Alannah squeezed her eyes closed for a moment in an effort to clear them. "How can you be so sure?"
"Your father's Captain is remaining here with us, after seeing the carnage your father caused he deserted your father. I did get an interesting bit of news today," he told her. "It appears that stock markets have crashed. Your father"s empire is in ruins. His assets are worthless." He sighed. "Your brother, on the other hand . . . I think he will profit enormously."
"Will he leave us alone, do you think?"
Dominic nodded. "Yes. He makes his money selling small quantities of arms - not amassing them and raising his own private armies. But that"s enough for now. The doctor says that you"re to rest."
"Dominic I want to go home, please take me home.
"My love you are in the hospital right now, you are in bad shape and until you are released I won't be able to take you home. But I will be here with you until you are released."
"Just tell me what happened, at the very end."
"There"s not much to tell," he told her. "You were found on the floor, unconscious . . . there was a dead man laying on top of you."
"A dead man? What happened next?"
He looked uncomfortable, but she persisted.
"What is it? What are you not telling me?"
"When they found you . . . there was an empty revolver in your hands, and a dozen men laying dead on the floor. There was one other revolver laying by the door. Like yours, it was empty- it seemed to have been dropped there in haste."
Alannah frowned. "I know Eraldo gave Rosemary a gun, but don"t remember . . . anything else. I'm sorry did I do something wrong?"
"No, mi amore, now go back to sleep. We will be going home soon enough."
"I"m sorry . . . for bringing all this -"
"Don"t," he said quietly, placing the back of his hand against her cheek. "The people of La lengua demonios are better for having vanquished Evil and Tyranny. They are proud and they are free, and you, however inadvertantly, provided them with an opportunity to prove themselves yet again -"
"But all those people - are dead . . ."
"We lost only a small handful -"
"What? How can that be?"
"This is La lengua demonios, after all," he told her. "At least, to our enemies. To us it is Port Lira, and this is a place of peace and freedom. For those who would try to take it from us- beware."
"Thanks but after all this excitement I will settle for a quiet life at the Chateau, any day" she murmured, drifting off once more. "And dirt between my toes, and a nice cool glass of lemonade . . ."