She motioned toward the door. “Henry told me that Bernard had taken the queen to the cellars. I was coming here to see if there was any truth to it.”
Harlan processed this information. “I see.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. “Listen to me very carefully. This is what we will do…”
Chapter 23
Leah was so glad to see Harlan that she could have easily forgiven him for taking ten years off of her life when he’d startled her like that. But when he explained his next move, she wondered if he hadn’t gone mad. “You can’t be serious!” Her eyes were wide and she hoped he could see the pleading in them. “That’s a terrible idea.”
He lifted a brow. “Might you have a better suggestion at the moment?”
She opened her mouth to reply, but stubbornly, nothing was forthcoming. “Oh, very well,” she grumbled. “But I don’t like it.”
“So you said.” He looked intently at her. “Wait for my signal.”
She nodded, but her stomach was in knots thinking of what he was about to do. She told herself to be strong, but the nervous flutterings in her stomach were almost making her sick. “I’m ready.”
“Good.” His gaze lingered, and then he grasped her chin and brought her to him for a kiss that was full of passion and all the wonderful things that he made her feel inside. He broke apart with a serious look, and then he rushed off toward the cellars.
Leah leaned her back against the stone and closed her eyes momentarily. Taking a deep, restorative breath, she set out after Harlan. She looked around the corner just as he opened the door to the cellars, his pistol at the ready. She held her breath, but there was nothing to indicate there was any danger—
The pop of a pistol rang out with deafening proportions throughout the chamber. Immediately, Leah was rushing toward the entrance, her only thought to get to Harlan before Bernard could finish what he’d started.
When she burst into the cellars, she saw Harlan crouched down behind a large wooden cask, the scent of fermented wine almost overpowering from the hole that had been shot into the side of the leaking barrel.
“Get down!” Harlan shouted a warning to her as she turned her head to face Bernard who had a pistol trained directly on her head.
Time slowed, then stopped completely as she held her breath and raised her arm, the hilt of the knife in her grasp poised and ready to fly. She wasn’t sure her aim would be as true this time, her hand was trembling so badly, but she had to try. It might mean the difference between life and death.
From the corner of her vision, she saw Harlan stand up, and suddenly Bernard’s focus shifted from her to him. It was a stalemate between two enemies and Leah knew that only one of them would live to see the light of a new day. She intended for that man to be Harlan.
Before either one of them could pull the trigger, Leah released the knife in her grasp, watching as it sailed through the air toward its intended target. At nearly the same time, Bernard and Harlan both fired their weapons.. The reverberating sound of two pistols going off caused Leah’s ears to ring, the smoke from both barrels creating a swirling fog of chaos to ensue.
Time suspended and then Leah saw Bernard fall to the floor. She started to rejoice, but when Harlan did the same, that emotion abruptly turned into horror. She rushed over to him and fell to her knees beside him. She was grateful to see that he was alive and breathing, but there was blood seeping from his arm.
“My God,” she said in a shaky voice. “You’ve been shot. Again!”
“And by the same man,” Harlan noted, and then winced when he tried to laugh at his own joke.
Feeling slightly dizzy, she glanced over at the assassin where he remained oddly still. “Do you think he’s—?”
Harlan’s gaze met hers, and there was a tight line about his mouth that she wasn’t sure was attributed to pain or awareness. “I wouldn’t miss from this distance.”
Leah felt sick. She had not been a fan of Bernard by any means but thinking that someone’s life had been snuffed out right in front of her wasn’t something she was terribly comfortable knowing.
“Find the queen,” Harlan said weakly.
She hesitated, her first thought was for him. She might respect the monarch, but she didn’t love Victoria the way she loved him. “What about—”
“Thequeen,” he reiterated firmly. “Secure the Crown first.”
Reluctantly, she moved from his side and started to inspect the expansive cellars. As she did so, she was careful to keep her focus diverted from the lifeless body that lay in the midst of the ruined wine, his blood mixing with the ruined alcohol to create an unwelcome combination.
It didn’t take much searching before Leah discovered the queen, tied up in a wooden chair in a corner of the deepest recesses of the cellar. There was a gag around her mouth that Leah quickly removed. “Your Majesty, are you hurt?”
Victoria’s dark head slid from side to side, and Leah had to admire her courage and strong countenance under such a terrifying ordeal. “No.” As Leah began to work on the bindings to release the English monarch, the queen asked, “Is the villain…”
Her shaky voice was the first indication that she might be overset. Considering her age, Leah decided that it wouldn’t be terrible if she allowed her a moment to consider the ramifications of this night. “He is, Your Majesty,” she confirmed quietly. “I’m afraid that it couldn’t be prevented.”
“I see.” She nodded her dark head. As her bindings fell free, Leah stood back and allowed her the chance to get up with some sort of dignity. Victoria rubbed her wrists to gain some of the feeling back into her limbs, or perhaps it was an unconscious gesture of freedom. Either way, Leah waited until the woman spoke. “Are there any others?”
