Chapter 9

They said no word to the landlord. They drank his ale instead.
But they gagged his daughter, and bound her, to the foot of her narrow bed.
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side!
There was death at every window;
And hell at one dark window;
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.

Isabella Cullen, Boston, March 1770

I groaned as I wiped my mouth with a handkerchief, blindly grasping for the cup of water to wash away the foul taste of my stomach contents. I pushed the chamber pot away when I was done, grasping my knees to stand upright. One hand against my stomach and the other against my damp brow, I closed my eyes and rested my body against the wall. Illness had been spreading around the community as of late, and I feared I had caught the same bug. Luckily, I was spared the dreadful fever, but my belly was the one unfortunate casualty. For the last few days, even the most subtle smells would set me off, and I would have to drop what I was doing and run for the door. What's more, my bones ached something fierce and I fell into bed each night almost completely depleted of energy. Charlie had offered to send for the doctor, but I waved him off. Money was tighter than ever and whatever I had did not seem life-threatening. The lack of fever was a good sign and I reassured Charlie that with time and some rest, I would be cured.

I sighed as I glanced towards the open window. Although it was cold and there were still patches of snow covering the ground, it helped air out the sick smell. Besides, it gave me a better view of the moonlit road. Edward was coming tonight, and I would have to tell him to keep his distance until I felt better, lest he fall ill as well.

I closed my eyes as I thought of Edward. After the confrontation with Jacob, I didn't see him for two weeks that felt like ages, but I wanted to be sure that he was safe. We slowly started seeing each other more and more after that and finally, this month, everything seemed to be back to normal.

With Jacob however, normal still evaded our grasp. There were days when I felt like he was my old friend again. We cracked jokes with each other and teased mercilessly. But, whenever I tried to bring up Edward, he turned cold and silent, and so I stopped trying to force the subject. I knew that when Jacob was ready to talk about it, he would. When I started spending time with Edward again, I thought he might have wanted to, but strangely, I'd never be able to find him in the morning when I came back. He simply disappeared, often materializing later in the day as if a ghost. By the morrow, however, he would be back to his old self. Sometimes I would still catch that intense look in his eyes that made me so uncomfortable before, but those moments were becoming fewer and farther between, and I hoped that it meant Jacob was finally moving past his ill-founded infatuation. At least, he never spoke of it to me again.

My stomach feeling more settled now, I pushed myself away from the wall and headed downstairs to help Charlie close up the inn. He had barred me from working during the day, when we had more customers, but I felt guilty about letting my share of the work fall onto Molly's shoulders, so he allowed me to help him finish off each day instead.

Hearing me come down the stairs, Charlie turned to look at me, concern in his eyes.

"How are you feeling, Isabella?" he asked.

I smiled reassuringly at him, "Better. Ready to work."

Charlie frowned at me, "Maybe you shouldn't be – "

I interrupted him, "No, Charlie. I think some activity would be good for me. I can't just waste away in bed all day."

Charlie acquiesced to my logic and we worked side by side to wipe down the tables and clear away the empty tankards. It was quite late in the evening already and all the patrons had left to go to their beds. It was actually quite peaceful and my favorite time of day.

With a start, I realized that tonight, for the first time in more than half a year, there were no Redcoats under our roof. It was surprising, but I wasn't going to question this most welcome change. I recalled my promise to myself and I glanced furtively at Charlie, who was busy mopping the floor now. I had not a clue how to begin a conversation like this, but I figure since I had waited so long, there was no wrong way to start as long as I did start.

He turned to look at me inquiringly when I called to him, but before I could say anything else –

BAM! I almost jumped out of my skin as the door to the inn flew open, the strong oak board that served as our lock splintering with the force of the impact. My heart stopped as I registered a regiment of twelve red-coated soldiers traipsing ice and mud onto the newly cleaned floor.

Charlie's face turned a dark brick red as he registered the troops and the damage they caused.

He drew himself up to his full height as he spluttered in outrage, "What is the meaning of this?"

They didn't answer him, and I couldn't hold back my scream as I watched the soldier in the front reel back his arm and strike Charlie across the face with a sickening crack and thud as Charlie tumbled to the ground.

I ran over to him, turning him over, but he was out cold. I turned to the soldier who'd hit him, furious.

"You bastard! He's done nothing to you! No! You stay away from him," I cried as the soldier reached for him again. I covered Charlie's body with my own, but the soldier ripped me away, knocking the breath out of me as I hit the leg of a table. When I turned back, he had Charlie tied up to a chair, his arms behind him and his legs bound tightly.

A face drifted into view and I recoiled in horror as I recognized him from another night many months ago when a pair of red-coat soldiers dared to mar the peace of the inn.

