Riverbreeze: Part 3 (26 page)

“We’ll wait until this is almost out.” Joseph said.

“We’ll wait also.” Dolnick said. Nathan nodded his head in agreement. So did Hugh and Harry although they looked like they would rather take that break.

“All right. Let me take care of Pisador and then I’ll join you.” He turned back to Evelyn. “We’ll be in later, but thank you.” He grabbed her for another hug. “You know not how relieved I am to see you safe. When I first saw that fire…” He choked up, not able to finish.

She hugged him tight in return. “I’m glad you’re home safe too. I also don’t know what I would do if—“ She shivered in his arms.

“Shh.” He interrupted her this time. “There isn’t going to be any ‘ifs’. I promise.” He tenderly touched her face.

She nodded her head. “I’ll leave you then. But come in when you get hungry or too tired.”

“I will.” And he caressed her cheek one more time before she turned and walked back to the house, taking one last anguished look at the fire.

He knew exactly how she felt.

* * *

Apollo had the workout of his life. Robert nearly pushed him to his limits to get home in record time. Any other time, Jamie would have been impressed. Too bad they had never tested Apollo as a racer before. But that was for another day.

By the time Robert arrived at Riverbreeze, the tobacco barn had burnt to the ground. All that remained was a pile of charred timbers. “What the hell?” He swore, nearly falling off Apollo. He felt like he had been punched in the stomach and stabbed in the back at the same time.

He dismounted clumsily and staggered to the edge of the ruins. Standing there and looking at the devastation he was completely aghast.

Dumbstruck, he just stood there, his hands clenched in his hair. This was an outrage! An act so blatantly wicked and hateful, he was incredulous. He couldn’t believe this was happening to him, to him and Jamie and his family. Wounded to the core, he let out a scream of rage, a scream that reached the heavens.

The back door opened and Jamie came out first. As he jogged towards Robert, Robert noticed Elizabeth standing in the doorway, holding Robin in her arms. She was talking to Robin and gesturing towards Robert as if showing Robin that his daddy was all right. Then she raised her hand in a wave and Robert waved back. They exchanged a tormented look before Jamie reached Robert. And then she turned and disappeared back into the house, leaving him alone to share this awful moment with his brother.

They hugged. “We should have never left.” Robert said, so frustrated that he felt sick. “I realized that too late.”

“I know.” Jamie said, anguish in his eyes. “We can’t leave Riverbreeze unprotected again.”

“I thought leaving Nathan and Dolnick would be enough. But I did learn one important piece of information in Jamestown, Jamie.”

“Yeah, thank you for waking me up.” Jamie said sarcastically.

“You needed to sleep! Besides I did fine on my own.”

Jamie made a face, still angry at himself and at Rob. “What did you learn?”

“Burnett is with Wesley. That’s who his friend is.”

“Peter Burnett? The one who raped Abby?” Jamie looked horrified.

“Yes, the one I beat up and threatened to kill if he didn’t leave the colony. Damn!” Robert suddenly exploded. He pounded his fist into his other open palm. “I should have killed him!”

Jamie grabbed his brother’s shoulders and looked into his eyes. “No, you were right not to kill him. Killing him would have scarred you forever.”

“Well…” Robert pondered that for a second. “Maybe.” He said reluctantly. Then he looked back at the ruins, and suddenly he remembered another pile of ruins from not so long ago, Beatrice Warren’s cottage. He was again overcome with fury. “No.” He said, his voice hard with conviction. “I should have killed him. This is his handywork. All our tobacco, Jamie, and the feed for the animals…” He looked back at his brother, tears of rage in his eyes. “Was any of it saved?”

Jamie shook his head. “No.” He said sadly.

Robert took one harsh breath through his nose, in and out before saying, “Next time I won’t let him go…or Wesley. I may not have found him today, but I will.” He looked at his brother with determination in his eyes. “We’ll find him, both of them, and we’ll send them both to hell.”

