Chapter 33
“WHY ARE YOU doing this?” cried an indistinct female voice.
With Ella’s hand still in his, Gabriel stopped abruptly at the top of the small stone staircase leading to the basement.
The woman’s stifled, pleading voice returned. “This is a mistake, surely you see it.”
Ella squeezed his hand and whispered, “It’s Phoebe!”
A weak light flickered from somewhere below, casting erratic moving shadows against the stone walls.
Gabriel considered his options. He wished Ella would have stayed in the conservatory, for he had no idea what they were up against. Whatever was going on down here could be dangerous, and he’d never forgive himself if she was injured because of a decision he made.
Phoebe cried again, “You must stop!”
“You’ll say nothing, do you understand me?” responded a male voice.
Gabriel could not stand by anymore—he needed to intervene on Miss Hawthorne’s behalf, but without a weapon on his person, he had to be careful. He looked back to Ella. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
This time, to his relief, she did not protest.
Gabriel took cautious steps down the timeworn stairs, careful to make no sound or cast a shadow.
Once he reached the foot of the stairs, Gabriel stepped into the corridor and quickly figured out the layout.
The light and sounds were coming from the first door down from the stairwell.
To his right was an east-facing exterior door that led to the stables.
He returned his attention to the room from which the voices came.
The door stood slightly ajar, and he angled his head to see inside.
From his vantage point he clearly identified Bauer and Miss Hawthorne standing next to a small stack of wooden boxes and an open trunk.
Was Bauer . . . leaving?
Gabriel could not let him leave. He might not have a weapon, but he did have the element of surprise on his side. With his attention fixed firmly on Bauer, Gabriel shoved open the door and lunged inside.
The next seconds slowed . . . then sped.
Miss Hawthorne screamed.
Bauer whirled.
Gabriel pushed forward, but Bauer snatched Miss Hawthorne by the waist and yanked her in front of him. With his other hand he pulled a pistol from his waist and pointed it at Gabriel.
Gabriel stopped midstride.
Perspiration trickled down Bauer’s scarlet face. He blinked rapidly, and his breaths were shallow gasps.
“If you discharge that weapon, you’ll wake every single person under this roof,” Gabriel challenged. “Release Miss Hawthorne. She has nothing to do with any of this.”
“You.” Bauer ignored Gabriel’s words and jerked his head to the chamber’s far corner. “There.”
Normally Gabriel would take his chances with the man. He’d rush him and physically force the weapon from him. He knew he’d be fast and could get his hand on the weapon before Bauer could effectively react, but he couldn’t risk Miss Hawthorne getting injured.
Without breaking eye contact and with his hands raised, Gabriel did as bid. He watched as Bauer, with Miss Hawthorne still trapped in his arm, inched his way closer to the door.
Then, in a sudden burst of energy, Bauer shoved Miss Hawthorne away from himself, grabbed one of the larger wooden boxes, spun through the door, and jerked it closed behind him.
Instantly a lock clicked.
Gabriel sped toward the door. The knob would not budge—it was locked from the outside.
He stepped back and rammed it with his shoulder, and when that was unsuccessful, he stepped back, steadied himself, and kicked the heel of his boot into the middle of the door.
Still, the heavy wooden door would not give way.
Heaving from the exertion, he turned.
Miss Hawthorne was lying on the floor. She was not moving.
He hurried to her, dropped to his knee next to her, and gently rolled her over. Blood trickled from a wound on her brow. He quickly located her pulse, and once he did, he tugged his cravat from his neck and gingerly pressed the linen fabric against the wound.
The lock jostled and then flew open. Gabriel prepared himself in case Bauer was returning, but it was Ella, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, with a key ring in one hand and a candle in the other. She scurried toward them and fell to her knees next to her friend. “Is she—she—?”
“She’ll be all right.” Gabriel fixed his attention on the door once more. “Come over here and hold this on the wound. Gentle pressure, like this.” Once Ella had taken over the task, he sprinted from the chamber to the exterior door that opened to the stable yard.
He scanned the empty grounds. There was no moon, making it impossible to see even the edge of the gardens. He assessed the dirt outside the door for footprints, but nothing stood out as significant.
The smartest action Bauer could have taken was to get away on horseback, so Gabriel raced to the stables to see if anything was disturbed, but a padlock secured the stable door with the animals safely inside.
He needed help.
Refusing to waste energy being angry with himself for letting Bauer get away, he determined to return to Miss Hawthorne and assess her injury.
When he arrived back in the basement chamber, Ella was sitting at Miss Hawthorne’s side. Her blue eyes were wide, her face pale. Alarm heightened her tone. “She’s breathing, but she’s not moving, Gabriel. And there’s blood everywhere!”
“Move the light closer.”
Ella lifted the candle from the stone floor next to her, and he once again pressed his fingers against Miss Hawthorne’s neck. After finding a pulse, he lifted her eyelid to see the pupil.
Gabriel lifted the linen from the wound and turned to Ella. “Go get your father and Mrs. Chatterly as quickly as you can.”