Shattered Dreams (27 page)

“
Shut up. You are coming with me.”

Tilly
looked up and saw Cruickshank running toward them with Suzanna’s
limp body draped over his beefy shoulder. Unsure where Zack was,
and unable to gain her freedom, she opened her mouth and screamed
again.

Marcus
suddenly raced around the side of the house toward them with his
gun drawn in readiness.

Relieved
that help was on its way, Tilly began to fight harder.
Unfortunately, her weight was no match for Dandridge’s bulk, and
she couldn’t stop him, but she continued to squirm and wriggle
anyway.

“
Pack it in,” Dandridge growled.

Tilly
didn’t hear him though. She was lost in a desperate battle for
freedom. Fear threatened to suck her under but, she knew that for
her sake, and Suzanna’s, she couldn’t let panic take hold. If she
did, they would both be doomed to whatever fate Dandridge and his
cohort had in store for them. With her thoughts locked firmly upon
Harry, she gritted her teeth and continued to struggle.

“
Put me down, I am not going anywhere with you,” she gasped.
She braced her feet on one of the trees to stop him dragging her
into the woods, and locked her knees when he pushed her harder.
“You wait until the men come after you. You are going to regret
this, you oaf.”

“
I told you to shut up.”

“
Go to Hell,” she snarled.

Whatever
else she was about to say was silenced by the loud retort of a gun
being fired in the garden. Tilly froze and twisted around so she
could see, and cried aloud when Marcus suddenly dropped onto the
floor face first, and didn’t move.

Tears
blurred her vision and she knew that time had suddenly run out.
Everyone else who worked for Harry, were out and about on the
investigation. It could be hours yet before any of them came back.
Was Marcus dead? She had no idea where he had been hit, or even if
he was still alive.

“
You can’t leave him,” she snapped. “He might be dying. You
cannot just leave him.”

When
neither man appeared to have even heard her, Tilly’s frustration
grew to mammoth proportions. She opened her mouth to demand they
stop only for pain to explode in the back of her head. The world
went black, and she collapsed without a murmur.

Zack
stared at the gap in the trees in horror and then turned toward
Marcus, who lay perfectly still on the floor.

Marcus
had told him to stay inside, but that was before he had been shot.
Indecision made the young boy hesitate as he studied first the
trees, then Marcus. He wanted to go after Tilly, but then also
needed to fetch help for Marcus too. What should he do?

Panic
made him feel a little sick. He needed someone; anyone, to tell him
what to do. Tears streamed down his face as he raced out of the
house, and fell to his knees beside the fallen man.

“
Marcus? Marcus? Can you hear me?”

Marcus
groaned at the fierce pain in his side. He knew from the sticky
warmth along his abdomen that he was bleeding, but had no idea how
badly he was hurt. Right now he couldn’t feel anything apart from
the deep burning sensation that seemed to run all the way through
him. As darkness swirled around him, he tried to focus on the young
lad’s voice. Eventually, he managed to beat the darkness and, with
a grunt, opened his eyes to look at Zack, who was shaking his
shoulder frantically in an attempt to get his attention.

“
Get inside and lock the door. Don’t open it until Harry gets
here,” he whispered before the darkness sucked him under once
more.

“
I have to find Harry,” Zack suddenly gasped. He stared in
shock at the steady pool of blood beside his friend, then lurched
to his feet and took off around the house. To his utter horror,
when he turned the corner, he ran into the awfully familiar figure
of Mrs Dandridge. He slammed to a stop and stared at her in
fear.

“
Going somewhere boy?” She snarled in callous delight as she
grabbed the back of his shirt.

Zack’s
scream shattered the silence, but he was no match for the height
and girth of the adult, who dragged him relentlessly toward the
trees after Tilly and Suzanna.

Within
seconds, silence settled over the garden.

Harry
hauled Barnaby to his feet and waited until his friend was steady
before he let him go.

“
When the woman went into the house, I looked at my watch,”
Barnaby grumbled when Harry asked him what he could remember. “I
saw Cruickshank and Dandridge leave the house. Some bastard hit me
because I can’t remember anything after that.”

“
You are not where we left you,” Harry replied with a
frown.

Indeed,
Barnaby had been hidden in the woods to the side of Bolsworthy’s
house. He was now at the rear of the outbuildings at the end of the
garden.

“
How did you get here,” Joseph asked.

Harry
shifted his weight and glanced at the house. “Who hit
you?”

“
I don’t know. I didn’t see anyone,” Barnaby frowned as he
tried to remember the details, but couldn’t remember anything apart
from the explosion of pain in the back of his head. “I saw
Cruickshank and Dandridge leave and went to follow them, but
couldn’t go down the driveway.” He nodded to the building. “I came
around the back of here, and was going to catch up with them down
the road, but must have been ambushed.”

“
They circled around and caught you,” Harry sighed.

Barnaby
frowned at Joseph. “Where’s Joshua?”

“
He is keeping watch on the house, and will follow the
Bolsworthy woman if she leaves,” Harry assured him.

“
Did they know we were inside?” Joseph demanded.

Harry
shook his head. “I doubt it, or they wouldn’t have had the
conversation they had.”

“
Come on, let’s get you back to the Rectory,” Joseph
suggested.

He
dragged his friend’s arm over his shoulders to take his weight, and
guided him slowly through the woods in the direction of their
temporary home.

When
they eventually reached it, they all but dragged Barnaby through
the front door, and lay him down on the chaise in the sitting
room.

“
I am not dead,” he groused, and immediately sat back up
again.

Joseph
rolled his eyes. “I am lying you down so you don’t fall down,” he
grunted.

Harry
frowned at the silence that greeted them.

“
Tilly?” he shouted. He sauntered into the hallway when there
was no answer.

