The Loyal Heart Read online

  “No, really.” She switched tactics and tried to reassure him by putting a hand on his crossed arms. “We … well we have a sort of history, but in spite of whatever it is that he thinks, it’s not him I’m interested in.”

  “He’s dangerous,” Ethan blew out a breath and went on. “There are things about him that you don’t know.”

  “I know more about him than you think.”

  “And I know more about him than you think,” Ethan countered. “Aubrey, he-”

  “Terrorizes peasants, bullies nobles, and eats babies,” she finished his sentence for him with an arched eyebrow.

  “He does not eat babies.” Ethan rolled his eyes. “Evidence or not, I know he killed my father.”

  “It’s fine, Ethan.” She nodded, not sure if she wanted to slap him or kiss him. “I understand. You’re jealous.”

  “Aubrey-”

  “It’s sweet, really.” She turned to march over to her horse.

  She took two steps before he caught her, spun her to face him, and brought his mouth crashing down over top of hers. For a moment she tensed as his arms closed around her. Then she melted. He kissed her with far more abandon than she’d expected and after the shock wore off she kissed him back. After what felt like forever and not long enough he broke the kiss and set her on her feet with an irritated growl. “You drive me crazy!”

  Aubrey was too stunned to do more than breathe and regain her balance. “Good!” she snapped before turning on unsteady legs and wobbling her way over to her horse.

  She took hold of the saddle and tried to mount him once, then twice, and managed only to slam her leg against his flank and lose her grip, nearly falling to the forest floor. Finally on the third try she managed to heft herself onto his back as he skittered around and shook his head, nickering.

  Ethan’s lips were red when she glared at him, back stiffening. “Stay away from Huntingdon,” he charged her.

  “Mmm,” she said over her shoulder as she passed him. She wasn’t sure what he meant, who he was talking about. The only thing that made any sense in her scrambled brain was the way her heart pounded in her chest and the way her lips still tingled.

  By late afternoon the next day, as two carriages and a dozen horses wound their way through Derbywood, it was pouring rain. Aubrey’s mask was plastered to her face as she lay on her stomach under a bush by the side of the road. The sparse leaves didn’t stop the driving rain from soaking her cloak, matting it against her back as she waited. She glanced to Ethan in his hiding place on the other side of the road and smiled, her lips still tingling.

  “Get in, get out, and get home,” she whispered to Jack. He lay flat on the other side of her bush’s stump, sharing cover with her.

  “Easy for you to say, mate,” he moaned. The rain was running rivulets down his neck and he kept reaching up to itch.

  Aubrey turned and winked at him. He winked back, reminding her of a younger Geoffrey. She searched across the road for Tom, who was shadowing Ethan, but couldn’t pick him out. She patted her side, checking for her sword, and adjusted the hood over her head again. The waiting was always the hardest part. “Got your daggers?”

  “Yeah,” Jack answered, patting the places he had them stashed.

  The whole forest drooped with rain. The dark, dragging branches pressed in on them. Jack shifted and sent wary glances at the boughs.

  “There,” Aubrey whispered, excitement in her voice as she pointed along the road.

  Through the gray and green gloom they saw the caravan peek around the corner. It moved slowly on the washed-out roads. Two men on horseback armed with swords and wearing helmets rode in front. They were followed by a solid, unornamented carriage with one tiny barred window. A guard rode beside the driver, ugly mace across his lap. Then came two more guards on horseback with swords, these two wearing Buxton’s colors. Behind them was a second carriage, larger and covered with ornamental drapes of yellow and green, drenched with rain. Bringing up the rear were two final guards. Aubrey frowned and sighed. It would have been much easier if the prisoner was in back of the passengers. That way they could waylay only half of the caravan. This way they would have to stop the whole thing.

  She glanced across the road at Ethan as the procession passed between them and nodded. As the last guards passed she grasped the hilt of her sword and pushed herself to her hands and knees. She pulled the soaked scarf up over the bottom half of her face and wasted time adjusting it so that it would stay put.

  Jack raised himself to a crouch. “Get in, get out, get home,” he recited. She grinned at him. As she glanced across the road Ethan gave the signal to go.

