Blood Blade Sisters Series (53 page)

Finn sat for a moment, his horse pawing at the ground in imitation of Finn’s agitation.

Finally, Finn nodded. As much as he’d like to tear that jailhouse down brick by brick, that just wasn’t going to happen. Lucy’s best chance was for her highfalutin lawyer to come and get her out of this mess. And she would feel much better with her sisters here.

Sam released a sigh of relief and ran to mount his horse. Finn pulled his horse around and thundered off toward town, Sam close on his heels.

…

Lucy paced the jail cell, worry over Finn eating at her until she felt she’d go mad from it. She hadn’t heard from anyone, hadn’t even seen anyone since the sheriff had locked her in the cell. They were treating her as if…well, as if she’d just bashed in a man’s head with a frying pan.

She slumped onto the narrow cot shoved against the wall. They hadn’t even let her wash the blood from her hands. She’d wiped them down as best she could before they’d taken her off, but there was still blood caked beneath her fingernails and a few odd spots here and there. She rubbed at her hands, watching the tiny flakes of Finn’s blood flutter to the floor.

Where was he?
How
was he? The bullet had only grazed him, but it had bled so horribly. Had he woken yet? She had no idea what had happened to him.

Everything after the sheriff and his men had arrived was a bit of a blur. They’d marched in, and any sympathy they’d had for Lucy disappeared once they had seen Philip’s body. Unfortunately, they seemed to be subscribing to Jed’s interpretation of the scene and nothing that Lucy said prevailed. No matter that Philip was the one who was trespassing on her property, with a loaded weapon that he’d used to shoot Finn. Since Lucy had been openly courting Philip, the consensus seemed to be that Philip had every right to lose his mind in a fit of jealousy over finding Lucy with Finn.

Lucy’s true identity had been revealed as well, a fact that made anyone inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt change their minds. Here she’d been in their midst all this time, masquerading as Finn’s cousin when in fact she was Miss Lucy Richardson, a lying Yankee who couldn’t be trusted. Coupled with the fact that she’d been found with a naked Finn in her bedroom and Lucy’s stature was vastly reduced in their eyes. She was no longer an innocent young woman who needed to be coddled and protected. She was a wanton, deceitful woman who’d seduced not one but two men, and had driven them to this bloody battle. And since there was no one else coming forward to confess to the murder, Lucy had been formally arrested and charged with the murder of Philip Halford.

She couldn’t blame them really. But that didn’t stop the fear from gnawing at her.

The outer door opened and Lucy went to the barred door of her cell, straining to see who had come.

When she saw Finn walk around the corner, she nearly collapsed in relief.

“You’re all right,” she said, sticking her hand through the bars to grasp his.

Finn raised her hand to his lips and put his hand through the bars to caress her cheek.

“How are you?” he asked.

“I’m fine. I’ve been worried about you. But other than that, I’m fine.”

“They haven’t been mistreating you?”

“No. In fact, I haven’t seen anyone at all since they locked me in here. What is happening? They aren’t arresting you, are they?”

Finn shook his head. “They’d like to, but try as they might, they couldn’t come up with a plausible story to explain how I could have been shot
after
hitting Halford. The only logical explanation is that he shot first and then someone else attacked him…which proves my innocence.”

His worried eyes met Lucy’s and Lucy tightened her grip on his hand. “But my innocence isn’t so easy to prove, hmm?”

Finn’s face hardened. “We
will
prove it. You didn’t do anything. I’m not going to let you be charged for someone else’s crime.”

Lucy smiled at him, hoped it reached her eyes. She appreciated his sentiment, but they both knew that proving her innocence would be difficult. If not impossible. If she hadn’t been in that room, even she wouldn’t believe in her innocence. For a split second, she wished she hadn’t sent Lilah away. She was instantly overcome with shame. Lilah would probably not even have had the benefit of a trial. Judging by the number of men who had come to visit her school what seemed like a lifetime ago, Lucy was only too sure there were plenty of folks who would have meted out their vigilante justice before cooler heads could prevail.

At least Lucy had a fighting chance. She hoped.

“It might be time to contact my sisters,” Lucy said.

Finn ran his thumb over her bruised cheek. “I already wired them. They wouldn’t let me come in until three,” he said, his voice thick with anger. “So I used the time to send a few telegrams. I also contacted a friend of mine, Mr. William Fitzhugh. He’s one of the best lawyers in these parts. He should be here shortly.”

“Thank you, Finn.”

Finn shook his head and looked down, swallowing audibly a few times. “I’m so sorry, Lucy.”

Lucy’s eyes widened and she gripped his hand tighter, reaching through the bars to cup his face and bring his gaze back to hers. “For what?”

“This is my fault.”

“How on earth do you figure that?”

