A Hero's Heart (Noble Heart Book 7) Read online

  The innkeeper hurried off to fetch the tea. Master Stout turned his back on them all to work on the patient. He muttered and grunted as he worked. There was not much difference in stitching up a two-legged creature as there was with a four-legged one and soon he had finished and doused the whole area with alcohol to cleanse it. Peter groaned in his sleep and Juliet looked up anxiously. The old man wrapped the wound with a fresh bandage and finally spoke to them. “I would bring Dame Tucker here as soon as it is light. She will give you an ointment to put on the wound and medicine to fight infection and keep the fever down should he develop one. Keep the bandages clean—and pray. I have done all I can do. He is in God’s hands.”

  Once again Juliet looked uncomfortable at the mention of God and prayer. She looked away and fidgeted slightly in her chair. The old man said nothing more but held out his hand to be paid. She stared at the open palm before her and suddenly looked dismayed. She had no money with which to pay Master Stout for his service.

  Before she could say a word, however, Noble had reached into his own pocket and put several coins in the old man’s hand. Stout grunted his thanks and turned to leave. “Wait!” Juliet suddenly called out. “I want to thank you, Master, for coming out in the night to help my brother!” He grunted once again and left the room.

  Juliet stood and moved back to her brother’s side. There was no change in his appearance. Other than the one small groan, he had not moved or made another sound. If anything, he was even paler than he had been before. Every freckle stood out boldly against his waxen skin. “May I stay in here with Peter tonight, Master Locke?” Juliet asked. “I do not want to leave him. Or would you rather have your room back?”

  The innkeeper shook his head. “I do not think we ought to move him yet, Miss. You are welcome to the room for as long as you need it. I will sleep elsewhere. Would you like me to stay up, though, and help you to care for him?”

  She hesitated and then finally said, “I do not think that is necessary. I can take care of his other wounds myself. If you could just bring me some fresh water and towels…”

  Noble spoke up, “Master Locke, why don’t you heat up some of that stew we had for supper, if there is any left, for Miss Hawthorne while Sir Michael and I assist her in caring for her brother. She should be ready to eat by the time we are done. Then perhaps we can all get a little more sleep before this night is over. It is nearly midnight, I am sure. Miss Hawthorne, hopefully you will be able to sleep, as well, here by your brother’s side once you have cared for him. I doubt very much if he will waken at all during the night.”

  Locke nodded and bustled off to warm up the stew. Thomas went for more towels and hot water, and the two knights moved to Juliet’s side to help her. Thomas had brought one of his own clean nightshirts, also, to lend to the wounded man.

  They had finished tending to Peter’s cuts and bruises and making him comfortable by the time Locke returned with the stew. Noble and Michael had stepped into the hall for a few minutes to talk over the situation and now Noble said to Locke and Juliet, “Sir Michael and I will be leaving in the morning. We are going back to Caernarfon to report what is happening here and to bring help back as quickly as possible. If all goes well, we will return on the next day, or the day after. Miss Hawthorne, we would suggest you stay right here in the inn until we return. We will tell King Stephen that you and Peter are here and, and although I cannot promise it, it may be that he will send a carriage for you to make the journey to Caernarfon when your brother is able to travel.”

  The girl looked up and smiled gratefully. “Thank you. But is it safe for the two of you to go by way of the highway? What if you are ambushed, also?”

  Sir Michael spoke up. “From all we’ve heard, these highwaymen seem to choose their victims carefully. They prey on the weak, or those who are traveling alone. They were probably watching you and saw that you and your brother were unarmed and heavy-laden—unable to defend yourselves or to escape.”

  “They will think twice about attacking two well-armed knights of the King’s Guard,” Noble added. “We do not fear what might happen, anyway, for we travel with the Lord on our side.”

