Marrying for Money Ch. 12

Leanna lunged toward the door and would have thrown it open, but she paused when she heard a loud click. She turned toward Eliza and saw the bore of a small pistol aimed at her head.

"Eliza," she said, keeping her voice calm while she tried to tamp down her rising fear, "it won't do you any good to shoot me. You would only be hanged for murder." Shivers went down her spine when Eliza responded with haughty laughter.

"Why Leanna, haven't you heard that there are dangerous highwaymen roaming about? I will have been only an innocent victim who happens to have survived their vicious attack on our coach." She saw that the other woman was still considering attempting to escape, and she continued in a thoughtful tone. "I would really much prefer not to have to kill you though. It would be much easier for me if you simply disappeared from Trevor's life and gave him a divorce."

Leanna's mind raced trying to find some way out of her predicament. She decided her best course of action, for the moment, would be to keep Eliza talking. Surely the woman would relax her guard sometime, and then Leanna would make her escape. Raising an elegant brow, Leanna shook her head in disbelief.

"Eliza, are you insane? Trevor knows I would never leave him. I love him!"

"Yes, yes I know," Eliza said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm sure it will be hard for poor, dear Trevor to believe at first, but once he realizes that you've run off again, he'll be only too glad to divorce you." She giggled as if the idea was deliciously appealing. "And of course, I will be there to offer my loving support in his time of need."

"But Eliza, Dora will tell him that I left with you. Don't you know Trevor will suspect you for my disappearance?"

Eliza laughed derisively, "Leanna, I didn't tell anyone you went for a drive with me. The servants were all busy preparing for my luncheon. They don't even know you've left."

Leanna took a calming breath, trying once more to reason with the woman. "Eliza, Trevor would never believe that I would leave him. Wild horses couldn't drag me from his side."

At that moment, the coachmen cracked his whip, and the horses leaped into a gallop. Thunder crashed loudly directly overhead, and the horses screamed in terror and ran all the faster. The coach careened down the road, jostling Leanna into the corner of the conveyance. Eliza began to giggle again, starting with small chuckles that steadily grew stronger until she was howling with mirth and her eyes truly were beginning to look as if she were crazed.

"My dear," she gasped between bouts of laughter, "that's just what they've done.

**************

Trevor and Steven were working in one of the westernmost sections of the plantation that morning. They ignored a heavy drizzle as they studied the lay of the land. There was a creek that often overflowed its banks and flooded the nearby fields, making them unsuitable for planting. The two brothers stood discussing the possibility of digging a small pond where any excess water could drain after heavy rains. In that way, the flooding could be eliminated, and they would gain another watering source for the livestock. They were trying to decide the best spot for the pond when it began to rain heavily. A loud clap of thunder crashed so close by that both men jumped.

"We'd better get back to the house for now," said Steven. "We can figure this out later."

Trevor agreed, and they had started toward their mounts when they heard thundering hooves. They both turned to see Camilla galloping hell for leather toward them. Trevor's heart began to beat heavily in his chest. The sense of foreboding he had been feeling for weeks blossomed fully in his mind.

"Mister Trevor!" she screamed as she approached. Finally reaching them, she dragged the horse to an abrupt stop and scrambled down from the horse. She was panting heavily, trying to catch her breath, but she managed to gasp out the words. "Mister Trevor, I thought I'd never find you! Miss Leanna is gone!"

"What! What do you mean gone?" Trevor asked anxiously, catching the small maid by the shoulders and shaking her none too gently. "Where did she go?"

Camilla started to cry and a mournful moan escaped her. "I don't know sir. I was upstairs tidying your room. One minute, the Missus was sitting in the parlor writing some letters, and the next, I heard a coach coming up the driveway. I wanted to see who had come visiting, so I peeked out the front window and there was Miss Eliza talking with the Missus on the front steps. I thought that was mighty odd, since Miss Eliza was supposed to be coming for lunch later today, so I listened in from over the balcony rail." She flushed slightly at the admission that she had been eavesdropping, but she quickly continued. "Anyway, I heard them saying something about taking a drive. I thought they meant later on if the weather cleared up they were going out for a drive, but the next thing I knew, Miss Leanna came out with her cloak and left in the coach without even telling anybody where she was going."

