her to him and dragged her toward the gallery railing.
“Miss? Miss!”
A flood of workers swarmed the floor below, staring up at the sudden commotion. Several men started up the stairs.
“No one move!” Cole shouted. “No one! I’ll kill her.”
The men froze. Alexander cursed and started forward, but Cole pushed the muzzle harder. Fear swamped Lydia.
Alexander stopped, his muscles bunched with tension beneath his coat. Behind him, Jane looked at Cole wide-eyed, then turned and ran. Relief over her daughter’s escape overwhelmed Lydia’s fear.
“Let her go, Cole.” Alexander held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Whatever amount of money you want, you will have.”
“No.” Lydia flinched. Sweat trickled down her back, Cole’s breath hot and harsh against her ear.
“Who’s worth more to you, Northwood, the girl or Lydia?”
“They are of equal value.”
Cole laughed. “Are they? Suppose I leave Lydia with you? Take Jane with me? I’d have myself quite a trump card, could bring her out any time as the daughter of Viscountess Northwood, the eminent—”
“Stop!”
Cole whirled, turning as Jane hurried along the length of the gallery, her hand outstretched. A piece of paper fluttered in her grasp.
“Let her go.” She thrust the paper toward Cole. “And I’ll give you this.”
Cole stared at the girl, then gave a low laugh. “Perhaps I underestimated your intelligence, Jane. Even among this illustrious group, you might well be the smartest one here.”
He held out a hand to take the paper, but Jane kept it from his reach. Determination hardened her features.
“First release Lydia,” she ordered.
Cole shook his head. “Not until I have the document.”
“How do I know you’ll let her go?”
“You’ll have to trust me. I am your father, after all.”
“No, you are not.”
A vibration of impatience went through Cole’s body. “Give me the paper, Jane,” he snapped.
Jane’s eyes darted to where Alexander stood beside the fire. Lydia’s heart jumped at his sudden movement. He hurled himself forward, his big hand coiling around Lydia’s arm as he tore her from Cole’s grasp.
The gun went off. Lydia stumbled to her knees. Jane screamed. A collective gasp rose from the crowd below, followed by a surge of movement.
Alexander plowed into Cole and slammed him against the gallery railing. The wood fractured and cracked. Cole grunted, swinging his arm back to catch Alexander on the side of the head.
Jane ran to Lydia. The document fell as she gripped Lydia with both hands and tried to drag her away from the brawling men. Lydia pressed a hand to her stomach, her vision blurring. She blinked and tried to focus, tried to…
“The girl!” a man shouted. “Get her away!”
Lydia pushed Jane toward the stranger’s voice. The crowd below seemed to swell and shift like an ocean’s tide.
A sickening thud echoed through the room as Alexander gripped Cole’s collar and shoved him against the railing again. A bloody gash bloomed on Cole’s forehead.
He cursed and kicked his foot upward, catching Alexander hard in the knee. The crack was enough to make Alexander loosen his grip. Cole tore away from him.
The gun. Where was the gun?
Lydia pushed to her feet, desperate, but Cole was advancing, closing in. He grabbed the gun from where it had fallen by the hearth. He swung it up, firing at the men advancing on the stairs, then toward the crowd.
People screamed. Doors slammed open and closed. Footsteps thundered.
Alexander crashed against Cole’s back, bringing him to the ground. The gun went flying. Both men grunted, bones cracking.
Jane darted forward and grabbed the birth certificate. Cole twisted, breaking from Alexander’s grip. He plunged forward and dove for Jane.
Lydia knew what was going to happen before it came to pass. Just as she knew she could do nothing to prevent it.
Horror flooded her as she watched Cole plow into her daughter, breaking through the splintered railing with a thunderous crack.
Unable to stop the forward movement, Cole shoved Jane aside before he crashed through the railing. With a shriek, Jane skidded against the floor as pieces of wood crashed onto the globe display below.
The crowd swarmed in a mass of confusion, shouts and gasps rising.
“Jane!” Alexander yelled.
He lunged for the girl, his hand clamping around her wrist just as she started to slide over the edge. He yanked her to a halt and braced one foot against a post.
Panic swamped Lydia. She stretched to reach for Jane’s other hand and sent up a million prayers of gratitude when her daughter’s fingers closed around hers.
She looked over the edge. Cole had grasped a broken post to prevent himself from falling.