The Highlander's Woman (The Reckless Rockwoods #3) (10 page)

“Take Braxton.”

Caleb jerked his head in a sharp nod. Throwing a blanket over his head, he scooped Braxton up into his arms and moved through the flames toward safety. When he was within arm’s reach of Devin, he handed Braxton to the other man and returned to where Patience and the children waited.

Without a word, she picked up Angus and handed him to her brother. Caleb winced as he glanced down at Alma. Patience met his gaze then looked down at the little girl clinging to her nightgown. She knew he was fully aware that the male spare was considered more valuable than his own daughter. Patience saw the horror in his eyes as she saw him struggle with whether to override her decision. It was a heartbreaking choice. A choice she’d made for him because she knew it would be too much to ask of him at the moment. Fighting back tears, she shook her head.

“
Go
,” she exclaimed sharply. “
We’re running out of time
.”

Caleb turned and moved as quickly as he could back across the path to safety that was growing more narrow by the second. His foot slipped, and for a moment she was certain he and Angus would fall into the roaring fire. Devin said something to him with a vicious gesture of both hands. Her brother hesitated then with in one swift movement he tossed the child to Devin more than three feet away.

Horrified, Patience pressed her hand against her mouth to cover her scream. Devin easily caught the child and handed Angus off to Sebastian. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest as she saw the fire biting at Caleb’s trousers. Sliding his way back across what was left of the plank of wood, her brother jumped back through the flames to land a short two feet from her. There were only two blankets left and her heart sank. Before he could speak, she pointed to her nephew.

“You have to take Willie then come back for Alma. I’m not as strong as you if it becomes necessary. . .” Her voice trailed off at the thought of having to throw Willie or Alma to safety.

Caleb didn’t argue, he simply picked up another blanket, lifted Willie into his arms, and started back across the narrow strip of wood. The flames seemed to lick even harder at her brother’s feet as he moved toward the other side of the gap, and Patience watched with horror as he struggled to keep his footing. When her brother gently tossed Charlie into his father’s arms, Devin hugged the boy tightly while Caleb made his way back to her. Patience picked up the remaining blanket and met Caleb as he passed through the fire. Without a word, she handed Alma to him. His gaze swept the floor, and his jaw hardened with tension as he realized they had no more blankets.

“I’ll be back for you.”

“No, I’ll come after you.”

“For the love of God, Patience. You need some form of protection.”

“Look at the flooring. It’s already broken between here and where Sebastian and the others are. Go now,” she said in a calm voice as she resigned herself to whatever fate had in store for her. “I’ll follow you. I can jump, but I can’t get Alma and myself safely across.” I’m not strong enough.”

“Then I’ll meet you halfway,” he snarled.

“
No
,” she shouted over the roar of the fire. “The floor might not hold us both. I’ll be right behind you.”

Horror, pain, and fear glazed her brother’s beautiful dark eyes as he stared at her for a moment. Like her aunt, he pulled her into a tight hug then with a kiss to her brow he released her and headed back toward the fire. Patience’s gaze flitted away from Caleb’s tall figure to look across the barrier of flames to see Julian staring at her with an agonized look on his face.

Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach and she looked away. She couldn’t bear to think that she might never be in his arms again. Quickly ripping the material of her nightgown at the knees, she stepped out of the lengthy piece of material and tore it again then doubled it into a shawl. With the shawl covering her head and face, Patience stepped forward to follow Caleb through the fire. Her heart in her mouth, she saw Alma fly through the air to land in Devin’s arms.

A small measure of relief swept through her. The children were safe. She closed her eyes for a brief second before she heard Caleb roar with anger. In horror, she saw another piece of the floor begin to buckle beneath him. He flung his arms out in an involuntary effort to save himself. In the next precious instant, Devin caught him by the hand, and pulled Caleb toward him.

Relief surged through her once more before the sound of snapping wood echoed over the crackling of the fire. Horror held her rigid as she saw the flooring beneath Devin’s feet give way. As he fell, Devin twisted his body and caught the edge of the flooring with one hand as Caleb weighed him down with his other hand. Sebastian, Julian, and Lucien rushed forward to reach for Devin, but the flooring beneath his hand gave way, and a split second later, Devin plummeted with Caleb into the fire below.

