Free Blackthorne's Bride by Shana Galen Page B

The big beefy one was moving toward his horse. The other two frowned in confusion.
    Wondering at their bewilderment, Maddie looked back and blinked in disbelief. Lord Nicholas was on one of the bays, racing toward the armed men. He was howling at the top of his lungs, trying desperately to control the spooked animal.
    Behind him, Blackthorne was mounting another carriage horse and turning his animal to charge as well.
    "Are they armed?" Ashley asked as the men rode by in a blur of dust and horseflesh.
    "I don't think so!" Maddie yelled over the noise. And then as the two groups of men converged, she shut her eyes.
    The Martingale brothers were obviously going to die. They'd be shot dead in the middle of the road. She didn't want to be pessimistic, but they were clearly doomed.
    She squinched her eyes closed and tensed, waiting for the shots to ring out. The sound of the horses' hooves grew farther away, and still she waited.
    When Ashley put a hand on her arm, she jumped in surprise and opened her eyes. The road was deserted. Except for poor Mr. Dover, still huddled across the way, the men had disappeared.
    "What happened?"
    Ashley shook her head. "Those idiots from the village took off, and Lord Blackthorne and Lord Nicholas went after them."
    "But Blackthorne and Lord Nicholas aren't armed."
    Ashley gave her a foreboding look. "I imagine that will become apparent soon enough."
    Mr. Dover had cocked his head at the sound of the girls' voices. "Are—Are they gone?"
    Ashley shook her head and muttered, "Where did you find him? I thought Sir Alphonse was a simpering fool."
    Maddie ignored her and went to help Mr. Dover up. Poor man. He wasn't used to these types of adventures.
    She wished she weren't either.
    * * * * *
    Jack and Nick chased the men within a few yards of the village before the men realized the brothers weren't any real threat.
    One moment Jack was whooping and hollering, trying to distract the men lest they realize he hadn't fired any shots, and the next the men had turned on them and Jack was screaming for Nick to go back.
    Nick barely got his horse to retreat before the first shot rang out. Jack cursed and bent low. He glanced behind him, saw his brother riding fast and hard, and veered his mount toward the trees off to the side of the road. Nick followed. They were too vulnerable out in the open, and Jack hoped they could lose the men in the woods.
    He couldn't lead them back to the carriage. That would put the women in too much danger. Damn fool woman put herself in enough danger as it was. Lady bloody do-gooder Madeleine.
    He ducked to avoid low-hanging branches as another shot rang out. It chipped the bark of the tree beside him, and a spray of wood flew in his face.
    Jesus, that was close.
    Nick had entered the woods to his left, and Jack steered his horse toward his brother's. The animal was moving considerably slower as the foliage grew thicker, but that was just fine with him. He wanted the foliage thick. Nick glanced back and slowed enough for Jack to catch up.
    "Let's find a good place to ambush them," Nick suggested. "Maybe somewhere near water. We leave the horses in sight so they think we've paused to let them drink."
    "You think they'll keep following us? It's almost full dark."
    Nick was silent for a moment, then said, "I still hear them behind us. They're mad as hell by now."
    Jack sighed and then brightened. Ambush it was, then.
    "If we can waylay them for a bit," Nick was saying, "we'll have enough time to get back to the carriage and grab the girls. Hopefully, Miss Brittany isn't stupid enough to let the other two horses run off."
    "And the carriage?" Jack asked. He had a bad feeling he already knew the answer. "The axle's broken?" He'd heard that awful pop and screech and known it wouldn't be taking them any farther.
    "Clean in two," Nick answered, his voice muffled as he bent to clear a low branch. "We'll have to ride on horseback."
    "That'll be interesting."
    "Up ahead," Nick said. "Hear