So much for the besotted bridegroom.
Lise had made her way to a branch eight feet from the ground, too high to jump safely.Jonathan watched her trying to ease her feet onto the next lowest branch, but there was no time.Friedrich’s loud cries of rage had nearby doors and shutters flying open.The good people of Lübeck would take the side of a landed citizen over a woman climbing out of a bedroom and an Englishman.
“Jump, Lise,” Jonathan called softly.“I’ve got you.”
Her head snapped toward his voice, her gaze seeking him in the darkness.Even if she couldn’t quite make him out, she trusted him.
She let go of the branch.
He caught her, but her momentum sent them both tumbling to the ground.They rolled once, twice, until she ended up sitting astride him, her hands braced on his chest, her face inches from his.
“Oh, Jonathan,” she said, breathless from her exertions.And something else, a measure of wonder in her voice that matched the feeling in his gut.He nearly forgot where they were.
Until he heard Henrik shout.“Get moving!”
The fastest way Jonathan could get them both on their feet was to dump her on the ground beside him.Then grabbing for her hand, he yanked her to her feet, just when Henrik reached them.Breathless, babbling about the manservant being armed, he carried with him a great sense of urgency.
Sure enough, behind him, someone else rounded the corner with a pistol raised.A shot cracked through the night.
Fearing for Lise’s safety while some idiot in Albrecht’s employ shot wildly in the dark, Jonathan started to run, not letting go of her hand for a second.
Henrik ran on her other side, and they were nearly to the street when another shot rang out.
Lise screamed and fell, dragging Jonathan down with her.
Chapter Seventeen
Lise felt herself pulled downward, torn from Jonathan’s grip when Henrik’s hand suddenly dragged her with him, as he stumbled and fell.She cried out, her knees hitting the cobblestones hard.
“Lise!”Jonathan’s anguished cry split the night air, raw with terror.
“It’s Henrik!”she told him, her voice shaking as she struggled to her knees.
She could barely see in the darkness, frightened when her brother’s fingers went slack, releasing her hand.However, his labored breathing as he turned over onto his back was somewhat reassuring, although his silence wasn’t.
“Henrik,” she pleaded, needing to hear his voice.
Jonathan dropped to Henrik’s other side even as he twisted and fired his pistol back toward Friedrich’s house.The loud crack echoed off the buildings.He hadn’t aimed, she realized, but merely forced their pursuers to take cover.
“My shoulder,” Henrik said, groaning.“That’s all.I just need to ...catch my breath.”
Lise winced imagining the pain.Hoping it went through his flesh only and didn’t hit a bone.
“Sorry, old chum,” Jonathan quipped.“No time for that.Can you stand?”He was already hauling her brother up off the ground with one arm while shoving his spent pistol into his waistband.But then, with a groan, Henrik shoved his own weapon toward Jonathan.
Taking the pistol, he raised the barrel until it caught the moonlight, and Lise hoped the mere threat of it might hold their attackers at bay.
On his feet, Henrik grunted, and Lise felt him sway against her as she scrambled to support his other side.
“My shoulder,” he repeated.“Not fatal.Scarcely hurts more than my hand.”
Lise didn’t know what he was talking about, and there was no time to ask.
“Move!”Jonathan commanded.They stumbled forward together, half-carrying Henrik between them.
The street that had been empty moments before now showed signs of life.Doors were opening, lamplight spilling onto the cobblestones.Voices called out in alarm.Someone shouted for the night-watch.
With Lise’s heart hammering against her ribs and her breath coming in gasps, they crossed the street.Henrik was heavy, his boots scraping against the stones as he tried to keep on his feet.She hadn’t worn her gloves to climb down the tree, knowing her hands would grip better if bare.Now, she could feel the warm wetness soaking through his coat where her hand gripped his arm.
