Page 53 of Earl of Excess
The rag tasted filthy, and the foul smell of body odor gagged and assailed her. Kicking and sending muffled screams, she felt herself hoisted over someone’s shoulders. She heard Dandie growling and barking—louder than she had ever barked. She could tell that her dog had her mouth on the person’s leg, trying to bite. A loud thud sounded, and her heart dropped to her stomach when she heard her dog’s loud whimper and then nothing.
“You deserved that and more,” he spat. “I should kill you for what you did to my ear. I’ll kill you if you come back,” she heard him add, as they went through the hedge of bushes. He had his arms tightly around her waist, holding down her own arms. The only thing she could do was kick—which she did as furiously as she was able. A few minutes later, the man dropped her down on the ground. “I had hoped you wouldn’t be this much trouble,” he sneered. “Too bad I won’t see yer green eyes when I have my way with you.” With that, he slammed his fist into her face through the burlap bag.
Everything went black as her brain screamed his name.Caleb Smoot.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Two hours later
“Colonel, it’s notlike Bethany to be gone this long. I have a bad feeling,” Aunt Theo whispered in his ears alone. He noticed Grandmère and Smith both taking turns and watching for the door to open. An icy feeling shot through him.After what Smith had just told them, how could he have let her go by herself?Matthew quickly excused himself and went to his room. Rummaging in the bag of his things that Bethany had hidden beneath his bed, he found his pistol and checked it. He left the room, nearly at a full run, when a voice behind stopped him.
“Let me go with you, Colonel,” Tobias Smith said, getting up. “I know what you are thinking. If Caleb has her, I may reason with him. I would like to spare us any more bloodshed. He will listen to me.
Matthew stood there—his head full of emotion. He had never seen Smoot before but had smelled him. The thought of that man... of any man... touching Bethany made his blood boil. A red haze colored his vision. “Fine,” he said, never turning.
The two men stepped outside, and Matthew called for Dandie, hoping the dog would come running with Bethany right behind her. No dog emerged. The door opened behind him and Grandmère came out with her shotgun. He recognized the gun as the one Bethany had placed under the seat of the boat. “I’ll check at the dock. I swear, if he hurts my granddaughter, he won’t live to tell about it,” she declared, cocking the gun.
Matthew realized at that moment where Bethany got her backbone. The woman never backed down and never gave up. He counted on that—she had to be all right. But the sick feeling had taken hold of his gut and the haze had gripped his vision. If Smoot hurt Bethany, nothing Smith could say would save him. He glanced at Tobias and noticed the man’s face had gone pale. Odd.
“I saw a garden earlier today, and Bethany and I were heading there, just before you arrived. I am going to check that, first,” Matthew said. His body thrummed with tension and his head ached.Where was she?He heard Grandmère calling Bethany and Dandie in the background and instinctively knew the outcome would not be good if she found Smoot, although he might have a better chance of survival than if Matthew found him.
The two men raced across the bridge and followed the small stream to the garden he had seen earlier. He saw Mr. Duplantis hailing him down and carrying a bottle of something. He scanned the area—but didn’t see Bethany or Dandie. Smoot would not have wanted Dandie—especially since the dog nearly bit off his ear. Desperate, he called out to the little dog, rewarded by a small whimper. Panicked, he searched everywhere, finally seeing the small white dog laying curled up beneath a tall shrub, covered by pink blooms. Her head was bleeding. Shoving his gun in his pants, he picked up the small dog tenderly. Bethany would want her safe.
“Come on, let’s take her to Grandmère,” Smith said.
Matthew looked at the man, realizing that he was angry with him. Smith had warned them, and despite the warning, he had allowed Bethany to wander off by herself. Yet he was directing anger at Smith. It was wrong. “That is a good idea. Talk to me, Smith. You know this area better than I do. Where could Smoot have her?”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Smith said.
“Wait!” Mr. Duplantis called.
The two men stopped and turned as Duplantis halted a safe distance from them.
“I saw a man rowing a boat about an hour ago.”
“Did you see where he went?” Matthew asked, realizing Mr. Duplantis would not have seen Bethany. She probably was in the boat’s bottom. He bit the inside of his cheek, something he did when he needed to control his emotions.
“I did. The boat is still there.” He pointed across the water to the canopy of cypress trees. “You can barely see it. When I was young, there was a cabin up there in the fields. It’s probably hidden by trees.” He looked at Dandie, limp in Matthew’s arms. “May I?” he asked, showing he wanted to touch the dog. Matthew remembered what Bethany had told him and nodded, placing the dog on a soft surface of grass and stepping back.
Mr. Duplantis came over and, with the small bottle of water, bathed the dog’s face and held it up, giving her water. “She looks to have been kicked.” He leaned over and listened for her heart and felt her stomach area. “Her breathing sounds like it’s getting stronger. I think she must have been knocked out. Miss Phillips loves this dog. I have never seen her without her puppy.”
“Climb the small path of rocks under the tree limbs. He may have done that. There are snakes in the area—deadly moccasins and rattlesnakes, so be careful. They hide under the low brush.”
“How do you know about this cabin?”
Mr. Duplantis looked up. “The cabin was a hunting cabin maintained by the Bellovere family years ago. My grandfather was the groundskeeper here. As I child I did not have this... disease.” His voice grew sad. “Occasionally, I would play near the cabin while he worked. The area was not overgrown, and it was a fine piece of property. It was grand looking down at the plantation, seeing the beauty of the gardens and the house.” He stood and stepped back. “Thank you for letting me check the dog. I heard everyone calling for it and feared something awful had happened. I think she will recover. Her grandmother will know what to do for her.”
“Thank you, Mr. Duplantis. If he is holding her up there, you have saved us hours of searching.”
Matthew gingerly picked up Dandie and held her close to his heart, willing her to be better. “Girl, I know you gave everything you had to protect Bethany. I will find her,” he said, feeling his eyes fill with tears.
“I know the area. Mr. Duplantis is right. We will need my hunting knife,” Smith said, opening his vest and pointing to the leather-sheathed knife. “If you have your boots, perhaps you should put them on,” he suggested.
Matthew nodded. “I apologize for behaving badly towards you, Smith. I know you care about Bethany.” The man winced. “I am angry at myself for letting her go alone.” Matthew glanced down at Dandie and noticed she seemed to look a little more alert. The house was in view. Grandmère and Aunt Theo were making their way towards him.
“Did you find her?” Grandmère said as she got closer.
“No, but we found Dandie,” he whispered. The dog was holding her head up but looked weak. “Mr. Duplantis listened to her chest and thought she would recover. Smoot kicked her in the head.”
