The coach rocked, and the largest of the highwaymen shouted, "Don't move!"
Kiernan jumped to his feet, dragging the man with him. The man's scarf had twisted loose, revealing a square, whiskered jaw. The smaller of the mounted men leveled his gun on them. Phoebe leaned through the doorway and fired at him. His horse screamed as its rider jerked and slid from the saddle. Kiernan plowed a heavy blow into his opponent's jaw. The man stumbled backwards and tripped. He hit the ground near his fallen pistol. Kiernan lunged forward as the man snatched up the gun, and swung it onto Kiernan.
Phoebe cried out. A shot blasted and her vision blurred in the second before her mind registered Kiernan's opponent limp on the ground, blood spreading in a dark stain across his dirty shirt. She cut her gaze onto Mather, who gripped a revolver pointed at the dead man. Another shot blasted and she jumped.
"Nobody move," the remaining brigand shouted. "Or I'll shoot the lady."
The man pointed a dual barrel pistol at her. The long barrel ensured deadly accuracy. She would be dead before she hit the ground.
"You've got one shot," Kiernan snarled. "Get out while you still can."
The sudden beat of horse’s hooves sounded through the trees.
“Drop your weapons!” a voice shouted.
"What the—" The brigand's curse cut short when a man burst from the trees.
Phoebe blinked, uncertain that the newcomer was really her cousin Ty Humphrey. The highwayman backed his horse and fired his revolver. Kiernan lunged for her. Ty came to a skidding halt as Kiernan's arms closed around her. Phoebe glimpsed the Blunderbuss pistol Ty aimed at the retreating highwayman in the instant before she landed on the ground, Kiernan on top of her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
According to John Glen, the magistrate in Glasgow, there was no mistaking the bullet wounds that had killed Adam. He'd been shot with a Dragon, a pistol-sized Blunderbuss favored by pirates in the previous century; a weapon which was still loved by those who wanted to ensure they didn't miss their target while inflicting the maximum amount damage to their victims. Not a common weapon in this modern age, but Phoebe knew one man who owned a Blunderbuss.
She slipped into her uncle's townhouse through the kitchen door. As expected, all was quiet. The housekeeper and cook napped through midday in order to fortify themselves for the evening hours when Lady Albery made her greatest demands. Phoebe's uncle was still in Carlisle, and she prayed Ty was anywhere but home. If she encountered him, she was liable to put a bullet through him.
She hurried through the kitchen and up the main stairs, where she had less chance of encountering servants. Her aunt was adamant that only upstairs maids were allowed on the main staircases, and then only to polish the wood. On the third floor, Phoebe made her way to Ty's room. She knocked and, when no answer came, she slipped inside. She began her search with the desk on the left wall and halted when she discovered a letter from the Duke of Ashlund.
To Charles Wallington, Viscount Albery Sir,
I write in regards to the marriage of my son, Kiernan MacGregor, Marquess of Ashlund, to your niece, Phoebe Wallington. This announcement will come as a surprise, but be advised there are circumstances surrounding this engagement we must discuss privately. The formal announcement has been dispatched to the post and will appear in print, at the earliest, the day you receive this letter, at the latest, the next.
I will be in London within the week and shall call upon you immediately.
Signed,
Marcus McGregor, Duke of Ashlund
The letter the duke sent to her uncle? What was Ty doing with it?
She refolded the note and slipped it into her pocket, then finished looking through the drawer. Next, she searched the armoire without success. The nightstand followed and her heart jumped into her throat when she opened the drawer and stared down at the Blunderbuss. This was the weapon he'd carried two nights ago when the highwaymen ambushed them. Phoebe hadn't forgotten the look on the first highwayman's face, and his intent to shoot Kiernan. Highwaymen were almost unheard of in their modern times, and murder without provocation by a highwayman didn't make sense. A great many things didn't make sense. Like why Ty killed Adam.
Tears rushed to the surface and Phoebe was forced to sit on the bed in order to slow the turn of her stomach that threatened to bring up her breakfast. She had to maintain control, had find something, anything, that gave her a clue as to why Ty had killed Adam. It made no sense. She started to close the drawer, then decided to take the pistol. Phoebe hid the Blunderbuss in her pocket with the letter, but was forced to maintain a grip on the heavy weapon. She left the room, carefully closed the door, then hurried down the hall toward the library.
"You're sure no one will come up here?" a muffled male voice asked.