Camilla started bawling in earnest, her tears mingling with the rain that was running down her face. "I got so scared, 'cause I don't trust Miss Eliza. I ran and told Silas to follow them and see where they went. I told him I was going to come get you, and he said he would keep after them and leave you a trail that you wouldn't have no problem finding."

Trevor paused for only a moment as he looked down at Camilla who was still sobbing harshly. A sick feeling of horror had coalesced in the pit of his belly, and he knew with dreadful certainty that Eliza meant to harm Leanna. His voice was menacingly low when he spoke to the maid.

"Send Otis into town to fetch the sheriff. Tell him to round up some men and wait to hear from me. When I send word, he should come as quickly as he can. There's no telling what we will find when we manage to catch up to Leanna, and we might need his help."

Seeing Camilla's nod of understanding, Trevor wasted no further time, but ran to his horse and quickly mounted. Steven was only a step behind him, and the two brothers raced across the fields, taking a shortcut to the main road. In half the time it would normally take, they reached the gates of the drive and paused to look around for a sign of which direction they should take.

Sure enough, a branch had been used to scratch a crude arrow in the mud of the roadway pointing in the direction of Newport News. The rain, by now a heavy downpour had almost erased the sign, but they could just make out the traces. Trevor and Steven exchanged a quick glance before they whipped their mounts into a gallop, and they raced in pursuit. As he rode, Trevor kept repeating the fervent prayer, "please God, let Leanna be alright!"

True to his word, Silas had stopped every so often to scratch out another arrow for them to follow. Each time the road came to a juncture, the arrow would unerringly point in the direction of town. The further they went, the fainter the arrows became because the heavy rain was steadily turning the road into a deep puddle of mud.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two brothers reached the coastal port of Newport News and stopped in confusion. Looking down at the road, there was a multitude of hoof prints and wagon ruts crisscrossing in the thick mud of the road, and the increasingly heavy rain was turning all the marks into muck. If Silas had left them another sign, it was gone now. They quickly dismounted to scan the mud more thoroughly, looking for any trace of an arrow, but they couldn't find anything.

"Damn!" Trevor swore, his throat constricted with fear.

Newport News was a relatively small town, but there were several roads leading into and out of the port. Any further signs that Silas may have left for them would be washed away by now, and they had no idea which direction the coach had taken. Every moment they wasted, Trevor knew that the danger to Leanna was increasing, and feelings of helplessness began to gnaw at his mind.

Just then, he felt a tugging on his sleeve and glanced down into the eyes of a ragged looking urchin who appeared to be about ten years of age. The boy was looking up at him questioningly, heedless of the rain that was soaking him.

"Excuse me sir. Are you Mr. Grayson?"

Trevor knelt down, instantly alert. "Yes I am son. How do you know my name?"

The boy's face brightened. "Well, I seen this big black feller down near the docks and he said you was gonna be comin' into town lookin' for him pretty soon."

The boy's face turned suspicious. He'd been standing here in this cold rain for nearly half an hour, and he hoped it wasn't all for nothing. He frowned up at Trevor.

"That man said if I was to wait here for you and take you to him, that you'd give me a whole dollar! Is that true sir?"

Trevor quickly fished a dollar coin out of his pocket and gave it to the astounded boy. "That's for taking us to him." Trevor held up another dollar in front of the boy's amazed eyes. "And if you get us there as fast as you possibly can, you can have another."

"Whoopee!" the boy shouted with glee. He had never seen two dollars in his entire life. "Let's go!"

Trevor mounted his horse and lifted the boy up in front of him on the saddle. "Do you have a name son?"

The boy nodded briskly, "Yessir. My name's Adam." Holding out a scrawny arm, Adam pointed to a side street. "This way's the fastest."

Trevor nodded and urged his horse down the street that Adam had indicated. They quickly wended their way through the town until they reached the docks. They saw no one on the streets. It appeared that all decent folk had taken refuge from the storm that was now lashing at the city. Trevor could barely see through the driving rain, and they twisted and turned so many times that he began to worry the boy was lost. However, Adam eventually led them directly to where Silas was waiting behind a small warehouse, and Trevor heaved a relieved sigh.