"Hello, dearie," he smiled at me gleefully, "we meet again."

"What the devil is going on down here?" sounded from above us.

I looked up to see a crowd of onlookers at the banister. The commotion had roused the guests. Before I fully realized what was happening, the soldier in front of me discharged his weapon into the man who had spoken. The unfortunate fellow slumped against the banister, his arms hanging limply over it.

I heard a scream that was not my own. Molly was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, face white in terror.

"James!" another soldier reprimanded, "That's not what we were ordered to do."

James ignored him as he turned his pistol towards poor Molly, who looked like she was about to faint.

"Wench! Go get us some ale," he commanded haughtily.

Molly stood frozen in place, eyes wide and staring.

"Molly," I whispered, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to stay calm and keep my wits about me, "Go. Do as they say." I didn't want to hear that pistol firing again while it was pointed at her or anyone else. Molly turned on her heel and hurried back into the kitchen. Through the door, I could hear the clanking of tankards being set under the barrels.

James smirked as he turned his attention back to the frightened guests.

"If you know what's good for you, you would leave this establishment at once," he laughed humorlessly. At these words, the little crowd scattered, murmuring in fear and disbelief. They streamed past us out the door, hardly daring to look back. By this time, Molly had returned holding twelve foaming tankards of ale, filled to the brim. Her hands were shaking as she set them down on the table, backing away after she'd done so.

James didn't look at her, eyes still trained on me, when he said, "Good. Now go."

Molly stumbled her way out and her sobs drifted in through the open door as her running footsteps disappeared down the road. I couldn't hope she'd bring back any help. Who would go against the King's men? They were outside the law.

I lifted my chin to look James square in the eye.

"You've gotten what you wanted. You've had your fun. So drink your ale and leave us in peace," I ordered stiffly trying to sound less frightened than I felt.

James laughed, a sound that grated my ears, "Oh but dearie, we haven't gotten what we wanted yet."

I yelped at his vice-like grip on my arm as he dragged me up to a standing position, crushing me to his side. He put his lips to my ear and I shuddered at his foul breath which stunk of tobacco, old meat, and ale.

"You see," he whispered, "what we want is…"

He paused as he brushed his hand across my neck.

"That dashing highwayman you've been letting between your sweet legs," he finally finished, his voice dripping with relish.

My heart stopped. No. No no no no no. Edward was coming. Tonight. I had to warn him.

A strength that was more than my own powered me as I pushed James aside, ripping myself free of his grip. He stumbled away, surprised as I made a break for the open door.

"Stop her!" I heard the soldier's shouts behind me. I made it out the door and sprinted, running as fast as my legs would allow. I heard the heavy pounding of boots behind me and I spurred myself on faster, breaking into the trees now and weaving in and out of them as I tried my best to lose my pursuers.

I fell face first to the ground when a hand gripped my ankle. I kicked at it, screaming, but he caught my other leg as well, pulling me towards him.

I tried to flip over to my back so I could scratch at his face, but he pressed me down into the cold ground, causing twigs to snap under me, the sharp ends piercing through my dress and into my skin.

I froze when I felt a cold hand sneak up under my skirts to grab the waist of my petticoat.

"Ohhhh," James groaned, "please give me a reason to –"

Mercifully, he was interrupted by another sharp voice: "James. You can have your fun later. It's almost time. We don't want to miss him."

My blood ran cold. They knew. They knew he was coming tonight. How?

James hissed in irritation, but he obeyed, hauling me up from the ground. I struggled against his grasp, almost breaking away again before the other soldier got hold of my other arm and I was beat. Together, they marched me out of the woods, the inn appearing into sight again.

"Isabella?!" an incredulous voice sounded. Jacob. I opened my mouth to tell him that they were here for Edward, hoping that Jacob would be able to reach him, when –

"I thought you said you weren't going to hurt her!" he protested furiously, and the words shriveled on my lips as the truth of the night dawned on me. Oh Jacob, I trusted you.

James laughed mirthlessly, "Oh, we won't. Much."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Jacob start towards me, but out of nowhere, three Red-coats jumped out and held him back as he howled after me.

I didn't have time to dwell on Jacob or what he had done. I was furiously wracking my brain, trying to find a way out of this nightmare, a way to warn Edward of what was lying in wait for him.

Charlie was still unmoving on the chair when we entered, but it relieved me to see the slow even rise and fall of his chest, letting me know that while hurt, he was still alive. They dragged me up the stairs and paused on the landing, looking up and down the hallway.

The other soldier next to me pointed a finger at my door, "It must be that one. The dog pointed out a window near there where he said Cullen would appear."

