The Adventures of the Crimson Blade 12

The Governor's Mansion, an Hour Later

Elizabeth shivered as she walked through the rooms. The quiet in the Governor’s Mansion seemed almost unearthly this early in the morning. Her footsteps echoed on polished wooden floors. Where is he? She couldn't find Scott or Pruitt anywhere. She ducked into corners or alcoves, avoiding the guards stationed at the doors.

She finally made her way into the ballroom. It was dark and deserted in the soft morning sunlight. Strange shadows played games with the breezes that blew through the doors. All of the elegant trappings of the night of the ball had been replaced with white sheets and coverings that ruffled in the breeze.

That was when she heard his voice. “Why, hello there, Miss Roberts. I knew you'd come.” He slid out of the shadows, resplendent in his dark green and gold suit of the latest fashion and cut.

Elizabeth pulled out the sword she'd filched from one of Pavla's men. “Where's Scott?”

Pruitt oozed his greasy way over to her. “How droll. Now, Miss Roberts, why don't you put down that little toy, and we can discuss this like civilized people?”

Elizabeth held the sword as close to his chest as she could manage. “Not until I see Scott Sherwood.”

“Such fire in your soul! You have amazing spirit, my pretty one. You'll be wonderful in our bed on our wedding night.” He reached out to stroke her chestnut hair.

She shoved his hand aside. “I'd never marry you in a million years!” She lunged at him, but he easily ducked away.

“I suppose it's your precious ne-er-do-well that you'd rather have in your bed.”

She glared at him. “Whom I choose to love is none of your affair, Governor.”

“Oh, but it is.” His grin turned feral. “Your beloved knave belongs to me now. I own him. I'm already negotiating with salt mines in Massachusetts that could use a strong, hardy back like his. It's what a criminal like him is good for.”

“He's not a criminal!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “Well, all right, he is, but still, he doesn't deserve this! He's sweet and funny and loyal. He cracked at least two codes that brought down spy rings and saved my life twice. Even when I ignored him, even when I was upset with him over...over him embezzling that money, he stayed by my side.”

“How sickening.” He circled her. “How much do you know about him?”

Elizabeth stepped away from him. “Enough.”

“Do you?” He chuckled. “But why doesn't he tell you himself?” He turned to two of the guards who had followed him into the room. “Gentlemen, bring my new personal servant to speak to my bride-to-be. I think she'll find what he has to say quite interesting.”

Elizabeth watched in horror as the men dragged a ragged figure into the room, struggling wildly. Almost his entire upper torso was bound with heavy chains. His wrists were in thick manacles. A chain had been looped around his neck. They shoved him him forward hard. Too hard. He toppled to his hands and knees between her and Pruitt.

“Scott!” Elizabeth dropped to his side. His red shirt and black trousers were in tatters. She didn't like the look of the bruises on his arms and shoulders. “Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”

“Not them. The bruises were from Pavla's boys earlier.” He put a hand on his cheek. “Lass, ye a sight for sore eyes.” He frowned. “But I wish ye hadn't come. I don't want you getting hurt.”

She took his hand. “Maybe you're not the only one who can take care of themselves.”

“Oh lass,” Scott barely breathed. “I love ye so! I've loved you from the moment I first saw you on the road. I'd never seen a woman who stood up to me like that.”

Elizabeth nodded. “That was you who tried to rob my carriage when I first came here. I thought I knew that watch from somewhere.” She grinned. “Not to mention, you said 'Oh, would you look at the time?' to me then, too. You really need to use that line less often.” Her smile fell as she recalled another bit of information. “Did you really come to the inn because of me? Was it true, what you said about being in Boston and the letter?”

“I was in Boston on...other business, but yes, I did want to get to know you better. Victor's letter gave me the chance I'd been waiting for.” His own affable grin fell. “But I lost that chance through my own duplicity. After the day I was banished to the kitchen, you turned into a block of ice, and I couldn't get through to you...and then Victor came home, and you seemed to care far more about him than me. I thought I'd never hold you again, never look into your eyes, never...” he leaned over her... “kiss you..”