  Juliet stood up suddenly and shoved back her chair. She laughed bitterly. “Do not speak to me again of trusting in the Lord or what He can do for you or me or Peter or anyone else for that matter!” she said harshly. “I have learned in the last few months that God does not care, nor does He listen to our prayers! I will no longer depend upon Him for He cannot be trusted! Now gentlemen, I am quite exhausted. I must ask you to leave so that I might try to get some rest.” She marched to the door and held it open wide for them to leave. There were tears in Juliet’s eyes, but her face was hard and her lips were tight.

  They had no choice but to leave the room. They said goodnight once again to Master Locke and Thomas and climbed the stairs, finally, to go back to their rooms and try to get a few more hours of sleep before beginning the journey back to Caernarfon.

  Noble’s heart was heavy, as he climbed into bed, at Juliet’s words and the bitterness of her soul. She did not want to hear about the Lord and His love and grace, it was obvious, or how He could always be trusted even when trials threatened to overwhelm. No, he could not speak to her about the Lord right now, but there was nothing to stop him from praying for her. And that is what he did far into the night until at last his weary eyes closed and God sent him peaceful slumber.

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  CHAPTER FOUR

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  One Shoe On and One Shoe Off

  Michael and Noble were up and on their way back to Caernarfon at first light. Master Locke had greeted them with a light breakfast of porridge and tea when they came downstairs. They ate quickly and went out to the stable. Thomas was already there, sleepily saddling the horses. It had been a short night for all of them.

  They were just about to ride through the gate when Locke rushed outside. “Wait!” he called. “I have packed you a lunch to eat along the way!” They thanked him and then urged the horses on. There had been no sign of Juliet, nor word on how Peter was faring. Thomas was planning to fetch Dame Tucker with her herbs and remedies, they knew, as soon as they were on their way.

  The ride in the early morning hours was peaceful. They passed the place where the Hawthornes had been attacked, and looked carefully for the start of a trail in the woods, or any other signs of the highwaymen, but without leaving the road and entering into the forest itself, there was nothing to be seen. Time enough for that when they came back with more knights. For now they wanted only to get to Caernarfon as quickly as they could.

  The city was crowded and a beehive of activity when they reached it that afternoon. Valiant and Warrior were eager to get to their stable for some oats and water, and the knights had to hold them back as they picked their way carefully through the crowds. At last they reached the castle gates and rode into the courtyard. “I’ll take the horses on to the stables,” Michael offered, “and meet you inside. Are you going to Granny’s room first?”

  Noble shook his head. “No. We had better meet with the king and Sir Robert before we do anything else. Granny will understand that duty must come first. Just ask Rosie or one of the other maids where to find me once you come inside.”

  He dismounted and hurried up the steps to the castle door. Rosie was not to be seen when he entered the large entryway. There was nobody around. He sighed. He would have to look for someone to direct him to the king, for the castle was huge and it was hard to tell where he might be.

  He was just about to head for the kitchen when suddenly he heard a shout and looked up. William was running down the stairs with one shoe on and one shoe off. “Hero!” he shouted. “Come back here!”

  “Hero? What has he done now?” Noble asked, sighing once more.

  “Oh, hello, Noble!” the prince said as he stopped suddenly in front of Noble. “I didn’t see you there! Have you seen Hero come through here? He has my shoe!”

  “No, I haven’t
seen him. I just came in. How did Hero get your shoe, William? Don’t tell me he stole it right off your foot!”

  “Oh, no! I was changing my clothes when he ran off with it. I was standing there with no breeches on when he got away and I had to put them on before I could go after him. He got a good head start on me and now he has disappeared! I looked for him all over upstairs. I am headed for the kitchen now, and if he is not there I shall check the garden. Running with just one shoe has slowed me down, too!”

  “Have you no other shoes, William? Why didn’t you put on a different pair?”

  A bewildered look came over the prince’s face. “Oh! I never thought of that! Oh, well—too late for that now! I’ve got to catch that little thief!” With that, the prince was off again.

  “Wait!” Noble called after him. “Do you know where your father is?”

  “In the council room with the captains!” The words echoed back to him as William disappeared around a corner. Noble shook his head. What had gotten into that dog? He had never stolen before, and now here he had done it twice in two days. That he knew of. He wondered what other trouble Hero had gotten into while he was gone.

