it was. Elizabeth tried to force her eyes open as she listened to the leaves and branches around her. More clatter could be heard, and a bit of vision finally returned through one of her eyes. Gratefully, the sight was worth it.

Ryan stood above Gatler as the man knelt before him. Fist after fist was thrown into his skull. Ryan showed no mercy to the man that was once his friend. After several strikes, Gatler fell.

“Get up,” Ryan said as he circled around the man that he wanted to kill. “Get up!” Gatler shook his head and came to his feet.

“I’m not going to kill you,” he said as he struggled to stand. “But I will let you watch me and your little lady.”

Ryan attacked quickly, once Gatler stood to his full height.  Elizabeth could hardly see what was happening, but she did notice that Gatler hardly touched Ryan. After a few more punches, Gatler fell to the ground again, but this time he reached for his pistol.

“Ryan!” It was barely audible, but he heard her. Gatler came to his feet and lifted his arm with the gun in it.

Pulling his knife out of his back pocket, Ryan turned on him. Within a second, the blade was stabbed deep into Gatler’s leg. The wound was vicious, but it was not enough for Ryan. Without a second thought he ripped the knife through Gatler’s flesh and grabbed the gun beside him.

“You better finish this Hawke, or I swear I’ll kill you!” Gatler tried to get up, but as blood spewed from the wound, he fell back to the dirt. “Hawke,” he called as he held tight to his leg and looked up to Ryan. It was the last thing Elizabeth saw. As she allowed her eyes to close, she could hear Ryan run to the tree that held her up.

“Come on, Beth.” Pocketing the pistol, he cut the rope that held her hands. “I got you.” Elizabeth could feel herself being lifted against his body. There was little strength left in her, but she was able to force her legs to hold her up. “We have to get you on that horse. The darkness concealed her wounds from his sight. Ryan placed his hands on the side of her face and gently kissed her forehead. Grabbing the dress from Gatler’s horse, Ryan gently eased the material over her head and covered her torn chemise. “Come on,” he whispered. “We have to go.”

“Get the letter,” she whispered against his chest. Ryan walked back over to Gatler as he lay on the ground and held his leg.

“You won’t live out the week, Hawke!” The pain in his leg was crippling, and Gatler was unable to stop Ryan from taking the letter. “I’ll find you! Andrew will kill that little b***h of yours!”

Gatler yelled after them the entire time that Ryan readied his mount with Elizabeth cradled in front of him. The horse was led out of the woods and slowly made its way to the road. Even if Harland had found them, he was not brave enough to do anything without Gatler. Elizabeth was sore and tired as she leaned against Ryan, but she did not feel safe enough to close her eyes.

“Where were you?” She asked in a whisper.

Ryan could not believe how helpless she looked as she laid in his arms, but he thought about how things played out and he wondered what he could have done differently.

The sound of the struggle with the innkeeper was what woke him up. He could hear Gatler’s voice on the first floor. When Ryan entered the hallway, he tried to open Elizabeth’s door, but she had it locked. Ryan knew that he could not call to her without them finding out exactly where their rooms were. Gatler and Harland would want to get rid of him as quickly as they could. So, Ryan did the only thing that he could do.

Forcing the window in his room open, he climbed out to the side of the building. He pulled the window almost perfectly closed and then he waited as he tried to figure out a plan. The small decorative ledge that circled the second story gave him something to press his boots against, but he could not hang for long. When he heard the door to his room open and the shot that was fired, Ryan let go of the window and fell over ten feet to the ground below.

It took him more than a few minutes to stand up. It was beyond luck that kept him from breaking anything more than two of his fingers, but when he made his way to the front of the Inn, he saw the gun that was placed to Elizabeth’s side. Once they rode off Ryan took one of Vincent’s horses and headed toward Burdery. It was only when he heard gunfire in the field that he realized how far off he was. At breakneck speed, Ryan headed toward the sound. He eventually came up on Harland’s stallion. At that moment, he heard Elizabeth scream.

