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“I’ll go fetch it.” Sabrina lifted her skirts and ran.
Kathleen grabbed his sleeve. “Grant, I’m the only one Jeannie will listen to.”
“I know, but do everything calmly, all right?”
When she gave an impatient nod and started toward the door, Grant reeled her back. He put his hands on her shoulder and made her look at him.
“Calmly, my love.”
Kathleen stared up at him, her silver gaze turbulent as the windswept sea. Then she sucked in a deep breath and control seemed to settle over her like the quiet after a storm.
“Yes, I know,” she said.
“Jeannie has the gun, so she’s in control at the moment.”
“So, we have to make her continue to feel like she’s in control.”
“Aye.”
Kathleen squared her shoulders and walked to the half-open door. The groom stepped aside and let her go in. Grant followed right behind.
The scene in the room stopped them dead in their tracks.
The captain stood near the bay window that was swinging open in the breeze. Jeannie was not more than five feet away from him. Her arm was extended as she pointed a pistol at Brown’s head. David stood to the left of his brother, in front of a bookshelf. Graeme was standing behind the desk with his arms held out in a calming gesture.
And a great deal of calm was needed, since Jeannie had cocked the hammer on the pistol. The captain’s face was as white as death as he stared at her, although his eyes blazed with fury and disbelief.
Jeannie flickered a brief glance at Kathleen, then her focus returned to her captive.
“Sweetheart, please give me the pistol,” Graeme quietly said. “I promise you Captain Brown will not escape. Justice will be served.”
“He lied,” Jeannie spat out, “and heusedme. He’s ruined David’s life, too. They probably won’t let him be a vicar anymore. Captain Brown stole that from him.”
“Jeanette, listen to me,” David said in a voice tinged with desperation. “I’ll be fine, no matter what. But if you shoot John, the consequences could be very bad for you.”
“I don’t care! He made a fool out of b . . . both of us.” Her voice was unsteady, but the arm that held the weapon was not. “He robbed your beautiful church. And he made me think you loved me.”
“Yes, it was very wrong, but everything he took can be replaced. However, you cannot be, Jeanette. You’re the only thing that matters right now.”
Jeannie blinked hard. For a few moments, she seemed to be wavering.
Unfortunately, the idiot captain decided to intervene.
“Right as usual, David,” he said, dredging up his travesty of a smile. “No need to go to prison over the likes of me, Miss Jeannie. Put the gun down. There’s a good little girl.”
If there was anything Jeannie hated, it was being treated like a little girl.
“I should kill you right now,” she snapped. “You’re ahorribleman.”
Kathleen took a step forward. “And he’s certainly a stupid one, dearest. After all, you’ve outsmarted him every step of the way. Because of you, the captain will spend the rest of his life in prison—or be deported.”
Jeannie sniffed a few times. “He should hang for what he did.”
Grant moved to stand beside Kathleen. “And he may well do just that. Listen, Jeannie, you’ve done what we couldn’t—you’ve captured the rogue. Now it’s time to leave the rest to us.”
“He’s right,” David said in a stout voice. “You’ve outdone us all, Jeanette. I could not be prouder of you.”
She darted a suspicious glance at the vicar. “Really?”
