She could hear Fitzsimmons shouting the most foul imprecations from above. She did the only thing she could. She prayed, then ducked into the cave.
"Will, it's me, Elizabeth. I'm coming in. Don't shoot."
When she raised to her full height, she looked round eagerly, but saw no one.
The walls shimmered with a lambent golden light, rendering the inside of the cave as bright as day though she could see no fire burning in the ancient hearth.
"Will?" she whispered. "Will?!"
But she was alone.
She saw them then, the crates of muskets filling the center of the cave, some cleaned and polished, ready for use, others still corroded from years of dust and damp. She flicked through for a pistol, something, anything. But it would take time to load the gun and prime the pan.
She ran back toward the door and tried to heave it shut. The stone was so heavy it was impossible for her to even budge it an inch.
An eerie susurration whistling through the cave caused her to shiver. She looked around, certain she was not alone. She peered in the dark corners, searching for any sign of life, but there was nothing.
She grabbed a musket and made ready to use it as a club, while she snatched up a second and tried to load it. She had bullets and wadding and the ramrod, but where was the powder? She couldn't see a single horn anywhere.
She heard footsteps approaching and got ready to clout the newcomer. But how could she be sure it wasn't Will?
She decided to trust to fate, and swung hard. She caught Fitzsimmons on the side of the head with the wooden butt of the gun.
He cursed even more viciously and tackled her hard, rolling her under his heavy body and ramming his forearm into her throat. "I don't much care if I have you alive or dead. Try that again and I'll settle for your corpse when I swive you."
She scratched and kicked him, and rasped, "It's going to be a pleasure killing you, you traitor. As if I ever would have married the likes of you."
"That's it." He lifted his arm so she could breathe again, but used it now to tear at her clothes, shredding her hunter green woollen gown until all she had on was her thin snow white chemise.
His hands were rough, eager, and despite all her struggles, she was certain he was going to succeed in having his way with her until a scraping sound alarmed him.
He jumped up, dragging her along. He shielded himself with her pressed against his front, squeezing her breast painfully, a pistol jammed against her temple.
Then he pulled the other pistol out of his pocket. "Try anything and she dies."
"We all have to die some time," Parks said as he strode forward to attack.
"Parks," she gasped. "No."
The first pistol went off but the ball flew wide.
Elizabeth took her chance and elbowed Fitzsimmons hard in the gut. She wriggled free of his grasp, running to the door of the cave.
Parks grabbed their enemy by the throat and shook him like a rat.
Fitzsimmons clung to the second weapon and brought it up to his chin.
"Let me go or I'll blow your arrogant head off," he said with a triumphant smile.
Anyone else would have killed him outright, but Fitzsimmons was so confident of his own power he was determined to gloat.
Parks raised his hands and stepped back. "The rest of us will be here in a minute. You can't kill us all."
"The rest of us will be here in a minute. The signal has been sent. You're all dead."
Elizabeth heard an ominous rumbling, and the sound of footsteps approaching all around her. To her right was a small hole-another part to the cave? To the left was the entrance. Now a musket poked through as someone stooped to enter.
"Parks, get down!" she shouted.
She grabbed the barrel of the musket, pointed it and pulled hard inwards.
The gun went off, sending Fitzsimmons flying against the crates, a huge hole in his chest, an expression of surprised wonder on his face.
Then Will entered from the right, as more and more men were firing into the cave from the beach.
"Will, get down!" she gasped.
Will was so shocked to see his wife half-naked and bloodied that he halted for a split second, gun in hand.
He heard the bullet whizz, felt it smack him hard in the chest. It hit him, then ricocheted off his gold necklet, catching Parks squarely in the throat.
"No, Parks, no!" Will shouted as his friend collapsed in his arms, his breath wheezing and bubbling through the gaping wound that was gushing blood like a red river.
Convinced they had killed both men, the intruders now began to pour into the entrance.
Elizabeth pressed herself into the corner, trying to shift the stone one last time, when her fingers touched cold metal.