The village was as quiet as a grave as everyone, both villagers and gypsies, sat or stood around the campfire, exchanging nervous glances. The only people who weren't present were George and his daughter Ruth. They had taken the injured Julianne into their cottage and were attempting to heal her wound. Everyone was waiting anxiously for the verdict on the condition of Julianne and were hoping and praying that she would survive.

Ryan was beside himself, pacing back and forth in a frantic state, worrying himself sick about Julianne. Every time he closed his eyes, that horrible scene flashed before his eyes. He could still hear the bang of the pistol and the haunting scream that echoed from Julianne's lips. Off to the side, Keith was sitting alone, wringing his hands together, his face pale with guilt. For the hundredth time, he berated himself for being so thoughtless and callous. The thought of having shot Julianne, and the fact that he could likely be responsible for her death, was more than he could handle. Caroline was standing directly between the two of them, looking from one man to the other. She was torn between her feelings for her brother and the highwayman. She wanted to comfort Ryan and let him know that everything would be alright. But she also wanted to comfort Keith and assure him that it wasn't entirely his fault. She continued to look between them, somewhat helplessly. Who was she supposed to go to?

Suddenly the door to George's cottage flew open and out he came, followed by his daughter. Everyone rose to their feet and looked at them expectantly, hoping that whatever news they had was good. "Well?" asked Nicole, a young dark-haired woman who was a close friend of Julianne. "Is she going to be alright?"

George smiled reassuringly. "She's doing very well. We managed to get the bullet out and it seems no serious damage has been done. She's going to be just fine."

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Caroline's hand flew to her heart. "Thank God she's alright."

"No thanks to your brother" Keith muttered.

Everyone looked in his direction. "What's that supposed to mean?" Ryan demanded.

Keith rose from his seat and approached the Gypsy King until they were face to face, glaring at each other. "If you and your band of thieves hadn't attacked us, none of this would have happened and Julianne wouldn't have been hurt."

"I'm not the one who shot her" Ryan reminded him.

"But you're the one who started this fight. You're the one who's always causing trouble around here, stealing from us and wrecking our homes!"

"You're one to talk, Highwayman!"

"Oh, for goodness' sake! Will you stop it?!"

Both men turned to look at Caroline who was frowning at them in annoyance. "Honestly, you two are as bad as each other! Need I remind you, someone nearly died BECAUSE of your fighting. And yet here you are, still keeping up with your quarrel! This has to stop!"

Ryan stared at his sister in surprise, which really was saying something because the Gypsy King was hardly ever surprised and when he was, it was usually because of something serious. Caroline had always been a fiery woman but she had never been this angry before, especially with him. But, regardless, there was no denying that Caroline was right and as Ryan looked at Keith, it was clear that he was thinking the same thing.

George clapped a hand on each of their shoulders. "She's right, lads. It's time we put old grudges behind us and moved on. This has gone far enough."

Everyone exchanged looks and nodded, giving murmurs of agreement as they realized that they were all equally responsible for the events that had just occurred. If only they hadn't been fighting in the first place, none of this would have happened. Both George and Caroline were right. This had to stop before someone really was killed. It was time to forget about the wrongdoings of their forefathers that had brought about this feud and start anew.