phantom knights 04 - deceit in delaware (17 page)

“Bill Whitby.”

I shook his hand. “Guinevere Martin.”

The front door opened and Bill turned in his chair. “That will be Horace and Earnest with your friends.”

Horace and Earnest entered the house slowly, with their hands raised. At once I felt a sense of what was to come. They entered the meeting room and Bill called out to them, and then he saw Leo and Arnaud holding pistols.

All of the men were on their feet at once, followed by me and Hannah.

“Leo,” I said, “lower your weapon. They mean us no harm.”

“Then where is Dudley? Where is Betsy?” Leo demanded in a stronger voice than I had heard him use in ages.

“Dudley is in the other room with one of the leaders. They are freed men,” I said, hoping that would convince him to lower his weapon.

“Betsy?” came Bill’s voice, clear and unmoved by a pistol being pointed toward him. “Betsy Coles? She’s upstairs with my Sally.” Bill turned toward me. “She was the one who told James who you be.”

“What is the meaning of this?” James demanded when he and Dudley entered the room.

I stepped next to Arnaud. “I believe that an explanation is in order. We are the Phantoms, and we have come in search of one of our own, whom we have heard that you are keeping here.”

Everyone stared at us as if they had no notion of what I meant, and then James stepped forward. “The masked men who run around the cities doing good deeds?” When I nodded, Bill released a loud laugh and slapped his leg.

“We’ve heard of you, sure enough,” Bill said as he moved forward and grasped Leo’s hand, shaking it vigorously. “James’s cousin was one of the girls who was freed when the Phantoms stopped the
Midnight Pearl
in Charleston.”

It was my turn to look my inquiry. I had not heard of this mission. Leo was the one to inform me, even though he had not been one of the Charleston Phantoms. He would have learned of this mission from Rose, I did not doubt.

“She was an illegal slave ship bound for the West Indies. Her captain was known for capturing only the freed men, women, and children.”

“He got me,” said a voice from the doorway and everyone turned to look. Betsy was standing there, looking beautiful and unharmed. I noticed that James’s shoulders went back and his chest expanded while he watched her in awe, and something more. “We were able to take the ship before the captain could make sail. There were some fifty prisoners. Once we discovered from where they hailed, Sam sailed them home personally.”

“I met this Sam,” James said with a faraway look in his brown eyes. He focused on me then. “He too is a Phantom?”

“That he is. And he is my cousin, as well as Guinevere’s brother by marriage,” Betsy said.

“The man who freed his servants,” said Bill with a nod.

When James began speaking with Arnaud and Leo, I moved to Betsy’s side.

“How do you come to be here? Where are Nell and Charlotte?”

Betsy shook her head. “I do not know. We stopped in Baltimore first because Nell said that she wanted to collect some things from her house here. Charlotte wanted to do some shopping, but I was tired from the journey so I remained at the house. When I awoke, they had not returned. I waited for them to return for a full day. Then I ventured out to search for them. It was when I was going from shop to shop that I noticed some men following me. They were royal guards.”

That caused ice to prick my insides, spreading a chill throughout my chest.

“James got to me first, and he brought me here, to safety.”

“It was nothing more than being in the right place at the right moment,” James said as he joined us, having been listening to our exchange.

Betsy smiled with so much fondness that I tilted my head to watch the way they spoke with one another.

“You did far more than that, James. You saved me from a terrible fate. When Abe arrives, he will be only too pleased.” Betsy turned her effervescent eyes upon me. “Where is my brother?”

Oh… Why did I not think that she would ask about him? Dread began to build. I did not want to be the one to tell her, to shatter her world.

“Sam and Bess went with Jack to Washington,” Hannah said, joining us and drawing the conversation away from me.

“Of course, my brother would go with Sam,” Betsy said with a sweet smile cast at James. This was the most that I had ever heard the girl speak to anyone other than Charlotte in the course of a few minutes. She was at ease with James, that much was certain, but what their relationship was, I did not know.

