Free A Convenient Bride by Cheryl Ann Smith Page B

too weary to risk another argument. She wanted peace between them.
    It was a full hour since they’d left the inn that she felt a prickle of unease on the back of her neck. Brontes spun her head around to peer back down the road. Brenna turned in the saddle to see what had interested the mare.
    She saw a pair of riders coming up behind them, riding at a gentle lope, as if in no hurry. There was nothing outward about the men to cause alarm.
    Perhaps they sought a runaway family member of their own. She’d heard that many fathers and brothers made this same desperate journey to rescue their daughters and sisters from their impulsive acts.
    Still, she could not shake a feeling of unease. She felt it in her bones.
    Turning forward, she urged Brontes to close the gap with Richard. It didn’t take long before she looked back a second time, and her stomach dipped.
    The men had narrowed the distance between them just enough for Brenna to realize they were a pair from the inn she’d seen that morning. She recognized the taller man’s soiled green coat.
    “That is odd,” she said to herself. “They left before us.” She watched them for another few seconds before a trill of alarm took root and spread through her. Their eyes were focused on her.
    “Lord Ashwood. I think we may be in trouble.”
    He twisted in the saddle. His gaze darted to her, then past to the men. He cursed low, stopped his horse, and spun around. Brontes, surprised by the change, jumped sideways, almost unseating Brenna.
    “Stay behind me,” Richard commanded. He managed to put himself and his gelding between her and the men. As if understanding their stealthy attack had been thwarted, the pair urged their horses forward at a rapid clip.
    One man pulled a pistol from his coat and aimed. Brenna gasped. A shot exploded, and Richard jerked sideways. The gelding startled and unseated his rider. Richard hit the ground with a thud and a pained grunt.
    Brenna scrambled off Brontes and ran toward him. He had just enough time to get to his feet unaided when the men were upon them.
    Whoops followed as the pair circled Brenna and Richard, their raucous calls breaking the quiet, their horses a blur of motion and slashing hooves. Brenna gripped Richard’s uninjured right arm, fearing she’d be trampled.
    “What do you want?” Richard ground out, holding his arm. A small patch of blood marked his coat. “We have little coin.”
    The men looked at each other, then back at Richard. The taller man grinned. “What luck. It appears we found us a nobleman to rob.”
    The other said, “Ye wouldna know it from ’is clothes.”
    Trying not to show fear, Brenna scowled. “Leave us be,” she demanded forcefully. All she gained was lecherous grins. “We have nothing you want.”
    The tall man tugged his beard and rubbed himself through his trousers. His companion chortled. “I think we’ll take both yer blunt…and yer woman.”
    The second man needed no further encouragement. He nudged his horse forward, right at Brenna. She darted sideways, releasing Richard. She cried out when a hand caught her hair and jerked her backward against the attacker’s horse. Richard tried to get to her, but the excited horse spun about, making rescue impossible.
    “Release me!” She clawed at his hand, pain tearing through her scalp. She bit back a cry.
    “Release me,” he mocked her in a high voice. Her capturer’s laughter ended with a pistol shot. He arched backward, a bloody hole in the center of his chest, freeing her, his eyes startled and wide eyed.
    With a strangled grunt, he flopped back off the horse.
    Brenna jumped away, though not fast enough to avoid the panicked horse. The beast knocked her down. Her left wrist twisted, sending a sharp pain through her hand. She cried out as the riderless horse bunched up and bolted off down the road.
    Through the pain, she saw Richard holding a smoking pistol. His face was hard-set and dangerous. She shivered.
    The other man,