No, no, no, no... Get out of here, Liam thought, as he rolled over to be sure his mind was not playing tricks on him.
Sure enough, there Rebecca was, standing at the doorway, a pistol pointed at Mellors, another tucked in her belt, the image of a fierce and formidable pirate warrior queen.
It might have been romantic had it not been so terrifying.
‘Rebecca, you need to leave, go, before—’
‘I’m not going anywhere, Liam,’ she said, her eyes never leaving the Viscount as she carefully made her way towards them. ‘Step away from him.’
‘Be careful with that, my dear.’ Mellors smiled derisively, nonetheless doing as he was told, arms raised, careful to seize the opportunity to move away from the fire growing behind him. ‘No need for anyone to get hurt.’
‘Do not doubt for one second I know how to use this.’
‘Rebecca, please, just—’
‘Liam, enough,’ she said sharply, stopping beside him. Without losing her focus she dropped down and handed him a knife from her pocket, before rising again, the pistol still aimed and at the ready. ‘You might’ve had it all, you know. If only you’d left them alone.’
‘In my defence,’ Mellors drawled, eyeing the door, ‘he went to the magistrate. I was otherwise quite prepared to keep my word.’
‘Strangely enough, I believe you.’
‘Well, one mustn’t dwell... Might I suggest perhaps we adjourn elsewhere? Things are beginning to heat up, if you’ll forgive the witticism.’
‘How are you doing, Liam?’ Rebecca asked, her voice as calm as she appeared, though she hadn’t failed to notice the growing flames in the library, nor the smoke drifting in from the hall. ‘Time is rather of the essence just now.’
‘Almost, there,’ he said, finally freeing his hands.
Liam rose, but did so too quickly and stumbled, still dazed from the blow to his head.
Rebecca moved to catch him, but in that second of inattention Mellors seized his chance, and ran for the door. She fired and nicked his arm before he disappeared.
Just as she made to follow there was a tremendous roar and crash in the hall, followed by a scream. Liam grabbed Rebecca’s arm, but she shook him off, extracted the other pistol from her belt, and ran after Mellors, determined to end it once and for all.
Struggling to keep steady on his feet, the smoke increasingly hindering his breathing and his sight, he stumbled out after her.
Why did I have to be cursed with the most stubborn woman in the world?
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rebecca reeled back as she burst into the hall, and threw up an arm up to cover her nose and mouth. The hall had turned into a hellscape. Flames licked and climbed every wall, every tapestry, every corner, and dark smoke curled in thick clouds. Beams and floors had crashed down from above, blocking the main entrance and the doors to the other rooms.
Coughing, her eyes stinging, she glimpsed Francis, unconscious, trapped under a smouldering pile of floorboards a few feet away. Time seemed to stop then, as Rebecca hesitated. She could leave him there. Pretend never to have seen him at all. Her nightmare would be over. Justice would be served. She’d heard what he said aboutthe others.
That is not justice. That is vengeance.
And though one nightmare might end, another would begin. Her guilt, it would follow her always, and taint the rest of her life.
You don’t get to escape so easily.
Tossing away the pistol, Rebecca tore away strips of her petticoat and wrapped her hands as she slid over to where he was.
‘Rebecca!’ Liam shouted, appearing beside her, wrapping his own hands in his jacket. ‘Where are the others?’
‘Safe!’
‘If the entire edifice was not on the verge of collapse, I would chastise you for this folly!’
‘Hurry and you can do so later!’ she shouted back, as they both began liberating Mellors.
