Into the Wilderness
Page 75

"And have you decided whether it is in your best interest?" He was leaning toward her now, not with a look that was passionate, but with the focused demeanor of a man who knew how to do a job, and was determined not to cut corners.
"Perhaps," Elizabeth said, willing her voice to be steady, but knowing that it creaked a bit. She put out her hand against richard's shoulder in a clear attempt to stop him, but he caught it in his own and brought it up to his mouth. Elizabeth snatched it away with a little indrawn breath.
"I'm a patient man, Elizabeth," Richard said, his brow folded in a line which said just the opposite. "But I'm not a fool."
Elizabeth experienced a most inopportune and almost irrepressible urge to giggle. She bit the inside of her cheek hard, trying to focus her thoughts and bring herself to reason. It was imperative that she remain calm and friendly and also crucial that she find a formulation which would reach him. And quickly.
"Your advances are most inappropriate, Richard," she said in a tone she hoped was sweet, but feared was sharp. "Have you no respect for my good name?"
Relieved, Elizabeth saw him draw up at this. He was already sitting back, a surprised but not completely dissatisfied look on his face, when the rock face began to slide.
At first there was a sharp crack like the sound of a branch snapping under a load of snow, followed by a rustling. A shower of pebbles and ice fell over them, and before it was clear to Elizabeth what was happening, the horses had begun to rear. With a muttered oath, Richard reached for the reins but they slipped away from him and over the lip of the dashboard. A large spar of rock fell just then, and Elizabeth saw it bounce off the back of one horse and strike the next.
"Hold tight!" he bellowed, lunging after the reins as the sleigh lurched and then began to fly forward, rocking madly from side to side.
Numbly, Elizabeth did as she was told. She braced her feet and fixed her hands on the dashboard. The wind ripped her hood from her head and she felt a spattering of wet snow across her cheek and mouth. The air seemed suddenly very cold, and it was hard to breathe in spite of the great wind in her face. The horses careened around the corner, setting the sleigh tipping for a brief and terrifying moment on one set of runners.
Then the path straightened out and the sleigh slammed down once again with a jolt, the runners screeching. Richard was leaning out over the backs of the geldings, shouting to them, but they raced on, great gouts of ice and mush hurtling up from their hooves.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and tried to remember a prayer, any prayer, but none came to her, and it was more terrifying to be blind to the dangers than to watch them.
When she opened her eyes, Nathaniel was running toward them. Numbly, she realized that he must have been hunting, for he came leaping downhill, racing on an angle to intercept the team.
Richard was raging at the horses. There was just a split second for Elizabeth to note to herself, quite insanely, that she was finally seeing that part of Dr. Todd which he kept so carefully hidden from her, when Nathaniel launched himself at the team, grabbing the bridle and pulling the horses to a stop with his own weight.
For a moment the only sound was the rough belling of the dogs, who settled at a single sharp word from Nathaniel. The whole episode had lasted only seconds, Elizabeth was sure, but she felt as though a century had passed.
Slowly, almost majestically, Richard rose from the sleigh and pointed a finger in Nathaniel's direction. Elizabeth saw that it trembled slightly, and she looked up, alarmed, to see that Richard fought for his breath, his chest heaving. His color was coleric, and his voice wavered.
"This was your doing!"
"Richard!" Shocked, Elizabeth reached up a hand to touch his arm. From the corner of her eye she watched Nathaniel take this in; she sensed rather than saw him stiffen.
"I believe Nathaniel deserves our thanks," she said, withdrawing her hand.
"He deserves a beating," bellowed Richard in response.
"He saved our lives!" Elizabeth shot back at him.
"He tried to kill us," Richard corrected her without taking his eyes from Nathaniel.
"If you can't get a hold of your team," Nathaniel said, "then at least get a hold of yourself, man."
Beside Elizabeth, Richard stilled suddenly in a way which was more frightening than any shouting. Elizabeth sent a beseeching look to Nathaniel.
"Please—" she began, and then faltered. Please, she wanted to say, please stop this, I'm frightened. Please. Come here and let me look at you. A glance passed between them, and Elizabeth saw Nathaniel call himself to order, the tension leaving his jaw slowly.
"I heard the shot," Richard said, his fists balled at his side.
"Shot?" asked Elizabeth, incredulous. "What shot?"
"Somebody shot at the rock face," Richard spat out without even looking at her. "Nathaniel shot at the rock face to make it slide," he corrected himself.
"That's a damn fool thing to say," responded Nathaniel in a strangely reasonable tone. "And once you calm down and think it over, you'll see that for yourself. Now," he continued, touching his cap in deference to Elizabeth. He let his gaze shift over her face one beat too long. "I'm glad I could be of help and I'll be on my way again." He whistled to the dogs, and without another word to them, he slipped into the woods.
With a sinking feeling, Elizabeth watched him go. She knew she should look away, that Richard was watching, but it was impossible. She could not. In the confusion of the past few minutes, she realized, he had not once used her name.