Chapter 17
Boston
Sunday 14th December, 1873
Lt. Rabb finally arrived at the hospital, together with two of his soldiers and Mr. Tyner. Elisabeth and Rebecca were still waiting for him.
"Mrs. Quinn, sorry I had you waiting" he said as he approached them.
"It's all right Lieutenant. Any news on who tried to kill him" asked Elisabeth.
"This man saw everything and he says he'll be able to identify the three men" replied Lt. Rabb.
"Three? They were three" Elisabeth was stunned"But who can they be? You have an idea Rebecca"
But Rebecca didn't answer. She was lost looking into Mr. Tyner's eyes and he was lost doing the same thing. For the first time in their lives, they knew they were falling in love.
"Rebecca, I'm talking to you" insisted Elisabeth, realising why her daughter wasn't listening to her.
"What? Uhm, sorry, I got distracted. What is it you said" Rebecca answered, waking up from her day dreaming.
"Oh never mind. So, what do you intend to do Lt. Rabb" inquired Elisabeth.
"For now guard the room and see if any suspect tries to approach Mr. Sully. If he wakes up we'll ask him to identify who tried to kill him, and if he doesn't survive, we'll have to count on Mr. Tyner's help"
"Good. So, may we leave here now? Or would you still need us to stay" asked Elisabeth.
"No, you may go Mrs. Quinn. If we need anything we'll inform you at your home" said Lt. Rabb and proceeded giving orders to his two soldiers so as they guard the room. They left the group and went in front of Sully's door.
"I'll leave now if you excuse me. Mr. Tyner, please remain at home during the next few days so we can find you immediately if we need you" said Lt. Rabb as he nodded to the three of them and left.
"I'll go and tell Mat we're leaving" said Elisabeth.
She left Rebecca and Mr. Tyner alone, and entered Sully's room.
"You're his sister" asked Mr. Tyner referring to Sully.
"No, he's my sister's husband. I'm Rebecca Quinn, pleased to meet you" she replied as they shook hands.
"I'm Jason Tyner, pleased to met you too, even if not for nice reasons."
"I'm glad we met, whatever the reason Mr. Tyner."
"Oh, please call me Jason."
"And you call me Rebecca" she said as the door of Sully's room opened and Elisabeth came out"I hope we'll meet again Jason."
"I'll make sure we do Rebecca" he bent to kiss her hand.
Then Elisabeth and Rebecca left and went outside where Mark was still waiting for them in the carriage. Elisabeth didn't ask Rebecca anything on why she was distracted but just said"He's the right man"
Boston
Monday 15th December, 1873
Alex descended the stairs towards the kitchen, where her parents were already having breakfast. She had trouble sleeping due to last evening's events.
"How did it go yesterday" asked Roberta, Alex's mother while her daughter sat down on her usual chair at the breakfast table.
"It went fine. I had a great time" replied Alex lifting up her left hand to show them the engagement ring.
"You accepted to marry him" shouted James, happily rising from his chair to hug his daughter.
"He finally managed to ask? Oh my, this is the best Christmas present you could have given me my dear" said Roberta as her husband sat down once again.
"Yes, he asked me after dinner, and obviously I said 'yes'"
"Great! Bring him here one of these days for dinner so we meet him before he goes back to Colorado Springs for Christmas" pressed Roberta.
"I will" replied Alex trying to sound happy, but she couldn't hide the sad expression on her face.
"What's the problem Alex dear? You look very sad for someone who's just got engaged! Maybe you're not happy, and you don't want to marry him anymore" asked James.
"Yet you told us he was the right man for you since the first day you met him" commented Roberta.
"No, it's not that" explained Alex alarmed"accepting to marry Matthew was the best decision I took in all my life! I'm just worried about his father"
"Oh don't worry! Bring him to dinner as well, since he's here for a few days" laughed Roberta.
"Mother, I'm not worried about dinner! Mat's father was shot yesterday by three men, and the doctors say he will not survive" said Alex.
"Oh my God" Roberta stopped eating and covered her mouth with her hand.
"How do you know? Don't tell me you were there" inquired James.
"No I was not there" said Alex.
She went on telling them all that had happened, from when she had seen Sully's body lying on the ground, till she had left the hospital very late at night. However she avoided mentioning the intimate moments she'd had with Matthew.
As she finished speaking, she looked at the clock and realised she was late.
"I have to go now! I don't have much time left to visit Mat as promised, and I also don't want to be late for school" she said as she rose from her chair"I will not come home directly after school, and not because I'm going for the usual cup of tea, but because I'm going to hospital again! In fact I may not come back till very late after dinner! After all, I know the laws questioned in tomorrow's exam by heart and I need to stay with him, now more than ever"
"Give our deepest sympathy to Mat and his family. I'll see you at home when you arrive tonight. Yesterday you told me not to wait for you, and it's what I did, but today I'll wait, even if you come back very late" said Roberta.