“I should have stayed away from you. I knew I’d only bring you trouble. If I hadn’t been there…”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I seem to be fairly adept at getting myself into trouble.” She pointed to her battered face with a wry smile, but Finn flinched.

“Finn, it was only a matter of time before Philip confronted me, or I him. The only reason I allowed him to court me was so I could pry into his affairs and I’m fairly certain he knew that. This,” she said, indicating her face, “happened because I was too careless when I was butting my nose into his business. And what happened at my house…that was no one’s fault but Philip’s.
He
was the trespasser.
He
was the aggressor.
He
attacked
you
. We did nothing wrong. And I wouldn’t give back a second of my time with you for anything in the world.”

Finn leaned his forehead against the bars and Lucy did the same, hating the feel of the cold metal pressed against her skin. But she could feel some of Finn’s warmth as well. It would have to be enough. For now.

“I must go for a bit. Mr. Fitzhugh is coming in on the six o’clock train and I’m sure your sisters will be on their way as well. I need to see if they’ve left any messages.”

He tilted Lucy’s head up, his fingers gently stroking from her jaw down her neck. “I can’t stand to leave you in here.”

Lucy forced a smile. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

Finn leaned his head against the bars and pressed his lips to hers. “I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”

She nodded and watched him walk away.

Lucy managed to keep her tears at bay until he’d disappeared from sight. She was going to have to be strong if she was going to get through this, strong enough to fight against those who would bring her down. Strong enough to convince Finn and her sisters, who she’d never been able to lie to, that she was confident and optimistic. Strong enough to convince herself.

But for now, for this moment, she’d let the weakness out. Get it out of her system so she could move past it. Because if she didn’t get rid of it, it would bury her under the waves of despair and fear that threatened to consume her.

Standing on tiptoe so she could see outside, she watched as Finn came into view. He climbed into a waiting carriage and rode away.

When she could no longer see the carriage in the distance, Lucy sank to the floor and sobbed.

Chapter Sixteen

Finn paced the platform, waiting for the train that would bring Lucy’s family. They’d been fortunate that Cilla and Leo had already been on the East Coast, visiting Leo’s family in Maryland. Brynne and Richard had met up with them there and the foursome would be pulling into the station any minute.

When Finn heard the telltale whistle of the train as it approached the station, he stopped pacing, standing rigid as the train came into view. His stomach churned. He’d barely eaten or slept since Lucy had been in jail. Lucy was
his
responsibility. He was the reason she was in trouble, and he was going to make damn sure that Lucy went free, no matter the cost or the stakes. If her sisters could aid him in that, all the better. He wasn’t too proud to accept help from her formidable family. But no matter what, he’d see Lucy safe.

Then again, the last time he’d seen Brynne, he’d been trying to collect a ransom for kidnapping her daughter. They hadn’t exactly parted on the best of terms. No matter what Lucy said, Finn was still fairly certain Brynne would stake him through the heart as soon as look at him. But he needed help and Lucy needed her family. So, he’d just have to make sure Brynne’s anger stayed focused on getting Lucy out of danger. Then she could have at him.

The train pulled to a stop and Finn squared his shoulders, mentally preparing for their arrival. He didn’t have to wait long.

Cilla descended first, followed by her husband Leo. They’d never met, but Finn would know him anywhere. He looked very much like his brother Jake.

Finn went to them and stuck out his hand. “Mr. Forrester?”

Leo nodded and shook his hand. “You must be Mr. Taggart.”

“Yes, sir.”

Finn glanced at Cilla who was watching him thoughtfully, sizing him up. A natural thing to do, he supposed, seeing as how they were aware of his past with Lucy and her feelings for him. Though he couldn’t help but feel she was taking his measure, not as a mate for her sister, but as an opponent on the battlefield.

Another man joined their group. He was tall and blond, with a pair of smart spectacles perched on his nose. Finn had forgotten he had someone else to be wary of. Richard Oliver was now Coraline’s stepfather and had just as much reason as Brynne to despise Finn. But Richard approached him calmly, only a slight narrowing of his eyes indicating he wasn’t entirely pleased to see Finn again.

Finn offered his hand. “Dr. Oliver.”

Richard nodded and shook Finn’s hand, though his expression was decidedly cool.

Richard turned to help his wife from the train, and Finn could no longer avoid the moment he’d been dreading.

Brynne stood before him, her gaze skewering him where he stood.

“Mrs. Oliver,” he said, bowing his head a little, waiting for whatever she had to say. It had been a long time coming and he deserved every word.

Brynne eyed him up and down. “You look different without the tattoos showing.”

Finn nodded, wary of her and a bit thrown off guard by the fact that she hadn’t immediately attacked him. It had been several years, and Lucy
had
said that Brynne had forgiven him. Still…

“I like you better with them,” she added.

