The Lady and the Earl (59 page)

*
             
*
             
*

The daylight seemed brighter than usual after the darkness of the tunnel.  A tear slipped down Allana’s cheek when
Declan
stepped out into the sun after them
.  His face was
bruised and bloodied.
  His shirt was torn and splattered with blood. 
He looked like
he’d
been through hell and back to get to her.

“Drop both swords,” a male voice said from behind Lucas, causing him to spin toward the voice while keeping Allana between himself and
Declan
.  There were six men with pistols drawn and pointed at Lucas.
  Hope swelled within Allana.

“I
don’t
think so,” Lucas began.  “Drop your pistols, or the
woman
dies.”  He turned the
sharp, bladed edge of his sword against
her
neck, cutting her slightly to emphasize his point
. 

She inhaled sharply, afraid to even swallow. 
 

“Do as he says,”
Declan
said
in alarm. 

The man tossed his pistol out in front of him and motioned for his men to do the same. 

“Good.  Now, if one of you would be so kind as to fetch us a horse,” Lucas said pleasantly, grinning deviously as he lowered his sword away from Allana’s throat slightly.

Allana moved quickly.  Seeing
Declan
’s
bruises renewed her strength.  She twisted slightly and went limp, falling below the blade of
Lucas’s
sword and forcing him to drop the spare sword in order to catch her before she fell to the ground and left him vulnerable. 

Lucas struggled to keep hold of h
er
while at the same time keep an eye on his enemies.  If he lost Allana, he would lose this battle
, and she knew it
.  A shot rang out, and Lucas staggered backwards, letting go of
her
altogether.  He looked down to see blood oozing from his right shoulder. 

Declan
had shot him.
 
Allana’s distraction had given
him
time to roll to the ground, snatch up one of
the dropped pistols
and aim, shooting Lucas in his exposed shoulder.
 

Allana tumbled to the ground when Lucas let go of her unexpectedly.  She looked up at him
from her back
.  He laughed lightly, making her nervous as she tried to scoot backward and away from him.  He looked up at
Declan
and grinned wickedly before bringing his sword to striking position.  Allana watched in horror as Lucas stood over her ready to plunge his sword into her body. 

“No!” s
he heard
Declan
shout, but she knew it was too late.  Lucas was going to kill her, and no one could stop him but her. 
Instinctively
, she rolled to the side, dodging the deadly blow
.  Then she
climbed to her hands and knees and dove at
Lucas’s
legs, tripping him to the ground. 
A sharp pain emanated from her back where his sword had sliced through her clothes and cut into her skin.  He brought his foot up and jammed it down into her shoulder, knocking her off of him.  Her strength left her as she lay helplessly close to Lucas.  She prayed
she’d
given
Declan
enough time to come to her rescue.

Lucas staggered to his feet after knocking her off of him only to be slammed back down to the ground by a much larger weight than Allana’s. 

Declan
was on top of Lucas, pounding
him with his fists
over and over
.  The other men had to pull him away before he
physically beat the man to death.
 

He
was
pant
ing
raggedly as he
eyed Lucas with such hate. 
“Piece of filth,” Declan growled. 
He spit at
Lucas’s
feet
. 

Lucas
did his best to glare
back
, but his left eye was swollen shut, his lips were both bleeding as well as his nose, and he had a large gash on his right cheek. 
He looked more dismal than angry.
 

Allana ran to her husband.  She
threw her arms around him, receiving his strong arms around her in return.

“Allana,” he said
, the hate dissipating the moment she was in his arms.  “Oh
,
my sweet Allana,” he whispered this time
softly against her hair.  “I thought I was going to lose you.”  He pulled her away from him, so he could look at her before kissing her
long and hard
. 

*
             
*
             
*

Lucas staggered to his feet as he
watched the scene in anger. 
She’s mine,
he thought. 
She’s mine.  She is mine!
 
The world seemed to move slowly as
Lucas shoved his captors off of him, grasping one of their swords and pulling it free
as he shoved
.  He lunged skillfully toward an unaware
Declan
, determined to kill the man.  Allana screamed as Lucas charged, making
Declan
turn and see
Lucas’s
stolen sword plunging toward him with deadly accuracy.  He moved out of the way just enough to turn the deadly strike into one less permanent.  The sword lodged itself into
Declan
’s
left shoulder, causing him to cry out from the pain.  With a swiftness known to an expert swordsman, Lucas removed the sword and poised to finish
Declan
.  This time
Declan
’s
fate was sealed.  Lucas was going to win
The Game
.

*
             
*
             
*

Once again a shot rang out, and Lucas staggered backwards, staring in pained surprise at Allana before turning his attention to the
man
next to her.  His eyes widened in surprise.  He gripped his gut as blood
seeped
through his fingers. 

