Free If He's Daring by Hannah Howell Page B

streets of the city with little more care than that offered by his mates, who were not all that much older than he was, and the occasional kind-hearted or avaricious whore. His friends had taken him into their care, and that was why his family had more or less adopted the whole lot. They had more than proved their worth in what they had done for Giles.
    “Go to sleep. We will need our rest, as I feel we will be spending a great deal of time rushing about the countryside.”
    Giles murmured an affirmative and closed his eyes. The boy was asleep in no time at all, and Orion felt his heart clench with strong emotion. Giles could not show him any more clearly how safe he felt with him than by falling asleep so easily and sleeping so deeply. Having had little to do with Paul’s or Hector’s upbringing since they had been staying with his cousin Penelope since their own mothers had deserted them, Giles had not realized how easily a child could grab his heart and make it impossible to shake free. He knew it had nothing to do with Paul and Hector being luckier in how life had treated them, either. Once he had all three boys in his home at last, Orion suspected he would be having this trouble with his heart more often. Paul and Hector had just not had the chance to get a firm grip on it yet.
    He turned his thoughts to Lady Catryn Gryffin de Warrenne. At the moment when he sensed she was hiding something, he had been annoyed; but the more he thought on it, the more he understood why she had said nothing. Unless Sir Morris had actually tried to seduce or molest her, all she had was her own impression of what the man might feel toward her. Without sufficient evidence, she might worry that she would sound vain or foolish if she spoke of Sir Morris wanting her.
    It might be time to send word to some of his kinsmen. The added help in keeping an eye on her would be welcome, probably even wise, yet he still hesitated. Foolish it might be, but he suddenly wanted to do this himself. He could only hope that it did not prove to be a disastrous decision. Cursing softly, he finally admitted to himself that he wanted to be her hero. He had no idea where that urge came from as he had never felt the like before. All he could do was hope that the madness would pass quickly.

Chapter Five
    Her heart pounding with fear, Catryn stared up at the first light of dawn streaking across her ceiling. Something bad was coming. She recognized all too well the chill in her blood, the heavy sense of foreboding, and the sour bite of fear in her mouth. In a way that she could never explain well, she always knew when danger approached. Not just danger to herself, either, but sometimes she could sense it approaching others.
    Her father had called it instinct and had been rather fascinated by it. He had questioned her extensively and even researched it as much as he was able. Her mother had always found it unsettling, strongly advising her to keep very quiet about it, stressing many times that it was a secret she must hold on to very tightly. Good or bad, it was something she had suffered from for a long time, and she never ignored it.
    Scrambling out of bed, she yanked off her nightdress and put on her clothes. Catryn was not sure how she could warn Sir Orion without sounding like a madwoman, but she knew she had to try. She could not hesitate. Whatever was coming, her strange instincts were telling her that it was more than she could deal with alone. It could also reach out and touch Sir Orion, even young Giles, and that was not something she could allow to happen just because she feared a little mockery. Sir Orion and his son were only with her because they wanted to help, and she could not remain quiet about the shadows coming their way.
    Creeping across the hall, she opened the door to the room Sir Orion and his son shared, as quietly as she could. Instead of entering a room where two people slept peacefully, unaware of any danger, she found herself facing a man