Wild Roses (22 page)

“I think you've seen the error of your ways, but I also think I'll keep an eye on you. Although I didn't agree with them, you had a lot of strong reasons for not believing a word Ella said. Why the sudden change of heart?”

“Not really a change of heart, simply a cleaning out of my ears so that I listened to what my heart was saying.” He smiled faintly when Louise's eyes slowly widened. “I was not trying to believe Ella, I was constantly trying very hard not to believe her.” He shrugged. “I cannot correct past mistakes, except for the last one. I stupidly gave Harold his victim, and I damn well intend to take her back.”

“Fine. Where are we going?”

A little disappointed that Louise offered neither forgiveness nor a declaration confirming her belief in him, Harrigan answered, “I think we need to get to the river.” It had taken him longer than he liked to get Thompson to let Louise and her boys go, and Harrigan began to fear that they would reach the river only in time to search for Ella's body.

Louise tensed. “Harold wouldn't try to kill her in the same way he killed her parents, would he?”

“No. It might make people look a little too closely at the earlier deaths. No matter how well Harold has hidden his guilt, he'll worry about that.” He sighed and carefully told Louise about the whispers of Ella's insanity and the meeting he had had with her and Harold. The fury he could read in Louise's face almost made him lean away from her. “He's laid the foundation for a suicide. At least that's how I look at it.”

“It's how I see it too,” she agreed, in a voice roughened by the anger she fought to control. “The poor mad Ophelia scene from Hamlet. The man is more clever and more sinister than even I imagined. If you watched this game being played out, why didn't you stop it before now?”

“I still doubted he would kill her. I had no real proof that the man had ever done anything violent, not even the hint of it until recently.”

“And you once called Ella delusional, so maybe you believed the stories,” said Joshua.

“No, never,” Harrigan replied. “I was just not sure how Harold would use it. After all, if he got people to believe Ella was insane, he could take complete control of her money legally. I began to hope he had found another way to steal from her, one that meant he did not have to kill her. It would have given me more time to find some proof of his crimes. I even wondered if Ella was playing some game in an attempt to, say, make them relax their guard, so that she could escape.”

“What changed your mind?”

“The way she was when I finally saw her again. That was no game. It was Ella, but it wasn't. There was an unsettling distance in her expression, as if her mind was miles away. Now I realize that it was clouded by the opium. There was still a spark of the old Ella left, however. She told me they were going to the river, even told me why.”

“I can't believe Harold would let her speak so openly. With others he could shrug it aside with talk of madness, but he must have known he couldn't do that with you.”

“Oh, she didn't say it so clearly. That's why I knew it was the real Ella peeking through for a brief moment. She told me that her uncle was taking her to see her family, that he was going to make it so she would not miss them any more.”

“That was clever. Just like my Ella. But there's always the possibility that it was just nonsense caused by the opium.”

“I considered that possibility. Harold's reaction made me certain Ella was trying to give me a message. The man couldn't get her away from me fast enough and almost babbled as he tried to give me some explanation for her words. No, he's taking Ella to the same place her family drowned. It makes perfect sense. Everyone will see it as a fitting place for a poor, sad, confused girl to end her life.”

Louise cursed. “I realize that it would be best to take Harold alive, certainly less trouble to deal with afterward, but it is going to be damn hard not to kill the bastard.”

George murmured a few words meant to soothe Louise and drew her immediate attention. Harrigan concentrated on getting to the river as swiftly as possible and tried to concoct a few plans. He could not be sure what they would find when they got there so it was difficult to come up with any firm plan of action, but he was able to imagine a few possible complications and decide how to react to them.

Harrigan inwardly cursed when that was not enough to keep his mind off Ella. He did not really want to think about her, about what she might be enduring, and what she had already suffered. Such thoughts left him choking on his own guilt.

There were so many reasons why he had not wanted to believe her, but reminding himself of them did not do much to ease that guilt. He had made her pay for his confusion and his prejudices. Ella had done nothing to deserve that.

