Guarding the Spoils (The Wild Randalls - Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

fully disappeared behind one wall of the garden and Oliver could only see her uncovered head. He took a pace forward.
    “I should like to place an advertisement in the newspaper,” Leopold called out. “Surely there is another academically minded fellow willing to risk his life to visit the continent as your companion. We can easily afford the additional expense of that.”
    Oliver nodded. “If you must. That might be agreeable if the person has some sort of decent sense about him.”
    “I thought you wanted him to be safe,” Eamon argued. “You never know what kind of scoundrel could answer such an advertisement. They could promise anything. It ain’t hard to procure false letters of recommendation. Believe me, I know. Oliver could be murdered on the road even before he left the country.”
    “Murphy, that does not make me feel easy,” Leopold grumbled. “Speak only if you intend to offer up workable suggestions.”
    Silence fell behind him as the woman in the garden crouched low, bobbing out of sight, most likely to pick an herb.
    After a moment, Tobias faced him. “Are you watching Beth?”
    Oliver squinted as the woman stood again. Perhaps it was Elizabeth. But if so, then who was the boy she had embraced? He was too tall to be the young duke.
    “Fine,” Eamon said at last. “I’ll travel with him. But if Oliver behaves like a donkey’s hindquarters I get to say so, and loudly.”
    “Excellent,” Oliver murmured. Eamon could be counted on to be a good companion. He was useful at bargaining in taverns and remarkably good with his fists. A period of time on the continent could broaden his horizons considerably.
    “Oh, and if I’m murdered along the way then I will come back to haunt Tobias as recompense for the trouble he’s caused me,” Eamon warned.
    “Here now,” Tobias voiced in outrage. “There’s no need to draw me into this.”
    “If you must,” Oliver said absently, ignoring the growing squabble. He kept his eyes on the woman a bare moment and then returned his gaze to the stables. The boy sat atop a pony now, being tutored by the stable master, Charles Allen. Since Allen was family, his illegitimate cousin, Oliver was sure the boy was not his child. Allen’s two sons were adult-sized and had no need for lessons in horsemanship. “Who is the boy on the pony?”
    Tobias swiveled to look at where he indicated and then he swore. At the end of the tirade, Oliver concluded that Tobias had quite the vocabulary of unseemly words. Some of which he was familiar with and others that would bear further study to determine their exact meaning.
    Tobias threw up his hands. “See, this is exactly what we are talking about. You never pay attention when you should. There is no reason to be so obtuse.”
    “What’s going on?” Leopold asked as he joined them.
    Tobias scowled. “Oliver wants to know who the boy is on horseback in the stable yard.”
    Leopold smiled. “That’s George. Allen says he’s becoming quite comfortable on Zeus.”
    “Excellent.” Tobias threw Oliver a dirty look. “However, our learned and yet dim-witted brother still appears puzzled. He has no idea who George is because he’s had his head buried in his books and his own affairs so completely that he does not pay attention.”
    Leopold stared. “How could you not?”
    Oliver blinked. What had he missed? “How could I not what?”
    Tobias clapped a stunning blow to Oliver’s back that threw him forward. When he straightened, Tobias had folded his arms in a perfect imitation of their elder brother. “There are times when I am ashamed to admit we have the same blood in our veins,” Tobias said with some heat. “Excuse me. I think I’ll return to the abbey and see if Blythe needs my company. At least I’m happy to listen to the people around me.” He shook his head and stalked away.
    After a moment, Leopold shook his head too. “Murphy, see what you can do with him.”
    Why should he have paid attention to the