Love Comes Blindly (book 5) (The Fielding Brothers Saga) (16 page)

Chapter Eleven

The jarring motion along with the accompanying pain brought Madeline to awareness. She blinked open her eyes, but something blocked her vision. Trying to lift her hands to see what was wrong became useless for they had been bound together at her wrists. The right side of her face throbbed, yet she tried to focus on what was happening to her—and around her.

She was leaning against a large person, and by the clip-clop she heard and the uncomfortable lump she sat upon, she assumed they were riding on a horse. Breathing in deeply, she also knew what was over her head.
A burlap sack.

Closing her eyes, she willed the pain in her jaw to disappear, but the motion from the horse, wasn’t helping matters any. How long had it been since he took her from the Abbey, she didn’t know, but she could not feel the sun’s rays beating down on her, and even through the burlap sack, she couldn’t tell if the sun was shining or if night had arrived.

When the horse’s hooves slowed in rhythm, her heartbeat picked up. Would she be able to defend herself if the soldier wanted to treat her like his Scot friend had done? And…did Gregg or the Reverend Mother know she’d been taken?
Oh, please…let them know what happened,
she prayed silently.

The neighs from other horses perked her hearing. Wherever they were…they were not alone.

“Did
ya
have a problem
takin
’ her?” an unfamiliar voice asked.

“None at all,” the Russian answered.

“Splendid. Maybe now we will get some help tae find out who her contacts are. Bring her over here.”

Once the horse stopped, the Russian dismounted, and then swung her over his shoulder. She lost her breath for a moment as the pain in her head throbbed uncontrollably, and a different pain grew in her stomach. Only a few steps before he was pushing him off her and she fell to the ground.

Her burlap hood was quickly removed and she squinted from the light. Thank goodness it was still day. They were in the shadows of trees…a lot of them, she surmised. But nothing looked familiar.

The Russian stood beside another man wearing the British soldier uniform, but he didn’t appear familiar. However, the older, burly man did, but she couldn’t decide where she knew him. Leaning up against a tree was another man who wore the distinguished clothes of an Englishman. His bright curly red hair was messy, and his face was littered with scabs and scrapes as if he’d been wounded recently.

“Who are you?” she snapped. “I demand you release me this instant!”

The men looked from one to the other before they threw back their head and laughed.

“What do you want?” she asked in a calmer voice.

“Ah, lass.
Ya
know
wot
I want.” The older man knelt beside her and cupped her chin. “
Yar
a comely lass and I’m sure
ya
know
whot
most lonely men want.
Yar
not a dimwitted
lass
a’tall
.”

“No. Please, let me go.” She squirmed, trying to remove his touch, but he still held her chin.

“
Yar
request has been denied, lass.” He chuckled. “But if
ya
want us tae go easy on
ya
, then we expect some answers.”

Tears pricked her eyes. “What if I don’t know the answers?”

“I’m sure
ya
do.” He grinned.

“McFadden, she is the woman Fielding was infatuated with,” the man by the tree said, slowly rising to his feet.

McFadden?
The man from the Crimean War who Gregg came to see?
The one who tried to kill Gregg and his friends?
That was why he looked familiar—because she had met him once in town a few months ago.

McFadden looked at the other man. “Do we have need to talk to Mr.
Fieldin
’ then?”

The curly redheaded man shrugged. “I don’t believe Fielding knows anything, but if he is still enamored with this woman, he most certainly will try to find her.”

McFadden cackled. “I’m sure he will, but we shall be ready. Until then,” he glanced back at Madeline, “we need some questions answered.
Immediately.”

“What do you want?” she pleaded. In her heart she prayed Gregg would come for her, yet she also hoped he would bring others with him since he wouldn’t be able to handle four men by himself.

“We know
ya
were the one who took information about the prison-break tae someone in town. Although our men were freed from Britain’s clutches, there were still complications and several of our men were killed.” The hold he had on her chin tightened. “We want names, lass. Who knows besides
ya
?”

She gasped. “You cannot be serious! What makes you think I have any contacts? For that matter, why do you suspect I’m the one who reported?” She shook her head and peered at the Russian. “Ask him where I was last night. He was there when the truth came out this morning about Mr. Fielding seducing me by the stables.”

The Russian shook his head and neared. “Because I know you lied. I was by the stables that night and I saw you ride back from town alone. You didn’t meet up with Mr. Fielding until you almost reached the Abbey.” He arched his eyebrow. “So now what’s your story, Miss?”

Her heart dropped. She was in serious trouble now!

McFadden shook her by the shoulders. “Tell us what we want tae know and I promise we’ll not hurt
ya
overmuch.”

If she squealed like a pig, Father Irvine and the Reverend Mother would die. If Madeline didn’t tell these men what they wanted to know…they would rape her—or kill her. She didn’t think she was strong enough emotionally to handle either situation.

Slowly, she shook her head. “Forgive me, but…I cannot.”

McFadden glanced up at the redheaded man. “Come hold her for me while I show her what a real man is like.”

Laughing, the scratchy-face man knelt beside her and pushed her back on the ground as he held her shoulders. Pain encased her wrists, making her fingers numb. She struggled, but knew nothing was going to help.
Only a miracle.

McFadden leaned over and ripped her bodice open before laying his large body on top of hers as he placed his slobbery, disgusting mouth over hers. When he tried to slide his tongue inside, she clamped her teeth down hard. He yelped and jerked back. Blood coated her lip, whether hers or his she didn’t know.

“
Ya
should not have done that.” He pulled back his hand.