  Aubrey and Jack shot into action, charging onto the road and rushing the guards at the rear. Aubrey lunged at the one on the right and reached for his belt, grabbing it and pulling as hard as she could. She felt her arms jolt and shudder and was dragged along for several feet before the man gave in to her tugging and tumbled off his horse. Jack already had his man on the ground and was punching him in the face. Aubrey had to use the hilt of her sword against the side of her man’s head to knock him out.

  When she bounced to her feet and turned back to the caravan Ethan and Tom had left their cover and were heading for the guards between the two carriages. Aubrey shot a glance to Jack as he caught up to her. They ran alongside the carriage. Jack hopped on the back while Aubrey sprinted to the front to subdue the driver.

  “What the-”

  Aubrey didn’t give the driver time to finish as she leapt onto his seat. She used the momentum of her jump behind her punch to quiet the man. He was thrown sideways and let go of the reins. He twisted to face her and his eyes wide with fear.

  “You!” he exclaimed, holding up his hands and scooting to the far edge of the seat. “Don’t hurt me! I don’t have anything!”

  Aubrey didn’t have time to bask in the fact that she’d been recognized. She grabbed the rain-slicked reins before they could fall over the lip of the seat and into the mud and pulled hard to stop the horses. The two beasts were more than happy to oblige. She glanced up in time to see Ethan and Tom take out Buxton’s two guards, then rush on to the carriage with the prisoner.

  “Oy! Mate!” Jack’s troubled voice sounded from inside.

  Aubrey turned her back to bend around the side of the carriage. The driver scrambled off the seat, landing with a splat in the mud. He struggled to his feet and ran off. She sighed and jumped down, dashing to the door of the carriage and throwing it open, sword in hand.

  She blinked. In one corner a fat man in brocade with an inordinate amount of rings sat cowering, one arm over his head. At the back of the carriage Jack was pinned to the wall by two nuns in gray habits. They each held one of Jack’s daggers to his throat.

  Aubrey grabbed a handful of habit from the nun closest to her and pulled for all she was worth. The woman let out a shout as she fell backwards and landed with a hard thump half in and half out of the doorway, wimple skewed over her gray hair. The dagger fell out of her hand as she hit the floor. Aubrey yanked her out of the carriage and into the muddy road with a splash. She would apologize to the sister later.

  The other nun turned her head with a gasp, giving Jack the opening he needed to grab her slender wrist and twist it. She dropped the dagger with a cry as he continued to twist her hand until he pinned her arm against her back. “In the name of God, you will not hurt me!” she yelped.

  “Nah, I love nuns!” Jack replied with a grin.

  “How dare you!” The nun let out an indignant shout and stomped hard on his foot.

  Jack cursed in pain and lost his grip on the woman. She darted for the door but he recovered fast enough to catch her as she jumped from the carriage. They both fell into the mud with a wet squelch. Jack regained his footing first and scooped the woman off her feet, hoisting her over his shoulder like a sack of flour. She kicked and screamed, “Let me down! Let me down!” but he clamped her in place. She was light and thin but her fists packed a wallop.

 
; “Oy! Stop it! I’m never gonna hurt you or anything.”

  Aubrey held the other nun at sword-point. She was an older woman and she knew when she was beat. She stood regally in the rain, her hands clasped in front of her and a look of immovable serenity on her lined face. She didn’t even blink when the rain splashed across her cheeks. Aubrey lowered her sword, convinced that the woman wouldn’t try anything. She glanced further up the road and could just make out the form of the other carriage, stopped about fifty yards ahead.

  “Will you stop already?” Jack was demanding of the nun over his shoulder. She kept hitting him and he kept turning to tell her to stop, which accomplished nothing but spinning them on the spot.

  “Sister Mary Peter!” the serene nun ordered in a strained voice. “Desist!”

  The nun over Jack’s shoulder gave him one more thump before going limp with a frustrated whimper.

  “Oy! That’s more like it.” Jack let out a breath of relief. “I’m gonna put you down now.” He walked over to the other nun. “Promise me you’ll behave.” She was silent. “Well?”

  “I’ll behave,” a small, strangled voice promised behind his back.