Finn’s lips twitched. “So do I. They do tend to make a man stand out though, and that’s not something I want to do down here.”

Brynne nodded. Her eyes zeroed in on the bruised and barely healed bullet wound on his head. “She try to shoot you?”

Finn couldn’t help the smile that broke out. “No, ma’am. Someone tried to shoot her.”

Brynne snorted. “Sounds about right. You put your own head in the way to protect her?”

Finn nodded.

“Is this mess she’s in your doing?”

Finn wasn’t sure how to answer that one. He hesitated and Brynne cocked an eyebrow.

“Yes and no.”

The eyebrow raised higher. “Care to explain?”

“Brynne, leave the poor man alone,” Cilla said. “You and I both know Lucy is more than capable of getting herself into a scrape like this. It’s not like she’s the only one of us to be arrested for a murder she didn’t commit. We just have a knack for life-threatening tomfoolery. Can’t blame Mr. Taggart here for that.”

Brynne muttered something about her sisters being the death of her.

Finn’s lips twitched. The Richardson sisters were quite a trio. “I wasn’t directly responsible. But the man who attacked us was my boss and Lucy had…gotten on his bad side. She’d never have crossed his path if she hadn’t been trying to get me to admit that I love her, so in a roundabout way, yes, this is my fault.”

“And do you? Love her?” Brynne asked.

Finn frowned, his mouth hanging open. Her question was so unexpected, he wasn’t sure at first he’d heard her correctly. “Pardon?”

“Do you love her?” she asked again, her fists on her hips.

Finn hadn’t admitted it out loud yet and knew if he was going to say it to anyone, it should be to Lucy. But after everything he’d put her family through, no matter his reasons for doing it, he’d do anything for them. Answering a question that would put Brynne’s mind at ease was the least he could do.

“Yes, ma’am. I do. Very much.”

Brynne nodded again, apparently happy with his answers. “Well, then Mr. Taggart. I’d appreciate it if you could take us to the jailhouse.”

Richard stepped forward. “Brynne, we should stop by the hotel first. It’s been a long journey. You should rest a bit before we go over.”

Brynne just looked at her husband. Cilla and Leo had turned their faces to hide their smiles and even Finn knew the poor man was going to lose this argument before it even began.

Richard drew his wife into his arms with an amused sigh and kissed her forehead. “You can’t blame a man for trying.”

“I most certainly could,” she said, though her fond tone took the sting from her words.

“This way,” Finn said, leading the way to the carriage he had waiting. He gave instructions for the boy he’d brought with him to have the Richardsons’ and Forresters’ luggage brought to the hotel where he’d already reserved a suite of rooms for them, and then held the door to the carriage open so they could climb inside.

They passed the short ride to the jailhouse in relative silence, each lost in their own thoughts. The momentary brevity at the station dissipated the closer to the jail they came. When they alighted in the jail’s courtyard, the full gravity of the situation had overcome them once again.

Finn led the way. There was a short delay at the front desk because the officer in charge didn’t want to allow the visitors access to Lucy unless they’d been thoroughly searched. Brynne stood there and stared the man down until he turned beet red and let them through with a cursory pat for the men and a polite nod for the women. Then, finally, they were led back to Lucy’s cell.

…

Lucy heard the outer door open and sat up on her bunk, leaning forward to see who it was. Her lawyer had already been by earlier that morning. Their case was made more difficult since there were no witnesses, as Lucy refused to tell him Lilah’s identity, to testify to Lucy’s innocence, but Mr. Fitzhugh was still measurably hopeful they’d be able to exonerate her. Lucy wasn’t quite so sure, but she was willing to go along with him for now. What else could she do?

When she saw her sisters walk through the door, she jumped from her bunk with a glad cry. Cilla and Brynne rushed to the door, waiting impatiently for the officer to open it, then fairly shoved the man aside so they could get to Lucy.

Lucy was smothered in two sets of arms. The men wisely stayed back. The sisters were all crying and talking at once, hugs and kisses and exclamations of love and exasperation at Lucy’s predicament flying about the room until Lucy finally had to wave her sisters back so she could get a word in edge wise.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she said, giving them both a firm hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You can’t even imagine how happy I am to see you.”

“Yes, we can,” Cilla said with a smile. “Now, would you care to fill us in on exactly how our baby sister came down to North Carolina to find an old friend and ended up in jail for murder?”

Lucy took a deep breath and launched into the tale, leaving out nothing. When she’d finished, Brynne and Cilla glanced at each other, and then back to her.

“Mr. Taggart has informed us that you’ve retained a lawyer,” Brynne said. “What does he say about all this?”