This was what the Russian had done before he struck her. She cringed, waiting for the blow, but nothing came. Instead, several footsteps beat on the earth nearby, pounding toward them. Before she could see who had come upon them, the crunching of bones crackled through the air. A fist had connected to the redhead’s face, and he rolled away. Blood spurted out of his nose as he cradled it, groaning, and rocking back and forth.

The man on top of her was kicked in the head, and he rolled off. She scampered the best she could with her hands still tied, to get away.

The click of several pistols echoed through the air, and she froze. Beside her, McFadden struggled to his knees, and his wide eyes were fixed on the stranger behind her.

“You make one more move, sir, and you’re a dead man.”

Relief poured through her and she sobbed. She spun toward Gregg’s voice, her eyes blurred with tears. She scoped the area and was happy to see Lord Drake held a pistol to the Russian, and two townsmen—her friend, Tom McClain being one of them—had their weapons aimed at the others.

Gregg stepped toward her and lifted her before untying her wrists. Once freed, she threw her arms around his neck and clung to him, pressing her face against his muscular chest. Her body shook as more tears flowed.

“
Shhh
, I’m here now,” he soothed and kissed the top of her head. “Are you all right?”

Her body continued to shake, and she looked up at him. “I didn’t think...I prayed someone would save me.” She swallowed hard the emotion clogging her throat. “Thank you.”

“Attached to my saddle there is some rope. Fetch it for me and the others, if you will, and we’ll tie these traitors up.”

She pulled away. “Gregg, that man is McFadden.” She nodded toward the burly man.

Gregg’s eyebrows rose. “You don’t say. We’ll have to tie him up good then, so he doesn’t slip away before he’s hanged for murder.”

On quaky legs, she hurried to the saddle, retrieved the rope, and brought it back. Gregg gave her the pistol and secured McFadden’s wrists behind his back.

Tom McClain turned over the man with scratches on his face and kicked his leg. “Sit up so I can tie you.”

Madeline kept a sharp eye on him, thinking he might run at any moment.

When Gregg was finished with McFadden, he moved to the man Tom struggled with. Gregg’s footsteps slowed the closer he came.

“Oh, good Lord,” Gregg muttered. He sank to his knees and grasped the redhead’s shoulders. Gregg cussed and shook his head. “Why? Why did you pretend you were dead, Harvey?”

Madeline sucked in a quick breath. Harvey? Gregg’s friend who they’d thought had been blown to bits from the cannon?

The redhead’s eyes narrowed on Gregg. “McFadden paid me good money, that’s why.”

Gregg’s fingers raked through his hair as he groaned. “Did you know McFadden was going to fire the cannon at us?”

“Yes.”

“Why, Harvey? Do you know we could have lost our lives? Jonathan Black did! Why did you and McFadden do that? What had we ever done to you—or him?”

“For a few months now, I’ve been secretly working with McFadden. We are with a group of men who want revenge against Britain for winning the war.”

Gregg gasped as if shocked. “What a senseless…” He growled. “So what does this have to do with me? Why were we targeted at all? We’re not soldiers.”

“Owners of newspapers are our biggest threat.” Harvey pulled out a handkerchief from his over jacket pocket and pushed it against his broken nose. “People read about the terrible things happening in the world and it makes them angry. Our secret society wanted to get back at people like you, Fielding. We must put a stop to it anyway we can.”

Gregg shook his head. “Harvey, did you ever once consider McFadden had lost his mind? I cannot believe you, of all people, decided to join forces with him. Harvey, I believe you have lost your mind along with old man McFadden. You deserve the same fate.”

He yanked Harvey’s arms and pulled them behind his back to tie them with the rope. “As it is, you joined with the wrong people. Traitors are hanged, or have you forgotten?”

Gregg tied both men to different horses, before walking back to Madeline. Her body still shook, and her arms were very little protection crossing over her torn bodice. He shrugged out of his overcoat and wrapped it around her.

“Oh, Gregg.
I prayed you would find me.”

He wrapped her in his arms. “It seems I’m always protecting you from men who want to violate your person.”

Glancing up at him, she tried to chuckle. “And I’ll never forget your kindness.”

He wiped his thumb under her eye to dry a tear. “I knew you hadn’t run away, as the soldiers and the Reverend Mother tried to explain. Of course it was the worry etched on the woman’s face that made me guess what happened. That’s when I rounded up some men to assist me.”

“Thank you,” she whispered through a choked voice and cried into his chest again. “I thought I’d lost you. I thought you had left last night…” She sniffed.

“Actually, I did leave.” He stroked her back. “But when Drake and I arrived in town and discovered the train wouldn’t be back by another two days, Drake talked me into coming back to the Abbey with him. He really wasn’t ready to travel, and I knew it best to get him back to the good Sisters under their care.”

She lifted her head and met his caring eyes. “Gregg, I love you, and I meant what I said this morning about returning to England with you after we are married.”

“You do?” He cupped her face.

“After meeting you, my feelings for Andrew disappeared. He was not the reason I didn’t want to return—yet in a way he was. I’m frightened to face him and Juliana and ask forgiveness from them. It’s been three long years, and I don’t know if I have the courage.”

Gregg smiled and kissed her lips briefly.
“My lovely
Maddie
.
It’s been a while since you have seen your family. Juliana and Andrew are very happily married and have two children. I can guarantee they forgave you a long time ago.”

A knot of emotion clogged her throat as more tears burned her eyes. “But...what if they haven’t? What if they don’t ever want to see me again?”

Gregg stroked her hair. “I don’t understand why you’re so upset over this. You have convinced me you’re a changed woman, which couldn’t have been an easy task. I was very reluctant, you know.” She nodded as he continued, “So, if you’re able to convince a stubborn person like me, why not your sister and Andrew?” He smiled. “Besides that, you’re forgetting one thing.”