David stepped in front of her again, shielding her. The muzzle of the gun now pressed against his chest. She clambered to her feet behind him.
“Don’t give him anything, love. We’ll find another way out.” David’s defense was sweet, and her heart fluttered at the endearment. But he was going to get himself killed if he didn’t back down.
“Our lives and our marriage are at stake. My fortune seems a small price to pay to save our future together.” She was willing to give anything at all. She would happily live as a pauper for the rest of her life if it only meant she could spend it with David and be rid of Jeffrey forever.
Another ominous click made everyone stiffen. Charles’s head appeared over Jeffrey’s shoulder, as he pressed a gun to Jeffrey’s temple. “Let my brother and his wife go, or I pull the trigger.”
All the blood drained from Jeffrey’s face. “You wouldn’t. You don’t even know how.”
“I’m not as useless as you think, and I’ve had about enough of your bullying. Drop the gun, Effingham. Now.”
Slowly, Jeffrey lowered his weapon, and Clarissa hardly dared breathe. Cold sweat drenched her back as she wondered if the nightmare was over at last.
But at the last moment, Jeffrey elbowed Charles in the gut. And Clarissa’s heart stopped as two bangs went off in quick succession.
David fell backwards on top of her with a roar of pain. A second wail nearly deafened her. But who had been injured? Was it Effingham or Charles?
She wriggled out from beneath David to find Effingham clutching his face, blood streaming from where his nose had once been. His gun lay on the floor, and she kicked it to the other side of the room. He was an alarming sight, but it was no less than he deserved after all he’d done.
David made an animal groan, and she searched his body for injuries, not seeing any at first. Then she noticed the hole in his trousers in his left thigh where a dark stain was spreading. That rat-faced goose-turd shot her husband!
“Quick. I need a tourniquet.” The strain in his voice made her heart ache. “I don’t think it hit an artery, but better safe than sorry.”
Heart pumping, she tore a strip of cloth from the bedclothes and tied it as tightly as she could manage around David’s thigh. Scanning the room, she spotted a boot horn she could use to wind it tighter. He winced ever so slightly at the final turn, but at least it the wound wouldn’t be fatal. Thank God! Her bandage would hold until the doctor arrived.
Charles sagged against the wall, catching his breath, the pistol still in his hand. He met her gaze. “My brother may be an uptight arse, but he’s all the family I have.”
He and David exchanged a long, indecipherable look. But when Charles looked away, he had tears in his eyes.
David hoisted himself to sitting then used the wall as a support to stand. “Give that to me, you blighted cod’s head.” He took the gun, but his eyes were misty too as he patted Charles on the shoulder.
“David, you’re hurt. You shouldn’t be standing.” She wrapped her arms around him to steady him, and he put his hand on her shoulder. “Let me help you to the bed.”
“I’ve business to finish with that nose-less coward.” He nodded at Effingham. Staggering, and leaning on her shoulder for support, he made his way over to the blighter. “Tell Charles where every copy of that forged marriage license is right now, or I will finish what Charles started.” He leveled the muzzled at Effingham’s forehead.
Her former fiancé wept loudly. “Look what you’ve done! I’m hideous! I’ll never be able to show my face in polite society again.”
“The copies. Now, Effingham.” David was having none of Jeffrey’s self-pity. He loomed over the pathetic coward. “Shall I shoot?”
“No, don’t shoot. I’ll tell you.” His voice was pitched higher than usual, and it shook as he spoke. “Here’s one.” He pulled it from a pocket within his sodden waistcoat and gave it to David. “There are three more copies in the top right-hand desk drawer in my study. Here’s the key.”
He held it up with trembling hands.
Charles strode over and snatched it. “I’ll go check for you.” He hurried from the room, leaving them alone with Jeffrey.
“Go sit on the bed,” David ordered.
Jeffrey obeyed with alacrity, all the while emitting a keening whimper that sounded more like a dog’s than a human’s.
“My love, can you find him a wad of cloth to hold against his wound until the doctor comes? I can use that bedpost for support.”
The endearment warmed her heart almost as much as his kindness toward a villain who had shown him no such consideration. Helping him limp back across the room, she slipped reluctantly from his embrace.
Glancing around for something to use, she pulled the sham from one of the pillows and handed it to Jeffrey. “There. You’ll hardly notice the stain on these ghastly scarlet sheets.”
Charles returned a moment later with the copies of the marriage license in hand. “What would you like for me to do with these?”
“Burn them,” David said at the same moment that she said, “Give them to me.”
