"It's difficult to kill another human being even to save a life," David said quietly as he reached over to catch her right hand while holding his pistol steadily in his other hand. "But Dawson would have been hanged for kidnapping and attempted murder so this was justice delivered early. Do you know this Mr. Phelps?"
The question steadied her nerves. "He's the physician who drugged me till I was unconscious, then supplied the Dawsons with the drugs they planned to use to murder me. Surely that's a hanging offense in England and Scotland!"
Phelps gasped. "You were fighting and screaming like a mad woman! The drugs were to calm you down so you wouldn't hurt yourself!"
"If you had been kidnapped, gagged, and chained for no reason, wouldn'tyouscream and fight?" she snapped, her furious gaze holding his.
He shifted uneasily on his horse. "When they said you were mad, I had no reason to disbelieve them. You'd just lost your uncle and delicate young females have been known to be driven mad with grief. But I was very careful to explain how to dispense the drugs so they wouldn't give you a dangerous dose."
"They used that information to calculate how much would be lethal," Caitlin said flatly. "They planned to bring me back to Braewood and murder me here because that would arouse less suspicion than murdering me in Newcastle far away from everyone who knew me."
Phelps paled. "You're lying! I consulted with the Dawsons because they were so concerned about you. I wouldneverparticipate in a murder!"
"Perhaps not knowingly," David said dryly. "Did it never occur to you that the Dawsons were lying about their goals?"
Phelps hesitated, looking ill. "My patients have always sought cures or reduction of pain. Sometimes family members might have wanted to end the pain of a dying loved one. That is…not a subject that is ever discussed. I certainly never would have been party to the deliberate murder of an otherwise healthy young woman!"
"Do you believe him, Caitlin?" David ask, his gaze as steady as his weapon.
She frowned as she considered his question. "He didn't come often and I remember him warning them not to give me too much of the drugs he supplied. He may not have meant to help them murder me, but he was mostly interested in selling them his vile concoctions for outrageously high prices. He had no interest in me as a person or patient."
David gave her a quick glance. "So not a man of great character. Shall I shoot him for you?"
As Phelps gasped, Caitlin looked at Dawson's sprawled body and shuddered. "No. Mr. Phelps was stupid and arrogant and greedy, but not a murderer, I think."
"Should we let him go?"
When Caitlin nodded, David made a dismissive gesture with his pistol. "You can tell Mrs. Dawson that her husband is dead, killed as he attempted to murder Caitlin and me. In the future, treat patients with more compassion and intelligence, Phelps, and give thanks that Miss Wallace is so fair-minded."
"I will," the physician said in a choked voice before wheeling his horse around and bolting toward the road that led away from Braewood.
Fergus's son Andrew came running from the direction of the house, "Caitlin!" he called out. "Are you all right?"
She saw that he'd brought her shotgun, which she'd left in her kitchen. Voice unsteady, she replied, "Well enough considering that my vile cousin just tried to kill David and me."
Andrew swallowed hard as he noticed Dawson's body and the wounded guards. "I…I see. Now what?"
"Does your father have a secure place where the guards can be held until they can be taken to the chief constable in Jedburgh?" David asked.
Andrew nodded. "Yes, there's a cellar store room with strong locks that can hold them until the roads are clear enough to transfer them to town."
"Very well. We can tie Dawson's body to his horse and take him and his thugs to Dunglass." He glanced at the sky. "There should be time enough to go there and return before it gets dark. Caitlin, do you want to stay here and rest?"
The thought was tempting, but Caitlin shook her head. "I should go. At Dunglass we can write our statements to send to the Sheriff's Court along with the prisoners."
"That's a good idea," he agreed. "Andrew, did you see enough of what happened to also bear witness?"
"Yes, I was in the library reading when I heard gunshots. I grabbed Caitlin's shotgun and came out in time to see most of what happened. You and Dawson's brutes were all so close to each other that it's amazing you and Caitlin weren't injured. " He nodded at David. "That double-barreled pistol of yours is a bonnie weapon!"
"I bought it in London when I passed through on my way home from India." He grimaced. "I didn't expect that I would need it so soon."
David began organizing the next steps. His quiet natural authority was a fine example of leadership in action, Caitlin realized. He had surely been a very good officer.
David and Andrew worked together to lash Dawson's body to his horse's saddle. David personally bandaged the wounded hands of the prisoners while asking that Caitlin keep her eyes and her pistol on them. They were surly but resigned.
They all mounted and set out. As she rode beside David. Caitlin said, "I'm guessing you trained Sahib to rear up and threaten the enemy?"
David smiled. "Sahib likes learning new tricks. That one has been very useful, along with his steady nerves when there's gunfire."
