Free The Loyal Heart by Merry Farmer Page B

him by putting a hand on his crossed arms. “We … well we have a sort of history, but in spite of whatever it is that he thinks, it’s not him I’m interested in.”
    “He’s dangerous,” Ethan blew out a breath and went on. “There are things about him that you don’t know.”
    “I know more about him than you think.”
    “And I know more about him than you think,” Ethan countered. “Aubrey, he-”
    “Terrorizes peasants, bullies nobles, and eats babies,” she finished his sentence for him with an arched eyebrow.
    “He does not eat babies.” Ethan rolled his eyes. “Evidence or not, I know he killed my father.”
    “It’s fine, Ethan.” She nodded, not sure if she wanted to slap him or kiss him. “I understand. You’re jealous.”
    “Aubrey-”
    “It’s sweet, really.” She turned to march over to her horse.
    She took two steps before he caught her, spun her to face him, and brought his mouth crashing down over top of hers. For a moment she tensed as his arms closed around her. Then she melted. He kissed her with far more abandon than she’d expected and after the shock wore off she kissed him back. After what felt like forever and not long enough he broke the kiss and set her on her feet with an irritated growl. “You drive me crazy!”
    Aubrey was too stunned to do more than breathe and regain her balance. “Good!” she snapped before turning on unsteady legs and wobbling her way over to her horse.
    She took hold of the saddle and tried to mount him once, then twice, and managed only to slam her leg against his flank and lose her grip, nearly falling to the forest floor. Finally on the third try she managed to heft herself onto his back as he skittered around and shook his head, nickering.
    Ethan’s lips were red when she glared at him, back stiffening. “Stay away from Huntingdon,” he charged her.
    “Mmm,” she said over her shoulder as she passed him. She wasn’t sure what he meant, who he was talking about. The only thing that made any sense in her scrambled brain was the way her heart pounded in her chest and the way her lips still tingled.
     
    By late afternoon the next day, as two carriages and a dozen horses wound their way through Derbywood, it was pouring rain. Aubrey’s mask was plastered to her face as she lay on her stomach under a bush by the side of the road. The sparse leaves didn’t stop the driving rain from soaking her cloak, matting it against her back as she waited. She glanced to Ethan in his hiding place on the other side of the road and smiled, her lips still tingling.
    “Get in, get out, and get home,” she whispered to Jack. He lay flat on the other side of her bush’s stump, sharing cover with her.
    “Easy for you to say, mate,” he moaned. The rain was running rivulets down his neck and he kept reaching up to itch.
    Aubrey turned and winked at him. He winked back, reminding her of a younger Geoffrey. She searched across the road for Tom, who was shadowing Ethan, but couldn’t pick him out. She patted her side, checking for her sword, and adjusted the hood over her head again. The waiting was always the hardest part. “Got your daggers?”
    “Yeah,” Jack answered, patting the places he had them stashed.
    The whole forest drooped with rain. The dark, dragging branches pressed in on them. Jack shifted and sent wary glances at the boughs.
    “There,” Aubrey whispered, excitement in her voice as she pointed along the road.
    Through the gray and green gloom they saw the caravan peek around the corner. It moved slowly on the washed-out roads. Two men on horseback armed with swords and wearing helmets rode in front. They were followed by a solid, unornamented carriage with one tiny barred window. A guard rode beside the driver, ugly mace across his lap. Then came two more guards on horseback with swords, these two wearing Buxton’s colors. Behind them was a second carriage, larger and covered with ornamental drapes of yellow and green, drenched with