PART 4
Bess sat in the cabin scared and confused when the door opened. She was terrified to see Alan and Dennis dragging Nick, unconscious, through the door. His face was bleeding badly and blood soaked his shirt. His hands were tied behind his back. "You hit him good, Alan," Dennis laughed.
"Why didn't you just shoot him?" asked Lyndon.
"I didn't want the noise attracting too much attention," came Alan's casual response.
They sat Nick down leaning against the wall and Alan checked the rope around his wrists. The two brothers moved away and Bess tried to go to Nick. Alan shouted "Stay away from him!" Bess was so scared that she sat back down. Nick wasn't moving and she was unsure of what to do.
"So he's going to make me rue the day, right?" Alan said to Bess, laughing. "He didn't get to hit first this time, did he?" A wave of guilt washed over her as she realized the harm her comment may have caused.
She was very confused. "Lyndon, what's going on? We just came for a walk. Why are you doing this to him?"
"He tried to shoot Lyndon, dear. You saw that. I had to stop him. We'll bring him to the Sheriff when I get back," Alan answered for his nephew.
Bess didn't believe the story, but she didn't know what was going on. It was all too strange.
Alan disappeared into another room and came out with a clean shirt and a suit jacket on. He whispered a few words with Dennis and then left.
Alan arrived at Plumfield promptly at six to take Jo to dinner. Jo went outside to meet him with Captain Max at her side. He snarled at Alan as he approached. "Captain, quiet!" Jo commanded and the dog settled down immediately. Alan pushed the dog aside with his foot as he walked towards the house. Then, Captain Max sniffed at Alan's leg and began to whimper. Jo had never seen Captain Max behave like that but she was too upset to think about what it might mean.
"Alan. I'm so glad to see you," Jo said hurriedly as they walked into the house. "I'm so scared. Amy heard that somebody was asking a lot of questions around town about Bess and she went for a walk and Nick went to find her and they haven't come back…"
"Calm down Jo. Tell me everything, but calm down." She was so glad to have him there. She felt relieved to have someone she could rely on, someone she could trust.
So Jo collected herself and told Alan the whole story. When she was finished, Alan responded calmly. "Don't worry, Jo. Lyndon knows how to take care of himself. I bet Riley found them and they're on their way back right now."
"Yes, of course. I'm sure you're right. Oh Alan, thank you for being here when I need you," Jo said. "Would you join us for some supper here while we wait for them to return?"
"That's an excellent idea, Jo. I'd be delighted."
Bess looked up as Nick began to groan softly, moving his head slightly. Her heart was pounding with fear. She could see he was in terrible pain and she wanted to help him. She gathered her courage and stood up.
"What are you doing?" Dennis said gruffly, approaching Bess. Nick wanted to stop him, keep him away, but he couldn't move. His head was pounding and his hands were tied tight.
"I'm going to help Nick," she said in a commanding tone. Nick smiled slightly at her audacity. She went to him and brushed his hair back from his face. He leaned his head back against the wall with a moan. She could see the left side of his face was swollen and bruised. Two large cuts on his face, one above and one below the eye were still bleeding. He was breathing heavy.
"Theresa?" Nick asked quietly, trying to focus his eyes.
"No, it's Bess," she replied, wondering whom it was he was asking for.
"Are you alright Bess?" he asked. His voice just a rasp.
"Yes, but you have been unconscious for hours. You need a doctor," she said as she examined the welt on the back of his head. He winced.
"Hours? What's goin' on?" he said, stretching his neck, trying to alleviate the pain.
"Yes, a couple hours, but I don't know what's going on. I went for a walk with Lyndon. We had lunch and painted and then we were going to walk back to Plumfield. But then you came and I don't know why they did this to you. Or why they won't let us leave."
"That's Lyndon?" Nick asked looking at the teenager and trying to undo the ropes without being seen. "Alan's nephew?"
"Yes. And that's Alan's brother Dennis."
"That's the one I saw outside. Do you know who hit me?" Nick asked, trying to put all the pieces back together.
"Well, yes," Bess said, afraid of Nick's reaction if she told him. But he was looking at her, waiting.
"It was Alan," she said finally.
"Are you sure?" he said, struggling against the rope in anger. "If he hurts Jo I'll…".
"Yes, I'm sure. I saw it all," Bess said, apologetically, placing her hand on his shoulder to calm him.
"S'pose I spoiled their plan, then," Nick said, collecting himself. "When your Aunt Jo came back from town she said your Ma had heard that somebody in town was askin' lots of questions about ya. Must have been them. Looks like you've been kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?"
"Looks like it, anyway. When we found out how scared your Ma was, we came lookin' for ya.," he said, still making a futile attempt to work his way out of the rope.
"We?" Bess asked hopefully.
"Yeah. I sent Dan and Emil back right before I ran into these fellas." He leaned forward and pulled at the rope with all of his strength, but it was hopeless. The rope was too tight. Alan had made real sure of that.
He groaned as the room began to spin around him. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
"I need some water," Bess demanded, "and a clean cloth. I need to clean these cuts." She was furious that she had been used like that; furious that they had hurt Nick like that. "Some pacifist" she said.
To Nick's amazement, they brought her the water and a cloth. She dipped a cup into the basin and held it to his lips so he could drink. His bruised, swollen lip made it difficult. She gently wiped the water from his chin.
Then she looked at the cloth but it wasn't clean enough for her liking. She threw it aside with disdain. Without a second thought, she pulled her dress up a little and tore a piece right off of her new petticoat. She then dipped that piece into the basin, wrung it out and gently began to clean the blood from his face. He winced in pain.
"I know it hurts," she said as she continued her work, "but if I don't clean it well it could get infected. So sit still and be a good patient."
Nick chuckled. "I must be dreamin'. You look like Bess but sound like Nan." He sat, unflinching, as she cleaned the cuts.
Bess managed a smile as she thought about his words, realizing as well as he did, that just that morning she nearly fainted at the sight of much less blood.
PART 5
