Chapter 15
“It’s happening just before dawn,” Diane said, speaking softly as they sat around the kitchen table eating dinner.
Mr. Bernini and his men always ate in the dining room, leaving the women in the kitchen. A couple of bandits were stationed around the house, and none of the women could get away. Or so he thought. Still, they spoke quietly, not wanting anyone to overhear them.
“Good,” Clary said, not looking surprised.
“Are you sure?” Heather asked. “Why tonight?”
“Why not?” Clary asked. “We’ve been waiting for what feels like several lifetimes.”
“Mark just got back from speaking to Mac,” Diane said. “It’s all set, so we need to be ready.”
Somehow, the mention of Mark being behind the plan and actively working to bring it to fruition made Heather feel a little better. She said a silent prayer, hoping that their plan would work, that nothing would go wrong.
“So, what now?” Clary asked.
“Is someone spreading the word?” Heather asked.
Julie nodded. “Yes, we passed the message on to Lizzy. She said not to worry, that she, Evelyn, and Bonnie would get the guns from the storeroom and then come and get us.”
“How are they going to do all of that and not get caught?” Heather asked.
The knot was back in her stomach again. This felt like an ill-advised plan.
The original plan had been to sneak out in the dead of night and get the guns stowed away while most of the bandits were asleep.
Rushing to do it now, when there were still so many eyes about, was sheer madness.
“I don’t know, but I got the impression that they had been working on moving the guns since you mentioned you knew where the key was. I think they moved some of them already,” Julie said with a shrug.
“That is good news, but I thought she was going to make a copy of the key,” Heather said. “Then we were all going to find ways to get in there and?—”
“No point now,” Diane said, interrupting her. She dunked her bread in her soup. “It’s more important to get the guns out than each get a turn, if you follow me.”
Her words stung Heather. She felt like a silly child wanting to have a go on the swings.
Especially since that wasn’t what Heather had meant.
She had thought it would be wise if they spread the guns around, so that no one person could be pointed out as the culprit.
She had a feeling Mr. Bernini wouldn’t take lightly to their revolution.
“I can’t wait for the fight to start,” Clary said, jabbing her spoon into her bowl and making her soup slosh out onto the table. “All this waiting around has been torture.”
“Shouldn’t we go and help Lizzy and the others?” Heather asked, still worried. “Is she really that convinced that she has it all under control?” There was a lot riding on this all working out, and it felt so terribly rushed.
“Heather, it’s as under control as it can be, okay?” Diane said, patting her hand.
“You are going to clean that mess up, Clary, aren’t you?” Julie asked, looking pointedly at the soupy mess on the table.
“Yes,” Clary said, rising and heading to the sink in the kitchen to wet a cloth with water from the pump.
Heather had lost her appetite. She pushed her bowl away and sighed. “I wish it was all over and we had won.”
“We all do,” Julie said soothingly. “But we’re going to have to break some eggs to get this omelet made.”
“Ladies,” Clary said in a warning tone. “I think there’s something happening.”
She was looking out of the kitchen window, pulling the curtain to the side so that she could see better. Heather and the others crowded around her, peering out.
It was dark outside, and lanterns were coming down the street toward them. They were clustered in a group, and there was something about the way they were moving that seemed terribly ominous.
Watching through the window, Heather began to see faces lit by the lanterns. They were male, and they looked stern and self-satisfied at the same time. There were darker spaces between them that were only lit now and then by the swaying lanterns.
“Oh no,” Heather said, her hand rising to her mouth.
“They caught them,” Diane said flatly.
“Quick! Grab a weapon,” Clary said, pulling a drawer open. She grabbed a thin knife and stuffed it into her boot.
Heather copied her, careful not to slice her foot open.
The group was coming close enough for them to hear their voices as a low rumble. Diane slipped the matches from the range into her bodice, and Julie hurried over to the scullery. There were sounds of things being moved, and then she appeared, stuffing something down her bodice too.
Just then, Nick came bursting into the house. He glared at the women sitting silently around the table. “You! It had to be you!” he spat at Heather.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific,” Diane said. “What’s her?”
The blow came out of nowhere. None of them were expecting it, and so when it landed, knocking Diane so hard that her head snapped back, they all screamed.
“What in tarnation is going on here?” Mr. Bernini asked, striding into the kitchen. “Nicholas, what are you assaulting the ladies for?”
