At that moment, Jacobs ran up with a smile on his face and offered his purse to his employer.
“I dare say this is yours, My Lord! But how is Jonathan? Is he badly hurt?”
“He is, but he’ll mend,” Evan replied, taking the purse and nearly laughing at how meaningless it felt now. It was a dead weight in his hands, one that he no longer cared about. “I’ll be delivering him home now, so you two, do what you can to round up the others and bring the horses back to the stables.”
“Aye, My Lord,” Donohue said, giving his employer a conspiratorial look. “And we’ll speak on these matters some other time, I presume?”
“Yes, that’s correct. There’s absolutely no need to mention it now.”
Chapter 18
Thomas waited until he was sure no one was in sight, then he stole across the wide courtyard, careful to avoid making noise as he crossed the cobblestones. The sun was already low in the sky, so he presumed that most of the household would be occupied with dinner.
Hoity-toity rich folk with far more care for appearances than their wealth, he thought miserably.They deserve every ill-fated misfortune that befalls them!
He ducked into the long, stone stable with a last glance over his shoulder, then waited for his heart to stop pounding in his chest before moving all the way inside. He waited, pressed against the wall in the shadow of a large stack of hay bales, listening for the sound of anyone about.
Thomas counted the stalls as he made his way directly to the one he was looking for.Three… four… five… six…It took longer than he thought to creep silently down the row, but eventually he reached it.
It had pained Thomas to pass so many fine-looking horses, but none of those others held the significance of this particular horse. He was there to send a very clear message to Lord Mortham, and only this horse would do.
But instead of finding the prize he sought, Thomas held back an angry shout when he looked inside. The horse was gone! He hurried from door to door and peeked in, searching for the specific animal he’d come to take. But it wasn’t there!
Blast! He’s taken the one I was after. He’s on to me!Thomas thought.
Just as he started to leave, a new plan took root in his mind. Perhaps this one horse would have been a fine warning to his high-and-mighty grace, but still, there was no need to leave empty-handed.
Any of these others will still fetch a handsome price and put a little chink in what the man owes me, he thought.
After ensuring once again that no one was near, Thomas looked in on several different horses before backtracking to a particularly handsome horse.
“Well, hallo there…Valiant,” he said, reading the small bronze plaque fastened to the half-door. “Aren’t you a pretty boy? For now, anyways. We’ll see how long yer coat shines after a few years toting lackeys around the back alleys of London.”
Thomas unlatched the door and stepped in, ignoring the soft whinny of alarm that Valiant snorted. He grabbed the halter he’d brought with him, slipped it over Valiant’s head, then led him away.
* * *
Inside Windle Manor, Harriet paced her room again, wondering where her sister could be. She’d covered for her too many times as it was, and Harriet feared heading down to dinner without her and facing Father’s questions again.
Perhaps she, too, could feign illness?
Alas, she knew she could not. She’d never have the strength of will, the mental fortitude required to blatantly lie to her father… nor to anyone else, for that matter.
I just don’t have it in me, Harriet thought miserably, still wringing her hands.
She walked across her room to the window and looked out for the hundredth time, as though the empty courtyard below would give her the answer to Marjorie’s whereabouts. With still no sign of her, Harriet almost turned away, but a movement down below caught her attention.
“What’s this?” Harriet whispered, drawing the curtain back slightly to better see while concealing her from view. “What? No! Stop!”
Down below, a man she’d never seen before was leading Marjorie’s horse away from the stable. Her first instinct was a petty, ruffian thief, but then she began to worry: what if he’d been sent to fetch the horse… for Marjorie?
Was her sister running away rather than face a marriage she did not want? Or more accurately, marriage to a man whose own sister was a reptilian beast?
“She would never,” Harriet said through her tears, but her word failed to convince her. “What will she do? Where will she go if she’s cast out, the scourge of our good name and the laughingstock of the ton?”
Her tears came forth now, real and filled with anguish for her sister. But Harriet was suddenly filled with a renewed hope, a strength she never knew she possessed.
“She’ll not leave me here!” Harriet said urgently, flinging open her door and racing down the stairs, intent on joining Marjorie.
