‘George is here,’ Anthony declared as soon as the door closed behind her. His father nodded.
‘I’m inclined to agree with you.’ He watched as his son stepped towards the front window and peered through the curtain. Craning his head to the side, Anthony could just see the front of their carriage. Reassured he turned around.
‘I think I should investigate while you wait here,’ Anthony went on brusquely. ‘We’re sitting ducks in this deuced room.’ For a second, he thought his father was about to argue, then the Reverend sighed and waved towards the door.
‘Be careful, lad. No heroics for God’s sake. You’re no use to her dead.’
Anthony gave a brief nod and strode towards the door, pulling it open just enough to see into the hall. It was empty, the only sound the ticking of a large grandfather clock. Without preamble, he pulled the door wider and slipped through.
Once back in the hall, he glanced down the corridor, which he thought likely to lead to the kitchen, then looked up. If George was here, it made sense she was locked in a bedroom. His decision made, he swiftly began climbing the stairs.
∞∞∞
George sat on the bed, picking at the cover morosely. She’d eaten most of their meagre breakfast after Judith declared herself not hungry, but the dry bread was now sitting in her belly like a rock. She couldn’t stop thinking about Anthony. It was still almost impossible to believe him dead. And all because of her. She gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to burst into tears. Turning on the bloody waterworks wouldn’t help anything.
All she had left was revenge.
But first she had to escape.Thenshe’d send Linfield straight to hell.
Judith gave a sudden gasp. ‘There someone outside,’ she called over. Hurriedly, George climbed off the bed and went to look.
‘It’s a bloody vicar?’ she muttered. For an incredulous second, she wondered if it was Anthony’s father, but she’d never seen this God botherer before, and he was as skinny as a mopstick.
Just then, they heard footsteps along the landing, followed by a familiar voice, clearly coming from downstairs.
‘It’s Simon,’ Judith breathed, terror lacing her voice.
‘Shit, shit,shit,’ George groaned, looking around for something they could use as a weapon. Grabbing a small candlestick, she watched the door, heart thudding as the key began to turn, all the while wondering hysterically how Linfield had made it up the stairs so quickly.
Just as the door began to open, she glanced over at Judith, then charged towards the doorway, ready to hurl her makeshift weapon.
Only to skid to a stop in disbelief, a foot away from Anthony.
∞∞∞
At Linfield’s sudden appearance, Augustus Shackleford was almost tempted to do a runner. Indeed, he might have turned tail had Anthony not been upstairs.
‘What the devil are you doing here?’ In that few precious seconds, Reverend Shackleford realised that Linfield had not yet made the connection between the sudden appearance of a clergyman and the man he’d murdered in cold blood only two days ago.
All the Reverend had to do was keep the varmint talking long enough for Nicholas to arrive.
‘Blessings to you my son,’ he murmured, taking his time to clamber to his feet. Linfield simply stood and stared, trying to remember where he’d seen the clergyman before.
Heart hammering, the Reverend took a step forward, taking care to keep his head lowered in seeming piety. ‘I am here on behalf of the … err … church roof fund.’Church roof fund?Augustus Shackleford winced. Clearly he was losing his touch.
Linfield took a menacing step forward, then stopped and turned at the sound of footsteps running down the stairs. Muttering an oath, the master of the house began to retrace his steps toward the door, drawing a pistol at the same time.
Thunder and deuced turf.The Reverend acted without thinking. Ignoring the fact that the last time he’d jumped on anything was when he saved Queen Charlotte from a dunking in the duckpond, the clergyman lifted his cassock and took a running leap onto Linfield’s back.
The two crashed to the floor at the same time as Anthony reached the bottom of the stairs, Georgiana and Judith behind him. Seeing the pistol still in Linfield’s hand, Anthony swore and threw himself towards the two women, pushing them out of harm’s way - just as the pistol went off, the bullet ricocheting past their heads.
After a stunned second, George gave a wild cry, clambered to her feet and snatched up the candlestick she’d dropped to the floor. Then before Anthony could stop her, she bludgeoned Linfield over the head and yelled, ‘See how you like it, you murdering bastard.’
There was a shocked silence, then abruptly, another shot broke the brief hush. Georgiana cried out and fell backwards, gripping her arm.
‘I’ll see you dead you bitch,’ yelled Henry Atkins, staggering down the hall, brandishing a pistol in his good hand.
Ignoring the pain in his chest, Anthony leapt to his feet and faced the frothing man. There was no time to draw his own weapon.
