“Shhhhh,” the woman hissed more sharply, pointing the gun at her again. “Come as you are.”
She got out of bed warily, wondering if she could grab the gun from Abigail without getting shot. Reaching the door, Abigail told her to open it, and then pushed her to the right, away from the main staircase that descended to the first floor. Still being nudged from behind, Violet went around a corner and came to another, narrower staircase that spiraled upward to the third floor or an attic.
She would have balked right then and there if Abigail weren’t pushing her from behind and pressing the gun to her back, forcing her up those stairs. And she’d thought Abigail was a kindly woman. What a bad judge of character she was! Sullivan must have ordered this. But why send a woman to do nasty work like this?
When they reached the door at the top of the stairs, Abigail whispered, “Open it!”
A lamp was lit in there, dimly illuminating an attic with a slanted roof. All sorts of boxes and furniture were stored there, pushed to one side, leaving a cleared area for a narrow bed. The person in it sat up as they walked in.
Violet stopped short, unable to take another step, horrified, thrilled, utterly confused. Her whisper was timorous: “Is—is that really you?”
“Come closer, Vi.”
Oh, God, it was Charles’s voice, his face. She burst into joyful tears. “Papa!” She ran to the bed to wrap her arms around her father. She clung to him tightly, afraid that if she didn’t he would disappear. He wasn’t dead, he wasn’t dead! Please don’t let this be a dream!
“Let me look at you, sweetheart.”
“Not yet. I don’t want to wake up yet. Just hold me like you used to.”
He tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks. She felt his touch. She wasn’t dreaming. “How is this possible? You were buried!”
“Whoever or whatever was buried, it wasn’t me.”
She leaned back to look at his face, his wonderful face, thinner, a little older, but still the face of her dear father. “You’re alive. This is—you can’t imagine.”
“I’m glad to see you, too, darling. But what are you doing here? You shouldn’t have found out about any of this nasty business.”
“Daniel wrote to me in London, asking me to come home to deal with an urgent matter. I was shocked to find my brothers in dire straits and in danger of losing the house.”
“Why? I left them enough money.”
“No, they spent it all trying to keep up appearances as you instructed. So I came to find you.”
He sighed. “It should have been enough, and it would have been if I hadn’t had that accident. Where are your brothers now?”
“They’re still in Philadelphia—”
“I have three children, two of whom are strapping young men, and it’s my daughter who came to this wild territory alone to find me?!”
He sounded quite annoyed with the boys, so she quickly said, “They were trying to hold everything together at home and deal with the banker, who has already come close to seizing the house. Evan is even desperately courting an heiress, whom I hope he won’t have to marry now, because he didn’t sound smitten with her.”
Charles shook his head sadly. “This is my fault. I was foolish with my inheritance. I’m the one who didn’t do well by my children. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she assured him. “I don’t care if I ever have my debut in London, I’m just so happy you’re alive!”
“How long have you been in Montana?”
“A few weeks,” she said evasively. “When I was told that horrible news about you, well, I tried to find your mine to see if it could save the house, and I met Morgan—”
“What did you think of him?” he cut in.
“Oh, don’t get me started!”
He laughed, hugging her closer. “He does take getting used to.”
“But he definitely likes you. He’s lent us the money to pay off the house loan, so you don’t have to worry about that anymore. Now, what are you doing in this attic?”
“He was carried in unconscious,” Abigail said behind her.
The housekeeper! She’d forgotten Abigail was even in the room and glanced around to her. “Why didn’t you just tell me my father is alive?”
“And get this noisy reaction downstairs where Kayleigh or Mr. Sullivan might’ve heard you? They can’t know that your father is awake, or that you know he’s here, or I’ll never get him safely out of here. I’m sorry I startled you with the gun, but it was necessary to get you to come along quietly.”
“Don’t blame Abby,” Charles said. “She was very nervous about bringing you up here without being seen.”
“As for your question,” Abigail continued, “they pulled their scam as soon as Dr. Cantry left town and the miners’ doctor took over for him as he usually does. A few of Mr. Sullivan’s men sneaked Charles out of the doctor’s house and carried him here at night. And they had him buried, supposedly, the very next morning, and merely informed Dr. Cantry about it when he got back to town. Your father has been a prisoner here ever since.”
Violet shook her head, finding it hard to grasp all of this. “Wilson seemed like a real doctor.”
“He is,” Abigail said scornfully. “But he’s in the mine owners’ pockets, will do whatever they tell him to do and probably asks no questions.”
“But why is Father a prisoner?”
“The better question is, how did you come to be in Sullivan’s house?” Charles asked.
Violet hesitated for a moment, seeking an explanation that was truthful but held no whiff of scandal. “Once Morgan agreed to pay off your loan, I had to get back to civilization and didn’t want to wait until next week for him to escort me back. I sort of sneaked off without telling him—don’t say it! I know that was unwise. But I was almost to Butte when I ran into Sullivan’s men and fainted, and they brought me here.”
“No, dear,” Abigail said. “I overheard the men talking to Mr. Sullivan. They knew they’d met up with Violet Mitchell when they heard your British accent. They put chloroform on the bandanna they gave you so they could knock you out and bring you here.”
Violet shivered, saw the anger on her father’s face. “So that’s why the bandanna smelled funny. I have no memory of what happened after that until I woke up in this house.”
“Despicable!” Charles said, shaking his head. “Well, I’ve been in this attic for close to six weeks. I’m actually grateful I was unconscious for most of that time. I only woke up a few days ago. Sullivan doesn’t know that yet, and we’re keeping it that way.” He gave Abigail an adoring smile before he added, “This woman has been my guardian angel. She’s the only person in this mansion with a strong and unerring moral compass.”
Abigail blushed. “I refuse to be a party to the Sullivans’ wickedness, even though Kayleigh threatened to put me in prison for supposedly stealing from them if I told anyone they were hiding Charles up here. It’s unconscionable what they’re doing to this fine man!”
“Thank you for taking such good care of him,” Violet said sincerely. Glancing at her father again, she reminded him, “You still haven’t said why you’re a prisoner here.”
“Abigail overheard Sullivan giving orders to his men. He’s waiting for me to regain consciousness so I can tell him where my mine is located.” Charles suddenly looked fierce. “But I’m not telling him no matter what happens. I’m not selling out my partner. And the money made from my mine is for my children!”