Cormac tapped Dunmore on his shoulder and rose. “Good. About time the two of you stopped dancin’ around each other. Besides, the O’Rourkes love a wedding. And wee Maggie deserves a bit of happiness, after the hell of fearing she’d lost you.” He rose, nodding to Dunmore, before slipping from the room.
* * *
A week later, Maggie walked rapidly toward the rebuilt bookstore, intent on obtaining a new book for Dunmore. He was an avid reader, and she wanted to ensure he was never bored, while he recovered. Although he had wanted to attempt walking to the bookstore today, Maggie had pushed him into a chair in the living room and had insisted he allow her to make the short journey to the store. Dunmore had enough difficulty walking to the privy, and she had no desire for him to reinjure himself and further delay his full recovery.
Although eighteen year old Niall had agreed to walk with her to the bookstore, a young woman had distracted him. Practicing his sweet talk on her, he’d lost interest in escorting his sister, and Maggie had lost patience listening to him attempt to flirt.
With a huff, she had set out on her own for the bookstore, a short distance away and a walk she had made numerous times on her own.
Her heart skipped a beat at the fact that Dunmore was alive and recovering and that she’d return to him soon to see him laugh and smile. She stifled a small squeal of delight at the realization she would have a future with the man she loved.
Suddenly a strong arm wrapped around her waist and yanked her off her feet. The rapid movement caused her to lose her breath, and she gasped, unable to scream for help. Someone stuffed a rag in her mouth, covered her head with a burlap bag, and tied a rope around her arms and legs, so she couldn’t move, before tossing her into the back of a wagon. She landed with a bone-jarring thud, her head bashing into the unforgiving wood and causing her to see stars for a moment.
Listening intently, she heard faint voices but nothing clear. She wriggled around, stilling when she felt another body beside her. She inched away from it, hoping the person near her was alive too. She heard the sound of a cloth spreading, and she imagined that whoever had the temerity to take her was covering the wagon with a tarp.
“Don’t worry, mon petite chou. I’ve come back for you.”
Maggie froze as the voice from her nightmares carried on the soft breeze.
Jacques.
He was back, and he had captured her. He had always enjoyed taunting her with French endearments, while he threatened her with violence. She shivered, and a steely resolve to never again be a victim of his cruelty surged through her.
She began to struggle, arching up, attempting to find a way free from the back of the wagon.
“If you wish the person beside you to die a painful death, ma chérie, continue to fight. I’d hate to think you’d cause your brother such suffering, when he learns his wife’s been hurt.”
When she heard Jacques’s warning, she stilled her frantic arching. Maggie froze, although her urge to flee was still paramount. Yet how could she, if the lifeless form beside her was one of her adored sisters-in-law? Which one? “Deirdre?” When there was no response, she murmured, “Aileen?” She heard the rickety sound of the wagon, felt the rocking, as it climbed out of the riverfront area toward the bluffs and the road leading to the Territory. “Phoebe? Lorena?” Tears coursed down her cheeks, as silence met every inquiry.
Although she worried Jacques had tricked her, she couldn’t risk he wasn’t telling the truth. Tears continued to trickle out, and she prayed her family would notice her absence and would start searching for her soon. For she knew, if Jacques had too much of a head start, they would never find him in the wide-open Territory.
Chapter 6
Declan walked into his parents’ house, kissed his mum’s head, and smiled, as she offered him a cup of tea. His alert gaze searched the kitchen, and he tilted his head, as though attempting to hear a missing sound.
“What’s the matter, love?” Mary asked, as she continued to tidy up the kitchen and to prepare supper.
“Where’s Lo?” he asked, as he took a sip of tea. “I thought she’d gone to visit Deirdre, but she’s not at the café.” He looked around the quiet kitchen. “Then I thought she might have come here with books for Dunmore.”
Mary frowned, as she set aside the carrots she’d been about to chop. “But Maggie was goin’ to the bookshop to find new books for Dunmore. She went there nearly an hour ago.”
Declan froze. “An hour ago?” He shook his head. “She never arrived. I’ve been there the whole time, and she never arrived.” He squeezed his mum’s arm and set down his mug of tea. “Don’t leave the house. I’m goin’ for Da.”
He raced out of the kitchen to the warehouse, a short distance away. Barreling inside, he bellowed, “Da!” His brothers, Kevin, Niall, and Lucien, spun to stare at him. “Da!” he yelled again, as he ran the few steps into the office, his brothers on his heels.
Seamus was already halfway across his office and met his son’s terrified gaze. “What is it, lad?”
“Lorena and Maggie are missin’,” he rasped. “Mum said Maggie was to go to the bookshop an hour ago, but she never arrived. Lo’s been gone over two hours.” He quivered with rage and fear.
“Missin’?” Seamus growled. “What fools we are, lettin’ our guards down.” At the commotion at the door, he paused and stared at his youngest sons. “Lads, we have an emergency and no time for your shenanigans.”
“No, Da,” Bryan said in his young voice, hopping up and down. “This is serious!”
“Lad,” Seamus said in a warning tone.
“Henri saw Jacques!” Bryan yelled out.
“What?” Seamus marched toward the pack