Her lips were about to meet his when a set of oily, well-manicured fingers yanked her away. Pruitt narrowed his eyes. “This treacle is making me ill.” He yanked roughly on the chain around Scott's neck, tightening it. “Why don't you really tell her the truth, Sherwood?” He yanked it again, whipping Scott's head back. “Or should I say, O'Rourke? Tell her who you really are.”

Pruitt let Scott's head go long enough for him to look into her gentle brown eyes. “Lass...Sherwood isn't my real name. It's the name I took when I joined a pirate ship as a boy. I thought it sounded more like a the name of a dashing sea rover than O'Rourke.”

He closed his eyes. “I'm the son of a con-man from Ireland who came to the colonies to try to start over.” He frowned. “But I turned out no better than he did. I was a pirate for years, working for corrupt men like Pruitt to deliver arms and other illegal items to the British army and wealthy nobles in the colonies. At least,” he looked over his shoulder at Pruitt with a glare, “until I gave some of the guns Pruitt intended for the British army to a group of laborers who were being exploited.”

“It was a simple job.” Pruitt snapped the chain around his neck again, making Scott gasp and try to tug at the links. “You shouldn't have tried to double-cross me, boy. Those guns cost me over nearly fifty thousand dollars.”

“I would have paid you back, someday.” His look at Pruitt was murderous. “Instead, you went to Nantucket, murdered my parents, and burned their home to the ground!”

“I don't like being double-crossed by a lowly mercenary.” He tugged at the chain, thrusting Scott's head backwards. “It was so easy to claim your father's land and fishing business for taxes. He already owed me money from some my family's dealings in England. After they couldn't pay, I graciously allowed them to work off the debt as my servants.”

Scott tried to wriggle in Pruitt's grasp. “You mean you forced them to! You stole their money and lands, the things that were rightfully theirs and mine! You were going to sell Father and me to the salt mines and Mum to the factories in Boston.”

Pruitt pulled at the chain, bringing Scott back up his knees. He held him down with his other hand. “I like you on your knees, O'Rourke. Quiet and subservient, as you should be. You should have never defied me. A twenty year-old Irish whelp, trying to defeat an old English hand. You really thought you'd get the better of that duel.”

“I would have, too, if you didn't knock over the lamp and start that fire.” Scott's fists were clenched in rage. “You locked Father and Mum in the parlor and let them burn to death! If Aunt Agatha hadn't helped me out, I would have burned with them.”

“Damn that foolish old woman. I knew I should have taken care of her.” He tore the remains of the sleeve of Scott's red shirt, revealing a long, heavy white burn mark on his shoulder. “You do still have it. I should have gotten closer with that wick. I might have rid myself of your presence then and there.”

Elizabeth's horrified eyes flicked up to Pruitt. “You are a monster.” Her fingers reached for her sword. “You murdered two people in cold blood and almost killed two more, and over what? Money? A debt that could have been settled out of court?”

“I was making a point, my pretty child. I don't like people who defy me.”

“Then you won't like me, either.” She pointed her sword at him again. “I'll fight you, Pruitt. I'll fight you for Scott's life, and my own.”

“Elizabeth, no!” Scott yelled. “You don't know what you're doing!”

Pruitt only laughed at her. “You? A mere slip of a girl? You're no fighter. You're just a child.”

“You underestimate me, Pruitt. You underestimate all of us at the inn. You just think of us as commodities you can buy or sell.” She tossed her head back. “We're not commodities, Pruitt. We're people...and unlike you, we actually have feelings.”

“Oh, I have feelings.” He leered at her. “For instance, I'm feeling a certain frisson in my body that I'm sure your sweet caresses could take care of.”

“I'd rather caress someone else, thank you!” She managed to slash the sleeve of his heavy coat. “See how you like it!”

He narrowed his eyes. “This coat was made for me by the finest tailor in Boston. It cost a fortune!” He thrust a little harder at her. She could barely keep him at bay, but in truth, what she wasn't looking for was a duel.

Their blades finally crossed. She grinned at him. “Is that a pistol in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”

Pruitt gave her his oily grin. “Now, that's much better. If you're a good girl, I might even let you see what's in the other pocket.”