“
Is anyone home?” He glanced over at Joseph. “Something’s
wrong,” he snapped, and drew his gun as he crept cautiously into
the kitchen.

As soon
as he opened the door and saw the kitchen door wide open, and
Marcus lying in the garden, he knew, deep in his gut that Tilly had
gone.

“
Joseph! Quick!” He yelled and raced outside.

Marcus
groaned and, at first, didn’t respond to Harry’s demands to wake
up. When he did, he peered blearily up at his friend and gave him
an apologetic look.

“
I am sorry, Harry. I lost them,” he growled.

“
Get the doctor, quickly,” Harry snapped at Joseph.

The pool
of blood beside Marcus warned them both that he had lost a lot of
blood.

“
I don’t need a doctor,” Marcus protested. “Just get me
inside.”

“
Where were you hit?” Harry demanded as he tried to find the
wound.

“
In the side. Hurts like hell,” Marcus replied quietly. He
tried to move, but had to grit his teeth against the instinctive
cry of pain that threatened to escape when he eventually managed to
roll over.

“
Do you think you can manage to get inside?” Harry asked and
studied the garden for any sign of which way Tilly had
gone.

Marcus
seemed to read his thoughts. “She was taken toward the woods,
Harry. Dandridge and Cruickshank took her.”

“
I think they have Suzanna and Zack as well,” Harry warned
him. “They got you out of the way first though.”

“
Damn it,” Marcus swore. “They must have had help I didn’t
see.”

Impatience made Harry’s voice brisk. “Let’s try and get you
inside. Then I am going to see if I can find where they have
gone.”

Eventually, once Barnaby was in a chair and Marcus was lying
on the chaise, Harry stood to catch his breath and study his
colleagues. They were battered and bruised but not likely to die
anytime soon. He really didn’t want to leave his colleagues alone
when they were injured, but he desperately needed to find Tilly.
The thought of what Dandridge and Cruickshank might do to her –
them – now that they had them, horrified him.

He
fought to keep his panic under control and dug deep for his years
of experience in order to remain calm and be able to think
logically.

If his
heart wasn’t so deeply involved, he would have succeeded. As it
was, he now knew that he loved her; with all of his heart;
completely; totally; absolutely. Nothing in the world mattered to
him more than Tilly, and it was imperative that he get her back –
for his sake as much as hers.

As
though Barnaby had read his mind, his colleague pierced Harry with
a dark look.

“
We are going after them.”

“
You are injured. You need to stay here,” Harry
snapped.

Barnaby
growled. “I am coming.” The determination in his gaze when he stood
up was all Harry needed to see, and he nodded his thanks to his
friend.

“
Give me my gun,” Marcus whispered. “I will shoot any bastard
that comes in here; male or female.”

Barnaby
handed him his loaded weapon. “Just don’t shoot yourself,” he
warned dryly to which Marcus snorted; then winced as pain lanced
his side again.

Harry
hated to do leave him but, right now, three innocent people had
just been kidnapped by Dandridge and his cohorts. It was imperative
that he, Joseph, and Barnaby, got them back, preferably before
Dandridge got the opportunity to show everyone what he had brought
them all to Tooting Mallow for.

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

Tilly
felt bile rise in her throat and struggled to swallow it. Pain
reverberated around her head, but she wasn’t sure if it was the
knock to her head that made her feel sick; or the violent swaying
of the blacked-out carriage she was in.

The
horrendous noise from the wheels, along with the squeals of protest
from the horses that pulled the carriage, warned her that they were
going at a speed that was considerably faster than was safe or
wise.

When the
carriage bounced over something in the road, she was jostled on the
seat so forcefully that she nearly ended up on the floor. She
opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling with a
frown.

“
Thank heavens you are awake,” Suzanna immediately
gasped.

Tilly’s
eyes met hers. They both looked at Zack, who sat pale and trembling
beside them.

“
Where are we going, does anyone know?” Tilly asked as she
cautiously sat upright. Aside from a small headache, she was fine –
for now, but had to wonder how long she would remain that
way.

Suzanna
and Zack shook their heads. “You were both knocked out by those
two,” Zack informed them, and nodded to the coachman’s seat behind
his head outside.

“
Dandridge and Cruickshank,” Tilly snapped in
disgust.

“
Mrs Dandridge got me,” Zack told them morosely. “I can’t
believe I ran straight into her. I was going for help for Marcus.”
He looked at them both solemnly. “They shot him.”

“
Don’t worry yourself about it, Zack. I am sure someone has
found him by now and he is receiving the help he needs,” Tilly
assured him with a sympathetic smile that was more of a grimace.
“They caught us all off-guard.”

“
We were told to stay inside,” Suzanna sighed sadly. She
wasn’t accusing Tilly of anything, and had been just as happy as
everyone else to have the back door open so they could wander in
and out of the garden whenever they liked.

“
I know. It is my fault. I should have shut the door behind
me.”

“
No, it’s not your fault,” Suzanna replied flatly. “None of
this is our fault. It’s theirs. They brought us to Tooting Mallow.
I have no doubt they were the ones responsible for making sure we
had no choice but to go to the poor house. They are the ones who
have kidnapped us, for God knows what purpose. Everything that has
happened to us is their fault.”

“
I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to wait until
we reach the final destination to find out what they want with us,”
Tilly sighed. “I am not going to be dragged meekly into any of
their schemes.” She looked from Suzanna to Zack. “I think we have
to get out of here.”

“
I am not going to do what they want either,” Zack echoed
defiantly. “I am with you.”

Suzanna
nodded, but looked worriedly from one to the other. “What do we do
though? I mean, we can hardly jump out of a moving coach but, if we
don’t, then we have no choice but to sit here and wait until this
stops. By that time we will be at their mercy again.”