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She turned to the Mountie, about to ask him to loosen the ropes holding Brand, but bit back the words before she opened her mouth. Of course he must be secured. He was a common outlaw. She squeezed her hands tighter, knowing she’d have bruises on both arms.
“Down, Dawg,” he murmured, and the dog dropped to all fours.
“Your father is upstairs,” the Mountie said. “The Gardiners have been generous enough to allow you to visit him.”
“Thank you,” Brand said, his voice as flat as a thousand acres of prairie.
“Eddie will see that you are guarded until I return to take you to the fort. I intend to find your brother and the man with him.”
Sybil noted the slight shudder that twitched Brand’s shoulders, but he stood tall, revealing nothing but determination. Guess he’d known this day would come sometime.
But she found no pleasure in the justice that he would face. It was easier to be angry at his deception when she couldn’t see him or feel anguish at how he was bound.
The Mountie handed the rope to Eddie. “I’ll be back when I’m done with this business.”
He’d said Cyrus and another man had escaped. Sybil prayed the constable would find them and bring them to justice. Her face burned at the memory of Cyrus manhandling her. How could Brand and Cyrus be brothers? One so cruel? The other—
She stopped the word that sprang to her mind. He wasn’t gentle; he was a deceiver. His name should be Jacob.
The Mountie rode away.
Linette stepped aside, indicating they should follow her indoors. “Your father is upstairs.”
When Brand hesitated, Eddie tugged the rope. “Come along.”
As Sybil recalled how Brand had played the innocent, convinced her that he was a worthy man, she was able to hold back any sympathy at his situation.
Brand stepped over the threshold.
Dawg sat on his haunches and waited.
Sybil hated to shut the door against him. “You wait here. I’ll come feed you in a bit.” She kept her back to the room, staring out the nearby window as Eddie and Linette led Brand upstairs to his pa.
Mercy grabbed Sybil’s arm and dragged her to the sitting room, where she pushed her into a chair and sat facing her. “An outlaw in the house. How exciting is that?”
Sybil shuddered. “Mercy, it’s not exciting at all. It’s awkward and horrible. His pa is shot and lies in one of Linette’s beds.” Linette took in anyone in need of care. “How will she manage? Do you think it is safe for her in her condition?”
“Do you think he’d hurt her?”
“I doubt Eddie is going to leave him alone with her.” Sybil shook her head. All those hours she’d spent unaccompanied with Brand, feeling safe and—she shuddered—longing to touch him, feel his lips on hers. How could she have been so mistaken about him?
When she let emotions rule, danger followed. She’d known it all the while. Only she’d never imagined this sort of thing.
Linette entered the sitting room. “Eddie said he’d sit with Brand and his father for a bit. Then Slim will spell him off. There’ll be someone guarding him day and night so we can feel safe in our beds.” She sighed deeply. “I still can’t believe I could be so mistaken about a man. Eddie is upset that he was, as well. He prides himself on being a good judge of people.” With another sigh, she headed to the kitchen with a basin of bloodstained rags to soak.
Sybil followed. Unlike Mercy, she didn’t want to speculate or rejoice in the excitement of having two outlaws upstairs.
“You must be tired,” she said to Linette. “Can I help?”
Her friend brushed aside a tendril of hair. “I find it very hard to see the pair of them. And feel the tension in the air. There’s something between them that isn’t quite right, and I can’t put my finger on it.”
Sybil wrapped an arm about her. “Could it simply be that they are common criminals and don’t like being captured?”
“Maybe.”
But she knew Linette wasn’t convinced.
“I can’t get Mr. Duggan’s bleeding to stop.”
The worry in her voice caught Sybil’s attention. “Do you think some organ has been hit?”
