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

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  CHAPTER FIVE

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  The Road to Aber

  The Guard was on the road to Aber at dawn. The city was still quiet for the most part and they moved easily through the streets and out the city gates. Noble had been surprised to see the prince by his father’s side as they had lined up in the courtyard.

  “Look, Noble!” William had cried. “Father has allowed me to ride along this time—a reward, he says, for finding his slipper!” He laughed. “That is a joke, of course, but I told him how I truly wanted to see Thomas and go riding with him and he relented and said I could go! We will not be allowed to go riding, until they have caught the highway men, but otherwise, Father said it should be safe enough with half the Guard with us!”

  He paused long enough to let Sir Noble get a word in. “That is fine, William. I know Thomas will be very pleased. He was quite excited when he got your message and is looking forward to taking you to some of his favorite places to ride.”

  “And I am looking forward to comparing Warrior and Noble—the horse, I mean! They are brothers, you know, and it should be interesting to see how they fare alongside one another.” He stroked Warrior’s long dark mane fondly as he spoke. “I am quite sure Warrior will be slightly superior, don’t you think? Faster, bigger, stronger, more intelli—”

  Sir Edward had given the signal just then for the horsemen to move out, so their opportunity to speak was ended. Now as Noble watched the young prince chatting his father’s ears off up ahead, he smiled. It was amazing to see how much William had grown since Noble had met him—and how like his father he was.

  They had stopped at noon for a brief rest and a quick bite to eat. Noble, William and Sir Michael were sitting under a tree and talking when there was a stir among some of the knights sitting further back down the road. They didn’t pay much attention until suddenly Noble heard Sir Edward bellow his name. A dog began to bark at the same time.

  Noble’s heart sank. “Yes, sir?” he said as he jumped to his feet. Sure enough—there was Hero, in Sir Edward’s arms. The captain was looking very irate, indeed!

  “Sir Noble! This is your dog, I presume?” Sir Edward snapped.

  “Yes—yes sir!” Noble stammered. “I am sorry! He must have gotten free from my grandmother again and followed us. I—I am sorry, sir! Do you want me to take him back to Caernarfon?” He was well aware of William snickering behind him, and several other knights trying to hide their smiles, as well. He could not see Sir Michael but he knew he must be grinning broadly—although he would be careful not to let Sir Edward see it!

  The captain looked as though he were about to explode. Fortunately, King Stephen stepped in and said, “Now, now! No harm done, I am sure! Sir Noble, Hero will have to come along with us now. We are too far away from Caernarfon now for you to go back, and I want you with us when we reach Aber. William, you will help Sir Noble take charge of the dog when he has duties to perform. Do you have any objections to that plan, Sir Edward?”

  He still looked stormy but Sir Edward replied, “No, I suppose not, Sire. However, Sir Noble, I am giving you a warning right now—you will have to take better care to keep your dog out of trouble from here on, or—or he will have to go! We have been very lenient up until now in allowing that animal to sleep in the barracks at night and to often trail along during training and so forth. But if he continues to make problems he will have to join all the other dogs in the kennel! There will be no more special treatment!”

  The king raised an eyebrow at his captain’s harsh words, but did not say anything. Noble said merely, “Yes, sir. I understand.” He stepped forward to take Hero from Sir Edward. “Once again, sir, I am sorry.”

  Sir Edward said nothing more but turned on his heel and stomped away. “Mount up, men!” he ordered loudly. “We are leaving!”

  Just as he expected, William and Michael were grinning when he turned back to them. There was no time to talk for all around them the knights were preparing to move again. Noble was faced with another problem, though. What to do with Hero? He was a small dog, and Noble would not have believed he could keep up with the horses on such a long journey, but not only had he kept up, he had caught up with them! He could let him just trot alongside him and Valiant, but he did not quite trust the naughty pup not to get into mischief or run off, and he knew there was no way Sir Edward would allow him to chase after his dog if he did. If he tied him to a rope he might trip up Valiant or one of the other horses. When Hero had been a little puppy he had often carried him along with him in a sack tied to his saddle, but the dog was too big for that now. There was no choice but to carry him on the saddle in front of him somehow.

  “Here, Michael. Hand him up to me once I am in the saddle, if you please,” he said shoving Hero into his friend’s arms. Sir Edward was looking at them and frowning. How he was going to ride and hang on to the dog at the same time, he did not know, but he would just have to do it. He swung up onto Valiant’s back and reached down for Hero.

  The line of knights was moving out and still Sir Edward sat there on his horse watching them. Michael and William mounted hurriedly. The young prince bid them good bye and rode forward to ride alongside his father. Sir Michael and Sir Noble joined the other knights, and at last their captain rode on ahead to join the king and Sir Robert. Noble expected Hero to nervously cling to Valiant’s broad back, but instead the little dog sat up straight, balancing himself on the saddle and staring eagerly ahead. Noble heaved a sigh of relief.

