He grabbed the mug out of Lee’s hand and whacked it against the man’s already injured jaw. Lee flailed, falling out of his chair and onto the ground with a thud. He cried out like a wailing child and grabbed at his face.
The few other patrons scattered through the tavern jumped in their seats.
“You touched her?” he roared. “Get out! All of you!” Samuel motioned to the wide-eyed spectators.
“You can’t tell them to leave!” Mrs. Langdon bellowed. “This is my—”
“I’ll do as I please!”
At that instant Donaldson was at his side. Samuel whipped around, still holding the mug in his hand.
“What would you have me do, sir?” Donaldson’s gaze dashed between Samuel, the man on the ground, and the mumbling crowd.
“Escort these lovely people outside and stay with them until I come to get you.”
The room emptied as the patrons bumped between tables and chairs before scrambling out the front door.
“You too!” Samuel shouted, pointing at the innkeeper.
She glared, then huffed and mumbled fighting words under her breath. Donaldson ushered them out, prodding the small group like livestock and slammed the door behind him.
Silence swelled and matched the emptiness in his heart. Only the sailor’s moaning and the crackling of the fire oscillated in the quiet room.
“You blackguard! You touched her!”
The man started blubbering. “Don’t hit me again! It’s not what you think!”
“Then you better begin talking. I’ve a mind to arrest you for assaulting a woman!”
Samuel crouched down and lifted Lee to his feet by his coat. He shoved him onto the table and pounded the mug down so hard the remaining drops of liquid sprayed out.
“You have three seconds!” Samuel thundered, leaning over him.
“All right!” Lee cried. He spoke as if the words couldn’t come out fast enough. “They were alone when Roy and I found them. The older one said their brother would be back for them any minute, but we could tell she was lying about something. A few seconds later the man did arrive and started handling them rough, telling them they needed to get going and to stop cavorting with strangers. When we tried to help the poor girls, the man attacked us.”
Samuel released his hold. That didn’t seem like Thomas, but then again neither did kidnapping. “Go on.”
Lee lifted onto his elbow from his semi-reclined position on the table. His clothes were covered with food. “Roy got out his knife to protect himself, but the man turned it on him. Killed him. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Samuel straightened and thinned his eyes. “This man killed your friend? Was it he that broke your jaw?”
“Yes, sir.” Lee still trembled.
“Is that all? Did you see where they went?”
“No. But that’s not the worst of it.”
Samuel’s stomach dropped to the ground. What could be worse?
“Well?”
“In the ruckus, somehow the girl, the oldest one, was stabbed too.”
His stomach lurched from his feet to his throat. Eliza had been stabbed? Impossible. It was too horrid to be real.
“I don’t believe you.”
“It’s as true as I’m living.”