“Oh, I like this pocket better.” She finally brought her knee up into his groin. The moment he went over, she took the keys from his pocket. “I'd much rather have these.”

“Nice job, lass!” Scott grinned as she hurried over and started unlocking his bonds. “That was a fine piece of blarney you gave Pruitt there.” She helped him to his feet as he rubbed his wrists. “I don't think I need to add that you had me worried. I thought he'd skewer you for sure!”

“I don't think he can right now.” She looked up as the two guards who brought Scott in lunged for them. “But they might!”

She quickly handed Scott her sword. Despite his stiff limbs, Scott ably fought with both men at once. He finally skewered both. “We have to get out of here, lass, before Pruitt realizes what you did.” Elizabeth grabbed his hand as the two rushed out of the ballroom together, just in time to hear Pruitt bellow for his men to start surrounding the building.

“Scott,” Elizabeth puffed as they sprinted across the first floor, “we'll never get out of here!”

He was already pulling her to the stairs, the guards hard on their heels. “You're right about that, lass. We're not going to get out.” They dashed up the stairs. “We're going to get up.”

“What?”

They were met by three more guards at the top of the staircase. Scott dispatched two, while Elizabeth managed to trip a third down the stairs, snaring his sword before he fell. “Scott, where are we going?”

He was already making his way to the next set of stairs. “The roof.”

“Scott, are you crazy?”

He took her hand again, grinning his familiar ear-to-ear cheeky grin. “Pruitt would be crazy to follow us, wouldn't he?”

Elizabeth let him nearly drag her up the stairs. She could hear Pruitt's voice giving orders in the floor under them. They made their way down another hallway, then up to the dusty attic. Scott forced a window in the attic open with his sword.

Elizabeth had to shield her eyes from the glare of the morning sunlight. They slowly climbed to the very top of the roof. Scott looked over his shoulder. “Come on. I can hear Pruitt's boys banging around down there. If we can get to the end of the main building, we might be able to climb down from there and go find the others.”

It was hard to balanced on the shingles. Elizabeth held tightly to Scott's hand as they hurried as fast as they could and still stay upright. “How are we going to get down once we're there, Scott? That's a drop of at least a hundred feet!”

“I'm sure we'll find ivy or a rose bush winding up the roof to swing down on. I used to do it all the time when I was a pirate.” He turned his famous grin on her. “Piece of cake.”

She groaned. “I hate it when you say that. It means it's going to be anything but!”

“We'll be fine, lass.” He squeezed her hand. “Please, for once, just trust me.”

“Why didn't you trust me?” She made her way around the chimney. “I would have kept your secret. I kept Victor's. I'm not some porcelain doll you need to protect.”

Scott stopped for a minute. He turned to her as well as he could. “I was afraid for you. I love you so much. I've never loved anyone like this. Not even Maple. I didn't want you to end up like my parents. I'd never forgive myself.” He took her into his arms...and this time, Elizabeth didn't feel he was being forward or wrong. It all felt so, so right.

“Scott, we could have worked together. Whatever happened to you and Maple, whatever Pruitt or anyone else did to you, we could have found a way to change it.”

“I realize that now.” He kissed her hair gently. “I didn't want more people than necessary to know our identities. The Crimson Blade had to do his...and her...work in secret. The fewer people knew about us, the better.” He looked into her tawny brown eyes. “Elizabeth, I...”

“You what?” Two sausage-like hands pulled Elizabeth away. Pruitt squeezed her arms roughly, ignoring her squirms. “You two are absolutely sickening. I don't know why it took you so long to figure out you're insanely in love with each other. I noticed it the moment I saw you in each others' arms at the ball.”

Scott reached for his sword. “Pruitt, let her go. She has nothing to do with this.”

“You forget, servant, you're not the only one who wants our Miss Roberts.” He started to move closer to the edge of the roof. “It would be a shame to destroy such an attractive piece of property.”

“She's not your property! She's the finest, most beautiful, most intelligent woman alive!” Scott edged towards him, but Pruitt yanked Elizabeth's arms behind her back. She gasped, knowing there would be bruises the shape of his fingers on her arms within minutes.

