Hoofbeats sounded behind them. A carriage drew up, and a man sprang down.
Cooper barked.
“I shot this man in the back. We must staunch the blood.”
The coachman’s face was grim.
“This man fired upon the Colonel.”
Cooper’s head snapped up. “The Colonel has been shot?”
“It was a glancing injury,” the coachman replied. “He lives. He is in the carriage behind. I was sent to fetch you. The Colonel says you know how to bind a wound.”
Cooper’s jaw tightened.
“Help me with this boy. He has taken a bullet to the back.”
The two men removed the boy’s jacket and pressed it firmly against the wound, using it as a thick pad to stem the bleeding.
After examining the injury, Cooper said, “Hold pressure here. The ball may have lodged against the bone. There is no exit wound, and the lungs appear untouched. I will ride back at once and send help.”
Meanwhile, upon hearing the shot, Darcy had seized his musket and shouted, “Get down. Keep your heads down.”
The women dropped at once, kneeling on the carriage floor with their heads pressed against the seat cushions.
Darcy knelt beside them, peering out the window and scanning the dark line of trees.
There was no movement. He saw neither man nor horse.
Then he heard hoofbeats retreating.
He sprang down, musket raised and ready to fire, but the rider was already beyond range.
Then the Colonel rode up, the front of his shirt and waistcoat soaked through with blood.
“Richard, you have been struck!”
“In the shoulder,” Richard said through clenched teeth.
Darcy helped the colonel dismount and helped him into the second carriage.
A hush fell over them as another shot sounded in the distance.
Robert Miller called out, “Cooper shot the gunman! He lies prostrate on the road.”
Richard ordered. “Send for Cooper to bind me up. The sooner I am bandaged, the sooner we may reach Haddon Hall.”
The women offered their handkerchiefs, and Darcy added his own, then pressed them to the wound. Richard’s face tightened.
“Do not press so hard, Darcy. I believe the spent bullet is lodged within. I can feel it when you press down.”
“Very well,” Darcy replied, easing his hand, “but I do not mean to see you bleed to death.”
They all turned to face the road when they heard hoofbeats. It was Cooper. “I have the murderer. There was only one man involved.”
He dismounted and said, “Colonel, you have taken another bullet.”
Richard managed a strained smile.