Lucy shrugged. “He’s optimistic. I have no criminal past…” Cilla’s eyebrows raised, the scar bisecting her left brow exaggerating her surprised look, and Lucy rolled her eyes and continued, “that anyone knows about. While here, I’ve been a good member of the community. The fact that I started the school could both help and hurt us, he thinks, depending on who’s on the jury. On one hand, it shows my ‘charitable’ nature. But on the other hand…”

“On the other hand,” Cilla filled in, “if you get a bunch of bigoted old-timers, the fact that you started a school to teach Negroes will go against you.”

“Right.”

“No one is questioning that Philip was the one who shot Finn, so Finn at least is safe from suspicion since it’s a bit impossible for him to have bashed Philip in the head from behind
after
being shot. Believe me, I wasn’t sure there for a while. When we were found, Finn didn’t have his tattoos covered, which gave everyone a bit of a shock. I’m sure if they could have pinned some blame on him, they would have. But there simply isn’t any way to make an accusation stick, so that’s a good bit of news.”

“Sure. Good for Finn. But it doesn’t help you,” Richard said.

Lucy shot him a dirty look.

“Now don’t go getting angry at Richard for just saying what we’re all thinking. It’s fine and dandy for Taggart to be above suspicion, but that still leaves you as the only suspect,” Brynne said.

“Why can’t you just tell them who really killed the man?” Leo asked. “Surely you must know.”

“Of course I know. But I can’t reveal who it is. She was only trying to protect me and I’m not going to let her hang for that.”

“Lucy,” Brynne said, drawing Lucy down to sit beside her and Cilla on the bench. “I know you want to protect this woman, but I think it’s time for you to face the facts. You could be the one on the end of the rope. Are you prepared to just give up and die to keep her identity a secret?”

Lucy looked at Finn, a lump forming in her throat. “Of course I don’t want to die. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life, or even one more moment behind these bars. And I have no intention of just giving up. But there has to be some way of proving my innocence without giving her up in the process.”

“Lucy,” Finn said, kneeling down in front of her, “I spoke with Fitzhugh after he left you this morning. It doesn’t look good. There was no one else there. If you don’t tell them who really killed Halford, then in their minds, there is no one else who could have done it but you. Don’t you see that? If you don’t tell them who really killed him, you’ll be the one hanging.”

“Finn, I can’t…”

“We have the best lawyer in the South on our side. And what happened to Halford was self-defense. Hell, no one is even questioning that the man shot me. That proves it was self-defense! There is no guarantee that she’ll hang for this.”

“And there’s no guarantee that I will either. So why can’t we just argue that defense for me? I’ve got a much better chance with a jury than she will.”

“Because you have other motives for wanting him dead.”

Lucy’s blood ran cold. She’d never considered that the prosecution might have an actual case against her. She hadn’t confessed and other than finding her with the body, covered in blood, and she knew how damning that looked, she didn’t think they had anything on her.

“What possible motives could I have for wanting Philip dead? As far as the community was concerned, we were courting.”

“Exactly. You were courting him and then were found in bed with me.”

Brynne sucked in an angry breath and Lucy sighed. “Don’t lecture me about that now, Brynne. You can give me the moral-deprivation sermon later.”

Brynne’s eyes narrowed, though her glare was directed at Finn, but she waved them on.

“So,” Lucy continued, “because I was found with you, they think that is motive for murder?”

Finn grimaced and pulled a newspaper clipping out of his pocket. “I didn’t want to show you these…”

He handed them to her and Lucy quickly read the article. The headline,
Schoolmistress Kills City Icon to Hide Illicit Affair
had her ready to chew glass before getting two sentences into the article. The so-called article was a sordid description painting her as a wanton hussy who’d set out to seduce the goodly Mr. Halford. He’d caught her in the arms of a savage, in the midst of some devilishly heathen lovemaking, they were sure to point out. Lucy, in a rage at Mr. Halford’s rightful rejection of her upon discovering her betrayal, had killed him.

Lucy stared at the offensive trash in her hands. “Surely no one believes this filth?”

“Enough do. And it’ll only take twelve to convict you.”

“Lucy,” Cilla said, taking her sister’s hands. “You’ve got to tell them who really did this. I promise you we will do everything in our power to keep her safe. But your life is our priority here. And I think you need to seriously consider the possibility that you will be found guilty.”

Lucy looked at Brynne and then at Richard and Leo. And finally at Finn.

“Only if you promise me that she won’t hang. Even if we have to bust her out of here and go on the run. Promise me.”

Finn took her face in his hands. “I swear to you, I will not let her hang for this.”

Lucy stared into his eyes for a long moment. Nausea from guilt and fear rose in her gut, and she swallowed several times, trying to calm the furious pounding of her heart.

They were right though. She’d be found guilty. She would die.

Finally she nodded. “All right.”

Finn crushed her to him. “It will be all right, love. For both of you.” He set her from him so he could look into her eyes again. “I swear it.”

“I hope you’re right.”