Lord Cavendish Returns Read Online Free PDF

up at the time they decreed, on time and at
the location they demanded. Although they were talking to him in a
friendly enough manner, their confidence in the situation was
emphasised by the calm, almost casual air in which they sat talking
to him. For some reason, he had the strangest feeling that they had
done this kind of thing before and were confident in that there
would be no repercussions that they couldn’t handle in some way or
another.
    Although
he didn’t know the Cavendish brothers personally, he had heard Sir
Hugo mention them on more than one occasion. They were renowned
within the War Office for being war heroes with a sterling
reputation for fairness and decency. Harper snorted and wondered
what the hell went wrong because, as far as he was concerned, there
was nothing fair or decent about knocking someone out as they were
going about their own business, and kidnapping them.
    “ What the hell do you want with me?” He threw each man a dark
look and watched them exchange wary glances.
    “ We have something to tell you and we need you to listen
before you form judgement or make any kind of denial,” Edward
replied and studied the rolling hills that surrounded them for a
moment while he considered where to suggest they go.
    “ We have another day to ride to get to the family’s ancestral
home in Leicestershire,” Sebastian announced.
    “ I am not going to Leicestershire,” Harper snapped angrily. He
didn’t bother to wait for them to say anything else. Instead, he
moved awkwardly to his feet and jumped down from the cart. When
nobody made any attempt to stop him, he began to walk down the lane
in the opposite direction to where they were headed. He had barely
gone a few feet when Sebastian thundered past and turned his horse
sideways in the lane, effectively blocking the road. With no gun,
Harper could hardly kick the horse out of the way and had little
choice but to stand still.
    He put
his hands on his hips and turned to face the men who waited
patiently behind him. “I could have you arrested for kidnap; you
know that, don’t you?”
    “ We do, but I think that you will want to reconsider when we
tell you something about you that you don’t know.” Edward frowned
and thought his statement over carefully.
    “ What?”
    “ Get in,” Dominic ordered. “There is a tavern further down the
road. It isn’t much but it is warm, dry and I don’t know about you
but I need a brandy and a pie. I am starving and fed up of these
two.” He nodded to his brothers. “Let’s eat and then we may as well
tell you.”
    “ Tell me what?” Harper thundered.
    “ Get in,” all three men chorused at once.
    Harper
rolled his eyes and shook his head but clambered onto the back of
the wagon with a sigh of relief. Now that he was off his feet, he
would rather have his teeth pulled out than admit that it was nice
to be out of the city where it was peaceful and the air was crisp
and clear. The sun bathed them in a warm glow, the birds chirped
merrily in the trees and hedgerow as they passed and it soothed his
bad temper to the point that he felt faintly normal, and strangely
regretful, when they pulled into the neatly tended yard of a small
country tavern minutes later.
    Still,
he wasn’t about to be appeased too easily. He jumped down from the
cart before it drew to a stop and stomped inside without a backward
look. Luckily, he had some money in his pocket still and wasted no
time in heading to the bar. He ignored the horrified gasp that came
from the bird-like barmaid, and watched her take several steps away
from him with cool disinterest.
    “ What are you staring at?” He growled with a fierce scowl. The
last thing he wanted or needed right now was to have to deal with
the delicate sensibilities of females. He needed ale. Rather than
wait for the woman to reply, he turned to the inn keeper and
dropped a couple of coins on the bar. “An ale, if you please?” he
asked firmly and waited patiently while the