Wild screams pierced the air relentlessly, and Patience thought they would never fade until she realized they were coming from her. Sobbing, she sank to her knees as she tried to forget the image of her brother and Devin plunging into the flames. Arms wrapped around her waist, she rocked back and forth as a web of fear wrapped itself around her leaving her paralyzed.

Once again the sound of wood breaking beneath the onslaught of the flames rent the air. Patience’s head jerked up, her eyes widening with horror as she saw the last piece of the ledge to safety fall into the inferno. Suddenly icy cold, she realized she was all alone. From across the flames, and the gap where the main stairs had once been, she saw the panic in Sebastian’s face. Her brother never panicked. It was an odd thought to have when she was facing certain death.

“
Patience,
” Julian shouted over the crackling fire. “You have to jump,
mo ghràdh
. You must jump
now
.”

Horrified at the death that waited for her below, she shook her head vehemently. He was asking her to do the impossible. Sebastian called out to her from across the hole in the floor.

“
Patience, look at me
,” her brother shouted with an authoritative anger she’d only heard once or twice in her life. Sebastian never lost control of his temper. “Julian will catch you. Lucien and I will hold onto him so the two of you don’t fall.”

He didn’t have to say the words, but she knew he meant they wouldn’t let her fall into the flames as Caleb and Devin had. She shook her head again, looking around her for another escape route. Behind her she saw the floor outside the nursery groan and fall inward as the fire ate its way toward her.

“
For the love of God, Patience
.” Anguish filled Percy’s voice as their gazes met. “You have to jump sweetheart.”

Percy had been her idol growing up. She’d followed him like a puppy everywhere he’d gone. She closed her eyes for a brief moment before she opened them and looked at Julian. His expression was one of pleading and encouragement, and she took a step forward. Suddenly, flames exploded from the wall on her left. In the next instance, the material on her face burst into flames.

Pain twisted through her as she screamed and frantically fought to pull the flaming material off her head. Terrified, she jumped away as part of the wall collapsed near her feet, and the fire lashed out at her again. She raised her arm to cover her face, and the flames viciously flayed her skin, while licking her cheek in a silent taunt. She was going to burn alive.

Patience staggered away from the flames that took the place of where the wall had once been. Dazed with fear and pain, she stared across the fiery divide at the men watching her with looks of horror and helpless fury. Sebastian turned away from her and slammed his fist into the wall. Scorn suddenly crossed Julian’s features as he folded his arms across his chest and glared at her.

“I thought a Rockwood never refused a challenge, Patience MacTavish.” Julian’s shout was loud, strong, and arrogant as he met her startled gaze. “Are ye about tae let this little fire beat ye?”

The cynical look on Julian’s face sent a streak of anger through her. The bastard wasn’t happy he’d caused her pain by lying to her. Now he had to ridicule her as well. Anger swept through her at the disdainful sneer on his lips. The fury it aroused in her battled its way past the excruciating pain threatening to render her unconscious. Julian was right. A Rockwood
never
backed away from a challenge. Her gaze met his, and she saw a flash of emotion sweep across his face. She didn’t try to identify it because she knew it would be her undoing.

Slowly, she turned and walked as far back along the hallway as she could. Just as she’d reached the furthest spot in the hallway a roar split the air over her head. Fire erupted out of the ceiling, and a piece of flaming lumber crashed down on top of her left side. She screamed with pain as the wood drove her down to the floor and the flames ate away at her skin. With a loud cry, this one of panic and fear, she gathered her strength to push the burning lumber off her.

Free of the wood’s weight, she fell backward on the floor and remained still. In the distance, she heard people calling her name. It would be so much easier to ignore them and simply remain here until the fire took her. It was then that she heard Julian’s voice piercing the roar of the flames as he called her name several times in the brogue that had seduced her when they first met.

