Thursday's Child (Out of Time #5) (30 page)

“Elizabeth,” Simon said and he picked her up and held her until she got her footing on the small outside ledge. Elizabeth glanced anxiously down. It looked a lot farther than fifteen feet from the other side of the railing. She didn't have time to panic though and stepped forward, turning onto her back as she fell. The landing wasn't exactly pillow soft, but she was unhurt and scrambled out of the way.

James was next and then Simon. Once they were all down, Eli grabbed Rose by the arms. “Are you hurt?”

Rose shook her head and tugged at his sleeves. “He's got Louisa!”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Simon helped Rose quickly fill Elijah in on what had happened. Rose was, understandably, near hysteria and James not much better. He stared up at River Run, struck numb by what he saw. Flames rolled out of two of the upstairs windows like angry red fingers clawing their way onto the roof.

Eli called for his horse. The slave who'd taken the reins for him tried to bring the horse closer, but the fire made it rear and pull away. It was all the man could do to keep hold of it.

“Where did he go?” Eli said.

Rose just shook her head and Eli took her into his arms.

Eli grabbed a man by his shirtsleeve as he ran to help fight the fire. “Samuel! Go to the Millers' and get help. Send others to the Parks' and the Browns'. Get the Millers' hounds out. We need to find Miss Louisa. You understand?” Samuel nodded and Eli shoved the man away. “Go on! Hurry!”

Simon looked around at the growing chaos. The doctor might be mad, but he was no fool, he'd find the fastest method of escape.

“The stables,” Simon said, as he took hold of Elizabeth's hand and started toward the outbuildings. “He must have had a carriage.”

They ran for the stables, Rose, Eli and James not far behind. The movement seemed to jolt James from his stupor.

Grooms were leading nervous horses out of the stables and into the far corral to protect them from the encroaching fire. Even though the house and the fire were nearly fifty yards apart, fire could travel in an instant.

A distressed looking groom ran toward James. “I tried to stop him, suh, but he had a gun!”

“What happened?” James demanded.

“The doctor, he come with Miss Louisa, and take the Cross buggy.” The groom waved a hand down the long drive to the main road. “They went down that way, suh.”

James gripped the man's shoulders. “Horses. We need horses.”

“Four,” Simon said.

James looked at him in confusion. “Four?”

Rose stepped forward. “I am coming, James.”

A loud clap of thunder echoed in the distance, the sound of a mother's fury.

At least James knew enough not to waste time arguing that point, Simon thought, and James shoved the groom away with orders to saddle four horses and get two men to help.

“I'll be back,” Eli said to Rose and he ran off. Simon turned and watched him run back to the main house.

Dozens and dozens of slaves had formed a long bucket brigade from the well to the house.

“Where's the cart?” James yelled and as if to answer a low, flatbed cart with a long seesaw-like lever on top appeared out of the darkness. Two men pulled it toward the house, leaving a tail of hose behind them that Simon could see led to the large water cistern.

Three more men came over to help. One attached a second hose to a large spigot and the others grabbed onto the poles extending from the arms of the lever and began to pump. The men pushed the lever down to their waists then up above their heads as the other side pushed down. They seesawed up and down and took a few agonizing moments before they'd built up enough pressure. Finally, water came out of the hose and the man holding the free-end ran inside the house.

Another clap of thunder came and then a lightning strike not too far away.

“Mister James!” the groom who he'd sent to fetch the horses called. He led two horses and another man two more.

Simon helped Elizabeth up into her saddle as James helped Rose before they mounted their own horses. Eli ran toward them carrying several guns. He handed James a large musket and Simon a handgun, keeping a shotgun for himself. The handgun was an older cap and ball. Simon checked the cylinder. It was loaded with fresh powder caps and lead balls. He made sure the hammer was in the safety position and shoved it in his waistband before looking over at Elizabeth.

Her horse pranced nervously, but she seemed to have control of it.

“I'm all right,” she said.

Eli mounted his horse and three slaves rode up on saddleless horses and joined their party. “We help find Miss Louisa.”

