A sinking feeling hit Garret’s gut as he said, “This Daniel…is his last name Charles?”
“Yeah,” Ted said with a frown as he studied Garret. “Why?”
“Is he here? With you now?” Edward asked in a frantic voice.
Ted frowned, “Why?”
Unable to stop himself, Garret crossed the room and grabbed Ted by the dirty lapel of his duster and slammed him against the wall. “Because Mr. Charles is the pimp who beat your sister half to death because she wouldn’t work for him. He’s the bastard we shot while him and his thugs tried to beat her to death in an alley.”
“No,” Ted whispered, his eyes wide. “No, that’s not true. He’s her fiancé. He heard me asking about her, found me and told me that he was her fiancé and she’d been kidnapped. He promised to help me rescue her.”
“He lied to you, you idiot,” Garret yelled as Dr. Tibbs and Pastor Milden pulled him off the young man. “Where is he?”
“He—he said he was going to rescue Rowan while I kept you busy,” Ted said in a hollow voice. “He lied to me?”
Edward and Garret exchanged a panicked glance as Mrs. Tibbs cried out, “Nancy is up there with her!”
Dr. Tibbs rushed past them, but Edward grabbed onto his arm. “Wait, we don’t know what’s going on up there. If we all rush at once, he might panic. Is there any hidden servant’s entrance or something like that?”
“No, no,” Mr. Tibbs said in a rough voice. “There are two sets of stairs going up to the second floor, that’s it.”
“Dr. Tibbs, you and Pastor Milden guard one set, but stay out of sight. Edward and I will guard the other. Mrs. Tibbs, I need you to get the sheriff here soon as possible. Alert the staff, tell them that, whatever they do, don’t engage Mr. Charles. He’s as mad as a hatter and twice as dangerous.”
“Wait,” Ted said from behind them, “I have an idea. I could go up there and tell Daniel that I couldn’t find you two—that you’re waiting at the church for Rowan. You can hide outside the door, and I’ll give you some kind of signal once I get him away from the women. He has men waiting for us, hidden in town. This may be our best chance.”
Edward raised a brow. “Good plan. Our room connects to Rowan’s. We can wait in there until you give us the signal. Just call Rowan ‘little tigress’ and we’ll come in.”
Ted jerked his chin at the stairs, “Show me where her room is, and I’ll do my best to separate them.”
“Do you have a gun?” Garret asked while Dr. Tibbs and Pastor Milden whispered behind them.
Ted shook his head. “No, can’t afford one.”
“Here,” Pastor Milden said as he held out his revolver to Ted. “Take this. Gentlemen, there are firearms in the cabinet to your right. Arm yourselves.”
Glancing at Pastor Milden’s collar, Ted said, “Thank you.”
Together, the men made their way up to Rowan’s room. Garret’s heart thundered with each step. His fear that they were too late, that Mr. Charles had killed Rowan out of sheer malice, grew until his hand holding his own gun was slick with sweat. They listened carefully as they walked down the hallway to their rooms, but no screams or gunshots rang out in the night.
They quietly entered their own room but left the door to the hallway cracked so they could hear Ted.
Rowan’s brother knocked hard on the door and Garret used the distraction to try the door between the rooms. It was, thank God, open and he cracked it just a little bit, afraid that luck would be against them and Mr. Charles would see. But Ted’s diversion worked, and Garret was able to open the door enough to get a view of the room through the crack.
Rowan and Nancy huddled together on the bed, their arms wrapped around each other as they stared at the doorway where Ted entered the room.
“I can’t find them anywhere,” Ted said as he came inside, then without warning, he turned on Mr. Charles.
Garret sucked in a breath as Ted struggled with the other man, trying to pry away his gun. It went off, and both women screamed as the loud sound echoed through the room. Edward and Garret barreled out of their room, and Edward hit Mr. Charles so hard he almost put him through the plaster wall. Another shot rang out, and Ted cried out in pain, dropping and clutching his head as Garret and Edward proceeded to beat the hell out of Mr. Charles.
They probably would have beat him to death, if not for Dr. Tibbs and Pastor Milden pulling them off, and Rowan’s terrified pleas for them to stop.
“Garret, Edward!” she cried out, “Please, come help me! Ted’s been shot!”
Garret pushed himself up from Mr. Charles limp form, and his heart dropped as he saw his beautiful bride now covered in blood as she held her brother in her arms. Nancy was on her knees beside Rowan, her hands clasped together in prayer as tears rolled down her face. His heart sank as he saw the blood pouring down from Ted’s head, but the young man was still lucid as he reached up with a trembling hand and cupped the side of Rowan’s face.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said through her tears. “I love you so much.”
He didn’t respond, his eyes closing as his color went to a pasty tone that Garret had seen all too often on the battlefield.
“Ted!” she screamed with such heartache that Garret thought his might break.
“Move aside,” Dr. Tibbs ordered in his no-nonsense voice. “If we’re going to have any hope of saving this young man, you need to move.”
Garret and Edward ended up dragging a crying Rowan away, her eyes glassy with shock. Dr. Tibbs ordered some of his staff to put