  “That’s better.” He shrugged her off his shoulder and stood her on her feet. Her habit was soaked and clumped around her, damp wimple hiding her face. The serene nun took her hand to calm her. When he was convinced neither of them would do anything Jack turned to see what Aubrey was up to.

  Aubrey had climbed into the carriage. The merchant still cowered in a corner. “Don’t hurt me!” he whined. “Don’t hurt me! I’m no one! I have nothing!”

  “You don’t look like you have nothin’,” Jack said as he leaned into the carriage. Aubrey whipped around to face him, hoping he could see her frown through the mask. Jack nodded to her and reached across the floor of the carriage to retrieve his daggers.

  “Here!” the merchant gasped. He began wrenching the rings off of his fingers and thrusting them at Aubrey. She fumbled and tried not to take them, but he kept pushing them at her and she couldn’t say a word in protest.

  “Oy, over here!” Jack held out his hand and wiggled his fingers. The merchant switched to shoving his rings at Jack, who pocketed them all.

  Aubrey stamped her foot and stepped between Jack and the merchant. The merchant pulled his hands back with a shudder and squeezed his eyes shut. “Don’t kill me!”

  “We’re not gonna kill you!” Jack shouted at the man. “Want me to tie him up or somethin’?”

  Aubrey hesitated before nodding, then leaned to the side while Jack hopped into the carriage. Once he was in she jumped out. She glanced up the road to see Ethan and Tom rushing towards them, a man held between them. Relief surged through her. They had done it. She glanced over to the nuns. The serene one stood with her back straight but wore a faint grimace. Aubrey worried she’d injured her after all. The other one was wet and shaking like a leaf. There was something familiar about her face….

  “Where’s Jack?” Ethan jogged the last few feet of muddy road.

  Aubrey nodded towards the carriage. The young man with Ethan and Tom was dressed in nothing but a tattered shirt and chausses, no shoes on his feet. He was hardly more than a boy but tough with stringy hair and beady eyes. He wore a bitter scowl for the rain and tried to shake out of Tom’s grip when they came to a stop. The spite he shot Aubrey made her stomach knot. He didn’t look like an innocent man.

  “What’ve you got here?” Jack asked as he hopped out of the carriage and strolled over to the others.

  “Prisoner,” Tom answered him.

  “We got two nuns and a merchant,” Jack replied. “A very generous merchant at that!” He held up two hands full of rings with a grin.

  “Jack,” Ethan scolded.

  “Oy, mate, he gave ‘em to me.”

  Ethan was ready to reply but the prisoner started struggling again. Tom twisted the young man’s tied arms behind his back. He shouted a curse before he stopped struggling.

  “We need to move,” Ethan told them. “One of the guards got away. And there’s no telling how long the others will be out.” Aubrey motioned to the nuns and mimed tying. “Right. Jack find something to tie those nuns up with. Put them back in the carriage.”

  Jack turned to do as Ethan said, Aubrey following, but as they reached the nuns again the serene one said, “You will not touch us,” as calmly as if they were at dinner. Jack and Aubrey stopped and exchanged glances. The serene nun looked first to Jack and then to Aubrey. “You will take us with you.”

  Jack laughed. “Well that’s a first.”

  Frustrated beyond words, even if she could have used them, Aubrey turned to Ethan and gestured to the nuns. “Look we don’t have time to argue.” He shook his head as he approached.

  “Precisely,” the serene nun answered with a nod. “You do not have time.” She stared at Ethan for a brief moment then took the hand of the younger nun and bolted with her into the forest.

  Aubrey growled and ran after them. She was surprised at how quick they were. Maybe the older had been feigning her injury. Aubrey dodged in and out of the undergrowth for several long, wasted minutes, feeling like she was just a few feet behind them the whole time. When she finally did catch up she grabbed hold of their soaking wet garments to drag them to a stop. She held them where they were, all three of them panting. The serene nun was grimacing again. The younger one wore a look of misery and cried as she caught her breath in gulps. She wiped her face with the corner of her wet wimple, pulling it askew to reveal the smallest patch of strawberry blonde hair.

  Aubrey’s eyes widened with recognition. “Madeline?” The younger nun stopped crying with a hiccup. Aubrey let go of them and reached up to pull the scarf from her face, throw her hood back, and peel her mask off.