Their time together had been too brief, their passion too strong to allow for any clear thinking. In many ways he had been afraid, afraid to trust her and afraid to allow her to get too close to him. The first time they had made love he had been so lost to the passion they shared that he had been terrified. All that had kept him from running away from her as fast as he could was the fact that she had not guessed how lost he was when he was in her arms. He knew that the gnawing fear that she would discover his weakness and use it against him had caused him to treat her unkindly at times.

It was that cowardice that had made him hand her over to Harold so quickly. The moment he had done so he realized that there were many ways he could have handled that. He had not really thought about the money or his business, just about getting Ella away from him before she could discover how badly he wanted her, how deeply she had touched him. She might never forgive him for that. Harrigan was not sure he could forgive himself.

In that one desperate act, in that unthinking attempt to protect his own heart, he was certain he had ended whatever future he might have had with Ella, something he now admitted he wanted. Although he had every intention of rescuing her, that did not mean he would succeed. And if he did free her and end Harold's threat to her life, Harrigan doubted there was anything he could say to make amends for all the mistakes he had made.

Ella desperately wanted to kick her smiling uncle in the face, but could not seem to make her body obey that small, still angry part of her mind. She meekly let him lift her out of the carriage and turn her toward the river, the same deceptively beautiful and deadly Susquehanna that had drowned her family. She knew she should be furious and terrified, and a small, still rational part of her was, but mostly she felt nothing at all. It was as if she watched someone else, as if she stood apart from the woman Harold removed from his opulent carriage.

“The same river,” she heard herself say. “The bodies were found on these banks.”

“Yes. I felt it was appropriate,” Harold said with a chilling glee. “Where better for a disturbed, brain-fevered child to go to die? Most people will remember that your poor family's battered, river-bloated bodies were found here. I fear yours will quite probably wash up further downstream, but don't worry, we'll bury you next to the others.”

“And maybe Louise will soon join the little family gathering,” Margaret said as she stepped up on the other side of Ella.

“Louise can't hurt you,” Ella whispered.

Ella felt a sharp pinch of fear and welcomed it. She reminded herself that it had been a long time since they had poured any of the tainted lemonade down her throat. There had been signs of her returning strength before she had dozed off in the carriage. If she could stay out of the water just a little longer, she might actually regain enough of her clouded senses to have a fighting chance.

“I fear my sweet child has developed a fierce dislike for Louise,” Harold said as he began to tug Ella down to the river's edge, two of his muscular guards falling into step behind them.

“Louise will be devastated.” Ella was almost as surprised by her tart remark as Harold looked.

“The drug is loosening its grip on you a little faster than I had expected. You could almost walk on your own now. We've gotten you to the river just in time. I'll have Louise freed from jail just in time to find your body and give you a decent burial. It would be wise if she understood her own precarious position and swiftly fled back to her wilderness with her mongrels.”

It would indeed be wise, but Ella knew Louise better than that. She could only pray that Joshua and the others saw the danger Louise was in and were able to talk some sense into her aunt. Although the thought of someone avenging her death was tempting, even comforting, Ella much preferred that her aunt stay alive.

“And I still think it would be wise to get rid of Louise,” Margaret said.

“We will consider the matter later, child. Perhaps as a present for you on your birthday.” Harold smiled at his daughter.

“Thank you, Papa.”

“And people think that I am mad,” Ella muttered. “You know, Harold, you are rapidly depleting your cache of wealthy relatives. Soon you might actually have to work in order to keep your purse full.”

“Oh, do shut her up, Papa.”

The way Harold was staring at her made Ella so afraid that she worried it was showing in her face. She did not want to give Harold the satisfaction of seeing the terror that was rapidly pushing its way through the lingering fog the opium had encased her in. In order to better hide her expression, she stared down at the river and decided that that was not much better.

The muddy embankment was not too high, but the murky waters looked deep. Heavy spring rains had made the river run swift and high. She knew the drug was seeping out of her body faster with each passing moment, but she doubted she had the strength needed to fight the current of the river. Harold had been pouring that poison down her throat for several days, and she suspected it would work to sap her wits and strength for quite a while yet. Unfortunately, she thought, as she sighed inwardly with defeat, she had but minutes left. Very soon she would be swirling downstream like the rest of the debris the river had captured in its strong current.