“We searched the town for Charlotte and Nell but we never found them, and the ship that we sailed on was gone as well. I do not know where they have gone, but I was hoping that they had returned to Charleston,” Betsy said.

“They did not, but I have no doubt that Jack discovered something in Washington,” I said, and Betsy smiled.

We spoke for a few more minutes as Betsy went upstairs with Hannah and Dudley to retrieve her trunk, and then James and Bill said that they would escort us back to our house. Leo and Arnaud went to fetch our horses, which Bill said that he would return for us as Hannah and I were invited to ride in James’s carriage with him and Betsy.

It was an open carriage with two benches. Hannah and I took the back seat while Betsy sat beside James. As he tooled the carriage down the street, we told him the direction. Betsy explained that she had not known that Jeanne was in the city. She did not know Jeanne that well, having only met her when Bess moved to Charleston.

The streets were all dark, with only lanterns from houses and at the ends of the streets to light our way. It was not until we were nearly upon a man that we saw him. I shouted out a warning and James veered the carriage sharply to the left to avoid hitting him. Hannah was tossed into me as my arm hit the side of the carriage. James had his arm firmly around Betsy, keeping her from being thrown from the seat.

My first glance toward the road sent me half over the seat, shoving James as hard as I could. He was not expecting my sudden attack and so did not have a chance to prepare before falling from the carriage. Leaping into Hannah’s lap, the explosion came a moment later, splintering the wood of James’s seat and striking mine where I had been sitting. A man grabbed Betsy and pulled her down onto the road. Hannah and I scrambled across the carriage, away from the attack. I had the door open when I heard Hannah grunt. She was pulled backward from the carriage. Waiting for nothing else, I jumped from the carriage and moved along the backside. James was standing there, dusting himself off when I bumped into him.

“What is the meaning—” he said nothing more as my hand slapped against his mouth.

“Say nothing and we should both get out of this alive,” I whispered. “Do you have a weapon?”

James shook his head.

“In the carriage?”

His white eyes widened and he nodded.

“Get it, while I cause a distraction. As soon as you get a chance, grab Betsy and run.” He began to shake his head, but I stomped my booted foot and he stopped. “You get her and you run, and you do not stop until you have her to safety. Do you understand?”

James nodded.

Turning my back to James, I lifted my skirt and pulled my dagger pistol from one garter and a small knife from the other. Pulling back the hammer to the small pistol attached to my dagger, I stepped around the carriage and into the middle of the street.

The man had been joined by three others. They had Betsy and Hannah on their knees, with weapons pressed against their heads.

“You are to come with us,” one of the men said.

“If I refuse?”

“We kill your friends.”

If that is how they wanted this to go, so be it. Raising my dagger pistol in one hand, I pressed the trigger while my other hand threw my knife.

The knife lodged in the chest of the man standing behind Hannah while the ball struck the chest of the man behind Betsy.

James charged around the carriage with a long military sword and slashed the air between him and one of the remaining men. The man jumped back and James grabbed Betsy’s arm. He pulled her up and they ran as Hannah leapt to her feet, pulled the knife from the chest of the man now laying on the ground, and charged straight into one of the two men. I ran forward with my dagger, prepared to fight, but the only remaining man aimed a pistol at me. I slid to a halt, and slowly raised my hands in the air.

“If only I could kill you,” he said to me. “It would be the best for everyone.”

“No,” hissed the man who was dodging Hannah’s slashes. “We are to keep her alive.”

The man smiled toward me. “Though not unharmed. We could say it was an accident. We could not halt it from happening.” He aimed the barrel toward my arm that still held the dagger.

Pulling back the hammer, I sent a silent message to Hannah to forget the man she was fighting and to stop the other from shooting me. Hannah charged on, swinging the knife at the man and slashing his coat, his arm, his cheek, and his thigh as he danced around her attacks, but not well enough. She was not paying any heed to the other man.

Even if he only meant to graze me, it would still hurt, especially if he was a poor shot.

Bracing myself for the pain that would come, I clenched my teeth, and prepared to jump out—

The shot exploded before I was prepared. On instinct, I dropped down to the ground in a crouched position and began to search my arms for a wound, but there was none. There was no sting of pain.