  Noble found the king in the council room with his two captains, just as William had said. “Sir Noble!” the king said as he entered the room. “Back so soon? Sir Edward has just told me that he sent you and Sir Michael out yesterday to check on the reports of highwaymen out near Bangor and Aber. I am surprised to see you back already.”

  Sir Edward did not say anything but he was frowning at his young knight. Noble looked at him and hastened to explain. “Yes, Sire. The reports are correct, and I fear the situation is even worse than we feared. We had a meeting with some of the townspeople last night and they were quite concerned.” Sir Michael came in just then and together they relayed the information they had gleaned from the men of Aber.

  “Well, at least they have not been attacked inside the villages, as the roving gangs of criminals were doing a year or two ago,” Sir Robert said when they were through.

  “No, but it almost seems that they are being held hostage within their own village,” Noble pointed out. “They are afraid to move outside the town alone, and they fear that before long these highwaymen will begin to enter the villages. They are becoming bolder and their attacks are more vicious every time they happen.”

  “Not to mention the plight of the travelers who are just passing through and know nothing of the situation. They are easy victims for they are not on guard,” Sir Michael added.

  King Stephen frowned. “We will not have it! It was bad enough when the Wolf and his pack, and others like them were terrorizing the villages. It will not begin anew!”

  “There is more, Sire,” Noble said. “We were at the inn in Aber last night when a young woman and her brother arrived. He had been stabbed and badly beaten by highwaymen and they had been robbed of everything they had, including their horses. The man was near death when they finally reached the inn, although the woman had not been injured.” Noble hesitated. “Sire, they were on their way to Caernarfon to see you.”

  The king said, “And…? I can see by the look on your face, Sir Noble, that there is more to this story. What is it?”

  “Sire, they are brother and sister. Their names are Peter and Juliet Hawthorne and they are from Chester, England.” Noble paused and looked at the king.

  A flicker of recognition crossed the king’s face and he suddenly sat up straighter. “Hawthorne, you say? Peter and Juliet?”

  Noble nodded. “Miss Hawthorne said they are your cousins, Sire.”

  The king slowly nodded. “Yes, there is a branch of my family from Chester, England. The Hawthornes. I met a Peter Hawthorne when I was a young boy, but he would be a very old man now if he is still alive. I received a letter five or six years ago from another Peter Hawthorne—his son, I assumed. I do not recall a Juliet Hawthorne.”

  “These were young people, Sire—not much more than in their teens, I think,” Sir Michael said.

  The king thought for a minute. “That would make this Peter the grandson, or even great-grandson, of the man I met when I was a boy. Why were they coming here?”

  “I regret to tell you, Sire, that their father was killed in an accident recently and their mother passed away a few weeks later. They lost their home shortly afterwards when it was seized by a bank for their father’s unpaid debts. Miss Hawthorne said they had no family left in England, no one to turn to, so they decided to come to you for help. They are even more desperate now for they have lost everything they had left to the highwaymen.”

  The king stood to his feet. “Sir Robert, we will leave for Aber in the morning. We will wipe out these highwaymen once and for all! I will not have our villages terrorized and innocent travelers ambushed in my peaceful kingdom!”

  “Your Majesty, I do not think it necessary for you to come with us,” Sir Edward said. “We will take a good part of the Guard, which will be more than enough to rid the area of this handful of robbers. And as for these people who claim to be your cousins—well, we will bring them back with us when we come, if you would like. You do not need to trouble yourself to come along.”

  King Stephen frowned. “I do not “trouble myself” to go, Sir Edward. I want to go! And as the ruler here, I will go! Be ready to leave at dawn with at least two dozen men.”

  “Yes, Sire, of course! I am sorry.”

  The king turned to the young knights. “Stay for a few minutes longer, if you please. I would like to ask you a few more questions about the Hawthornes. Sir Robert and Sir Edward, you may be excused to ready the men for tomorrow. I will talk to you again later.”

