Maddie felt a rush of sympathy. “How did your father die?”
“Spreading fodder. The wheel of the cart he stood on hit a rock. A fork tine stabbed into his leg. It wasn’t a big wound, but deep. We expected him to get better. He’d had plenty of accidents before working around the farm, but he got worse. The doctor came and bled him, but…” Her voice trailed off.
“I’m so sorry, Jane.” Maddie was a little ashamed at not having asked Jane before this. There would be many servants with sad stories to tell about how they came to work in service.
Upset, the maid turned her head away.
Maddie didn’t disturb her while she dealt with her own distress as she revisited those halcyon days when her parents lived. But tomorrow, they would go to Scotland! The thought buoyed her until the fear that Hart would come to grief on the dark road upset her.
A little while later, soft snores told Maddie Jane slept. She was glad of it. She closed her eyes, but they popped open again, staring sightlessly into the dark.
A scuffling sound came from below them, outside the building. She stiffened. Moving carefully across to Jane, she gently shook her and whispered in her ear.
Jane sat up.
A loud banging was followed by the shatter of breaking glass. A window was thrown up. Then the heavy tread as footsteps crossed the floor. Someone searched for them.
As his foul threat rose, Maddie took the gun out from under her pillow and carefully removed the safety catch. With a deep breath, she used her other hand to keep the gun from wavering about and aimed at the ladder.
They silently waited.
More furious mutterings below. Then a loud exclamation. The panel slid back, and the ladder slammed against the beam.
“He’s found it. He’s coming up,” Maddie whispered. She wished her hand didn’t shake.
The man appeared at the top, holding a lantern high. Stepping off the ladder, he stood before them. His face a rictus of evil, he stared at them both. Saw her gun and sneered at it. “You won’t shoot me.” He pulled a knife from his belt. “I’ll please the boss with this night’s work,” he said. “Pity I can’t take me time wit’ yea. Who wants to die first?”
Maddie steadied the gun, aimed it at him. “Go back or I’ll shoot you.”
He stared at her for a minute and then laughed. “You couldn’t hit the back end of a barn.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
Holding the knife by the blade, he raised his hand to throw it, forcing Maddie to squeeze the trigger. The sound almost deafened them in the small space.
The knife clattered away as he crumpled to the floor and lay still. Blood seeped from the wound on his head.
Maddie reached down and grabbed the blade. She held it out to Jane. “Keep hold of this!” Jane took it from her gingerly, as if it was boiling hot.
Jane gasped. “Is he dead?”
Maddie moved closer to check on him. Her bullet had grazed his forehead. He hadn’t moved, but his chest rose and fell. “No. He’s not dead.” That she thought she had killed him sent a shudder rocketing through her. She held the gun aimed at him and nudged him with her foot. Then hurried back. He groaned, but didn’t open his eyes. “We shall have to tie him up.”
Jane shuddered, holding the knife away from herself. “We have to touch him?”
“Yes, we must. Quickly, before he wakes.”
“What with?”
“Cut the bedsheet and tear it into strips, Jane. Use the knife.”
Jane hurried over to her bed, and while Maddie watched the man, sounds of ripping came from behind her.
“Will these do?” Jane handed her two long strips.
“Good. Help me tie his hands. Quick, before he comes to.”
They tied his hands and feet and fashioned a bandage for his head while he thankfully remained senseless. “I know him. He’s one of those who kidnapped me in Bath,” Maddie said. The horrid man who threatened her in the carriage. She trembled and sank down on the makeshift bed, fearing her legs wouldn’t hold her up. “I’ve never shot anything that actually lived and breathed. Papa wouldn’t allow me to go out with him on shoots.” Her father would never have imagined she’d be in a situation such as this.