They kicked open my door, and threw me onto the floor. As soon as I hit the boards, I was scrambling to get up again, but a hard boot caught me in the belly, making me cough as I crumpled back down to the ground, a sharp pain shooting straight through to my back. They dragged me by my arms to the foot of my bed, yanking them behind me as they roughly bound my wrists together with rope. My ankles they bound together too before they dragged them around to turn me to face the open window. I had a clear view of the road ahead, the moon reflecting off of it so that it seemed like a shining silver river, one that would bring Edward to his death tonight.

I shivered as James brought his face a hair's breadth from mine.

His lips were curled into a sneer as he said, "Oh, I am going to have so much fun with you when this is all over."

Rearing my head back, I spat in his face.

"Go to hell, you bloody bast –" My words were cut off, my head snapping to the side as James struck me. I tasted blood as my teeth cut into my cheek from the impact.

"James," another dark haired soldier snapped, "Quit playing around and get into position. If we muck this up, the Captain will have our hides for it."

I felt something hard at my side as I struggled against my bonds, screaming and stomping my bound feet against the floor, hoping that if I made as much noise as possible, Edward would be able to hear from the open window and turn away to safety.

The next blow had me gasping and coughing again, and a dirty rag was stuffed into my mouth, muffling my screams. I felt fingers grasp my face, forcing me to turn forward and see James squatting in front of me.

His eyes glinted as he threatened, "Be quiet or I'll gag you with something a little more… substantial." I felt sick as his eyes flicked down to the front of his breeches, but his words had the intended effect. He tied the hard object to my side and when he was done, he patted my head as if I were a lap dog.

"Now keep good watch for us, dearie, and put on a sweet face. Your highwayman will be here soon and you don't want him to see you looking unhappy to see him, do you?"

He chuckled darkly as he turned away to join his comrades by the window. My heart felt as if it were about to burst as with them, I strained to hear any sounds of an approaching horseman. I hoped against hope that by some miracle, Edward wouldn't come tonight, but I knew that this was impossible. Edward always kept his promises. His parting words echoed in my panicked brain: I'll come for you, Isabella. Always. Though hell should bar the way.

Minutes seemed to pass like hours as we waited there. The redcoats still as statues, their muskets at the ready. Then:

Tlot-tlot

My wild eyes scanned the room, looking for any sign that they had heard.

Tlot-tlot

My heart raced as the sound pierced through me. I knew what it was and what it meant. Edward was coming. Unknowingly, he was headed straight for his doom. The cowards were planning on shooting him down without warning.

Tlot-tlot

The sound gave me renewed vigor as I struggled quietly against my bonds, the rope burning me as it chafed against my skin.

Tlot-tlot

My tears were flowing freely now, soaking into my gag as I desperately tried to wriggle out of the rope. Something wet and warm dripped down the side of my hands. I prayed that it would help provide some assistance in slipping off the rope, but it was sticky and it only made it harder to break out from my bonds.

Tlot-tlot

My wide eyes saw one soldier nudge another as they raised their muskets. There was no Edward on the horizon yet, but the sound of his horse was unmistakable. I was in a frenzy.

Tlot-tlot

The object at my side fell a little bit to rest against my ribs as it was more loosely bound than I was. I realized that it was a musket they had tied next to me, in a cruel imitation of the soldiers' position at the window, their own muskets by their sides.

Tlot-tlot

I used the tread of my boots to try and rotate myself to the side. I had an idea but I had to work quickly if I wanted to save Edward. If I could only reach…

Tlot-tlot

My finger looped around the trigger of the gun. I had it! But the barrel was still digging into my ribs. I tried to wiggle the musket to point away from me but it was hopelessly lodged.

Tlot-tlot

Good God! I turned to look out the window. Time was running out. The sound of Edward's horse was getting louder, nearer, and I knew I only had seconds left to warn him.

Tlot-tlot

I heard the small clicks of hammers being released from four muskets. I closed my eyes, whispering a silent prayer. I knew what I had to do. I had to save him. No matter what.

Tlot-tlot.

Opening my eyes again, although my vision was blurry from my tears, I could just make out the top of Edward's hat as he made his way closer. The tears kept streaming down my face as I willed him to turn around, but the sounds of the hoof beats didn't stop. The images of the future we had dreamed of together flitted through my mind's eye and I sobbed to think that they would never come to fruition. But as painful as that thought was, it was unbearable to think of Edward's life being snuffed out when there was something I could do to stop it. I knew I would never be able to live with myself afterward.

I'm so sorry, Edward. I love you so much. I love you. I love you. I love you. I willed my thoughts to reach him as my finger traced the cold metal of the trigger.

The sound of it seemed to crack open the night sky. The last thing I heard before darkness overtook me was the startled, confused cry of the soldiers and the distant whinny of the rider's horse.