Sabbath's 2 Darlings- The 12: Book Two

41. The Secret Door

Esau threw off his coat, leaving it on the ground for a servant to worry about. He marched into the parlor where he found his wife and brothers. "What are you sitting around for?"

"The girls escaped in the wood," Jude said. "Ishmael here let them get away." He smirked.

Esau turned to his brother. "Did you find the diary?"

"Those girls must have taken it," Ishmael said. "Esau, I saw her ghost. Little Catherine, she came at me."

"You saw her daughter," Jude scoffed. "See you two, that's what happens when you kill people, you conscious haunts you."

"Shut up, Jude!" Esau thundered. "Someone is playing a dirty trick on us." He handed the paper to his wife and she gasped before passing it to Ishmael.

"Who did this?" the brother asked.

"I don't know," Esau said. "But they won't get away with it." He nodded. "We will still go on with the plan. I will flag the train," He checked his watch. "Ishmael you wait for me at the beach and Jude..." He turned to his youngest brother. He placed one hand on his shoulder and sighed. "I know I haven't trusted you but now I am giving you a very important job. If we are stopped at the depot and if that ship gets away it will be the end of us."

Jude shrugged. "I could have figured that out."

Esau squeezed his shoulder. "But no one wrongs our family and gets away with it."

"What are you saying, Esau?" Ida asked.

"Jude you know where the dynamite is kept," Esau went on. "If I don't return from the depot at the designated time then you are to blow up the tunnels and set fire to Richmond Wood."

The three watched the patriarch incredulously.

"Esau, you can't be serious," Ida said. "That will desecrate the whole town." She followed him with her eyes. "What about the house?"

"I advise you start packing, Ida and get out of the way just in case," Esau said. "Laurie won't be far enough."

Ishmael got to his feet. "What about the blood gold?"

"It should be fine where it is," Esau said. "No one ever goes to Indian Cove."

Ishmael nodded but he wasn't sure he agreed. Those girls had the diary after all. "Brother," He addressed Esau. "Allow me to rid of Sabbath's daughters."

Esau bobbed his head. "If you don't think the forest will take care of them then go. But hurry we don't have much time."

Ishmael left the room and Jude turned to the painting of the family on the wall. This was what they had become. "Esau?"

Esau turned to him with hard eyes. "What is it now, Jude?" he barked.

Jude bit his lip and blinked his hodgepodge eyes. "I...I'm going to set the dynamite up early in case there is a hiccup. I'll saddle my horse."

Esau nodded, glad for once that his youngest brother was being cooperative.

/

Providence looked up into the canopy. They could no longer tell if it was still raining. Night creatures were already starting to sing from the underbrush as the two made their way through the trees. "Ottaline, I don't think this is the way to Laurie," Providence whispered. "And what if Ishmael Richmond is waiting for us there?"

Ottaline looked back at her sister. She had every reason to be scared. "Just keep close to me." As the words left her mouth they heard a scratching sound and what sounded like two large people coming in their direction.