Lord Moore’s eyes flicked between him and the guards being held behind him. Clearly seeing he had no way to evade the matter, he stood up.
Erskine couldn’t stop the flood of relief that coursed through him when he could see Lord Moore’s trousers were still in place.
He nearly did it…but she didn’t let him.
The quickly developing bruise across Lord Moore’s nose was proof Laura was putting up a good fight.
Laura tried to scramble to her feet to get away, but before Erskine could step forward and help her out of the carriage, Lord Moore grabbed her by the wrist, jerking her back onto her knees, and she was flung behind him.
“I said release her!” Erskine bellowed the words, amazed when Lord Moore smiled.
There was the sound of a gunshot, and Erskine flicked his head around.
One of the guards must have had a pistol hidden in his belt behind his back because he had pulled it and aimed it at Tam.
The resulting roar was agony for Erskine to hear. The bullet landed straight in his arm, so high, practically in his shoulder, and he released the guard he had been holding.
A fight broke out.
Erskine watched for a beat, just enough to see Camden and Aiden scuffle with two of the guards. The third that Tam had released pulled a dagger out of his boot and was aiming straight for the injured Tam.
“Nay!” Erskine yelled as he ran toward Tam, pulling free his sword quick enough to intercept the blow and blocking the guard’s path.
The guard was inexperienced, though fast. With a couple of strikes, Erskine knocked the dagger clean from the guard’s hand and held the sword at his chest, forcing him to back away.
The coachman called the guard’s name, and as he flicked his head around, the coachman threw something to him in the air. It was another sword.
Erskine wasn’t going to give him the chance to fight back, not if it meant risking Tam’s life. Tam could be dying already from that bullet wound.
Just as the guard caught the sword, Erskine used the opportunity of his fumbling to strike. He stepped forward and brought the sword straight across the guard’s right arm, delivering a long wound from his shoulder to his elbow.
The man dropped his sword and staggered away, roaring at the heavens in pain.
Erskine turned back to Tam, who was swaying on his feet, struggling to stand straight.
“Tam?” Erskine asked, watching as blood pooled out of Tam’s shoulder and down the front of his shirt.
Nay. Tam cannae die!
Erskine caught Tam as he fell to the ground, stopping him from landing flat on his face.
“Nay, Tam,” he panicked, his hand going straight for the wound. The blood was coming quickly, and they would have to staunch the flow. Tam was pale already. The wound was so close to the shoulder that it was an extremely dangerous place for him to be wounded. Tam was on his knees, leaning forward and trying to breathe through the pain.
“I’m fine,” Tam said, “stop them!” he gestured back to the carriage, where Lord Moore was trying to close the door. The Earl was shouting orders to the coachman to take his place again so they could ride away.
“Tam, I —”–”
He cannae die!
“I’ll live! Trust me. Stop them!” Tam’s loud voice ordered Erskine back to his feet.
Camden now faced two of the guards, and Aiden was bent over nearby winded. Erskine took hold of one of the men and delivered a strike to the back of his head with the hilt of his sword. It sent the man down to the ground, unconscious but alive.
The coachman was in his seat, picking up the reins and about to set off again.
Erskine placed his sword in his belt and took out his flintlock pistol, setting off a warning shot. It landed in the wood of the carriage, just beneath where the coachman was sat. He jumped so much that he fell sideways off his seat and onto the floor. Erskine quickly vaulted up into the seat and unhitched the harnesses, stopping the coachman from having another chance to make a quick escape, then he jumped down again and ran back to the door.
Inside, Laura was behind the Earl, still on her knees.