  The young nun’s mouth dropped open in shock and then broke into a huge grin. “Aubrey!” For a moment they stood there staring at each other. Then they launched into each other’s arms and embraced like sisters.

  When Ethan and the others caught up they were treated to the uncanny sight of Aubrey and the young nun holding each other’s arms and chattering like two magpies on a fence.

  “That is not what I expected,” Jack spoke all of their thoughts aloud.

  “Something you’d like to tell me?” Ethan arched an eyebrow at Aubrey.

  “Ethan, it’s Madeline of Matlock! You know, Edward’s youngest sister.”

  Ethan squinted at the beaming young nun. “But you’re ten years old.”

  She laughed. “Ten years ago.”

  “Madeline was sent to the Abbey of St. Mary in Coventry,” Aubrey reminded him. “I was so angry with your father for sending my best friend away.”

  “Madeline of Matlock.” Ethan shook his head.

  “It’s Sister Mary Peter now.” She nodded to Ethan in an imitation of the serene sister.

  “Uh, good to see you again.”

  “I’m Jack.” Jack elbowed his way past Ethan and Tom. He reached for Madeline’s hand and brought it to his lips with a wink. “And it is more than a pleasure to meet you.”

  Madeline squeaked and her face went bright pink, her green eyes round.

  “Jack loves nuns,” Aubrey explained, unable to keep a straight face.

  Ethan cleared his throat. “We need to get out of here.”

  “Fine.” Aubrey agreed. Jack let Madeline’s hand go, his eyes twinkling. Aubrey turned to her friend who was staring hard at the soaked ground in front of her, face violent pink. “Can you run?”

  “I … I think so,” Madeline stammered and turned to the serene nun. “Sister Bernadette?”

  “Oh, I can run, child.”

  “Good,” Ethan nodded. “Let’s go!”

  Chapter Five

  Geoffrey expected his sister and friends to return with one bedraggled accused murderer, grateful to have been rescued. When they arrived dripping wet escorting one glowering criminal and two nuns that looked more like drowned cats he could do nothing but glare at Aubrey as
she slopped her heavy cloak onto the floor next to the door.

  “We ran into a few hitches,” she explained, not meeting his eyes.

  “Hitches,” Geoffrey repeated, adjusting his weight on his crutches.

  “Yeah.”

  Aubrey put her arm around the younger nun’s waist as if they were old chums and ushered both nuns to the fire, leaving a damp trail in their wake. Jack pushed his way through the open door, wide grin on his face, and followed the women to the fireplace. He shook rain out of his hair and onto Morley Hall’s good furniture. Geoffrey quirked an eyebrow at the casual way the upstart peasant leaned against his mantle and drummed up a conversation with the younger nun. Ethan and Tom remained outside in the driving rain holding the writhing prisoner between them. Geoffrey glanced up at the heaving sky then down to the slick stairs leading into the front yard.

  “You know, he doesn’t exactly have the angelic pallor of an innocent man.”

  “I’ll cut your bleedin’ heart out!” the boy hollered and strained against his captors.

  “You noticed.” Ethan wrenched the young man’s arm to keep him at bay.

  The scrambling clop of footsteps running up the hall from the servant’s quarters preceded the wide-eyed form of Toby. He skittered to Geoffrey’s side, nearly knocking him flat. “My lord! Thank God you’ve made it back in one piece and – what in blazes?” Toby’s mouth hung open as the prisoner flailed and tried to bite Ethan. When his attempt failed he stomped on Tom’s foot instead. Both men grunted with the effort of restraining him.

  “Mind if we use your barn to, uh, secure him?” Ethan growled.

  “Be my guest,” Geoffrey scowled. He hobbled back to the warm, dry room as Ethan and Tom dragged the man across the yard to the storage barn.

  Toby gaped at the scene before shutting the door in Geoffrey’s wake and following him into the main room. “That … that man is a murderer!”

  “A hitch?” Geoffrey reached for the main hall’s long table to steady himself as he rounded on his sister.

  Aubrey was reluctant to meet his eyes. “Okay, so he might be an actual murderer. We can always take him to Derby Castle in the morning.”