Page 81 of Mail-Order Lady

The fuse. Where was the fuse?

He rolled, and heat seared his ribs. Maybe he’d landed on the flame. Hopefully put it out.

A boot slammed down near his head, and Robert jerked back, raising his rifle with both hands like a shield.

The man attacking him swung a gun like a club, and Robert caught the blow with his own weapon. The force jarred through his arms, but he held firm.

Then he rolled to his side and kicked out hard. His boot connected with the man’s leg, and a grunt of pain cut through the darkness. The attacker stumbled back two steps.

Robert scrambled to his feet, his shoulder screaming where he’d been tackled. The man recovered fast and swung again. Robert sidestepped, bringing his rifle up. The blow glanced off the barrel, and the force of it sent vibrations through his hands.

His attacker was bigger than him—broader through the chest—and the moonlight caught on his face for just a flash.

A stranger. Someone Robert had never seen before.

He had to be one of Reginald’s men.

The man lunged forward, and Robert twisted away, but not fast enough. The stock of the other rifle caught him across the back. Pain exploded between his shoulder blades, driving the air from his lungs.

He stumbled but kept his feet. His ribs burned where the fuse had seared him—or maybe where the man’s first tackle had driven something sharp against his side. Didn’t matter now. He had to end this.

The attacker came at him again, and this time Robert was ready. He dropped low and drove forward, slamming his shoulder into the man’s gut. The angle knocked the stranger off balance, and he twisted sideways, hitting the ground hard.

Robert spun and raised his rifle like a club. If he could just knock him out. That would give him time to figure out what was happening. To get help.

A blow to the temple did the trick. His attacker stilled, and Robert stepped back. He sucked in hard breaths. His back and shoulder throbbed, but he was still standing.

He turned toward where the fuse had been. The ground lay dark and still. No spark. No flame. His body must have smothered it when he’d landed.

Thank You, God.

He gathered himself and ran toward the house, moving faster than his shoulder wanted him to. He needed Thomas. Needed to find out who’d whistled from the other side of the house.

He needed to know Clara was safe.

CHAPTER 26

Clara took the stairs two at a time.

“Thomas.” She rapped on the door to Kate and Thomas’s room. “Thomas, wake up.”

It opened under her hand.

Thomas stood in the doorway, already dressed, rifle in hand. “What’s happening?”

“A man—Mr. Sutton—he has my mother. In the yard. He’s holding a gun to her head.” The words tumbled out too fast, but she couldn’t slow them. “He says he has men surrounding the house. He made Nathan and me come inside.”

Thomas’s jaw clenched, and he brushed past her into the hallway. “Where’s Robert?”

“There was a smell—sulphur. He went toward the back of the property. Nathan thought someone might have fired a weapon.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

“Wake the others.” He was already taking the stairs two at a time.

Yes, she needed to wake Mandie, Rose, and Bea. But first…

She stepped into the room where Kate was already climbing from bed. This window faced the same side of the house as the study. The side where Robert had gone to check into the smell.

Clara moved to the window and peered out. The moon cast the yard in too many shadows.