Fate's Intervention (55 page)

“
Nancy,
”
Matthew whispered, trying to keep his voice calm,
“
can you tell me where
Marcelle and her
father
are?
”

Nancy
shook her head violently, new tears streaming from her eyes.

“
How do you know something has happened to them?
”
He tried another avenue of approach.

“
Because,
”
Nancy
hiccupped, wiping her nose with a dirty kerchief,
“
he came, and then they were all gone. Oh God! Oh God! Something bad
’
s happened to the missus, I just know it!
”

Matthew controlled the urge to shake the housekeeper until her teeth rattled. He pulled the only other chair occupying the room in front of
Nancy
and settled into it. He leaned forward and gripped
Nancy
by the upper arms.

“
I need you to look at me, Nancy,
”
he said in a quiet urgency. When she complied, he continued.
“
It
’
s imperative that you calm down and tell me what you know or I won
’
t be able to help Marcelle and her
father
. Do you understand me?
”

“
Yes, sir,
”
Nancy sniffled.

“
Very good. Now start from the beginning and don
’
t leave anything out.
”
Matthew released his grip and took a deep breath.

Nancy
wiped her nose again and
breathed
deeply,
“
So
me
man came. Mr. Mark . . . ,
”

“
My brother?
”
Matthew interrupted, stunned.

“
Yes, sir,
”
Nancy clarified.
“
A
t least it looked like the man that stayed here last week.
A
ny
way, he showed up again yesterday, but this time he didn
’
t have no luggage or a smile on his
face, and he didn
’
t step near the front door. He seemed to be full of rage, he did.
”

“
Damn
!
”
Matthew muttered and
Nancy
gasped.
“
Pardon my language,
Nancy
. What happened then?
”

“
He stood in the yard, yelling something fierce. Scared the wits out of
Joseph and me
. So much so, that I shoved little Joseph out the window and told him to run down the lane to the neighbor
’
s house and to stay there until I came for him.
”

“
What did Mark say,
Nancy
?
”
Matthew asked.

“
Well, at first he told them that he wanted them to come on out so that he could talk to them, but when they wouldn
’
t, he started getting madder.
”

“
I wonder why he didn
’
t go up to the front door?
”
Matthew wondered aloud,
“
I mean, Marcelle wouldn
’
t have known there was any danger . . . ,
”

“
A
ctually, she would have,
”
Nancy
said, a trace of a sad smile on her mouth.
“
S
he got a telegram from your mom.
A
rrived yesterday. Told her to keep an eye out for Mark.
”

“
I see,
”
Matthew smiled softly,
“
Good for Mom. I probably should have thought of that myself, but I figured that Marcelle and Peter would be safe from Mark here in
Wisconsin
. I guess I figured wrong
, b
ut that doesn
’
t explain why Mark didn
’
t just walk up to the door. He wouldn
’
t have known about Mother
’
s telegram.
”

“
It may have had something to do with the rifles that Marcelle and her
father
had pointed at him.
”

Matthew laughed shortly.
“
Prepared, were they?
”

“
Not prepared enough,
”
Nancy
sighed.
“
When Mark realized that he
’
d been found out, his face got even redder and it didn
’
t seem to matter to him none that he might
be
shot. He started yelling as how you
’
d done him wrong, and that he was there to
‘
extract payment
’
were his very words.
”

Matthew closed his eyes and took another deep breath,
“
Go on, Nancy. You
’
re doing just fine.
”

“
Yes, sir,
”
Nancy
said, drawing in a shaky breath.
“
Miss Marcelle, she shouted for him to get hi
s
self off their property or
she
would send for the local sheriff and have him physically removed
, and
it seemed to work. He turned on his heel and disappeared down the lane. That was the last time I seen any of them.
”

“
The
re
’
s no one in the house,
”
Matthew said, rubbing his chin.
“
I searched myself. You didn
’
t see them leave?
”

“
No sir!
As
soon as I could, I ran to town and told the sheriff what I seen, but when he got back here with me, the house was empty.
”

“
What makes you think that Mark managed to get his hands on them, Nancy?
”
Matthew asked, dread racing up and down his spine.