“
Well, Patience
?” Julian’s shout of derision punched its way through her pain and despair. “Are ye going tae just lie down and die or are ye going to show us what a
true
Rockwood will do to survive?”

She slowly sat up and looked over her shoulder at him. She saw Sebastian say something to Julian, but her husband waved her brother away without his gaze straying from hers. With a casual, deliberate motion, he folded his arms across his chest. The arrogance of his stance enraged her. For the first time since she’d laid eyes on Julian, she hated him. Hated him for mocking her when she was in pain. Hated him for lying to her. And hated him for being here to watch her die. But worst of all, she hated herself for not telling him one last time how much she loved him.

“
Do no’ make me come for ye, Patience MacTavish
.” His angry shout was filled with a fury that made her stagger to her feet.

His words filled her with a fear greater than anything she’d felt tonight. If Julian were to come after her, he’d die just like her. That was something she refused to let happen. She would not let him die because of her. Patience turned around to meet Julian’s gaze across the distance. If she were to die tonight, it would be running toward the man she loved. A sudden bolt of energy zipped through her, and with a primal scream she leaped forward into a fast run. Patience’s gaze didn’t leave Julian’s face as she raced forward. Her feet pounded against the hot floor as she sped toward the wall of fire and the gaping hole where the staircase had once been. The moment she reached the edge of the flames and the opening between her and safety, she closed her eyes and flung herself into the air toward Julian.

Hands outstretched, she prayed he would catch her. What seemed like an eternity, but was only a brief second, strong hands latched onto her wrists and pulled her to safety. The pressure on her burned wrist pulled a screech of agony out of her throat, and she fell into a deep hole free of the pain.

A cacophony of sound assaulted her ears as she emerged from the darkness. Her entire left side felt as if she were still in the burning house. Through the pain, she realized someone had carried her outside. The noise here was as loud as the roar of the fire had been only moments before. Bells clanging, shouts, the sound of Louisa screaming wildly with grief, and the men of the family trying to bring order to the chaos echoed madly in her ears.

The fresh scent of grass mixed with the stench of wet wood and smoke. It made her gag as it filled her nose. The cool night air brushed over her burns like icy cold water and she shivered. A blanket was thrown over her, and she shrieked as the wool scraped across her blistering skin. It was immediately jerked off her as through a blur of tears she saw Percy and Julian kneel down, one on either side of her.

“
Sweet Jesus, look at her face
,” her brother exclaimed in a low voice of horror. “She has burns down her entire left side.”

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Patience remembered the
an dara sealladh
. The visions of her burns. The scars. Why hadn’t she known what they meant? She could have saved Caleb. Devin. The salt in the tears running down her cheek intensified her pain, and she choked on her sobs.

“You’re safe,
mo ghràdh
. I’m here.” Julian said softly as he stroked her unmarred cheek. “It will be all right.”

She moaned her protest. It would never be all right. Her gift had failed her. No, she’d failed Caleb and Devin. Nothing would ever be the same again. Despite the pain it caused her to move, she reached out to grasp Percy’s shirt in a tight fist and pulled herself upward. “Percy, please…home…Melton House.”

“Yes, Patience, we’ll take you home to Melton House.”

At her brother’s reassurance she fell backward onto the grass again. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment then opened again as Julian brushed his mouth against her unmarred hand. He didn’t say a word, but the anguished hopelessness in his gaze made her sob again before the pain dragged her downward into a dark place where she felt nothing.

§ § §

Patience woke with a cry of pain on her lips. A stranger was wrapping her arm with a wet bandage, and the pressure made her want to push the man’s hand away. Tears rolled down her cheek, but the salty droplets didn’t burn. Groggily, she reached up with her free hand to touch her face. A strong hand caught hers in a firm, but gentle grip, to prevent her from touching the bandage covering the side of her cheek.

“No, Patience. You need to lie still,
mo leannan
.” Julian’s voice wrapped its way around her in a light caress. He was here. Her fingers moved against his as she licked her lips.

“How…long?” she asked hoarsely. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she struggled to keep her eyes open.