The Duke's Unusual Proposal

Chapter 22

        She tossed and turned it seemed like hours, trying to sleep thinking about Simon. Think about how quiet he'd become in the library when she informed him she need to go on with her life and would soon need to return to America. She rolled over on her side and close her eyes once more trying to will herself to fall asleep.

        A few minutes later she thought she heard a noise as if someone was moving around in her room. She opened her eyes thinking that someone was Simon who was coming to check on her to be sure she wasn't taking any more midnight rides. With just a little moonlight coming into her bedchamber she soon realized that someone was dressed all in black and it wasn't Simon.

        Slowly and quietly she reached under her pillow with her fingers finding her derringer she gripped the little gun then sat up in her bed as her heart beat greatly increase.

        "Stop right where you are or I'll shoot." she yelled. She saw the person freeze for only a few seconds before starting to hurry toward her again. He must not see or believe I have a gun, she thought. At nearly the same instances she saw something shinny in his right hand and thought it must a knife. "I do have a gun and I will shoot you if you don't stop this instant and drop what you're holding!"

        Simon seemed to come out of nowhere grabbing  the man by his arms. They started fighting and Reggie wasn't able to get a clear shot at the man without risking the possibility of shooting Simon. She hurried from her bed to turn on a light to see them better then dashed to the foot of the bed hoping to get a shot at the man. She watched as Simon was trying to keep the man from stabbing him with the knife he still held.

        Simon had one hand on the man's wrist that held the knife while his other hand was trying to shove the man away from him. Reggie saw the man's other hand came up and punch Simon once in his stomach. Simon swung his fist hitting the man in the jaw. Soon they were tumbling around the room bumping into this piece of furniture or that as each one hit the other.

        It seemed as if they fought for hours before they both fell onto the floor with Simon's head hitting the corner of the desk and the man's knife stabbing Simon in the shoulder. Then the black clad man jumped to his feet with the knife still in his hand and started toward her, Reggie pulled the trigger of the derringer twice as the bullets struck him in his chest he fell forward landing a her feet. Running quickly to her dresser she found more bullets and reloaded the gun but when she returned she found him staring up at with wide open eyes.

        Next she hurried to Simon. "Oh God, please don't let him be dead." She knelt down beside him and felt for a pulse and found her husband's heart was still beating but bleeding badly. She ran next to yank on the cord to ring for the servants and pulled it several times before running to the bathroom to get some towels to stop the bleeding from Simon's shoulder. Returning she knelt down and placed one on his wound hoping the bleeding would stop. "Simon, don't you dare die on me," she told him as she put pressure on his wound to staunch the flow of blood.

        It seemed forever before Thurston arrived and gasped at the sight before him. Reggie told him to get a doctor and the local police and tell them to hurry here. By now Simon's blood seemed to be everywhere, all over his chest and the floor.

        She kept pressure on his wound while she waited for the doctor and police officials to arrive and talked to him but he didn't respond to any of her words. Chloe hurried in and handed Reggie her dressing gown and while she hurriedly donned it the maid kept the pressure on the wound. It seemed forever before the doctor and police arrive at near the same time and once the doctor looked at Simon he had him moved to his bedchamber.