“Temper temper, servant.” He pulled Betty's head very close to his. “If you agree to marry me, I'll let you both walk out of here with no one the wiser.”

“No!” Elizabeth screamed at the top of her lungs. “I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man in the colonies!”

“Very well, then.” He shoved her over the edge of the roof. “If I can't have you, no one will.”

“NOOO!” Elizabeth heard Scott's furious shriek as she grabbed hold of some loose shingles. “You bastard! I'll kill you for that!” She climbed back up the roof as best she could, listening to the sounds of swords clashing above her.

Scott heaved all his fury into his swings, which were getting wilder and wilder. Pruitt was more controlled. “I'd be more concerned with what I intend to do to you, O'Rourke. I don't like to be bested by servants.”

“I told you when you fired me last year, I don't care what you do to me! I care about Elizabeth, and about my frie....” He stopped and realized what he was saying. “My friends. All of them. Everyone at the inn, and all the people in Pittsburgh Village whose lives you've ruined with your treachery. They're my friends...no, my family.”

Pruitt snorted. “Your family is likely under arrest by my friend James Crawley at the Weeping Joker Inn by now. He wants that little business to expand his own empire. Personally, I don't understand his interest. It's just an ordinary small hotel, barely worth the land it's on.”

“Is that all you care about? Land? What about the people? Mr. Foley, and Eugenia, and Mackie, and Hilary and Jeff, and Gertrude and Mr. Eldridge? What about all the guests who only need a night's lodging in a soft bed and a good play to watch before they get back on the road?”

“What about your own hide?” Elizabeth pulled herself up to the edge of the roof just in time to see Pruitt knock the sword from Scott's hand. She just managed to move away from it as it went flying, landing point-down in one of the flower beds in the garden.

Pruitt tripped Scott, pushing him onto his back and elbows. He pointed his sword at his chest. “What a pity, O'Rourke. Cut down in your prime. It looks like I'm going to have the last laugh.”

“He who laughs last, laughs best, Pruitt.” Elizabeth could almost hear Scott's rueful grin. “I learned a few lines from all those plays we put on.”

“And you'll go laughing to your grave, boy!” He was about to stab Scott when Elizabeth grabbed hold of his ankles. She pulled hard...just as the sound of cannon fire boomed across the garden. Between the noise and the sudden movement, Pruitt was thrown off-balance. He toppled off the shingles and plummeted to the garden below as Elizabeth climbed onto the roof.

“Elizabeth!” The two of them held onto each other as they slowly got to their feet. He threw his arms around her. “I thought you were done for!”

Now her grin was wide. “It'll take a lot more than some corrupt governor to bring us down.” She enjoyed his gentle embrace. “I never want to let you go again.”

“Lass...” He gently lifted her chin for an ardent kiss. His kiss was soft and passionate, even more so than the one he gave her when he was fired and thought he was leaving her forever. This time, she eagerly returned it. The morning sun glowed brightly behind them.

They finally broke apart long enough to hear the cheering below. The entire staff of the Monongahela Inn, along with most of Scott's men, were waving and cheering and wolf whistling as they ran up the road from the dock, towards the front gardens and main door. Scott and Elizabeth just laughed and waved back.

“I think it's time we joined the rest of our family.” Scott lead her to the end of the roof. He reached for her, then for a thick ivy vine.

She kissed him again, this time more lightly. “Good luck!”

“Elizabeth, with you by my side, I'll have nothing but luck!”

They landed safely in a bed of ivy as the rest of the staff came hurrying up to them. “Are you all right?” Mackie helped Elizabeth out. “When we saw Pruitt up there on the roof with you, we thought you were a goner for sure!”

Hilary helped Scott out. “Then Pruitt came crashing down like a sack of potatoes. The police just took him away. He'll be sore, but otherwise, I think he was fine. At least, his voice is fine. Though I'm sure some of his vocabulary was probably censored.”

“Thanks for showing up when you did.” Elizabeth beamed at the group. “That cannon fire was a great distraction.”

“Who was distracting?” Mackie indicated Mr. Foley. “He wanted to shoot off the cannon, just to see how it would sound!” Foley wiggled a finger in his ear. Mackie shook his head. “I told you not to stand so close to it when it went off, Foley.”