“What are you suggesting?” Jamie asked, a note of fear in his voice. “You’re not suggesting we kill them when we find them? I can’t do that!”

Robert saw the distress in Jamie’s face and knew he shouldn’t be the cause of more distress for his brother. So he backed down for Jamie’s sake. He wouldn’t mention it again in front of Jamie, but he would still keep the idea in his own mind. “All right then; forget that. But we still continue to search and we continue to watch.”

“We can’t do both! This is what happened when we left.” Jamie exclaimed, pointing at the ruins of the barn.

“I hate to admit it, but we’re going to need help—“

Jamie perked up then. “Help is already here! The Bolton brothers and the Wyatt brothers. They saw the smoke and came to help. They kept the fire from spreading. They couldn’t put it out or save anything, but at least they kept it from spreading.”

“That was most generous of them. I must thank them.”

“Let’s go inside then.” Jamie said, clasping Robert’s arm. “The girls have been wonderful, preparing food for everyone and staying strong.”

That warmed Robert’s heart.
Please, keep them safe
, he silently prayed. Out loud he said, “We have to protect them at all costs, Jamie.”

“I know.” Jamie said gravely. He swallowed hard. “I would die if anything happened to Evelyn or the baby.”

“I feel the same way.” Robert admitted quietly.

They started walking towards the house, each of them introspective. How could Robert live if anything happened to Elizabeth? He had barely survived after Kathleen’s death, but he had to survive for Robin’s sake. It would be a miserable life without her, especially since he had come to love her so much.

No! Nothing was going to happen, he told himself. Cease these thoughts! He would keep Elizabeth’s dream in mind and have faith in her. This he must do to keep his sanity. Otherwise these negative thoughts could drive him mad.

To get his mind off that line of thinking, he asked Jamie, “How much feed do you have stored in the stable?”

“Oh,” Jamie was startled from his own thoughts. “Enough for two or three days. I’ll have to go to the Paulette’s to see if they can spare any and then to Nick and Ned…”

“Sam Mathews and George Menefie might also have feed to sell, both for the horses and the cows. Thankfully we have a little money saved.”

“And father’s inheritance.”

“Yes, that too.”

“We’ll have to leave again.”

“You can go. I’ll stay home.” Robert generously offered.

“Good idea.” Jamie grinned.

“When will you go?”

“Not until tomorrow or the next day, I think.”

Robert nodded. “That sounds good.”

“You know.” Jamie said thoughtfully. “I’ve been thinking that we should search the property for signs of their—“ Suddenly he stopped short. “Holy God!” He gasped. “I think I know where they’ve been hiding! Why didn’t I think of this sooner?”

“What? Where?” Robert was totally in the dark.

“Remember that old collapsed shed at the back of the property?” Jamie asked, looking excited. Robert nodded, suddenly recalling that shed and picturing it in his mind. Could anyone actually take shelter in that place? Jamie continued. “They could be staying in there! I believe there’s enough room inside for two men to camp out.”

Robert frowned. “I don’t know. That place is so overgrown. Do you really think they would stay there?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

It only took a second for Robert to agree. “Let’s go.” He said decisively.

In the end, Jamie was right. They saddled Pisador and Penny, leaving Apollo to rest, and Robert, Jamie, Hugh and Harry rode out to the shed, Hugh behind Jamie and Harry behind Robert. The Bolton brothers offered to stay and watch the house and surrounding yard to give Nathan and Dolnick a break and a chance to get some sleep. Helping a neighbor was more important than going to church, they said. Robert and Jamie gratefully accepted their help. The Bolton brothers also offered to come back the next day and Robert agreed. He wasn’t sure yet what they could do, but he would let them know tomorrow.

At the site of the shed, they found evidence of occupation, the ground trampled, an opening cut through the vines and brush, a thick bedding of pine boughs, and other debris. With rage fueling their bodies, Robert and Jamie hacked through the remaining vines and brush with axes, then tore down every last board and timber, completely demolishing the shed. It lay scattered around them.

