To Defend A Duke

Chapter 10

The gunshot slices through the air and Evelyn silently screams, falling to the floor and covering her head with her hands. Her blood races, and her heart pound violently. The shot sounded like it had come from just behind her head. She squeezes her eyes shut and her body shakes on the wet grass. She lifts her head slightly and her eyes are drawn to the couple under the tree. The woman who was leaning against the tree is slowly sliding down the trunk until she flops to the ground, completely lifeless. Evelyn covers her mouth to stop herself from crying out, even from her distance away, it is clear to see that that woman is dead. 

The man steps away from her and looks around, panicked. He scans the surrounding area and she ducks her head down. She watches him turn on his heel and flee the scene, he sprints away from the woman and around the far side of the house. Evelyn can feel the moisture from the grass soaking through her dress and settling on her skin but she doesn't move a muscle. The shock and fear keep her paralysed on the ground. Once she has regained control of her shaking she sits up and tries to calm her breathing but there is a rustling behind her and she freezes. There's a louder scuffling and then a figure rises from behind a taller bush.

 She shrinks into her bush but luckily they don't see her as they move towards the body. The figure moves swiftly and silently like a panther, watching every leaf and twig that moves around them, ready to pounce. Evelyn watches, transfixed. Her body alive with terror and excitement. The figure takes something from their jacket and lies it by the body. They look around once more and then scarper, the night swallows them up quickly. 

Evelyn gets to her feet and moves out from behind her bush, she staggers towards the body. In the distance, she can hear the shouts of a number of people. They must have heard the gunshot. Her mind is foggy and she falls to the floor,  staring at the blank face of the dead woman. Her eyes are open, glassy and unseeing and her ruby red mouth is parted in slight surprise. Her hands cradle the hole in her chest, the blood pooling from the fatal wound has spread over the expensive material of her bodice and is dripping into the grass. The sight of the dark scarlet blood covering the dead woman causes bile to rise in Evelyn's throat but she forces it down as she crawls forward, her legs too weak to support her. The mysterious object that lies by the body gleams in the moonlight, it taunts her with a shiny barrel. Her eyes widen as they take in the pistol. Two neatly engraved initials can be seen on the varnished handle. 

V.B 

Her hand hovers above the weapon, shaking. Kneeling on the grass, she lets out a small sob as indecision wrecks her mind, she wipes the tears from her face and takes several shuddering breaths. Loud voices float from not far away and she drops her hand to her side. Tears drip down her nose and splash onto the ground. 

The voices are just around the corner when Evelyn picks up the pistol and sprints away. Her feet hit the ground hard as she runs. The pistol in her hands seems to burn into her skin, setting her palms on fire and causing a prickling sensation to run up her arms. 

She skids to a halt as she rounds a corner and catches sight of a group of men, all drivers, sitting around a small fire. She manages to pull herself back to the cover of the trees before anyone spots her. She places her back to the tree and looks up at the sky. The sky is a deep navy with tiny pinpricks of light winking at her, the only witnesses to her secret. She pants and hugs the pistol to her chest, her mind works furiously. The drivers laugh and talk around the fire, beer bottles are clutched in their hands. 

Holding her breath she maps out her path around the fire through the cover of trees. She steps from one to the other until she is at the front side of the house. She edges along the house, sticking against the stone until her aunt's carriage comes into sight. She dashes forward, yanks the door open and throws herself inside. On her knees in the carriage, she looks around for a place to stash the pistol. She runs her free hand along every surface, searching for a small space, she groans in desperation.