She opened it and stepped into the entrance. A set of stairs headed up at a steep angle.
“Do you want to give these to Adam?”
She spun to face him, eyes wide, clearly unaware he’d followed.
“Oh, of course. Thank you.”
As she reached for them, they both heard the scream. She ran, taking the stairs at speed. Forrest was on her heels. They reached the first floor and stopped. A hysterical scream filled the air.
“Miss Kent!” Ruby sprinted to one of the rooms and inside.
“Ruby!”
Forrest followed, and what he saw made his blood run cold. Miss Kent stood cowering in a corner and a man wielding a knife was intimidating her. Before he could stop Ruby, she’d leapt on the man’s back.
“Christ!” Forrest reached for her. “Get off, Ruby, he has a knife!” He managed to pull her off and push her behind him.
The man spun to face him, waving the knife at Forrest.
“Be careful,” Ruby whispered.
Which was sound advice and something he’d already figured out for himself.
“Help Miss Kent,” he said, slowly backing toward the door.
The room was small, but he had to somehow lure the man as far from the women as possible.
He heard Ruby speaking in a soft voice, but his attention was on the large, angry man.
“You need to leave here and never come back,” Forrest said.
“She’s my wife!”
“He’s lying,” he heard Miss Kent say in a small voice. “I would not wed him, because he is a horrid man. I ran away because of him.”
“She’s mine!” the man snarled.
“What’s amiss?” Mr. Winston said from behind him. “Mr. Zwart and I are here in readiness.”
“Stay back, Mr. Winston,” Forrest said. “Let me deal with this scum.”
“Scum, is it!” The man ran at him.
He kicked out, and the knife flew free, hitting the wall with a thud.
“Now we are even,” Forrest said, swinging his fist at the man’s face and connecting with his nose. He followed it up with a punch to the gut. The man grunted and stumbled back but stayed upright. He ran at Forrest, bent at the waist, and they staggered back a few steps.
“Hurt him, Mr. Howarth!” Mr. Winston yelled his encouragement.
Forrest forced the man off him and back. He then shot out with a fist and the man dropped to the floor and lay still.
“Mr. Winston, find something to tie this man up. I want him bound hand and foot and gagged. I will be taking him to the magistrate.”
In minutes he had done as Forrest asked.
“You and Mr. Zwart take him out of the room and stand over him until I come out.”
“At once, Mr. Howarth.”
