A spark. A blast. A searing pain in Charlotte’s arm.
She tumbled into a heap, no longer playacting. She clutched herarm, feeling the hot, stickiness flow onto her trembling fingers. It hurt. Oh, did it hurt.
But she couldn’t allow the pain to hold her captive. The rest of the soldiers still had their Brown Bess flintlock muskets raised… and all pointed at Matthew’s retreating form.
“Ooooooooooooooooooooow!” She made the howl as earsplitting as possible. Her own agony fueled her cry. It echoed over the narrow street, bouncing off the buildings and echoing back in an amplified shriek.
“You wounded me!” Charlotte accused in an equally high yet booming wail. “Grievously! Most grievously indeed! Villains! Villains all of you!”
Her purposefully melodramatic words sparked confusion in the men, and the captain paled in the moonlight. “Madame! I did not mean—”
“Put down your weapons!” She cried hysterically. “Put them down! You’re all frightening me! Owwwwwwwww! You were supposed to keep me safe! Blackguards! Scoundrels! Miscreants!”
As she writhed on the ground, Charlotte surreptitiously looked for Matthew. She saw nothing. He had blended into the shadows again.
The captain must have noticed the same for he jerkily signaled for the men to lower their muskets as he ripped off his sash. He dashed to Charlotte’s side while his men complied with his command. The now-silent alley rippled with nervousness as the soldiers watched their captain fall to his knees by a lady of obvious wealth, whom their leader had accidentally shot at close range with a pistol.
“Madame, let me assist you,” the captain began, his voice hesitant as he wrapped his sash around her arm to staunch the bleeding.
Daggers of pain radiated down Charlotte’s arm and up towardher shoulder. When the captain cinched the material, she gritted her teeth against the new onslaught of agony. She could not afford to actually faint… or even to lose focus.
“Get away from me!” Charlotte let the words explode from her lips like a firework over Spring Gardens. As much as her arm burned, she needed to get herself, Hannah, and Sophia to safety. She couldn’t stop to think about what had almost happened until the three of them were away from the dragoons. “You have all done enough! I want to go home. Now! Find me a carriage!”
The men hesitated, and the harried captain waved his hand as he bent over Charlotte. “Go! Do as the lady commands! Find a hackney and bring it here.” When the soldiers still paused, he added hoarsely, “Now!”
The dragoons scattered in all directions. Hannah and Sophia crowded around her. They pushed the captain aside as they examined her arm.
“There’s so much blood!” Real shock threaded through Hannah’s voice, and Charlotte realized her cousin had thought she’d been feigning injury.
“The makeshift bandage should stop it for now, but she must see a surgeon immediately. I insist on accompanying…” The captain started to say.
“Get. Away. From. Me. Now!” Charlotte screamed. Although she knew she was risking more damage to her arm, she began to thrash.
“You best back away, sir,” Hannah said with calm authority. “Your presence is doing my mistress more harm than good.”
The captain reluctantly scuttled backward, his worried eyes still on them. Charlotte calmed, and Sophia rested her palm against Charlotte’s fingers on the uninjured side of her body. Charlotte gripped Sophia’s hand, drawing strength from her. Real tears smarted her eyes, and Charlotte desperately tried not toconcentrate on the awful burning sensation in the fleshy part of her upper left arm.
Thankfully, one of Belle’s carriages—the very one they’d just traveled in—emerged into the street, shepherded by the dragoons. Charlotte had suspected this would be the first hackney located. The coachman, obviously well-versed in subterfuge, gave no indication that he knew Charlotte and the Wick cousins.
Hannah and Sophia helped Charlotte to her feet. The captain tried to assist, but every time he came close, Charlotte began to twist and moan. Finally, Hannah convinced him to leave them be. The leader of the dragoons instead turned his focus to the carriage driver as he barked out strict instructions for Charlotte to be delivered to the nearest reputable surgeon.
Hannah and Sophia quickly bundled Charlotte into the vehicle. She sank against the squabs, wincing as the movement jarred her wound.
“Here. Let me put pressure on it. It’s going to hurt, but we must make sure the bleeding is stopped.” Hannah produced a handkerchief and held it against Charlotte’s injury.
She yelped and then bit her lip before she made another sound. Now that she no longer had a military audience, she wanted to appear brave in front of Hannah and Sophia. Deep, excruciating throbs pulsated through her entire limb. The sensation only worsened as the carriage lurched forward.
No one spoke for several long minutes. Even though it was improbable that the dragoons could hear them, they all seemed loath to talk until they had traveled several blocks. With each creak of the carriage, more and more of Charlotte’s muscles uncoiled. Yet the tension did not decrease. Instead, her body trembled as the enormity of what she had done slammed into her.
“No dragoons are tailing us.” Sophia spoke first as she stared out of the small opening she’d made in the otherwise drawn curtains.“I do not believe the captain was skeptical of Charlotte’s story. He is just glad to be rid of our presence.”
“G—g-g—ooo-d-d,” Charlotte managed through chattering teeth.
“What were you thinking?” Hannah suddenly blurted out. Her tone sounded harsh on the surface, but Charlotte could detect real concern. “Do you know how much damage a ball can wreak on the human body at close range? If it had hit your chest, you’d have a hole where your heart had been.”
Charlotte’s shaking worsened, and her stomach twisted. Her jaw wobbled uncontrollably as she tried to answer. “I h-h-h-a-d to sa-ave Matt-hew.”
“Why didn’t you just grab the captain’s arm?” Hannah asked.