A loud crack met my ears and I looked toward the man who had held the pistol. He was on the ground, with a hole in his chest.

“Guinevere!” came a shout from behind me, and my heart burst with relief. Jumping up, I spun and ran straight into Jack’s arms.

CHAPTER 14

JACK

W
hen we arrived in Baltimore, we rode straight to the house that Bess, Freddy, and the rest of the Phantoms had lived in during the war. They had spent their days gathering information against the British and passing that information on to me. My general never asked where I received the information because he knew my father. I was never certain if he knew about the Phantoms, but I had my suspicions.

After uncovering a valuable piece of information about British movements, we were able to stop an attack that could have destroyed a flank of our troops. After that, I was made a captain, at sixteen years of age. I had been in many battles and skirmishes, but none stayed with me like the battle for Baltimore. I was at the battle for Fort McHenry and never would I forget the pounding of the rockets and shells that shook the ground for hours. When we raised our flag and saw it proudly standing against the morning sky, I knew we would be victorious. We had lost much in the war, but I knew that we could recover. Our people proved themselves resilient, and never had I been prouder than standing on the wall watching the British tuck tail and sail away. It was at that moment that I felt that I was a true American, no matter what my history was.

We arrived at the house to find a note from Leo stating where they were to be found. I left Bess and Sam at the house and went to find my wife. When I arrived and learned from Jeanne that Betsy was in the city, I felt a quick relief. She would know where my mother was.

Freddy and I reached the house just as a carriage was turning the corner at the end of the street. One of the men from the house told me what I needed to know. We followed and saw when the carriage veered left. We were dismounting when my wife and Hannah engaged in a fight against their attackers. When that foolish fellow pointed a pistol at my wife, I nearly lost my calm. Freddy’s hand on my shoulder was the only thing keeping me from shooting then. He told me to wait for my opportune moment. Moving closer, I was able to get off a shot before he had time to harm my wife.

When Guinevere was in my arms she told me what had transpired that night with Betsy. She also told me that Betsy still did not know the truth about Abe. It had been decided that Saw would be the one to tell her. That was well with me for I did not believe that I could look into her sweet face and tell her that her brother had been murdered.

Betsy and a man appeared down the street, hurrying toward us.

Releasing my wife, I went to meet them.

“Mr. Martin,” Betsy said, relief in her voice. “Is your mother and Charlotte with you?”

Dread filled me with a sudden flood, squashing my relief. “Betsy, I need you to tell me exactly what has transpired.”

She did, and her words only strengthened the dread.

“I had hoped them to have gone on to Washington without me. Foolish hope, I know,” Betsy admitted.

“Hope is never foolish,” the elegant young man beside her said, as he laid a hand on her arm. “Hope is the constant that keeps up going when life treats us unfairly.”

Taking in the appearance of the man, who was obviously a gentleman and clearly not from Baltimore, I found him to be earnest in all his looks. And he held evident affection for Betsy.

“Forgive me, Mr. Martin,” Betsy said when she noticed me watching them curiously. “Please allow me to present Mr. James Percy Wilson of New York. James, this is Mr. Martin.” She lowered her voice and added, “Loutaire.”

“Indeed?” James Wilson extended his hand to me. “It is a right pleasure to meet you, sir. I have had the pleasure of meeting your wife, and seeing her skill at work. Talented is what I say.”

“Call me Jack, and yes, my wife has abounding talents.” I smiled in her direction though she was not looking at me.

“Is Abe with Sam and Bess?” Betsy asked, drawing my full attention, and my grief, though I masked that from showing on my face. “I am eager to introduce him to James.” Betsy cast her gaze toward the ground shyly.

“You should come to the house with us,” I said, extending the invitation to James as well. If a relationship had evolved between the two as I suspected, she would need his support when she learned the truth. A truth that only Sam should tell her.

We checked the carriage and found it sturdy so James drove the carriage, with Betsy, Hannah, and Guinevere inside, while Freddy and I followed on our horses.