“For this,” he said, turning and pointing to the group outside that had gathered around the doorway. “This is a mutiny.”
“You’ll find that in order for that to be true, we would have had to be on a ship and part of the crew,” Dorothy said. Her glasses hung askew on her face, and she had a reddening patch on her cheek.
“Bring them all inside,” Mr. Bernini said. He glanced at Heather. She didn’t have to try to look surprised. Seeing the state of the women who were being dragged into the kitchen shocked her deeply.
Lizzy had a black eye and a split lip. Her hands were tied behind her, and she landed heavily on the floor when her captor pushed her.
Dorothy was pale and shaken, and Bonnie held her head high despite the bruises forming on her neck.
Last came Evelyn, sporting a contemptuous sneer.
Her blouse’s sleeve was ripped, and she had a nasty gash in her hairline that was dripping blood onto her shoulder.
What had happened to these women? Had they managed to get the storeroom open and the guns out, or were they found out before that could happen?
“These women were caught trying to get the bottom gate open,” one of the bandits said.
Mr. Bernini shook his head, a patronizing smile on his face. “Really, ladies? And where were you planning to go?”
“Away from here,” Evelyn snapped. “Obviously.”
“But how were you going to get there?” he asked. “You weren’t going to walk all the many miles to San Antonio, were you?”
“Yes, we were,” Bonnie said. “Anything is better than being stuck here with you monsters.”
Evelyn spat on the floor right in front of Mr. Bernini’s shoes. She glared at him with such contempt that Heather thought it was a miracle that he didn’t burst into flames from the heat of her stare.
His hand balled itself into a fist, and moving like lightning, he stepped forward and jammed his fist into Evelyn’s stomach. She doubled over, gasped, and fell to the floor.
“Enough of that!” Diane cried, jumping up.
One of the bandits grabbed her arm and forced her back into her seat. Diane fought, but it was no use. She sat back down.
Clary was faster though, and she launched herself at Mr. Bernini with her fingers curled into claws. Nick stepped in and seemed to pluck her out of the air. He threw her down on her chair and, pulling his weapon, pointed his gun in her face.
“That’s enough!” Mr. Bernini cried. He glared at them. “You’re not much of a rebellion, but we should make an example of you nonetheless. Take them to the campfire. Take them all there. This needs to be a lesson for everyone.”
“Uncle Alex, please don’t do this! They’re not trying to hurt you; they just want their lives back,” Heather said. She rose and tried to walk to him but found Nick’s hand on her shoulder, stopping her.
Mr. Bernini nodded, and Nick let Heather go. She walked over to the man she realized she had never really known and forced herself to smile at him.
“It’s been hard since you came in here demanding that everyone do what you say,” Heather said.
“You’ve separated families and isolated people.
You can’t expect folks to like it. And you’ve never said why or for how long you plan to keep things like this.
It’s no wonder that people are acting up. Can’t you see it?”
He considered her for a moment. Heather wondered if she had gotten through to him, but a moment later, she knew she hadn’t.
“Take them all to the campfire. Let’s show this rabble what happens when you cause trouble,” Mr. Bernini said.
The looks of glee on the bandits’ faces made Heather’s blood run cold.
A short while later, the women had been forced into a group, standing by the campfire. With their hands tied behind their backs, it was clear that they were being treated as criminals.
Heather and her companions were standing in the front row. The men and other women gathered around them. Despite this being the first time in a long while that the people of Unity were all gathered in one place, they weren’t happy.
Angry grumbles erupted as the men, who had been turning in for the night, came spilling out of the tents.
“Let this be a lesson!” Mr. Bernini cried. “Trying to oppose us. Trying to escape. Being difficult and disobedient will result in punishment. We have been very patient and kind to you folks. It hasn’t been easy. Holding back and showing restraint isn’t in many of our natures …”
The bandits cheered.
Mr. Bernini smiled. “We’ve been trying to be decent and give you a chance, but you’ve made it difficult and now you’ll pay!”
He pointed to Bonnie, Evelyn, Dorothy, and Lizzy and raised a pistol. He meant to shoot them in front of everyone. The crowd surged forward, but the bandits pointed their guns in warning.
Just then there was a whooshing sound, and a bright, flickering light erupted. Heather couldn’t be sure, but it looked like the flames were coming from the bridge. But it was made of stone, wasn’t it?