Mr. Conway must have not only sent for the doctor but had likely also had a message delivered to her family’s house to alert Kiernan of her whereabouts.
Alannah started to draw her into a hug.
Zaira stepped back, not wanting to stain Alannah’s clothing.
“Are you injured too?” Kiernan was scanning her, likely seeing all the blood that covered her gown.
“No, this is just Bellamy’s blood.”
Kiernan took in Bellamy. “We thought the two of you were captured by the Farrell gang in retaliation for Shaw’s imprisonment.”
“No, thanks be.”
“Oh aye, thanks be.” Alannah’s voice contained relief.“With how close the horses were to the river, we’d also considered the possibility that you’d both fallen in and ended up downstream.”
“We left our horses in the alley behind the bank.” Since they hadn’t planned to be gone long, they’d neglected to secure them tightly, so it was possible the horses had wandered off.
Kiernan lifted his hat and combed through his auburn hair, which was as mussed as his suit. “We had search parties out for half the night, combing the streets and riverbanks.” Exhaustion lined his face. No doubt he hadn’t gotten much sleep.
“I’m sorry, Kiernan. I didn’t mean to cause a fuss.”
Kiernan replaced his hat. “You made a big fuss, and now the whole city knows that the matchmaker and his fiancée are missing. They’ll also soon know that the matchmaker and his fiancée spent the night together in a basement room at the bank.”
Zaira released a sigh. “Is there any way to stop the spread of the rumors?”
“No. Which is why you’ll marry Bellamy just as soon as he’s awake.” Kiernan’s voice held a finality that confirmed everything Zaira had already known was coming.
However, she didn’t have the energy to argue with her brother at the moment. “Do Mam and Da know I was missing with Bellamy?”
“Oh aye, they do.” Kiernan leveled a hard look at her that made her heart quiver. “When you didn’t return last night, Winston rode out to Oakland to alert us. Da and I came back to the city right away.”
Alannah tucked Zaira’s hand through her arm. “I was worried about you, so I was.”
“You did the right thing.”
Alannah’s pretty eyes were filled with concern as she tugged Zaira toward the back door that led to the alley. “I’m sure Zaira is needing some fresh air and a chance to take care of personal needs.”
“I won’t stop you.” Kiernan waved them forward.
Zaira didn’t want to leave Bellamy behind, but the doctor was mostly done, had only the wrapping of the bandage left.
Bellamy would likely require much tending over the coming days, and she wanted to be the one to do so. Jenny was already busy enough with her duties at the pub and now caring for Moya and Seamus, and she wouldn’t need the extra work with Bellamy.
As Zaira exited the building and started up the short flight of steps that led to the alley, she blinked against the brightness of the morning sunshine penetrating the hazy coal smoke that was a permanent shroud over St. Louis.
Riding down the alley toward the bank were about a dozen men. Was this one of the search parties?
She spotted her da among the riders. Even with his hat on, his bright red hair was easy to see. His brawny body and broad shoulders made him stand out in the crowd too. Like Kiernan, he had a commanding presence wherever he went.
At the sight of her, a warm smile lit up his face. “Ach, here she is, my Zaira. We just received news that you and Bellamy got trapped at the bank while trying to stop bank robbers.”
She smiled wearily in return. “We hoped to prevent the robbery but were unsuccessful.”
He reined in beside her, hopped down, and scanned her,his brow furrowing, likely because of all of Bellamy’s blood. “Are you hurt?”
“No, but Bellamy was shot in the shoulder.”
The other men were halting and dismounting now too, listening to their conversation as she recounted the details of the previous night and then the encounter with Mr. Wright this morning.
