Whispers of Goodbye

Chapter One

Heavy clouds moved above, uncovering a three-quarter moon and lending the tall reeds and scrubby oaks a blue cast. Bobbing lights attached to the thundering hooves grew larger and I forced my legs to move, my feet slipping in the mud and mire as I ran toward the sound and lights.

"Elizabeth!" A man's deep voice called out as the large form of a horse and rider took shape.

I reached toward him and felt strong hands grab me under the arms and lift me on to the saddle in front of my rescuer. The horse snorted and reared as other men on horseback arrived. A gunshot, and then another rent the air. I struggled against the hard chest I was being smothered against.

"We must get the coachman—he's in a tree. He can't swim." I pointed to where the white of Mr. O'Rourke's shirt shone in the darkness.

The man stiffened, then pulled me against his chest again, and began barking orders. More shots were fired up in the air as a horseman rode across the submerged road to rescue Mr. O'Rourke.

His voice was hard and deep, as if used to delivering authoritative orders. The men followed his directive without question. My face was pressed against a smooth linen shirt, the smell of starch mingling with cigar smoke, leather and the smell of a man—a smell I had once enjoyed and now pulled away from like a skittish horse. But muscled arms held me fast, and I sat rigid, trying to limit the contact between our bodies. He twisted in his saddle and I found myself enveloped in a large wool cloak.

Another horseman pulled alongside. "It doesn't seem to be robbery. The coachman is our Mr. O'Rourke. Is the woman Elizabeth?"

My rescuer grunted. "No." His fingers worked their way around my jawbone and tilted my face to his. He raised a lantern and his breath hissed as he sucked it in, his face wearing the shock of a man who had seen a ghost. "Who are you?"

I recognized him then, the coal-black eyes glittering in the lamplight. John McMahon, my brother-in-law. A small tremor passed through me. "I am Catherine, Elizabeth's sister. Where is she?" Running water moved under us, the small ripplings teasing my ears as I waited for his answer.

He lowered the light, casting his face in shadow. "She is gone."

I gathered the cloak under my chin. "What do you mean—gone?"

His warm breath brushed my cheek, making me shiver, and I felt those dark eyes on me again. "She has disappeared, without a trace. No one has seen her for four days. She is simply…gone."

He reigned in his horse, and turned it around. Holding me tightly against him, he urged on his mount, the thundering hoof beats resonating in my mind like a distant nightmare.