James nodded and the eight of them took off at a gallop down the long drive to the main road, Eli in the lead. At the end of the drive Eli pulled up. Their horses pranced anxiously in place waiting for commands. The doctor could have gone either way.

“We should split up,” Elizabeth said, as her horse turned in a circle, looking down one long stretch of dark road and then the other.

Simon didn't like that idea, but they had little choice. A light rain began to fall. Simon looked south and then north trying to gauge which direction the doctor would go. To town or away from it?

Thunder rumbled overhead and then a flash of lightning illuminated the night. In the distance, at the top of a small rise to the north, Simon could just make out a figure in the road. The second flash of lightning came and he saw that it was Mary. Her white gown appeared in the night and then disappeared again just as quickly.

“This way,” Simon said and spurred his horse toward the north. The others followed without question.

They rode as quickly as they dared in the darkness and the rain. They'd barely gone a mile when Simon saw something by the side of the road. As he got closer, he could make out the shape. It was their buggy, stuck in a ditch. The horse struggled in place, one wheel buried in a deep rut.

Simon and James leapt off their horses, and ran to the carriage. Simon grabbed James' arm and forced him to stop, silently urging caution. If the doctor was there, he was still armed. Slowly, they approached one on each side, guns at the ready.

“Empty!” James said and pounded his fist against the railing.

There were thick woods on either side of the road.

“There!” Rose suddenly cried.

Simon turned and saw the brief flash of a white dress in the woods to the west.

Rose struggled to dismount, her skirts catching on the saddle horn. Eli was by her side in an instant and with the help of one of the slaves disentangled her.

Elizabeth had taken more care with her skirts and slid off her saddle easily into Simon's waiting arms.

“This way,” Rose said as she led their search party across the road and toward the thick woods.

The rain was coming down much harder now and the natural gully on the far side of the road was already filled with water rapidly flowing downhill. They waded through it and plunged into the woods beyond.

James reached out to help Rose pick her way through the heavy underbrush, but she pulled her arm away from him and struggled on her own until Eli came to her aid. Simon reached out to do the same for Elizabeth, but she wasn't at his side. He turned back and saw her lifting her dress hem up and fighting with her petticoats. She glanced up at him.

“Help me get these things off,” she said. “They weigh a ton.”

Simon hurried back to her and knelt in the mud. She lifted her dress skirt up and he unfastened her petticoats. They were muddy and sodden. Each had easily already soaked up gallons of water. It would have been impossible to slog through the woods with the added encumbrance.

He held her steady as she stepped out of them and, once free, they made quick work of catching up with the others.

“Take off your skirts,” Elizabeth said.

“What?” James asked, but Rose was already nodding and Elizabeth helped her shed the under layers until all that was left was the burnt remnants of her dress skirt.

The thick undergrowth soon gave way to a dense forest. Even the occasional flash of lightning did little to light the way and they had to travel carefully, slowly. Footing was treacherous. Fallen branches and thick roots covered the ground in front of them.

“Where is he going?” Eli wondered aloud. “I can see leaving the road, but…”

“The river,” James said, as he tried to catch his breath. “He's heading for the river.”

“Birch's landing,” Eli said. “There are boats and rafts to be had. If he gets on the river…”

He didn't need to finish the thought. Simon and Elizabeth exchanged knowing glances. They all knew what that would mean. He would be long gone and Louisa would never be seen again.

James stopped and grabbed one of the slaves. “Go back to the horses and ride up around to the landing.”

The man nodded and ran back in the direction they'd just come from. The rest of them pressed on.

Minute after agonizing minute they picked their way through the woods. The sound of dogs barking in the distance told Simon word had reached the Millers’ and their hounds were out. But in this rain, any scent they might have been able to find would be well washed away by now.

They fought through the dense woods until finally Simon could make out an opening ahead. A flash of lightning came and he could see a stretch of tall grass through the empty space between the trees. It would be a welcome change. They were making slow progress through the thick woods and might be able to make up some time on open ground.

They'd just reached the small clearing when a shot rang out.

