Chapter 29 #2
Deputy Marshal Redding looked up from his notebook. “I’ll have the prosecutor add arson to the attempted-murder charge.”
“Attempted murder?” She blinked. “Is that what you charged him with?”
“You were minutes away from dying last night, Miss Caldwell. I would never consider charging him with anything less.” The Deputy Marshal flipped to another page in his notebook. “Now can you describe the two arsonists for—”
Knocking sounded from somewhere else in the house. “Rosalind? Are you in there?”
Rosalind recognized the voice all too well.
The knocking turned to pounding. “Let me in, Amos. My niece is missing, and I need to know if she’s here.”
“I’ll take care of him,” Alexei muttered. “The rest of you stay here.”
The oldest Amos brother strode out of the room and pulled the door shut behind him.
Alexei couldn’t quite stop his hands from clenching into fists as he headed across the small parlor toward the front door. He wasn’t the type to throw punches or shout across a room, but Simon Caldwell was the last man he wanted to see this morning.
Or rather, the second to last man. He wanted to see Preston Caldwell even less.
But the man was still the governor, and it was reasonable for him to want to know where Rosalind was.
“Amos? Are you there?” More banging sounded, the newest round louder than the rest.
Alexei reached the door, then paused and drew in a breath before opening it. “Governor, good morn—”
“Is she here?” The governor jabbed a finger into his chest. “This is an outrage, Amos. You can’t have my brother locked up on exaggerated charges and force—”
“Yes, she’s here. Follow me.” Alexei stepped back and let the man in, then shut the door with a click that sounded far too soft. He turned and headed toward the formal parlor on his left.
The governor didn’t follow. He took one look at the doorway and headed the other direction. “I want to see my niece, not have a fireside chat with you. Where is she?”
“Wait.” Alexei rushed after him, but the governor was too many steps ahead, swiftly moving across the entryway toward the hallway on the opposite side of the stairs. “She’s injured, and I refuse to let you storm through my house, shouting the first thing in . . .”
It was too late. The man reached for the first door he came to, which just so happened to be the sickroom, and opened it. “Rosalind?”
Alexei rushed into the room in time to see Rosalind jerk upward in her bed, then cry out in pain.
She tried to rise, but Yuri pushed her shoulders down and placed himself between her and her uncle. “She’s barely breathing. Get out.”
Jonas placed a hand on the butt of his gun and moved to stand behind Yuri. “Governor, I’m going to need you to step back. Your niece is being treated for injuries.”
“What do you mean ‘she’s barely breathing’?” The governor ran his eyes over his niece, concern creasing his brow.
“Father lost his temper last night.” Rosalind spoke from the bed, where she now lay with an arm curled protectively over her ribs.
“I know. I’ve been to see him. He feels badly about what happened and fully intends to apologize once he’s been released from jail.”
“He feels badly?” Yuri’s voice turned deathly low. “He nearly killed her.”
“Stop being dramatic.” The governor waved his hand dismissively. “Everyone knows the attempted-murder charge is ridiculous. Nothing more than an attempt to take revenge out on our family. It will get reduced to a misdemeanor as soon as Marshal Hibbs returns to town.”
“There’s nothing dramatic or vengeful about that charge. Your niece almost died last night, Governor.” Alexei crossed his arms over his chest. “You have Dr. Reid to thank for saving her life.”
The man turned to face him, his mouth set in a grim line. “I have no doubt she was scared, but Preston would never—”
“Perhaps you should look at Rosalind’s ribs and see the damage.” The words were out of Alexei’s mouth before he could think to stop them. “Then tell me whether you still think we’re being dramatic.”
“You saw my niece’s ribs?” The governor’s face turned red. “Of all the dishonorable, lecherous—”
“It was medically necessary.” Nathan pushed himself away from the wall where he’d been standing, watching the interchange.
“Your brother left Rosalind with a collapsed lung. She was seconds away from suffocating when a servant brought her here. I have over half a dozen witnesses that can testify to that fact in a court of law, should the need arise. I also have the testimony of my wife, who is a doctor and can support the medical veracity of my claim.”
The governor’s lips curled. “This house is the last place Foster should have brought her.”
“This house is currently the only place in town with a doctor.” Alexei could only shake his head. Did the man even realize what he was saying?
“I want to inform you, as her next of kin, that there’s still a good chance your niece will not live.” Nathan moved closer to the governor, his voice professional and void of any emotion. “The damage that the broken ribs did to her lungs might be too great for her to survive.”