It did not really surprise Ella when she suddenly thought about Harrigan. It was certainly one of the biggest unfinished pieces of business in her too short life. What was saddest of all was that she knew she could have loved him so well, and now he would never know that. She didn't really find much comfort in the fact that he would soon realize just how thoroughly wrong he had been. If he was going to be humbled by regrets, she dearly wanted to be alive to reap the benefits of such humility.

 

 

“Why are we crouching here in the bushes?” demanded Louise as she crept up beside Harrigan. “The man is about to toss Ella into the river.”

“Which he will do immediately if he catches sight of all of us,” George said.

“Exactly,” agreed Harrigan, fighting to harness the blind rage that had siezed him when he had seen Harold and Margaret at the river's edge, holding an unsteady Ella between them. “My first instinct was to race over there and kill the bastard, but Ella would probably be miles downstream by the time I got my hands around his throat.”

“At least you're not just sitting here waiting for him to actually push her in before you finally believe that he means to kill her,” Louise said, scowling at George when he gave her a gentle, punitive nudge.

“It's alright, George.” Harrigan almost laughed at the way the couple was poking at each other like petulant children. “I deserve the derision.” He turned to the four young men crouched behind them. “Manuel, Thomas, can you two take care of the two men by Harold's carriage?” When they nodded and slipped away, he looked at Joshua and Edward. “We have to encircle the five people down by the river. Harold and his two thugs are the most important, the most dangerous. We need to get as close as possible without being seen.”

“Understood,” Joshua said. “Me and Ed will circle around on the left and take care of Harold's guards. If we can't reach them before we're spotted, we can sure as hell shoot them. I just hope that someone here can swim,” he said as he and Edward crept away.

Louise looked from Harrigan to George and back again. “I hope one of you can. I can't.”

“Harrigan is a very strong swimmer,” George replied.

“Good, because Ella might still end up in the river. If she wasn't filled with that poison, I wouldn't worry so much. She's a strong swimmer too and could probably hold on until we could help her. She's not herself though. For all we know, she doesn't even realize the danger she's in.”

“Oh, I think she realizes exactly how precarious her position is,” Harrigan said as he started to circle around to the right side of Harold and the others, Louise and George quickly following. “Don't forget that it was Ella herself who told me where they were going.”

“Yeah, but did she mean what she said as a clue, or was she just so stupid with opium that she really thought she could see her family again?”

George tried to hush Louise, but she was not feeling very obedient, although she lowered her voice to a whisper so soft that Harrigan could barely hear her. Harrigan understood and sympathized with Louise's fears and concerns, but he was glad that he no longer had to listen to them. He had too many of his own to deal with. Despite her fear, he knew Louise would still do whatever was needed to help Ella, would be able to push her concerns aside the moment she had to, so that she could concentrate only on saving Ella. Harrigan was not so sure he had that skill, and now would be a very poor time to test it, so he fought to bury his fear and anger. It was the only way he knew of to remain clear of mind and steady of purpose.

Louise's concerns could not be fully ignored, however, for he shared a few of them. There was no way of knowing how firmly Ella was held in the numbing grip of the opium. Her rescue would be a lot easier, with a better chance of success, if they could depend upon her helping them and herself, but they could not. The very fact that Ella was standing at the river's edge not fighting the light hold Harold and Margaret had on her told Harrigan that she was definitely not in possession of her customary spirit. He would have to act as if she were unconscious and, depending upon how much of the opium still lingered in her blood, she could well be nearly so.

Guilt and remorse filled him as she saw how helpless Ella was. He had put her in the hands of her killer. If he could not save her, he would be as guilty of her murder as Harold was. He had always prided himself on his instincts, but this time he had scorned them, and yet again he ruefully admitted that it was simply because he had been scared. Instinct had also told him that, if he had allowed himself to believe in Ella only to discover that she had lied, it would have cut him in a way from which he never would have recovered. Eleanor's betrayal had hurt his family, his purse, his vanity, and his pride. Ella's betrayal could have destroyed him. That knowledge had kept him running from the truth. Harrigan prayed that he would have the skill to save them all from the results of that cowardice.

