With a 'bang'

Charlotte refused to let Mr. Fuller die because of her lack of judgment. To her surprise she realized that Black Brand's flintlock was only ten feet from where she lay, and as quick as a fox she scampered to her feet and grasped the heavy caliber weapon. Charlotte had never fired a pistol before, but the flint-striker pan mechanism was exactly like her fowling piece. In fact, her sporting gun was only a foot longer than this military grade pistol.

She should give Jason a chance to surrender, Charlotte realized as she cocked the gun. He was after all doing what was expected of a British Peer when he comes across an upstart commoner who threatens the peace of the realm. She should, but she didn't. Charlotte had not forgotten the eagerness in Jason's eyes as he threw her to the ground, not could she forget his cold-hearted proclamation about how he was going to take her maidenhead, her hand in marriage and her dowry.

Perhaps if those were his only offenses against her, Charlotte might have given him a chance, but far more important to her than her own virtue or reputation or even safety, was the man who was being cruelly tortured because he had come to her cause. So instead of offering Jason a chance to flee she took up the pistol in both hands and calmly fired the bullet directly into the naked back of the most honourable Sir Jason Worthington, Baronet of Dunshire. May the bastard burn in Hell!

Charlotte was a good shot; the slug hit only two inches higher than she had been aiming and shattered Jason's spine upon impact, no doubt at least some fragments of the heavy lead projectile must have ripped through the man's foul heart and lungs as well, because he dropped without a word to his knees and then toppled to his side coughing a bloody spray as his lifeless body landed on the warm grass that carpeted the floor of St. Theresa's chapel.

Randy stared in stunned surprise at the man who lay twitching at his feet. The accumulated effect of a half dozen or so deep jabs and slices from the gentleman's rapier made it hard to think clearly and it was only as the smoke cleared that he realized how he had been saved. Lady Marlton still held the pistol in both her small hands, and she looked as fierce as any pirate he had ever seen. Her dress hung in tatters from her shoulders, fully exposing her in a way that should have shamed both of them, but neither one cared.

"Randy!" Miss Charlotte exclaimed in alarm as he took two steps forward and then stumbled like a drunkard as the pain and emotion of the encounter caught up with him. He liked the way she said his name, Randy decided as her toned body supported his suddenly weakened legs. That and the way her salty lips tasted as she pressed her mouth to his, and the way her soft breast filled his hand with warmth as he clutched at her bosom to keep from falling over.

The kiss fortified Randy; when her mouth opened and he tasted her he could feel strength from this amazing woman flow into his bones and clear his thinking. The kiss ended far too soon for either of them, and it was Charlotte who came to her senses first, suddenly aware of all the implications of what had happened.

"You have to hide, Mr. Fuller." Charlotte said calmly as she led him to one of the stone benches that had weathered the hundreds of years of neglect better than the rest of the chapel. "Priscilla will be here soon, and she must not see you." She tried to sound optimistic as she detailed her next step, but her voice cracked uncharacteristically. " Then I must inform my father that I've killed Mr. Worthington." Charlotte wondered how this was going to play out, as she dabbed at the multiple bleeding wounds that refused to stop bleeding. The killing of a Baronette, even if it had been to save her maidenhood was no small matter, especially as it was clear that Jason had been shot in the back.

"No, Miss Marlton. Priscilla must see me, because you didn't shoot that Mr. Worthington," corrected Mr. Fuller as he stilled her hands. "Black Brand did." Charlotte began to protest, but was immediately silenced. "It must have been he who did the deed, who else would shoot down a man so coolly, and how could that pistol even be here if not for that scoundrel?"

"But they'll hunt you down in earnest now, Mr. Fuller." Charlotte reminded the man as he stiffly climbed to his feet. "Lord Worthington is a member of the House of Lords, he will not let his son's **** go unavenged."

"Aye, they likely will at that Miss Marlton." Mr. Fuller nodded his head in agreement, but he did not look all that concerned. "There may even be some more blood shed before my time here is done, but I'm already a hunted man, and I'll not have your life ruined because of me."

Charlotte wanted to argue with Mr. Fuller, explain that she no longer cared about what happened to her, but from the distance she could hear Priscilla's panicked calls of alarm. With more strength than she thought he had in him Mr. Fuller climbed to his feet and sticking both the abandoned cutlass and pistol into his belt he let out a loud roar of triumph.

"Let that be a lesson to all the English Aristocrats!" He yelled fiercely "Glory to the Republic!" And with that he charged from the ruins of the chapel past a terrified Miss Dunning who was clearly unaccustomed to bloody men running at her and then once again he was gone and Charlotte felt the now familiar ache in her chest.

"My God Charlotte!" Screeched Priscilla when she found her sitting with a torn bodice next to Jason's corpse. "What happened?"