attack. I am certain Silver saved your life.”
“She did what?” he exploded and came near unto losing consciousness when he tried to rise from the bed.
“Are you insane?” Garrett stood and helped Daniel back against the pillows with a gentle hand. “Surely, you’ve guessed how serious your injuries are. If you leave that bed anytime soon, it will take twice as long to recover.”
He gnashed his teeth in frustration, knowing his friend was right. “How…severely…was she…hurt?” he asked, every word a strain to verbalize. Fear for Silver’s safety pounded through his veins.
“Only slightly. A sprained ankle and a bruised shoulder.”
Daniel relaxed. Oh, thank God . He found it impossible to keep his eyes open. He fought to ask one last question before giving in to his fatigue. “Why did she do it?”
“That, my friend, should be obvious,” Garrett said as Daniel floated back into the darkness.
****
Blood had a sickeningly sweet smell, slightly coppery. He breathed it deeply into his lungs. It served as a reminder of what was to come. His heart leapt with anticipation. He finally knew exactly where in Scotland she had gone. Rubbing his sticky, red-brown hands together, he wondered if he should revise his plan. He could go to her now…but no, that wouldn’t do. She had brothers. Five to be exact.
He ground his teeth until his jaw ached. He wasn’t used to being denied what he wanted. Ever. No, he would be patient and wait until she returned to England. It wouldn’t be that much longer.
With a sigh, he tugged his knife free from the dead girl’s chest. Seeing a curl lying limp against her pasty gray cheek, he cut the lock away.
Soon, he promised as he rose from the floor. Soon he’d have her back. And this time, there would be no escaping him.
Chapter Five
Daniel refused to take another drop of laudanum. The stuff was hemlock. His mind went fuzzy and he slept too much. It helped ease his pain, he thought with a grimace as he shifted and got a fiery stitch in his side. With a small sigh, he relaxed against the pillows. For the hundredth time, he glanced around the room, hoping to find something different to observe. No such luck. The missing brother, Connor, obviously did not collect anything nor did the man believe in a lot of furniture.
The room had a surprisingly comfortable bed, a table with a bowl and chipped pitcher that did not match on top, a wooden chest secured with a huge iron lock, and a desk with a chair. Nothing else. Daniel studied the ink spatters on the desk to his left. Most were tiny drops and smears, but at the top right corner, the inkwell had been tipped over at one time. The rounded black stain had long skinny runs of ink flowing down the side of the desk. It quite resembled an octopus drawing he had once discovered as a child in one of his father’s nature books.
Thinking of a book, his mind instantly recalled something that had happened on the ship. Of teasing someone about learning to read Greek.
Silver.
Daniel closed his eyes, his conscious nettled. Garrett said she had saved his life. God, she could have gotten herself killed. But as the fear subsided, anger took its place. How could she have done something so foolish? And when he saw her next, he’d tell her so. He popped his eyes open and frowned. Why hadn’t she come to see him since he woke three days ago?
Mrs. Burns hurried into the room without so much as a knock and began stacking his dinner tray with the empty dishes. She said nothing.
“I would like a word with Miss MacLaren. Surely, her ankle is better. Do send her in,” he said pleasantly, hoping honeyed words would get him his way with the old crone. God’s truth, nothing else did.
She jutted her pointy chin into the air. “’Tis no’ proper,” she answered and finished gathering the dishes onto the
“She did what?” he exploded and came near unto losing consciousness when he tried to rise from the bed.
“Are you insane?” Garrett stood and helped Daniel back against the pillows with a gentle hand. “Surely, you’ve guessed how serious your injuries are. If you leave that bed anytime soon, it will take twice as long to recover.”
He gnashed his teeth in frustration, knowing his friend was right. “How…severely…was she…hurt?” he asked, every word a strain to verbalize. Fear for Silver’s safety pounded through his veins.
“Only slightly. A sprained ankle and a bruised shoulder.”
Daniel relaxed. Oh, thank God . He found it impossible to keep his eyes open. He fought to ask one last question before giving in to his fatigue. “Why did she do it?”
“That, my friend, should be obvious,” Garrett said as Daniel floated back into the darkness.
****
Blood had a sickeningly sweet smell, slightly coppery. He breathed it deeply into his lungs. It served as a reminder of what was to come. His heart leapt with anticipation. He finally knew exactly where in Scotland she had gone. Rubbing his sticky, red-brown hands together, he wondered if he should revise his plan. He could go to her now…but no, that wouldn’t do. She had brothers. Five to be exact.
He ground his teeth until his jaw ached. He wasn’t used to being denied what he wanted. Ever. No, he would be patient and wait until she returned to England. It wouldn’t be that much longer.
With a sigh, he tugged his knife free from the dead girl’s chest. Seeing a curl lying limp against her pasty gray cheek, he cut the lock away.
Soon, he promised as he rose from the floor. Soon he’d have her back. And this time, there would be no escaping him.
Chapter Five
Daniel refused to take another drop of laudanum. The stuff was hemlock. His mind went fuzzy and he slept too much. It helped ease his pain, he thought with a grimace as he shifted and got a fiery stitch in his side. With a small sigh, he relaxed against the pillows. For the hundredth time, he glanced around the room, hoping to find something different to observe. No such luck. The missing brother, Connor, obviously did not collect anything nor did the man believe in a lot of furniture.
The room had a surprisingly comfortable bed, a table with a bowl and chipped pitcher that did not match on top, a wooden chest secured with a huge iron lock, and a desk with a chair. Nothing else. Daniel studied the ink spatters on the desk to his left. Most were tiny drops and smears, but at the top right corner, the inkwell had been tipped over at one time. The rounded black stain had long skinny runs of ink flowing down the side of the desk. It quite resembled an octopus drawing he had once discovered as a child in one of his father’s nature books.
Thinking of a book, his mind instantly recalled something that had happened on the ship. Of teasing someone about learning to read Greek.
Silver.
Daniel closed his eyes, his conscious nettled. Garrett said she had saved his life. God, she could have gotten herself killed. But as the fear subsided, anger took its place. How could she have done something so foolish? And when he saw her next, he’d tell her so. He popped his eyes open and frowned. Why hadn’t she come to see him since he woke three days ago?
Mrs. Burns hurried into the room without so much as a knock and began stacking his dinner tray with the empty dishes. She said nothing.
“I would like a word with Miss MacLaren. Surely, her ankle is better. Do send her in,” he said pleasantly, hoping honeyed words would get him his way with the old crone. God’s truth, nothing else did.
She jutted her pointy chin into the air. “’Tis no’ proper,” she answered and finished gathering the dishes onto the
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