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.Come The Night – Roaring Twenties 03Page 512 of 530Gillian retraced her steps to stand before Marcus.She extended her hand for the gunhe had been holding gingerly between two fingers, strode clear of the ancient oak andpointed the gun at the heavy gray sky.The weapon‟s report brought an instant response.The frenzy came to a stop, theantagonists leaping apart almost as violently as they had come together.Mostimmediately Changed, healing whatever wounds they had taken in their battles.Theyglared at each other and at Gillian, and she knew there would be no escaping themadness if she did not take absolute charge of the situation.Yet she hesitated, accepting in her soul what had only been theory until this moment.She had deliberately left the delegates to gather the scraps of the idea Sir Averil hadbequeathed to them and reassemble those pieces however they chose, but they hadfailed to find a leader or make any peace amongst themselves.Whatever instinct orcompulsion had brought them to this place in the borders of Scotland, Sir Averil‟s dreamhad been torn apart by the very men he had considered most worthy and capable ofcarrying out his scheme.And yet now they, the finest and purest specimens of their kind, were waiting for her tospeak.In the eyes of a few—one of the Russians, Señor Tovar, the youngestHungarian, whose name she had never been able to pronounce, Dominique and hercousin; and, not too much to her surprise, Benedikt von Ruden—she saw the tiniestchance of salvation.Salvation not of her father‟s ambitions, but of something much finer.Once she hadasked Ross if he would want someone like von Ruden to set the course for the future ofthe werewolf kind.Gillian doubted that was possible now.But who would set thatcourse? Could the right leader offer a new way, a new philosophy, that would includethose like Ross, like Toby…like her? And like Ethan, who might never have been lost tomadness if he had only found somewhere to belong?Come The Night – Roaring Twenties 03Page 513 of 530Any new leader would have to be strong, confident, utterly sure of his abilities andpurpose.Someone who could bring together loups-garous of a dozen or more different nationsand convince them that there was a greater truth than purity or mere survival.She spun on her toes, returned to the Oak and gave the gun to Marcus, who took it witha sympathetic nod.She marched back to the gathering and found herself meetingBenedikt‟s gaze.The young man had turned against the vicious, ruinous path of his kin,but he needed guidance.And he was looking straight at her.No, she thought.Not me.Dominique broke from the crowd as if she meant to speak, but she waited for Gillian,her posture that of some ancient Celtic warrior ready to go into battle at her chieftain‟scommand.No! I‟ve chosen my path.And what was that? To defend Ross against his accusers and make certain that hisname was cleared, in both England and America.To support Hugh as he assumed hisnew position as Sir Hugh Maitland of Snowfell.To create a new life and new meaningfor herself and Toby.And when Ross is free?She felt his presence at her back, smelled the blood and perspiration and belovedmasculine scent that was uniquely his.He, too, was waiting, and she was afraid to turnand see his face.Come The Night – Roaring Twenties 03Page 514 of 530Again and again he had offered to take her and Toby to a place where they would besafe.The last time she had agreed.But so much had changed since their lovemaking inthe cave by the beck.He had suffered the shock of being attacked and labeled amurderer all over again, not only by the police, but also by Hugh‟s suspicion and herown brief but damning hesitation in believing his claims of innocence.She had doubted, but that was not the worst of it.She had blamed him for everythingthat had gone wrong since his arrival in England and even before, afraid toacknowledge her own part in the suffering Sir Averil had created.Ross hadn‟t even denied her accusations.With his silent acquiescence he had helpedher resurrect the barrier she had begun to build on the day she‟d left him in London,raising it stone by stone over all the years of blind obedience to Sir Averil, cementingeach block in place with her need for her father‟s love.And she had never truly let it fall.“Madame Delvaux.”Gillian heard Dominique‟s clear voice and roused herself to face the present again.Thierry de Gévaudan had arrived, dragging behind him a pair of dazed and bedraggledhumans.He tossed them to the ground at Gillian‟s feet.“Two of Warbrick‟s henchmen,” he said, panting, but wearing a very satisfied smile.“Iregret the delay, but this one—” he aimed a light kick at the bigger of the two men “—was at Highwick when we arrived and shot at us.I was a little indisposed for a shorttime before I was able to hunt him down and locate his comrades.The third is unlikelyto leave the place where I found him.” He kicked at the second man for good measure.“They confessed everything, including their part in attacking Ross and witnessingWarbrick‟s murder of his mother.” He looked keenly into Gillian‟s eyes.“Warbrick meantto kill you and Toby, as well.Shall we hold them for the police, or have you another formof justice in mind?”Come The Night – Roaring Twenties 03Page 515 of 530She closed her eyes.Even de Gévaudan, so courteous and civilized, was prepared tokill these men for their part in Warbrick‟s crimes.That was how closely all of them, eventhose who bore no grudge against humans, walked to the edge of savagery.But someone else walked behind her, a man who would not abandon her even whenshe had left him with no legacy but grief.When she opened her eyes the fear was gone.She raised her hands high.“The time for violence is over,” she said, staring first at Conrad and then at Vasily.“Youmay behave as you choose in your own countries, but this is my land.This is England.Here you will be civilized.And if you remain, if you choose to return to Snowfell, therewill be new conditions and new laws.We will adapt to this world we live in, and we shalldo it peacefully and without hatred or prejudice.” She turned and held out her hand toRoss.“No one shall be judged by the purity of their blood.Not ever again.”ROSS LISTENED, as mesmerized as the others by the power in Gillian‟s bearing andsimple words.She had stood up to them before, after Sir Averil‟s death, kept themnegotiating instead of fighting, gathered them in with her unexpected and unwillingability to lead.He had thought her changed then, but this…This was different.This was the Gillian who always should have been, a womancomplete, a natural leader, a voice of reason to counter Sir Averil‟s appeal to thedarkest instincts of the werewolf kind.Even as he took her hand, Ross felt the brief glow of victory slip out of his grasp.AfterToby and Gillian had taken Warbrick down, he‟d hardly noticed the pain in his shoulderwhere the bullet had passed through; all he‟d been able to think was that the ones heloved were safe.Come The Night – Roaring Twenties 03Page 516 of 530He‟d looked down at Ethan, who hadn‟t moved from where he‟d fallen.The man‟s starewas blank, almost senseless [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]