Trevor and Steven quickly dismounted and tied their horses underneath the sloping roof of a shed, grateful that the noise of the thunder and driving rain would drown out any sounds of their restless mounts. It was only noon, but the sky was nearly as black as night.

Trevor knelt once again beside Adam and pressed a dollar into the boy's hand but didn't let go of his arm. "I have one more favor to ask of you. Are you willing?"

Adam nodded briskly, obviously agog at the idea that there might be another bright shiny dollar to be had.

"Do you know where the sheriff's office is?" At Adam's nod, Trevor continued. "Can you ride a horse?"

Adam nodded eagerly. "Yessir, I been ridin' since before I could walk."

Trevor hesitated only an instant before coming to a firm decision. "I want you to take my horse and ride as fast as you can over to the sheriff's office. Tell him you're with me and bring him back here right away. Tell him to bring as many men as he can. Understand?"

Adam bobbed his head once more. "An' you'll give me another dollar?"

Trevor managed a grim smile. "If you bring him back really soon, I'll give you five."

Adam's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and without wasting another moment he ran to Trevor's horse, scrambled into the saddle and was gone, quick as a flash.

Trevor motioned to Steven then turned and crept to where Silas was waiting, Steven following close behind him. Trevor had to speak directly in Silas' ear to be heard above the wind. "Where are they? Where did they take Leanna?"

Silas pointed to a nearby ship that was bobbing violently near the pier where it was anchored. He turned back to Trevor with a worried frown. "They went inside there almost an hour ago sir. I've seen a few men coming and going, but I haven't seen Miss Leanna again since they first got here."

Trevor quickly scanned the deck of the ship. He could make out the forms of a dozen burly looking seamen scrambling back and forth on the deck. It looked to him like they were preparing the ship to set sail, which would be madness in this storm. He had to get Leanna out of there, but he, Steven and Silas would be greatly outnumbered and they weren't even armed.

"Damn!" Trevor said again, under his breath. He wished fervently that the sheriff would arrive, but in this weather, Trevor had no idea how long it might be before that happened. He leaned close to Steven and Silas so they could hear him.

"I'm going after Leanna. You stay here and wait for the sheriff."

When he would have turned away, Steven yanked his arm back. "No way, big brother. I'm going with you."

Trevor could see that Steven wasn't going to budge. Finally, he nodded.

"Alright, but stay right with me and do as I say." At Steven's grim nod, Trevor turned back to face the ship.

Trevor waited for a bolt of lightning to fade before racing across the open area between the warehouse and the gangplank, Steven close on his heels. He glanced around quickly but didn't see anyone around who might have seen them. There was a stack of barrels nearby with several tools lying on top. Trevor paused to grab two long metal rods, handing one to Steven.

The brothers crept up the plank, crouching low and praying the lightning wouldn't flash again and give them away. When they were nearly to the top, Trevor laid down on his belly, waiting for Steven to creep up beside him. They watched as the sailors on board rushed around yelling out orders and readying the ship. No one noticed them, as they crept like dark shadows onto the deck and knelt behind some barrels.

A sailor came rushing with some coils of rope, intent on his task, but when he rounded the barrels, Trevor knocked him out cold with the iron rod. Thankful that the wind was still howling to mask the sounds, Trevor stuffed the sailor's limp form between the barrels, not caring whether the man was alive or dead.

Trevor caught Steven's eye and motioned to the companionway. Again, they watched until the sailors were distracted before they sprinted to the stairs and hurried down the steep steps, being careful not to slip on the wet boards. The narrow passage was very dim with only the weak glow from one swaying lantern lighting the interior, and the two men paused.

Near the end of the hallway, there was a thin crack of light coming from beneath an oak door, and they made their way toward it on silent feet. Muted voices could be heard from within, and Trevor's heart leapt when he heard Leanna's voice. Thank God! He reached for the handle, preparing to storm inside when he heard a loud click from behind them.

Steven and Trevor turned in unison and saw a huge hulk of a man step out from behind the stairs. He held a pair of cocked pistols aimed directly at them, and an evil grin split his face.