“I’m sorry,” he said in a whisper. Ryan looked down at Elizabeth and hated himself for letting them get to her. “I have been following you since they left the Inn, but I just couldn’t get to you in time.”

“I thought you left me,” she whispered closing her eyes and resting against his chest.

“I didn’t leave you.” Ryan pulled her closer and rode on through the night.

She allowed her eyes to stay closed for what seemed like a moment, but when she opened them the night looked much brighter. The horse’s hooves clicked on paved road and she could see the silhouette of tall buildings around her. Elizabeth had slept for the entire journey back to Burdery, and Ryan held her close the entire ride.

“Where are we?” She asked, feeling the stiffness and pain take over her body.

“At your brother’s house,” he answered

“This is not my brother’s house.” Elizabeth sat up as Ryan dismounted. He held out his arms to her, and she was grateful to be in them once more. “I have stayed at his house.”

“This is his house. He doesn’t always live here, but I have a feeling that he is here tonight.”

Elizabeth had no idea what Ryan was talking about and she honestly did not care. Her entire body ached, and she wanted nothing more than a place to sleep. So, she allowed Ryan to lead her up the steps and waited as he knocked on the door. A woman in her advanced years wearing a gray robe answered.

“Yes?” She asked in a suspicious voice. “Mr. Hawke, we were expecting you hours ago.”

“I didn’t want to wake you Letti.” Ryan led Elizabeth into the house and closed the door behind him. “Did Vincent tell you that we would be staying here tonight?”

“Yes, of course.” The woman looked at Elizabeth and placed her hand against the side of her face. “Let me have a look at you.” Elizabeth instinctively pulled away from the woman’s hand and leaned closer to Ryan. “It’s alright,” the woman said in a kind tone. “I can look at it later if you would like.”

“I need a place for her to sleep.” Ryan held his arm tighter around Elizabeth as he tried to smile to the maid.

“That is understandable dear. Did you want me to wake Mr. Drake?” Letti turned toward the beautiful stairway that curved up to a second floor.

“Please don’t,” She asked Ryan. “I don’t want him to see me. He has suffered as much as I have.” Vincent had taken a beating that day, but Elizabeth had been through much more in Ryan’s eyes.

“No-thank you Letti, we will talk to him first thing in the morning.”

“Well come on then,” she said as she continued up the stairs. “I will show you to your rooms.”

The entire time that Elizabeth forced her legs to move beneath her, she thought of only one thing. She did not want Ryan to leave her side again. Every step was painful, and the closer they came to the top of the stairs the more intense her fear became.

Even in the dim light from the sconces Elizabeth knew that the house was beautiful, but with everything that had happened, she feared her surroundings. The housekeeper led them down two large halls before they reached the door that she was searching for.

“Mr. Drake ordered this room prepared especially for you, Miss Elizabeth.” Letti smiled as she opened the door. After a silent moment, Elizabeth looked up at Ryan.

“Could you excuse us please?” She asked the woman in a whisper.

“Of course.” The woman nodded and offered a kind smile. “Just ring if you need anything. Mr. Hawke, you know your way around.”

“What is it?” Ryan asked once Letti had left.

“I cannot stay here,” she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. “I don’t know where I am.”

“It’s alright. This is your brother’s house. Hardly anyone even knows that he owns it.” Seeing the fear in her eyes, he pulled her against his chest. “You are perfectly safe here.”

“No,” Elizabeth shook her head. “I don’t know where to run. I don’t know where to go…”

“Listen to me.” Ryan stroked the back of her hair as he noticed that long golden strands nearly fell out into his hands. “What did he do to you?” Ryan let the few golden tendrils fall to the floor. Elizabeth shook her head as she held him close.

“I won’t know where to find you.” The words that were stuck inside the back of her throat finally came out.

Ryan sighed heavily as he realized what had happened. In a single day, he had gained all the responsibility that he had avoided his entire life. “I will be right there,” he whispered, pointing to the chair next to the bed.