Eugenia grabbed Foley's hand. “All of you, we have an announcement to make!” She looked at Mr. Foley. “Do you want to tell them, or should I?” Foley wiggled his ear again. Eugenia spoke louder. “Oh, that's right, you can't hear me right now. Well,” she turned to the others, “Mr. Foley has consented to become engaged with me! We're going to be married!”

Hilary grinned at Jeff, a little dazed. “I'm going to be the third Lady Hilary Singer. Again. And this time, the wedding will take place right here in Pittsburgh.”

Jeff's grin was even wider. “We've had quite enough of Mexican food.”

Victor came over with Maple. “We're elated that you've survived Pruitt's scheming,” Victor was saying as they joined them. “We weren't sure we'd arrive in time to aid in your deliverance from Pruitt's clutches, despite the Ursula Gothel's reputation for speed.”

Scott grinned, noticing that Victor's arm was around Maple's waist. “I see you two have gotten to know one another.”

“Oui, Scotty.” She looked into Victor's eyes. “We will get to know a lot more about each other soon.”

“As soon as I return from Fort Pitt.” He nodded at the ship. “We'll have to turn the Ursula Gothel and her crew over to the proper authorities. They're locked in the hold where we were held this morning.”

Scott smirked. “Oh yes, what did happen to Captain DeVile? She cooling her heels with her boys?”

Hilary patted the sword by her side. “Maple, Jeff, and I took care of her. We decided she needed a bath.”

Jeff grinned. “Hilary scratched her, then we tossed her in the Monongahela. Cribby said he'd take her to a hospital to get her injuries looked at. After that, it sounds like he's going to use that reward money he got from Pruitt to leave her high and dry somewhere that isn't Pittsburgh.”

“I imagine she'll either be deported back to Germany or left to fend for herself on the streets,” Victor added.

“I think I like that scenario even better than her being skewered. It's more than she deserves.” Scott put an arm around Elizabeth, ignoring Victor's raised eyebrows. “'All's well that ends well,' as your Shakespeare would say.”

C.J hurried up to them. “Not quite. There's still one thing I want to know.”

Mackie pushed at his glasses. “One thing?”

“Scott, when we started this, we were just raiding Pruitt's people and keeping the money. Why did you change to helping locals in Pittsburgh? We went from being robbers to being the Robin Hoods of Pittsburgh Village.” C.J smiled a little. “Not that I minded it. I liked helping people better. You were so hell-bent on stealing from Pruitt, though.”

Scott looked at the faces of the people gathered around him. “I wanted to get back at Pruitt,” he said quietly. “Pruitt destroyed everything I had, so I thought I'd repay him in kind, by hitting him in the only place it would hurt – his pocketbook. I knew Pruitt would recognize me, so I dressed as the Crimson Blade to fool him and the other rich nobles we robbed. As the whole thing got bigger, I brought in more people to help, like Maple and you, C.J.”

Elizabeth's eyes widened. “That's what you were doing that night, the first night you were here! The night I bumped into you in the hall. You never did tell me. Mackie mentioned that the Crimson Blade had robbed Pruitt. You were giving Maple the money to hide in the woods!” She looked up at him. “When did you start giving the money away instead of keeping it?”

Scott gazed lovingly into her eyes. She responded in kind, much to Victor's disappointment. “About a month or so after I took over the job as head innkeeper. When I started this, I wasn't really thinking of anyone's problems but my own...but then, I started spending time with all of you.”

He turned his gaze to Victor. “And then you died, or at least, we thought you did. Here I was, practically taking your job, and you'd been killed fighting for a real cause. I started giving the money to those causes. I thought it was a win-win situation. I'd still hurt Pruitt, a well-known supporter of the colonies remaining with England, and assuage my own guilt.” He frowned. “Then Pruitt found out about the money and had me fired. I don't think he recognized me at that point, or he likely would have had me arrested then.”

Victor turned to Maple. “When did you take over the role of the Crimson Blade?”

