AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mandy screeched, “You awful person! What have you done? I’ll have your neck for that!”
“You’ll not have anyone’s neck. What sort of speech is that for a woman? It is not a moment too soon that I am taking you under hand,” the squire said with an impatient gesture. He turned to the yeoman and said warningly, “Lord Sherborne is a peer of the Realm. He will be treated with respect. He must stand trial for the crime he has been accused of, but he has not yet been found guilty and you will keep that in mind.”
“Afraid of what people might say?” Mandy sneered at her uncle. “Afraid they might think you are too anxious to bring Ned in—that maybe you have an ulterior motive? It is what people are already saying…is it not?” As she spoke she watched as the armed men took the reins of both Chauncey and Ned and a heavy depression settled in over her. She needed the duke. Faith, oh faith, Brock…I need you—right now!
She said nothing to her uncle on the ride to his Tudor home. Once inside the house, he bade her sharply to go upstairs and ready herself in the guestroom, as he would have a hot bath drawn for her while her clothes were fetched from Sherborne.
She put up her chin and marched upstairs, where she finally found the room she believed he was speaking of, and plumped down on a large upholstered winged chair and burst into tears.
* * *
At just about the moment the squire and Mandy arrived at his home, Chauncey and Ned had reached a long stretch of woods on either side of the road and Chauncey managed to cast Ned a ‘get ready’ wink without being seen by the yeoman.
He coughed, choked, coughed again and as he raised a hand to his heart, groaned, “Aye then, young lord…but all the excitement…I’m not feeling quite the…thing…”
“Whot’s this?” said the youngest and the only one of the men that was unarmed. “No need to fratch yerself Chauncey. The court will be lenient on ye. After all, ye were only taking orders from his lordship…just stay calm now.”
“Och…och…” replied Chauncey.
“I don’t like this,” said the other man waving his gun about. “Don’t ye be trying to bamboozle us. We ain’t green now, are we?”
“Och…m’heart… ‘tis m’ole heart going at last…” Chauncey cried with a loud moan.
“Eh Jed, maybe we should stop and let the old man rest a bit…” said the youngest yeoman, looking concerned.
“There lads, just look at me. Too old for all of this. I need some rest…” Chauncey encouraged them hopefully.
The yeoman slowed their gait and just in time, for at that moment, it appeared as though old Chauncey’s poor heart, did in fact, give out.
With his hand to his chest, he let out a startling wail and fell off his horse, face down onto the dusty road.
“Oh! Bless the saints!” cried one man as he jumped out of his saddle, nearly fell in his hurry to get to the older groom. He righted himself, as his two comrades raced past him to Chauncey’s side.
One cried out, “We’re in for it now we are. Chauncey is well known, well liked and we’ll be blamed for misusing the old codger…aye…that we will.”
Ned slipped off his horse and came up behind the youngest and unarmed man. They had taken Ned’s gun, but neglected to search him for anything else, and he pulled out the long knife from his tall boot and grinned as he took the man in his hold. “There now lads, drop your weapons. I don’t want to hurt him…or any of you, but I am not only an innocent man, but a desperate one.”
Chauncey made a speedy recovery and jumped one of the yeomen that had been startled into turning to Ned and his hostage.
He had both the man’s gun and a grip around his neck from behind as he said, “Ye lads be working the wrong side. Can’t ye see that? Lord Sherborne is innocent and ye would do well to remember that.”
“Chauncey…all their weapons…” Ned said.
“Aye,” Chauncey answered on a grin, as he shoved his man away, held his gun on him and took up the gun he had ordered the other yeoman to drop.
“Go on…take a rest by that nice oak. When you are feeling up to it, you can look for your horses. We’ll let them go once we have gotten far enough away.”
“If ye be innocent, why are ye running?” asked the youngest of the three men.
“Because I’ve been being framed by the real killer and I need to find out just who that is. No one else is interested in looking past me.”
A moment later, both Ned and Chauncey were riding their horses with the three other horses in tow. They had gone a good mile before they set the horses free and turned in the opposite direction.
Ned set up high spirited howls and Chauncey laughed before shaking his head, “Well now lad, we’ll make for the river. We’re bound to find a niche that will have to do. Won’t be as cozy as we have been, but never mind that, missy ain’t with us, so it don’t much matter what kind of a hidey hole we make for ourselves.”
Ned frowned over this. “What of Mandy? What will Uncle do to her, Chaunce?”
“Lord love ye, Nuthin a-tall. Don’t ye know? Haven’t ye seen? Yer uncle wants to marry her to his son. Needs to clear her name and keep her out of this business. No doubt he will say he has had her safe at Speenham all along.”
