If He's Noble (Wherlocke Book 7) (Paranormal Historical Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the mornin’, Will.” The man who spoke scratched under his ragged beard. “That lad will nay be warning anyone.”
    “Not sure I trust that old bitch we just risked a hanging for either.”
    “She is paying us well.”
    “True, but I do not much trust her, neither,” said the thin man with the long, visibly filthy blond hair.
    “No need to, Ned,” said the bearded man. “Three of us against her and one servant. And we got the horses, so the lass and that big feller she has with her now will be easier for the old crone to catch.”
    Bened, fearing that one of the men might glance his way, moved to hide, using the horses as his shield. He was eager to leave but wanted to hear what the men had to say. Information was often the best defense and Bened was certain the old crone the men did not trust was Miss Primrose’s aunt. He was also sure that little Miss Primrose Wootten was still holding on to a few secrets.
    He briefly considered hurrying right back to the inn to ask her a few tough questions but decided that could wait just a little while longer. The opportunity to find out who was pursuing her was too good to pass up even though he suspected exactly who it was. Over the past few years he had come to the conclusion that some of an heir’s deadliest foes slithered out of his own bloodline.
    “Might be best to just send her word about our success,” suggested Will.
    “Then how do we get paid?” asked Ned.
    “By not being cowards and facing the bitch. She be just an old woman, fools.”
    “She is nay that old and in fine shape,” said Will. “She is also mean as a badger, sly, and cold, Mac. Do not forget she is paying us to stop a sister from finding her own brother and is chasing that boy down like he is a rabid cur what needs shooting. I be thinking we have been dragged into some family battle and that is always bad. Real bad.”
    Mac should listen to Will, Bened thought. Stepping into the middle of a family battle, especially one over money and land, was the action of a reckless fool. Bened just wished he could avoid it but a pair of big dark blue eyes were tethering him to this trouble. At least he was on the right side of the fight.
    Cautiously, he began to move the horses away from the campsite. His horse, Mercury, had no saddle, nor did Smudge, but he did not need one. Once he gathered up the horses from the stables, he could ride Mercury and lead the others.
    He reached the patiently grazing horse from the stables, secured the three horses together so that they would remain that way during his ride back to the inn, and then crept back to the campsite. While keeping a close watch on the three men, still arguing, for any sign that they sensed his presence, Bened untethered their horses. He walked back toward where his horses waited, paused and picked up three stones, then turned to look at the men’s horses. Offering up a silent apology to the animals, he hit each one in the rear flank with a stone then turned and ran for his horses, the sounds of chaos caused by three men trying to avoid being trampled and yet gather up their panicked horses following him.
    Leaping onto Mercury’s back, he headed back to the inn, moving as fast as he dared while trying to keep the three mounts close together. The stableboy still looked chastened and afraid when he led the horses into the stables. Although Bened did not think the men would risk coming after him all the way to the inn, he decided to stand guard in the stables for about an hour. He then proceeded to give the boy a few lessons in the harsh realities of life. Once certain no one was coming after him and assured the boy would let him know if those men came sniffing round again, Bened left the boy with his ears probably still stinging from the his lecture and headed into the inn. As he moved toward the parlor, he planned what and how much he should tell Primrose.
     
     
    “Are you really thinking of going to see that bitch?” Will asked Mac as they