“I don’t know. But in case you haven’t heard, I am a doctor, so I do get people coming to my home at all hours of the day and night.”
The pounding continued and this time a muted voice behind the door ripped through the air.
“Doctor Smith, this is Captain Samuel Martin. I must speak with you on a very urgent matter. I order you to open this door immediately!”
Thomas’s blood evaporated in his veins. Impossible.
Nathaniel’s face turned pale and his jaw flopped open. “What?” he whispered.
The knocking pounded with the same rhythm of Thomas’s beating heart. Neither of them spoke. Nathaniel motioned wildly for Thomas to stand flush with the end of his large bookcase on the side facing away from the door. Thomas slid his large body in the almost too tiny space between the bookcase and the wall and held his breath. He hoped his shoulder wasn’t visible. The bookcase was deep, but possibly not deep enough.
The pounding escalated, and so did Samuel’s demands. Thomas could hear Nathaniel’s casual sounding footsteps as he walked across the room. As the light of the candle followed him toward the door, Thomas was shrouded in black.
The door creaked open. Thomas closed his eyes and didn’t stop praying, his hands pressed firmly at his sides. The thudding of his pulse rang with such force he feared it echoed clear as cannon fire.
“What took you so long?” From the loud jangle of swords and the sound of stomping boots that entered the house, it was apparent Samuel was not traveling alone and every parcel of air vanished from Thomas’s lungs.
“Forgive me, Captain. How may I be of help to you?” Nathaniel’s voice remain
ed even. The door latched shut.
“I am searching for two woman. Eliza Campbell and her younger sister Katherine. I have reason to believe they have been kidnapped and brought this way. A source tells me that a young woman was stabbed near Sandwich in the past several weeks and I’m afraid she might have been the victim. Being that you’re the nearest physician, I reasoned you might know something about it.” Samuel’s voice grew more intense the longer he spoke.
Thomas practiced breathing in and out as he waited for Nathaniel to answer. How in heaven’s name had Samuel learned all of that? He clenched his teeth. Hearing Eliza’s name come out of Samuel’s mouth made Thomas’s stomach roll.
“This is imperative, Doctor,” Samuel boomed. “I need to know now! I believe she might have been brought here. Did you treat her?”
Nathaniel stayed quiet for another moment, making Thomas’s extremities go numb. His throat seized and needles of panic pierced him from head to foot. Say no, please say no!
“Yes, I did.”
Thomas bit his cheek and stared at the black ceiling above him. Nathaniel, what have you done?
“When? Did she live? Is she still in town? I’m desperate to find her.” The consuming worry in Samuel’s voice gave testament to his feelings for Eliza. Thomas swallowed another lump of anger that lodged in his throat. Eliza was far too angelic to be tangled up with such a man.
The rustling of boots, the rattling of swords, and the hard breathing of the men grew louder. Thomas tried to inch closer to the wall but there wasn’t any way for him to fit any more snug than he already did. If Samuel came much closer . . .
“Go on, Doctor!”
“Yes, I treated her not long after it happened.”
Samuel muttered a curse. “And?”
“She did live, for a few hours. Undoubtedly you know how grave stomach wounds can be. It’s almost impossible to survive such trauma.”
A dreadful silence followed. “I don’t believe it. It can’t actually have been Eliza.” Another long silence. “Can you tell me . . .” Samuel’s voice cracked. “Can you tell me what she looked like? Did she have any features that make her stand out to you? I have to know if that woman really was Miss Campbell.”
“She had brown hair and brown eyes. I do remember she had a small mole on her left cheekbone, but nothing else stands out to me. She was extraordinarily beautiful.”
“Oh dear God, it was Eliza.” Samuel’s boots shuffled against the wood floor. “Was there anyone traveling with her? Was she alone?”
“No. Her sister was traveling with her. And there was a man, he claimed to be their brother.”
Thomas looked up, biceps flexing. Did he have to reveal everything?
“What did this man and the sister do? Did they bury her here?” Samuel’s dark voice was laced with venom.
“No. I don’t know where they went, but they took her with them.”