Page 52 of The Gilded Lady
“Pierce!” Able called.
Zane lurched to the side in time to get out of the way as Able shot the man Zane had been fighting. He’d dropped to pick up his gun and had been about to shoot Zane.
That was the last of them. Zane walked on his knees to the bed and pulled Glory into his arms. She held onto him, but most of her strength was gone.
“What did they do to you?” he asked.
She shook her head and said, “Don’t know. Something in my arm.” Her words were so slurred that he could barely distinguish what she said.
“Laudanum or opium straight, I’d guess.” Able walked up beside them and put a hand on her forehead. “The coward used that when anyone got out of line.”
Zane closed his eyes and held her closer. The nightmare was over.
Glory awoke to a pounding in her head and her mouth felt like someone had stuffed it with cotton. She rolled onto her back on a soft mattress. Her limbs were heavy but nothing felt out of place or injured. She brought a hand to her face and winced at the pain it caused. It hurt so badly that there was bound to be a big ugly bruise on her cheekbone.
What had happened to make her feel so horrible?
Zane! She forced her eyes open and managed to croak out his name. The room was lit by a single lamp across the room. It wasn’t her room.
“I’m here.” He took her hand and brought it to his face.
He’d been sitting on the bed next to her all along, she realized. He moved over her, smiling down into her face. He was wearing pants, though he wasn’t wearing a shirt or boots. A white bandage was wrapped around his upper arm. She was tucked into a bed, the covers up under her arms, and she wore a clean, cream silk dressing gown.
The fire could’ve been days away. Or maybe it had all been some kind of strange dream, though she doubted that because she could still smell the smoke, and this wasn’t her room atVictoria House. Could they be at The Baroness? She looked back up into Zane’s deep brown eyes and knew that whichever it was, they were safe now and she was with him. He was alive. That’s all that mattered.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I think I’m fine. I could use some water.” She wanted to hold him, but with the way they had left things, she wasn't certain that she should.
He looked down at her mouth, hesitated and moved from the bed to get her a glass of water from a pitcher on the table. When he came back, he helped her sit up in bed and handed it to her. She drank it gratefully, the cool liquid sliding down her throat and making her feel immediately better.
“What happened to your arm?”
He glanced down as if he’d forgotten about it. “A graze. It’s nothing. Do you remember what happened?” he asked when she handed him the nearly empty glass.
It was starting to come back to her. She remembered the fire, the carriage ride, the terrifying sight of Dubose’s face, but then everything went hazy. “I remember Justin took me to the train, but I’m not certain. After that everything seems like a dream.”
“Able and I found you soon after. Dubose drugged you. We sent for Caroline and she thinks its laudanum.”
“How long have I been out?” Some light peeked in through the curtains of the fancy room, but she couldn’t tell if it was dawn or dusk.
“Since this morning when he drugged you. The sun’s going down now.”
A horrible thought came to her. “What about the twins and Clara? Justin didn’t find them?”
“No.” He was quick to reassure her. “They’re fine. Dubose never went to the ranch.”
She breathed a sigh of relief.
“No one at the House was seriously injured. I want you to know that Dubose is dead, Glory, and so are the men he hired. The sheriff has identified them all as men wanted in other parts of the territory. We think he hired the investigator to find you and then hired men to bring you back with him. He made everyone think he had gone to France, he didn’t want anyone from South Carolina to know the truth.”
She remembered that part of their conversation. “He planned to tell them I was in an asylum in France for all these years. He wanted to run for public office and apparently a missing wife wasn’t helping his plans.” He’d been prepared to kill her if she didn’t go along with his vision of domestic bliss. She shuddered at the thought.
Zane took her trembling hand in his. “How are you?” he asked again, his dark eyes solemn and full of concern. “We brought you to The Baroness. Caroline’s in the next room waiting. Do I need to get her so you can talk to her alone?”
Her heart twisted as she realized what he meant, and she squeezed his hand. “He didn’t hurt me.” Her memory was spotty, but she was certain she’d remember if Justin had forced himself on her. “Not that way. I’m glad he won’t be around to hurt us anymore.”
She stared up into his eyes, hoping that his concern was a sign that he’d had a change of heart. Perhaps she should be angry with him for walking out on her, but she couldn’t find it in her. Not after last night. He could’ve spared himself and not come after her. He might’ve even saved himself from the fire, but he hadn’t. He’d stayed behind to help everyone out, putting himself in danger to do it. Then he’d wasted no time in finding where Dubose had taken her.