Hugh and Harry smartly kept out of their way, staying back and only helping when they were called for. Robert and Jamie didn’t want to scare them with their crazed behavior, but feared they already had. They hoped that the teenagers never had to face this kind of harassment in their lifetimes. But they didn’t have an older revengeful half-brother. How fortunate they were.

When the job was done, the brothers were exhausted. They were gasping for breath, sweat ran down their faces, their arms, shoulders and backs ached, but they were satisfied that no one could ever use this place to hide in again.

But where were Wesley and Burnett now? Robert stared out into the woods while he caught his breath. They could be anywhere. It was so easy to hide in this wilderness.

He jumped when he heard branches snap a distance to the left of him. All four men turned to look.

“Come out and show yourselves, you cowards!” Robert yelled. “You won’t get away with this, Burnett! I’ll kill you next time. I promise you that!”

“Rob.” Jamie said, mildly disapproving, but that’s all he said.

Robert stood still, his chest heaving. He listened, but the woods were quiet, only the wind whispering through the trees.

“Let’s go home.” Jamie said tiredly, touching his brother’s arm.

Robert looked at his brother, saw his weary face and nodded. They had done all they were capable of doing today. And Jamie needed to rest. Hell,
he
needed to rest. But he worried that until they resolved this situation with their older brother, neither one of them would get much rest.

* * *

Later that afternoon they had visitors, Roger and Nicole. It was a complete surprise. Elizabeth was in the kitchen with Evelyn and Abigail cleaning up after the main meal of the day when they arrived. Robert and Jamie had just gone upstairs to take a nap, taking Robin with them. John Bolton opened the front door, announcing them. He and his brother Joseph were keeping watch outside while Nathan and Dolnick napped in the small cottage. Nathan had insisted on taking the dogs with him, giving the twins a break from dealing with them. They had become rather agitated and restless with all the goings on. And finally Hugh and Harry had been sent home after Robert and Jamie had destroyed the shed.

That had been a revelation. Elizabeth hadn’t known anything about that shed, but Evelyn had. She told Elizabeth how she had seen it the day she had taken her first horse ride with Jamie and how she had gotten an eerie feeling about the place. At the time she had never imagined that anyone would use it for such a nefarious purpose. Now she was glad it was destroyed, as were they all.

Now Elizabeth hurried into the hall, greeting the Wentworths with a welcoming smile. They stepped into the hall and Elizabeth closed the door behind them after thanking John.

Nicole immediately hugged Elizabeth. “How are you, dear? I’m ever so sorry you had to leave so early last night.”

“Thank you.” Elizabeth said, still in the embrace. Nicole smelled of lavender and roses this afternoon. And as always she was impeccably dressed in a deep burgundy wool gown under her stylish black cloak. “I’m sorry too.” She stepped back, adding, “Please come in and sit down.” She said, gesturing for them to go into the parlor. “Unfortunately Robert and Jamie just went upstairs to take a nap.”

“I’m sorry to miss them. John and Joseph told us about your barn. I am so sorry.” Roger said as they all moved into the parlor.

“Thank you. Please sit down.” Elizabeth gestured towards to the two chairs flanking the hearth. “Can I get you some ale or cider?”

“No, no thank you.” Roger said, sitting down. Nicole also sat, arranging her cloak around her since there was no fire in the fireplace and it was quite chilly in the room. “We won’t stay long. I was hoping to speak with Robert and Jamie about something. You know they came to see me this morning.” Roger said.

“Yes, I know.” Elizabeth said, pulling up a stool and sitting on that. “They thought you would know where Wesley was staying.”

“Yes, well…” He looked rather uncomfortable, a rare state for this confident man. “I thought they could use some help looking for their brother. I’m afraid I can’t offer my own services to join them in the hunt, but I brought two of my servants. They’re waiting outside.”

“That’s very generous of you.” Elizabeth said, genuinely grateful.