  The captains bowed and then left the room. “Thank you, Sir Michael and Sir Noble, for getting this report back to us quickly,” the king said when they were gone. “Now tell me—what were your impressions of this Peter and Juliet Hawthorne? Did you believe their story?”

  “We did not speak to Peter at all, Sire. He was unconscious the entire time. It was certainly obvious that they were brother and sister, though! They had the same red hair and freckles,” Sir Michael said.

  The king laughed. “Well, that tells me that they are Hawthornes alright! That is the one thing I recall about the older Peter Hawthorne! I remember my father commenting later when Hawthorne was gone that he not seen so much red since he had last walked in the carrot patch! I laughed so hard at that! And I must confess I was glad that vivid red hair and all those freckles had not been passed on to our branch of the family!”

  Nobel and Michael laughed along with him but then Noble sobered up and said, “I think the story Miss Hawthorne told us was very true, Sire. She was quite bitter about the loss of her parents and home and did not try to hide the fact that she blamed God for all their woes. She said she could no longer trust Him and wanted nothing further to do with Him. It was very sad, Your Majesty.”

  The king was silent for a moment. “Well,” he finally said, “we will just have to go to Aber and show her the love of God in action, won’t we? You said Peter was near death when you saw him. Has he been cared for? Do you think he will live?”

  “I don’t know, Sire,” Noble said. “His wound has been stitched and he is being cared for with some herbal remedies, but when we left he was still unconscious and it was uncertain what his fate would be. I do know they truly need help and are hoping you will be merciful to them and come to their aid.”

  “Yes, of course. In truth, that is why I am going to Aber with the Guard—to see for myself their situation. If they are my cousins—as distant as that might be—and they are in need, then I will do what I can to help. I am—”

  He did not finish what he was saying for suddenly the door opened and William and Hero came tumbling through! Hero caught sight of Noble and bounded into his lap, wildly barking and trying to lick him all over his face. He was a muddy mess, and to his dismay, Noble quickly saw that he had tracked mud into the council room and now he himself was covered with paw prints, as well!
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  “William!” the king exclaimed. “What is going on? Look at you! Where have you been?”

  Noble looked up as he tried to restrain his dog and stared at the young prince. He was still wearing only one shoe but he held his other one now in his hand. It, too, was covered in mud—and so was the prince himself! He was nearly as filthy as Hero, but through the dirt smudges on his face he was grinning broadly. “Look, Noble!” he said now, ignoring his father’s questions. “I found my shoe! Hero had buried it in the garden! I had to dig through several of his holes out there, but I finally found it! Oh, and Father—I found one of your slippers, as well! How he got one of your slippers I don’t know, but here it is!” He dropped the slipper in his father’s lap and grinned proudly.

  The king gingerly held the sad slipper up between two fingers. It looked as if it had been buried for some time, and it definitely had been chewed! “I wondered what had happened to that thing,” the king muttered. Hero took one look at the disgusting slipper in the king’s hand and leaped off of Noble’s lap and into the king’s! He grabbed hold of the slipper and tried to pull it out of the king’s hand. For a moment a tug-of-war was happening until suddenly the king realized he didn’t want the nasty old thing anyway and let go. Hero slid off his lap and, with his head held high, carried the slipper into the corner where he settled down to have another good chew. By that time the king was covered in paw prints and muddy smudges, as well.

  Noble stared in horror at the king and the prince and groaned. “I—I am sorry, Your Majesty! I do not know what has gotten into him lately! I will get your slipper for you!”

  He jumped up and would have gone after Hero, but the king stopped him. “No, let him have it! I certainly have no use for it anymore!” He paused and then broke into laughter. “Come, William! We must both get cleaned up now. Personally, I think you need a bath!” He laughed again at the look of dismay on his son’s face. “Well, come along! Let us try to slip past your mother without her seeing us! She will have something to say about this, I am sure!” He escorted the young prince to the door and then called over his shoulder as they left, “And Noble—make sure Hero gets a bath, as well!”