“
Soph
—
?”
Lucas trailed off as he staggered toward the man.  He reached into his breast pocket and pulled something white from it before stumbling forward, hand with the object outstretched toward
the petite figure.
 

“Never thought…,”
Lucas
panted.  He took another staggering step forward and fell toward the man, grasping at him to stay upright.  The man seemed frozen in place as Lucas clung to him and forced the white object into his hand.  Lucas swallowed hard and took one last ragged breath.  “Ironic,” he whispered before dropping lifelessly to the ground.  There would be
no
recovering from this shot.

Silence filled the air as the observers stared at both Allana and the man next to her.  Both had pistols in hand, but only one had shot.  As though to answer the question at hand, Allana released the hammer on her pistol and dropped it to the ground.  While Lucas was attacking her husband,
she’d
picked up a second dropped pistol, cocked the hammer, and aimed.  But before she could pull the trigger, the shot
sounded
, com
ing
from the man next to her.  He too had acted, but he had been faster.  Allana turned and looked at him.  He was young, no more than a boy, or
was he a…no.  Allana simply was
not seeing clearly.  She was seeing her past
self in the boy next to her. 
As she stared at him and then again at
Lucas’s
lifeless body, memories from her past flashed through her mind.

She was a young girl of ten again, looking up
at
the man she loved. 

“When I’
m older, will you marry me
?” she
asked innocently.
  She blushed crimson when he looked at her in surprise.

Luc
a
s laughed heartily.  “When you’
re older, you will be too beautiful and untamable for a mere
l
ord
.  You’
re meant for a king,” he teased. 

“Oh, you
’
re the only one for me,” Allana said dreamily.
  I love you
,
she thought,
and one day when I’
m older,
I will be beautiful, and you’
ll want to marry me. 
Even at ten, her heart soared with the thought.

Lucas
smiled dramatically.  “Then I’
m yours,” he replied, dipping down to a deep bow and kissing
her
hand.   

Tears filled Allana’s eyes.  This young boy had killed Lucas for her, and yet, if he had
n’t
pulled his trigger, Allana would have pulled hers.  She swallowed hard, fighting back the sobs she wanted to cry.  How had things come to this?  Why
had Lucas done this
?  Why?

*
             
*
             
*

Declan
pulled Allana to him with his good arm and held her while she cried.  He couldn’t even b
egin to fathom the horror she’
d been through because of Lucas, and yet it seemed she wept for him.

“My
Lord
, shall we move to the hou
se and report to the others?” t
he leader of the group asked, looking at
Declan
before glancing nervously at the young boy who had shot Lucas.

“What is your name, man?”
Declan
asked in return.

“Erik, my L
ord
,” he replied, turning his attention fully to
Declan
.

“Thank you, Erik.  Thank you for being here,”
Declan
s
aid sincerely.  “And yes.  Let’
s move to the house.  Bring the body please.” 
Declan
wrapped Allana tightly under his good arm, and the small group walked slowly to the house.

*
             
*
             
*

No one noticed the lingering figure of the young man who
had
pulled the trigger.  He was short and slender, and if one looked closely, he would realize the man was a woman dressed in men’s clothing. 

Josephine dropped the pistol
and
stare
d
at the white object in
her
hand.  It was a letter addressed to Connor.  Slowly
,
she opened it and read. 

Connor,

If you are reading this, I am most likely dead or in
a place you will never find me
or your sister for that matter.  I have never been one to feel guilt, and I still do not feel guilt for my actions that tore you and Sophia apart.  It was necessary at the time.  However, I feel enough time has passed to give you the truth of that night.  I never bedded Sophia. 
I offered her wine until she slept from drinking too much of it.  Then
I staged the entire event.  I never touched her except to strip her clothes from her body and lay her in my bed.  Now that you know this, I will tell you one last thing.  She came to find you over four years ago, a short while after she left you.  I will not go into the details of our conversation that day, but I will tell you this.  She was with child.  And since you now know I never touched your precious Sophia, we can only assume the child is yours.  Thus, Connor, do what you will with this knowledge.  Ruin your life chasing a commoner who wants nothing but your title and money, or follow your dreams.  Until we meet again, I wish you success.

Sincerely,

Lucas

Josephine stared at the letter numbly.  A large lump filled her throat as tears seeped into her eyes.  Even in death Lucas was cruel.  She was supposed to feel satisfaction for finally ending
his
wicked reign.  But all she could feel was pain.  He was still making her
suffer;
suffer
for the love she cou
ld possibly have known if he hadn’
t interfered.  Tears spilled down her cheeks as she crumpled to her knees.  No!  She shouldn’t be crying right now!  Lucas was dead.  Justice had finally been served.  Yet even with this knowledge, her heart felt hollow and broken.  Justice may have avenged many women today, but it could not fill the hole Josephine felt within.  Only one man could do that, and Josephine knew she would never see him again
.