***********

Leanna fought to quell her rising panic as she sat shivering, tied to a chair. It had taken only moments for them to walk from the coach to the ship, but during that brief time, Leanna's cloak and garments were drenched. A brief scuffle to escape had earned her nothing but a torn dress and some bruises. She was chilled to the bone, but it made little difference compared to her dampened spirit. She had found no other opportunity to escape, and now she began to doubt that she would.

The coachman had accompanied her and Eliza into a cabin, and under Eliza's direction, the man had tied Leanna snugly to a chair. Her arms were tied behind the back of the chair, and each of her legs was tied to one of the chair legs.

The cabin was reminiscent of the one she had shared with Trevor on the Sea Spirit. Leanna quickly scanned the room to see if there might be anything she could use to escape, but was disappointed. There was a narrow bunk, a small table with two chairs, a built-in wardrobe and a wood burning stove. Just like she remembered, all the furniture was nailed down.

Eliza stood over her and it was obvious from Eliza's ugly smirk that she was relishing the power she had. "You can't imagine how happy I am to be getting rid of you."

Although Leanna was certain the other woman intended to kill her, she also knew with a woman's intuition that Eliza wasn't ready to do away with her just yet. The woman had some reason she was keeping her alive, and Leanna wanted to know what it was.

"So why don't you just shoot me and get it over with," Leanna said, trying to provoke her into revealing her reasoning.

Eliza gave a caustic laugh. "Oh no, my dear. Where's the fun in that?"

"Enough Eliza, I am weary of your little games. What are you planning to do with me?"

Eliza tapped her bottom lip with the tip of her finger thoughtfully. "Let's just say there's some unfinished business for you to attend."

She laughed at her own humor, leaving Leanna to stare at her with a puzzled frown. Leanna felt like a trussed up turkey, and she glared impotently up at Eliza. Eliza appeared to be having the time of her life.

"You think you're so high and mighty," she sneered, her eyes raking Leanna's dripping hair, scratched arms and ruined gown with haughty disdain. "Well you don't look so high and mighty anymore!"

Despite her ragged appearance, Leanna raised one brow to a lofty height, proudly refusing to be cowered. "You should take a look in the mirror, Eliza. You don't look so good yourself . . . but then you never did. You've always been just like a worm-infested apple, tempting on the outside but nothing but rotting filth under the surface."

Eliza gave an infuriated screech, livid that she couldn't seem to get the better of her rival. She drew back her arm and gave Leanna a vicious slap, whipping her head back and drawing a trickle of blood from her bottom lip.

Just then, there was a loud thumping noise from the hallway. There were sounds of a scuffle and then the deafening roar of a gun being fired in a confined space followed by a loud thud. Leanna screamed as the coachman ran to the door and snatched it open. Trevor was grappling with a heavily built seaman, both of them trying to gain control of a pistol. Without pause, the coachman brought the butt of his own pistol down on the back of Trevor's head, and he crumpled into an unconscious heap on the floor.
"No!" Leanna screamed.

"Bring him inside and tie him to that post," Eliza ordered without batting an eye.

"What about this other one that I shot?" the seaman asked, pointing behind him into the dark hallway.

Eliza craned her neck to see who it was before smiling almost gleefully. "Is he dead?" she asked.

"I shot him in the head. What do you think?" grumbled the seaman.

Eliza pointed to a far corner of the room. "Then dump him over there. No sense in leaving him where we'll all be tripping over him."

Leanna eye's had been glued to Trevor's senseless form, but she moaned again and began to sob when Steven's limp body was carried in and dumped unceremoniously into the corner. His face and neck were covered with blood. Glaring at Eliza through her tears, Leanna's last glimmering hope faded and died.

"You monster," she accused, her shoulders slumping in despair. "You're insane! Why are you doing this? What can you possibly hope to accomplish?"

Seeing that she had finally managed to break the other woman's spirit, Eliza threw her head back and laughed. Her laughter did indeed sound crazed, and her eyes were glowing with an almost inhuman light when she finally calmed enough to answer.

"You fool! I've already accomplished my goals. Soon, I will have everything I've always wanted, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." With that, Eliza spun on her heel to face the seaman. "Tell the captain to set sail. If Trevor followed us, he may have sent for help." Eliza motioned the two men out and then followed in their wake, slamming the door behind her.

Note to Readers: Almost done! One more installment to go...