"Me too! However I'll see you at University" James rose from his chair and hugged his daughter goodbye.
"Thanks to both of you! Goodbye,' she her hand, took her coat and bag and left home.
After spending a few minutes at the hospital with Matthew, she hurriedly went to school, where Mary and Tom were waiting for her and Matthew to arrive.
"They're late today" Mary was worried.
"Maybe they both had a restless night" Tom laughed as Alex appeared and approached them on the stairs.
"Here she comes" Mary pointed at Alex amongst the crowd of students.
"But... where is Mat? Don't tell me they had a fight" asked Tom.
"No! Something must have happened" said Mary as Alex reached them.
"Good morning. Li..." started Alex, but was she immediately interrupted.
"... Good morning. But where is Mat" Mary inquired.
"He's a..." Alex tried to speak but was interrupted again.
"Don't tell me you had a fight" repeated Tom, but Mary grabbed Alex's left hand to show the ring to Tom.
"You see! She's engaged! I told you..." started Mary, but now Alex had had enough.
"WILL YOU LET ME SPEAK" she shouted.
Mary and Tom both stop arguing and look astonished at Alex.
"Sorry Al. Something happened... right" asked Mary.
"Mat's father was shot last night, and doctors say he won't live" Alex cried to the others' horror.
"Oh my God! Poor Matthew" said Mary.
"How do you know this" Tom was curious.
So Alex told them the same story she had told her parents. Both her friends remained shocked in front of her, and Mary was now hugging Tom tightly, as the horrible reality sank in.
"Did... did you go to hospital this morning" Tom stuttered.
"Yeah, I just came back! His father's condition is still the same. Mat's grandmother sent a telegram this morning to her family in Colorado Springs so they come to Boston immediately! Poor Mat's emotionally destroyed" said Alex, tears starting to form in he eyes, as she remembered the state in which she had found her fiancé that morning.
Tom turned to Mary and asked"Would you mind if I don't go for our usual cup of coffee today after University? I'd like to visit Mat at hospital."
"It's ok for me! I'll come with you to hospital" added Mary.
"Then wait for me after the exam because I'm going to hospital as well" replied Alex.
"Oh, I don't think I'll manage to concentrate on the exam today" sighed Mary.
"You're not alone in that my dear" said Tom as the school bell rang.
Tom and Mary started to go up the stairs and into the University. Alex went to follow them, but a strong hand grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the stairs into a hidden side road nearby.
"Good morning, Alexandra."
The man lifted her left hand to kiss it, and also, as usual, to check if the most feared ring had appeared on her hand. To his dismay, today a ring was indeed there.
"What do you want again John Smith? I told you to leave me alone" shouted Alex upon recognising him.
"I see you have a fiancé! Who is he" he asked looking into her eyes.
"Matthew Sully" she replied, to his shock.
"You have agreed to marry him, even after seeing what a weakling of a father he has. Like father, like son, you know" he smirked.
"What does his father have to do with you? And besides, he's not a weakling, even if he was nearly killed last night" she asked getting afraid.
"What do you mean 'nearly killed'? I thought I had killed him" he shouted, realising too late he had revealed the truth accidentally.
"You were one of those three men? Oh my, but why? Now, I'm sure Lt. Rabb will be glad I've found one of his wanted men" she said in tears.
She started to leave the side road in order to head back to University, but he was still grabbing both her hands tightly. He lifted them above her head and pinned her against the wall.
"If you dare tell something about our conversation to the army or anyone else, I'll kill your fiancé" he hissed against her ear.
"You can't do that" she went on crying.
"Sure I can! Just as I did to his father" he replied laughing while still pinning her against the wall so as she couldn't move.
"But why? What have they done to you? Especially his father" Alex couldn't understand.
"Oh well, his father was just a warning for Matthew so he leaves you alone, and Matthew, well, he took you away from me" he said.
"I was never yours, and never will be" she glared.
"Oh sure you'll be mine my dear! Very soon" he whispered.
He pressed his body hard against hers and started kissing her fiercely. She could feel the bulge in his trousers pressing against the inner of her thighs and she started praying he would let her go and not go further. However, he only deepened his kiss and she could do nothing about it. He wanted her, but not at that time, not on that day, not in that place. He had other plans for that!
"Pl... ease... stop" she begged between his disgusting kisses.
He and looked into her eyes once again, while still keeping himself pressed hard against her.
