Page 97 of Sacrificing the Untamed Lady Henrietta
“He is already killing her,” Ewan muttered bitterly.
“A few minutes more, that is all I ask,” Aaron replied. “Let me try and save her this way.”
Ewan narrowed his eyes. “If he tugs on that rope again, wild horses will not prevent me from striking him down. I can make it to him before she falls, I am certain of it.”
“Not yet,” Aaron warned.
“What are you murmuring about over there?” Gerome asked sourly. “If you attempt anything, I will push her. I mean it. I did not come here with the intention of surviving. You see, General, today, you will lose both of your children. The one who did not deserve you, and the one who longed only to be loved by you.”
Aaron shook his head. “Gerome, don’t!”
“Give me one good reason why.”
Aaron stared at the ghost of his past and could not find an answer. His youthful impulse had put his daughter in danger, but he knew that he was the one who ought to have the rope around his neck. He had not intended to abandon Gerome, but he knew how it looked. This boy, now a man, had suffered years of neglect, alone in an orphanage. And it was all Aaron’s doing.
“I am sorry… that is all I can say,” Aaron said, at last.
Gerome tutted. “That is not enough. This is the end for us both.”
“Papa!” Henrietta’s scream pierced the air, splitting his heart in two.
Chapter 36
Gerome shoved Henrietta as hard as he could, everything moving in slow motion. Ewan stared in horror as the devil’s hand pushed squarely between Henrietta’s shoulder-blades, sending her over the edge of the bridge.
Spurred on by adrenaline and abject panic for his wife’s life, Ewan tore across the bridge and dove towards the balustrade. His hands reached through the gaps, his fingers grasping desperately for Henrietta’s beautiful amethyst gown. The one that this wretch had brought for her to wear.
Delivered by the hands of a traitor, as her final costume. Well, not if I can help it!He scrambled for purchase, his right hand gripping a fold of satin.
With an almighty roar, he yanked back on the fabric, pulling Henrietta back towards safety. She screamed as she teetered, Gerome’s hands still on the end of the rope. Undeterred, Ewan jumped to his feet and wrapped his arms around his wife, hauling her back over the balustrade to solid ground.
“Ewan!” she cried in a strangled voice, holding tight to him.
“You are safe, my love. You are safe,” he replied, refusing to let go.
“Not quite,” Gerome muttered darkly, as he pulled hard on the rope around her neck. Glancing down, Henrietta’s eyes began to bulge, her face turning scarlet as her air supply was cut off. She tried to tug at the rope, but it was too tight. Ewan reached for it, panicking, but he could not free her, either.
“Release her!” Ewan roared, getting to his feet.
Gerome narrowed his eyes. “Never.”
Terrified of losing his wife, he lunged for Gerome and knocked him to the ground, the two of them grappling for the rope. He dug into Gerome’s hand with his nails, trying to pry the coil from the villain’s grip, but he held fast like a man possessed. Make no mistake, the devil was in him.
A split second later, Gerome looked up in alarm. His hands released the rope, and he slithered away from Ewan. The General and his men, with Seth trailing behind, were headed towards him. Leaping to his feet, Gerome took off across the bridge, heading for the distant horizon. Henrietta writhed on the ground, clawing breath back into her lungs, her eyes red and bloodshot. Torn, Ewan looked between his wife and the retreating enemy. If he let Gerome escape, then a threat would loom over them for the rest of their lives.
“I will come back, my love,” he murmured, kissing Henrietta’s forehead. “General, have your men see to my wife. We must go after Gerome!”
“I am right behind you,” Aaron shouted, as the pair of them sprinted after the escaping shadow.
You will not evade us, Ewan promised, thinking of his wife on the bridge. She would forgive him, he was certain. Indeed, it spurred on his ire towards Gerome. Not only had he attempted to murder Henrietta, but he had prevented Ewan from being there to aid her in her greatest hour of need. Gerome’s past did not justify this.
They chased him through the darkness, his figure visible in the gracious light of the silvery moon. Had it not been full, they would not have been able to trace him. It seemed as if providence was smiling down upon Ewan and Aaron, allowing them to seek out the man who had threatened their peace.
At the Eastern gate, Gerome tore out onto the road beyond, before bounding over a fence and sprinting on into the opposite fields. Ewan followed at speed, though Aaron had fallen behind. He was older now, and not so sprightly as he might have been during his war days. Still, Ewan did not give up. He could not give up.
Fifteen minutes later, and the gap was beginning to close. Gerome was tiring. Like a predator sensing the end of its prey’s life, Ewan picked up the pace, hurtling after his aggressor. Thoughts of Henrietta drove him on, though his lungs burned, and his muscles ached. It had been a long time since he had exerted himself like this, if ever.
A forest lay up ahead, looming ominously.If Gerome manages to slip into the woodland, I will lose him.Unwilling to let that happen, he pushed himself harder, until he could not physically run any faster. Even then, the gap was not small enough.