When he finally reached the point where they would have to step out into the open, Harrigan stopped and took a deep, steadying breath. He glanced toward the carriage and saw Manuel and Thomas there, carefully sheltered from Harold's view, but keeping a close eye on the scene by the river. Their speed and skill astounded him. He briefly wondered how he had managed to continue to escape them as they had all raced across the country. He looked to the other side of the clearing and saw Joshua and Edward. The youths were just leaving the more secure cover of the trees, and dropped to their stomachs. Only the movement of the grasses and wildflowers told Harrigan that they were still there and headed straight for Harold's two thick-necked guards. That left him with only Harold and his daughter to worry about.

“Why are you hesitating now?” asked Louise.

“Just trying to figure out the best way to reach Harold before he can shove Ella into the river,” Harrigan replied, even as he decided he didn't have the time to come up with a perfect plan.

“Ella might have just given us a chance. She obviously still has wit enough to infuriate Harold. The argument she's started has distracted him. It might be enough to keep him from seeing us until it's too late. Should we wiggle through the grasses like Joshua and Edward?”

“No. They'll get to the guards before we can get within reach of Harold,” said George as he crouched beside Louise.

“So, we charge him,” said Harrigan. “Let's pray Ella has him so angry he can't see straight and that we can run faster than he can think.”

 

 

“Prepared for a little swim, m'dear?” Harold asked, placing a hand on her back.

“You are a complete bastard, Harold,” Ella said, glad to hear how strong her voice was, but wishing that strength would hurry up and reach her arms and legs. “There's something you might like to know first.”

“I don't believe there's anything you can say that I would care to hear.”

“I've made a will.” She almost cried out when he grabbed her by the arm and yanked her around to face him squarely.

“You're lying,” Margaret snapped as she moved to stand next to her father.

“Maybe. Maybe not. You can't be sure, can you?”

Ella prayed that she had regained enough of her wits to keep the argument going and be convincing enough to make Harold believe what she said. She was not sure time would gain her anything, for Harrigan had never believed her, her aunt was in jail, and Harrigan had not shown any sign of understanding the clues she had tried to give him before being shoved into the carriage. There would be no one rushing to her rescue. One swift glance at the turbulent river convinced her that even a few minutes of delay was worth the effort. Her mind was freeing itself of the drug more and more. Soon her body would as well. All it needed was a little time.

“It will never stand firm in court,” Harold said, but his statement lacked the weight of conviction.

“It was witnessed by a sheriff and a judge,” Ella lied. “I think it'll be strong enough to survive all your tricks.”

“Where is it?”

“Even soaked in opium, I'm not so stupid as to tell you.”

“She's left everything to that bitch, Louise,” Margaret said. “Now you have to kill the woman, Papa, or everything else we have done will be for nothing.”

For one brief, heart-stopping moment, Ella thought the drug had swept over her again in force. The vision she saw over Harold's shoulder had to be a delusion caused by the opium. Then her senses returned and she realized that Harrigan, George, and Louise were indeed racing up behind Harold and Margaret. There should have been some outcry from Harold's guards, but Ella resisted the urge to look and see why Harold's faithful watchdogs were silent.

“I didn't leave it to Louise,” she said.

“Liar. Who else could you leave it to? I know it wasn't me.”

Just as Ella believed she would be successful in holding their attention long enough, a bee decided it had to investigate Margaret's heavy scent. Margaret hissed a curse, and swatted at it, turning just enough to catch sight of Ella's rescuers.

“Papa! Look out!” cried Margaret even as she turned to run back to the carriage, deserting her father without hesitation.

Harold took one look at a grim-faced Harrigan, who was almost close enough to grab him, and lunged for Ella. Ella tried to get out of Harold's reach, but her body responded far too slowly to her mind's sharp command to run. She cried out in frustration as Harold roughly grabbed her, held her in front of him, and pulled his gun. Harrigan, Louise, and George stumbled to a halt. Ella was a little shocked at how furious Harrigan looked, as if he would like nothing better than to tear Harold apart with his bare hands.

“How the hell did you get out of jail, Louise?” demanded Harold.

“Unlike you, Thompson can be made to feel guilty and afraid concerning his crimes,” Louise replied. “Let Ella go, Harold. It's over. You've murdered enough of my family. Now it's time to pay the piper.”