Simon pulled Elizabeth to the ground and covered her body with his. Another shot came. Then a scream.

Simon lifted himself up onto his elbows and cradled Elizabeth's head in his hands. “Are you all right?”

She nodded and he rolled off her as a few feet away Rose called out.

“James!”

Simon and Elizabeth crawled toward them, staying low enough to be hidden by the tall grass.

“Rose, are you hurt?” Eli asked. She shook her head, but her eyes never left James lying next to her.

Eli scrambled next to his brother and looked over his shoulder as Simon and Elizabeth approached. “James has been hit.”

James groaned as he lay on his back and reached up to grab his shoulder. Blood seeped through his fingers as he clutched his wound.

“We're too exposed here,” Simon said. He indicated the woods they'd just left. “Help him back behind those trees.”

The remaining slaves and Eli half carried James back into the woods. They helped him to sit leaning against the trunk on the far side of one of the large oak trees.

Judging from the amount of blood he was losing, it was a very serious wound. His pallor was already starting to gray.

Simon took out his handkerchief and handed it to Rose. “We need to stop the bleeding.”

She took it and then looked at her husband. Myriad expressions played across her face - worry, fear, loathing.

James winced. “Rose,” he said as he reached up to cover her hand.

She shook her head and looked away. She handed Eli the handkerchief and moved away from them. Confused, Eli took it and pressed it onto his brother's shoulder. He looked up at Simon.

“We have to keep moving,” Simon said, ignoring the unspoken question. “And he needs medical attention.”

Eli looked down at his brother and Simon could tell he knew the truth of it.

Simon edged toward the tree closest to the field and kept one eye out for movement from the doctor. He pulled the gun from his waistband and looked at it in disgust. It was caked with mud. It would be a miracle if the damn thing still worked, but it was all he had and he kept it ready.

Elizabeth went to Rose and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. She whispered something Simon couldn't hear, but Rose nodded.

“Cuffy,” Eli called out to one of the slaves who knelt nearby. “Take Mister James to the Millers’. Ask them to do what they can for him.”

Cuffy nodded and came over to them.

James grabbed his brother's sleeve. “Please.”

“We'll find her,” Eli said.

Cuffy helped James to stand and put his uninjured arm over his shoulder. James implored Rose again, but she looked away, refusing to even look at him as Cuffy helped him back into the forest.

“You should go with him,” Eli said to her. “It's too dangerous here.”

Rose lifted her head. “Mr. Cross is right. We have to keep moving.”

“Rose, please?” Eli said. “We will find her and bring her back to you.”

“I am her mother,” Rose said simply and then joined Simon at the edge of the field.

Simon peered around the edge of the tree. He couldn't see anything on the far side of the grass. If the doctor was there, he was well hidden. Odds were, he was long gone and headed toward the river.

The trees circled the little field to the south. They could stay at the edge of the forest and have enough cover to keep after him. Eli came to his side and held out James' musket. Simon glared at it. The damn thing must weigh ten pounds and was nearly as tall as Elizabeth.

“I have a gun,” Simon said, showing him his handgun. “Give it to Jacob.”

Eli looked over at the tall house slave and hesitated. It took Simon a moment to realize that it was probably rather unusual for a master to give a slave a gun. He didn't have time to coddle Eli's fear of a slave uprising.

“For heaven's sake, man,” Simon said. “Give it to him.”

Eli hesitated once more, but only briefly before he shoved the gun toward him. “Jacob.”

Jacob took the gun. “Suh.”

“We'll circle around,” Simon said. “All right?” he asked and sought out Elizabeth.

She gave him an encouraging nod and he held out his hand. “Stay close.”

She took it and came to his side. “Not a problem.”

Their circular path had probably put them farther behind the doctor, but he could not have been making good time with a child. Simon could only hope they reached Louisa before the doctor decided she was more trouble than she was worth.

On the far side of the meadow, the dense forest opened a little. Simon's eyes had adjusted to the night and he could see much further ahead now. But what he didn't see was the only thing he'd hoped to see. There was no sign of the doctor or Louisa.