"I won't make love to you today my dear. I have other plans for that, but you'll soon know them, don't worry! First I remove your dear husband to be from your life, and then... you'll be mine... only MINE" he said as he kissed her once again.
"Please leave Mat alone" she pleaded in tears.
"I'll leave him alone, only if you promise you'll not remain his fiancée any more and if you promise you'll marry me as soon as possible! I wouldn't touch a hair of his if you promise that! But if you'll keep on being stubborn and don't accept to marry me till, let's say...the end of school in June, he'll suffer more then than his father is suffering now" he replied.
"I will NEVER abandon Matthew, and NEVER will marry you."
"Do as you wish. If at the end of June you haven't taken off that ring and put on mine, you'll be sorry" he kissed her once more and left.
She tried to arrange her clothes and hair, and left the side road back to University. As she started going up the stairs, she saw Mary looking around at the top of the stairs so she went to her.
"Where have you been? The exam is about t... Oh my God, what happened to you" asked Mary alarmed as she saw her best friend's swollen lips and tangled hair.
"I'll tell you about it on our way to hospital" Alex replied as she hurried Mary into the University.
"And also about yesterday's proposal" Mary added teasingly, not even imagining that Alex had just been on the verge of being raped.
"Yeah, sure" Alex smiled, happy that her friend was suspecting nothing and so could concentrate on the exam.
"Oh, but Tom will be present. You want to talk in front of him" asked Mary.
"Hmm, we'll just tell him to walk a few steps ahead of us! Let's go" said Alex as they entered the examination room just in time.
Philadelphia
Monday 15th December, 1873
The Post Officer had already knocked on the door twice, and finally a young lady opened it for him.
"Good morning Miss."
"Good morning officer. How come you're here so early" she asked worriedly.
"I have an urgent telegram to deliver to Mrs. Colleen Cook. Is it you Miss"
"No... uhm... it's my... sister" Angela lied, just as Colleen had done last time an urgent telegram had to be delivered!
"In that case, here's the telegram. Sorry to have awaken you so early Miss, but we received the telegram upon opening the office this morning" he said as he left and Angela closed the door behind him.
She had awoken before Colleen that morning, and was already dressed and ready to leave. She took the telegram and went upstairs. She knocked on the bathroom door where Colleen was having a bath.
"Col, there's an urgent telegram for you" she shouted from behind the door.
"Open it and read it to me please" Colleen replied from inside the bathroom.
"OK" said Angela as she tore open the envelope.
Urgent Telegram
Dear Colleen,
I'm sorry to tell you that your father has been shot last night and the doctors say he won't live. Please catch the first train to Boston and come to Peter Walker's Hospital! I've already informed your mother,
your grandmother,
Elisabeth Quinn
Mrs. Colleen Cook
Apartment 7, Mill Street
Philadelphia
"Oh my God" Angela was about to faint. She sat down on the ground, resting against the bathroom door.
"What's in it? Oh come on! Don't be shy if it's from Andrew" said Colleen teasingly.
"Col, you... you'd better come out and read it yourself" replied Angela, rising from the floor.
"Oh Angie, come on" Colleen laughed as she started dressing.
"Colleen, come and read it yourself"
Colleen was alarmed now. Angela hadn't called her by her full name for a very long time, and she knew something must have happened. Angela was never at a loss of words, so she must be shocked. She finished dressing and opened the door.
"What happened" she asked her friend.
Angela handed her the telegram.
"NO" she shouted as she fell on her knees and Angela went to her side.
"I'm sorry" was all Angela managed to say.
"It can't be! No... not my father" Colleen started to sobb uncontrollably against her friend's chest as they held each other tight.
They stayed like that for a long time, each lost in their own thoughts.
"We have to go immediately to Boston, Col" said Angela looking at Colleen, who was trying to dry her eyes.
"What do you mean 'we'? You have to stay here and sit for the exam" Colleen replied as she rose from the floor and went into her bedroom to gather some clothes.
"I'm coming with you! You thought I'd let you go alone to Boston in this state of mind? Forget it. I'm coming with you. And besides, he was taken to my father's hospital! Finish getting ready and we'll leave immediately! In the meantime I'll go to the Station and buy two tickets on the next train to Boston. As soon as you're ready, meet me at the station" said Angela as she started descending the stairs.
"And you don't need to pack anything" asked Colleen upon seeing her friend heading to the door with only her bag in hand.
"You forgot I LIVE in Boston? I have more things there than I have here dear" she smiled as she left the house.
Colleen tried to start packing some things to take with her, but she couldn't concentrate. She kept on imagining her father dying in a hospital bed, and her not arriving soon enough to talk to him one last time. She had so many things to tell him! She just grabbed some money, put on her coat, hat and gloves, and left the house after Angela.
End of Chapter 17
