James nodded at the ring. "Whose ring is this?"
"The Earl of Flanders."
James digested that startling piece of information. "Do you know who is working with him?"
"I have been keeping tabs on all of you lately. Flanders has been keeping company with some pretty low types. He’s also been seen slipping in and out of Terrence Smith’s house for the past few months. No doubt Flanders promised his ward’s hand in marriage or some such nonsense."
James felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. He suddenly knew Calliope’s destination. "Where is Smith’s house?"
Holt looked askance but rattled off the direction. "It is too bad Stephen is not here to help," Holt said.
Another strong feeling pounded through James.
"You should leave, Holt. Go now with someone you trust. You are in danger, someone is trying to frame you. We found a phony birth certificate for your son, Edmund."
Holt sent him an odd look, but nodded.
James ran out the door and into the waiting carriage, giving the directions to Finn.
They took off toward the other side of town. He cursed every rut that slowed them down and yelled at other carriages to move from their path. They were taking too long to reach her.
Excruciating minutes later, they pulled up to an already smoking house. She was inside, he could feel it. Fear as he’d never known thrust him from the carriage and inside the human furnace.
Calliope could barely feel her hands, they were so bloody and battered. But she felt the final snap of the cord and pulled them apart. She ripped off the gag and, grasping the blade with both hands, began cutting the cord binding her feet. She made quick work of it and stumbled to the door. She clasped the hot handle and opened the door. A dense gray fog filled the passageway and she could see flames down the hallway.
Finn was standing over Terrence’s inert form. '
Where had he come from?
"Finn!" She tried to scream, but her smoke-filled lungs only produced a weak sound. He turned and saw her. Relief crossed his features and he motioned for her to follow. They navigated the staircase and made their way to the front yard, where Finn deposited Terrence.
"What are you doing here? Where’s James?"
Finn was moving back toward the door. He didn’t answer.
"James is inside?"
A fear unlike anything Calliope had experienced swallowed her whole. She had thought she had no strength left, but blood pumped through her veins as she chased after Finn. They reached the porch stairs when a loud crack sounded and the second-floor supports began to give way.
"No!"
Finn grabbed her and hauled her away from the porch. "You can’t do him any good, miss, if you get yourself killed going in there."
Calliope tried to push through him, but Finn was an immovable object.
She kicked him in the shin, used his surprise to push him off the porch and then raced through the front door. Vivid memories of her mother running inside their townhouse returned with painful clarity. Calliope felt sick and terror consumed her, but her foremost thought was finding James.
"James! James! Where are you?"
There was no answer. The entire back of the house was engulfed in flames. Sparks singed her hair and face. Seeing a shape ahead, Calliope dropped to the floor and crawled on hands and knees to the back hallway. James was pinned between a beam and the floor. He was trying to move the obstruction.
"What the hell are you doing? Get out of here before the ceiling collapses," he shouted.
It wasn’t exactly the welcome she had been hoping for, but she ignored his orders, panting as she tried to lift the beam. It was heavy. Falling cinders and scorching heat blasted her. Her bloody handprints stained the wood.
"If you don’t move your bloody arse towards the door, I will kill you myself."
"If you could carry out that threat we wouldn’t be here right now."
His eyes tried.
She bent her knees and heaved. Nothing. Suddenly Finn was next to her helping to lift the beam. The splinters of a crushed chair littered the floor around James. She grabbed one of the chair legs and used it as a lever under the beam. Finn grunted; she pushed. One more inch…
He was free.
James scooted out from under the beam and rose unsteadily to his feet. He nodded at Finn, who ran toward the door. James pressed her forward and she stumbled. Scooping her up, he hobbled as fast as he could.
Planks were falling everywhere and the opening of the door was surrounded by flames. James pulled her head against his chest and leaped through.
Chapter 16
Calliope closed her eyes as they dove through the burning doorway. James twisted in the air and took the brunt of the impact as she landed on top of him.
Together they collapsed on the grass, entwined and panting for air.
"How did you find me, James?"
"So that I could kill you." He coughed, his brows drawn together.
Calliope looked into his pain-filled eyes and fell in love with him all over again. She smoothed a lock of hair from his eyes and ran her fingers down his cheek. "How did you find me; not why. "
He grunted. "It was something Holt said."
"Holt knew I was here?"
"No, but he said the Earl of Flanders was often seen visiting Terrence Smith."
"You know about Flanders, then?"
A cinder landed on his torn shirt. "Yes."
Finn interrupted. "Do you think we might move away from the house?"
She scrambled to her feet and James followed. James limped a few steps before bending over. His hacking coughs inspired a similar reaction in her.
After a few minutes of bone-jarring coughs, her throat was raw but her lungs were clear. Satisfied that she was still intact, Calliope grabbed the cane from the ground. The handle was slick with blood where she touched it.
James was still bent over when she offered it to him. He took one look at the handle and grabbed her hands.
"Are you hurt anywhere else?"
He checked her hands, ignoring her head shake.
"Who did this?"
"l did it while trying to escape." Calliope pointed at the cane. "Cut them on the blade."
An icy mask fell over his features. "And your ripped dress?"
She had never seen him so angry. Calliope looked down at her hands. There were deep cuts oozing blood and she’d probably have some scars. But they still worked and that was all she was worried about at the moment.
James tore his cravat in two and wrapped the pieces carefully around her palms. He then picked up his discarded jacket and placed it around her shoulders.
Neighbors gathered around the edges of the property to watch the edifice burn. They were muttering among themselves, concerned about their adjoining properties.
"You’d think people would have used stone to build after the Great Fire."
"One can never be too careful."
Some kind-hearted soul had begun a bucket brigade to extinguish the flames, but it was a futile attempt. The building would be a total loss.
Finn dumped Terrence’s unconscious form into the carriage. His body sprawled across one seat. James lifted Calliope into the coach so she didn’t have to use her hands. As soon as he sat down, he pulled her onto his lap. She rested against his shoulder and he laid his cheek on her hair. She felt better than she had all day.
"Why did he start a fire?" James asked.
"It had to be the papers Flanders asked about. Terrence wouldn’t tell him where they were hidden. Destroying the whole house, with us in it, was the most efficient way to accomplish all of his goals." She shuddered. "But how did Holt know Flanders was the villain?"