The governor’s shoulders loosened, some of the fight draining away from him. “Is it really that bad?”
“Look at her and tell me what you see.” Nathan extended his hand toward Rosalind.
The man moved his gaze back to his niece, who was wincing in pain and taking increasingly fast and shallow breaths. “Very well. I’ll hire a nurse to see to her needs as she recovers. How soon can she be ready to leave?”
“She’s not leaving,” Alexei gritted.
“You just said Preston would be facing charges. Surely it’s safe for me to bring her back to her house while—”
“No.” Alexei made a slashing motion with his hand. “She’ll stay here, under the same roof as the two doctors who have been caring for her, until they deem her ready to be released.”
The governor narrowed his eyes. “You can’t keep my niece confined here against her will.”
“Just how long have you known about the abuse?” Yuri stepped closer to the governor, his shoulders set in a tight line. “Did you know about her sprained wrist before this? What other injuries did you overlook and fail to report to the Marshal?”
The man stiffened. “I don’t see what a hurt wrist has to do with this.”
“It proves you knew your brother was abusing her and did nothing to prevent it,” Yuri snapped. “We’re not letting her leave with you. You’d have to murder everyone in this room before we’d let you take her.”
The governor’s lips pressed into a flat line. “Fine. I’ll send word to her fiancé about what happened last night. He should be here in a week, maybe less. Then he can marry the girl and be done with it.”
A chill ran down Alexei’s spine. “If you think there is any chance I’ll turn an abused woman over to a man known for having a temper, you are sorely mistaken.”
The governor whirled on him. “You don’t have a say in this, Amos.”
“Why don’t we ask Rosalind what she wants?” Yuri nodded toward the bed.
Rosalind moved her hand up to clutch the sapphire necklace lying against the hollow of her throat.
Somehow it had stayed around her neck all this time, even through the procedure Nathan performed last night.
“No . . . I don’t want anything to do with Leeland.
I won’t marry him. Not while I recover, and not in May when the wedding is scheduled.
The Amoses are right . . . He’s violent, and he won’t be a good husband to me. ”
There was something about how she clutched the necklace against her throat that made Alexei frown, but before he could ask about it, the governor turned back to him, angry lines contorting his face.
“Why are you doing this? Haven’t you done enough already? First the seals, then the harassment lawsuit, then informing Secretary Gray about relocating those backwater Indian towns. And now you’re interfering with my family? Why?”
Alexei leaned forward, crowding the governor’s space. “Because you ordered our shipyard burned to the ground last night.”
“You’re fortunate it was only one building,” he growled, his eyes flashing. “You deserved to have everything burned.”
“And I deserved that because of the seals?” Alexei leaned even closer, until he could feel the governor’s breath on his face.
“And the lawsuits.”
“So you’re not denying you were behind the arson attempt?”
“We were both behind it!” the governor shouted.
Alexei stepped back and glanced at Jonas. “Is that enough to arrest him?”
Caldwell let out a low guttural sound, then lunged.
Alexei didn’t have time to brace himself before the governor’s hands slammed into his shoulders. The force of the impact drove him backward a few steps, but he regained his balance and shoved the man away.
It was enough to send the governor crashing into the doorway.
“Enough!” Jonas was across the room in an instant. He wrenched Simon backward, hooked one arm around the man’s chest, and yanked his arms behind his back in a clean, practiced motion.
“I demand you release me immediately!” Caldwell twisted, but Jonas forced his face against the wall and kicked his feet apart. “I’m the governor.”
“And I’m the acting US Deputy Marshal.” Jonas’s voice was as hard as the steel Farnsworth used to build his massive ships down in San Francisco. “And I just witnessed you assault a civilian inside his own home after admitting to conspiracy to commit arson. You’re under arrest.”
“You can’t arrest me! You have no authority to—”
“I have every authority,” Jonas snapped.
Caldwell tried to lurch away, but Jonas slammed him flat against the wall.
Alexei met the man’s gaze. He hadn’t known for certain that the governor had been involved in the arson, only his brother. So Alexei had made a series of calculated statements to see if he could get the truth, and they had paid off.
The governor seemed to realize that, because even from his position against the wall, he narrowed his eyes at Alexei. “Just wait until I get released from jail, Amos. I’m going to use every last resource I have to destroy—”
“Stop talking, Governor.” Jonas hauled the man upright. “Unless you want me to add threatening an individual to the list of charges against you.”
That was enough for the governor to finally shut his mouth.
Jonas used the few seconds of silence to march the man toward the door and out of the house.