“
I can
’
t really say for certain, other than a gut feeling,
”
Nancy admitted,
“
but if you
’
d seen the crazy look on your brother
’
s face, sir, then you
’
d have that same feeling.
”

“
It
’
s okay, Nancy,
”
Matthew said,
“
I happen to believe you.
A
fter
all, Mark wouldn
’
t have come all this way to fail, and the house is empty of occupants, so what did the sheriff say about it all? Did he go after them?
”

“
I don
’
t know, Mr. Matthew, sir.
”
Nancy
’
s tears started up again and she sniffed hard.
“
I don
’
t think so. I mean, he said he would look into it, but I don
’
t think he meant it none.
”

“
Why
’
s that?
”

“
He mumbled something about crazy females and then rode away.
”

Matthew made a mental note to have a chat with the sheriff and took another calming breath.

“
A
s soon as he went away, I collected my savings money and ran back to town to fire off that telegram to you. I heard Marcelle say when you was planning to leave, but I didn
’
t know where you were, so I used all my money and told the telegraph man to send a telegram to every place between here and New York.
”

“
Bless you, Nancy,
”
Matthew sighed,
“
A
nd
you needn
’
t worry about your savings, you
’
ll get every penny back. I promise you that.
”

“
I don
’
t rightly care, Mr. Matthew.
All
I care about is Miss Marcelle and her
father
. Something dreadful has happened, I just know it has.
”
Nancy
said and promptly burst into another round of uncontrollable sobbing.

Matthew wrapped his arms around her and held her, his mind in turmoil. If his brother had abducted Marcelle and her
father
, would he send word for ransom or simply take out his anger on them, since he
’
d been unable to get to Matthew in
New York
? Was this the plan B he made mention of to his mother
–
to hold Marcelle and Peter as hostages?

The thought of Marcelle in the clutches of his brother made his blood run cold. He had to
do something
, b
ut what? He had no leads
, so
even if he did strike out after them,
in
which direction would he go? They had a good head start on him, which means they could be anywhere by now.

“
Matthew Daragh!
”

Matthew stiffened at the sound of his name being yelled from outside.
Nancy
gasped and sat up, wiping her nose and sniffling.

“
The
re
’
s someone outside,
”
she said unnecessarily.

“
Matthew Daragh!
”
The voice outside repeated more loudly.

Matthew stood and walked stiffly to the front door. He opened it just enough to see into the yard in order to assess the danger.

“
I ain
’
t here to cause you no harm, mister, so come on out so I can be getting on home to the missus, if you don
’
t mind.
”

“
Who are you and what do you want?
”
Matthew called, opening the door a little further. No matter what the man said, he wasn
’
t about to risk sticking his neck out where
Mark could shoot a hole through it.

The man sighed loudly and rolled his eyes,
“
W
ho
I am don
’
t matter none. I
’
m here cause your brother paid me to wait for you, and then I was to deliver a message to you. That
’
s it.
”

“
What
’
s the message?
”

“
He said you are to take a ride one day north of here until you reach an old abandoned
fort. He
’
ll meet you there.
”

“
A
ny
thing else?
”

“
Yeah. He said to come alone and that you
’
d know what it would mean if you didn
’
t.
”

Matthew pulled opened the door, preparing to go outside and talk with the stranger further, but Nancy
’
s
hand
tugging at him prevented him from leaving,
“
Don
’
t go, Mr. Matthew. You
’
ll get killed!
”

“
I don
’
t think this man is here to shoot me,
Nancy
. I can
’
t explain everything to you, but I think that I
’
m needed alive. Now, you
’
re going to have to let my arm go or I won
’
t be able to go after Marcelle.
”