“After I was fired.” Scott made a face. “That wasn't exactly a high point in my life. I'd lost a job I'd come to love and a place that felt like home, Elizabeth despised me, and Pruitt had raised the price on my head.”

“Oui,” Maple added. “He said, it was too hot for him, would I take role for a while? I wasn't sure it would work.” She smiled. “It worked. I tres enjoyed being the Crimson Blade. It was really much fun, and I got to do things that women are not usually allowed to do. Not to mention, it confuse Pruitt. He did not know which Crimson Blade was doing the robbing.”

Jeff looked confused. “Scott, why did you keep coming back, even after Pruitt fired you?”

Hilary nodded. “And after Victor returned.”

“Partially to keep the Crimson Blade going.” He took Elizabeth's hand. “And partly because I was in love. I was in love not only with Elizabeth, but with working, and living, and arguing with people who cared about me. I'd finally found a place that felt like home, and I didn't want to let it go.” He frowned. “I also suspected that Pruitt and Pavla weren't finished with their scheming. I didn't want anyone else to lose their lives and their marriages to them, or people like them.”

Hilary turned to Scott. “I want to break our marriage contract. Not that it was real to begin with, but...”

Scott laughed. “You don't have to explain, Hildy. We've both found what we were looking for.”

“It's Hilary!” She sighed. “It's always been Hilary.”

C.J turned to Mackie. “You know, it occurs to me that you and I seem to be the only ones without a girl at the moment. Any suggestions?”

“I don't know about you, kid,” Mackie gave him a sly grin and pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket, “but I'm going to call on Lady Penelope Comminger at Flowergrams Gardens as soon as we get back in Pittsburgh. I picked up her address the night of the ball, but we were both out of town for a while. I heard she just got back. Maybe we could discuss old times.” He patted C.J's shoulder. “She might even have a cute younger cousin for you.”

Eugenia looked around. “Has anyone seen Gertrude and Mr. Eldridge? They're the only ones we're missing.”

Elizabeth's eyes widened. “Oh goodness! We told them to go to the dock, not the Governor's Mansion! They probably have no idea where we are.”

That was when a carriage and a large battalion of militiamen on horseback in blue and red uniforms rode up to the mansion. Gertrude and Mr. Eldridge hurried out of the carriage and over to the others. They both looked very upset.

They hurried to the group gathered by the flower beds. Mr. Eldridge frowned. “We're so glad we found you! Well, those nice men really found us and Mr. Kahana at the Fort. They had news for us, and we said that we deliver news, but this was really important news and some of you would want to know, someday...”

Gertrude finished his rambling. “We're at war.”

Victor was the first to her side. “What?”

“We're at war with the British. We just heard they attacked the towns of Lexington and Concord near Boston.” Gertrude nodded at the men behind them who lead the angrily protesting Pruitt away. “These men are here to arrest Pruitt. He's a known Loyalist and the royal governor. Most of the government officials signed on by England have been either arrested or forced to return to leave the colonies.”

Scott's jaw hardened. “They can have him. It saves me the trouble of doing him in. It's what he deserves”

Victor turned to the crowd behind him. “We'll take the Ursula Gothel back to Pittsburgh Village, then bring the pirate crew to Fort Pitt and decide what must be done from there.”

Scott was already walking towards the Ursula Gothel. “You know, Vic, I...uh, worked on a ship once. I could help you get her back to the village.”

“I would greatly appreciate any help from anyone. I'm no sailor. I've spent most of my life on land. I wouldn't have gotten it here if it wasn't for the help of Mr. Byrnes and some of your men.”

“I have been on ships.” Maple took Victor's arm. “That is how I came to colonies. I could help, too.”

Elizabeth held Scott's hand. “I'm not leaving either of you again!”

Victor put his arm around Maple and smiled at Scott, who put his arms around Elizabeth. “Why don't we all go home?”

Scott grinned. “Sure thing, Vic.”

“Actually, I really do prefer Victor.”

“All right, Vic...tor.” He held out his hand. “Friends, at least for now?”

Victor took his hand and shook it vigorously. “Comrades in arms. We're all working and fighting together for a common cause.”

Elizabeth smiled at their joined hands. “And that's how it should be.”