“It’s ludicrous to imagine that the treasure exists,” Jack snapped. He wasn’t angry at her, and she wasn’t offended. That snap in his voice matched her own feelings.
“We find it,” Vi told Jack and then her head tilted as another idea struck her. “Or we fake finding it.”
Chapter 14
Vi sat on the stairs outside of the parlor while the doctor checked Denny over. While she waited, Hargreaves hovered over her and Jack spent some time on the telephone in the library. By the time the doctor left Denny for her, Jack was done and joined Hargreaves in his hovering.
“Where are the Hollands brothers?” Jack asked Hargreaves while Vi pretended that she didn’t want to jerk her hands away from the doctor.
He cleaned and examined her scratches while Jack saw every wince with those observant eyes of his.
“They left this morning after you didn’t allow them to go with you.”
Jack breathed in deeply and then told Hargreaves, “Call the inn. They can have a room for two nights that we’ll pay for, but beyond that, they’re on their own.”
Hargreaves nodded and then paused. “I heard your phone call, sir. Johnny and Cook can keep an eye on the house. I’d like to come and help.”
“Of course,” Vi answered for Jack and then gasped from a stinging pain. She hadn’t been prepared for that and both Hargreaves and Jack turned instantly. “I’m fine!”
“She’s fine,” the doctor agreed. “Just a little burn from cleaning the wound. She doesn’t need stitches, and I’ll bandage it, but it’s a precautionary measure.”
“Don’t tell them that,” Vi hissed in a deliberately loud whisper. “They’ll spoil me if you don’t ruin it.”
The doctor laughed and patted her on the head. “I suspect they’ll spoil you regardless.”
Vi smiled at the doctor and then glanced around. They’d gathered an audience. Most of the lingering guests from the party had left, but Gerald and Lottie were still there along with Smith and Beatrice.
Jack followed her gaze around the room and said, “This treasure hunt has become dangerous. You need to choose between going with us to Ham and Rita’s house or going back to London.”
Beatrice placed her hand on Smith’s arm, but her eyes were fixed on Vi. “Are you all right?”
“I’ll be fine,” Vi said, but she shivered deeply and knew that Jack had seen it. She tried to hide the building reaction, but she wasn’t quite able to. Vi couldn’t shake the feeling of that gun on her head, and even though her friends were talking quietly, she was hearing the sound of the fists striking Denny again and again.
Vi closed her eyes and breathed in, trying to focus on the sounds of the voices around her. Where is the goblet? Then the thud. Denny’s groan. Vi wanted to put her hands over her ears and block it out, but she couldn’t because it was echoing inside of her head rather than in the room.
The doctor said something to Jack, but Vi was only hearing that thud and the sound of her breathing in the hood. Where is the goblet? Vi reached out blindly and took Jack’s hand and with his warm grip, she felt like herself again.
Whatever had been decided while Vi was locked inside her own head had ended, and to her surprise everyone but Jack had gone. He knelt in front of her and took her face in his hands. “Violet?”
She started to tell him she was fine, but instead, she leaned into his arms and wrapped herself around him, needing him to hold her to remind herself that she wasn’t in the shed with a gun against the top of her head. She hadn’t told Jack about the gun. She couldn’t.
Vi breathed slowly out and to her surprise, it was a weak hoot. The sound you made before you dissolved into tears.
“I’m all right,” she lied.
“Of course you are,” Jack lied in return and then he lifted her once again, carrying her up the stairs. She expected him to curl himself around her when he set her on the bed, but instead, he packed their things. He was careful to get her current manuscript and her cosmetics, her favorite jewelry she fiddled with when she was worried. He carefully closed the drawers and cabinets, leaving their bedroom perfectly in order, so the mess didn’t disrupt her peace. The whole time she had her arms wrapped around herself and she watched numbly.
“Take a quick bath and change, Vi. If Victor sees you covered in dirt and blood with a ripped dress, he’ll lock you in the cellar until this is over.”
“We’re going to Ham’s?” Vi rubbed her brow, knowing the answer already. It was like her mind was on delay, and she wasn’t quite sure why. She was fine. She hadn’t been hurt too badly and yet it felt as if she had been.
“When there is trouble, we gather together,” he reminded her. “These fellows were only able to do what they did because we had separated.”
Vi nodded and then rose. She cleaned herself quickly, mindful of the bandages, and dressed without paying attention to what she wore. Finally, she took her sweater from the back of her closet. She was shivering and she needed to help. Only, Jack had done everything needed and what she ended up doing to move things along was pick up her journal and her dogs. Vi put one dog under each arm and followed Jack down the stairs.
“Is she all right?” Gerald asked Jack as her elder brother loaded his own auto. Vi was surprised to see her brother carrying his own luggage.
“I didn’t know you ever did manual labor,” Vi told him.
“She’s just a little upset,” Jack answered for Vi. “Anyone would be.”
“It must