  They reached Aber without further incident later that afternoon. There was no one in the courtyard of the inn when they arrived, but at the sound of the horses Thomas hurried out of the stable. He stared in amazement at the sight of the king and the prince at the head of the column and ran to the inn’s door. “Father, come out!” he called urgently and then ran back to the royal visitors.

  “Welcome to Aber, Your Majesty! Welcome, Your Highness!” A year earlier the boy had been nearly speechless at a similar visit, but this time he was clearly delighted and not a bit shy.

  William waited for his father to speak first, as was proper, but it was obvious he could hardly wait to greet Thomas. King Stephen shook his head at his eager young son just as the innkeeper rushed out.

  “What is it, Thomas? What hap—” Locke stopped and stared. “Your Majesty!” He rounded on his son, scolding and pulling off his apron at the same time. “Thomas! You frightened me! I thought they had come back!” Just as quickly he turned back to the king. “I am sorry, Your Majesty! We had a bit of a scare here last night and we have been on guard all day. But where are my manners? Welcome, Your Majesty, to my humble inn! Welcome, Your Highness and Sirs!” He bowed and bobbed before each of the great men before him and then invited them all in for some refreshments.

  The common room was soon filled with the knights of the Guard. William and Thomas had gone off to the pasture behind the inn, with Hero trailing behind them, to take a look at Noble—the horse. William brought Warrior with him, eager to compare the two horses. The ice did not need to be broken between them. The boys were talking excitedly like old friends and equals.

  The king and his captains, as well as Sir Michael and Noble were sitting with the innkeeper at a table apart from the others. “How are you, Master Locke? I hope your business is doing well?” the king asked politely.

  “Well, yes and no. Business from the townspeople is just fine. The folks of Aber are closer than ever after the trouble we had last year. Business from folks traveling through this area, though?” Locke shook his head. “It’s dropped off in the months since these highwaymen have been attacking folks.”

  “We will soon take care of that, Master Locke. My next question, of course, though, concerns the welfare of Peter Hawthorne. How is he? Has he regained consciousness yet?”

  “Just briefly this morning, Sire. He opened his eyes and asked where he was. When Miss Hawthorne told him he was at the inn in Aber he said, ‘Safe, then. Praise God!�
� and then he was out again. He has a fever. It is hard to say of he will make it or not.”

  “And Miss Hawthorne? How is she faring?” Noble asked.

  “Well enough, all things considered. She stays back in her brother’s room all the time.”

  “I want to see them in just a moment,” King Stephen said. “One more question first, though. What did you mean out there in the courtyard when you said you had had a scare last night and you have been on guard all day? To whom were you referring when you said that you thought that ‘they’ had returned?”

  “Oh, that! It was the strangest thing last night! We had the normal group of townsmen here, just visiting together as is their custom most evenings. A group of strangers came in—three or four of them, I think—and sat at the back table, just looking around and listening to our folk talk. Not that unusual for a place like this. But then ten or fifteen minutes later two more strangers came in. They did not join the first group but they sat at a table near them, and I could swear they were gesturing to each other with nods of their heads or shifting eyes or little shrugs of their shoulders. I just got the feeling they knew each other but were pretending that they did not.”

  Master Locke stopped for a moment and then went on, “At last one of them called me over and started asking questions. Had I seen a red-haired girl passing through lately? Had anyone stayed here the night before? When was the last time someone from England had stayed here in the inn? Something about the way they asked the questions made me uneasy, and I could see some of my friends were becoming suspicious, as well. I did not tell them about the Hawthornes or that they were right there just a few feet away in my room. As soon as I could, I told them I was closing early and they would have to leave. They left peacefully enough, but by then the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up and I knew something was not right. I slipped up, though. By the time I thought to step outside to see which way they were headed, they were already out of sight.”

  “You think they were the highwaymen, then?” Sir Robert asked.

  The innkeeper shrugged. “Truthfully, I cannot say. It was just a feeling that I had—that several others had, as well. And it stuck with me all day, too. I feared they would be back today looking for the Hawthornes, with only Thomas and me here alone to defend them.”

  “No one from Aber recognized even one of them?” Sir Edward asked.

  Locke shook his head. “No, sir. We’d never seen them before.”

  The king stood up. “Well, we shall begin our search in earnest in the morning. There are still a few hours of daylight left today, though, Captains. Why don’t you send a few men out to look for the places young Thomas mentioned where those trails come out of the forest to meet the road? We will at least have somewhere to start the search tomorrow.”

  “Would you like Thomas to go along with them, Sire? I am sure he can lead them directly to them,” his father asked.

  “That would be very helpful,” the king said. “Sir Robert, Sir Edward, take care of that, if you please. And please send William inside. He will want to go with Thomas, I am sure, but I do not want him to go at this time.”

  “Yes, Sire.” The captains called to several of the men, including Sir Michael, to come with them, and they left the inn.

  “And now Master Locke, I would appreciate it if you would take me to Peter and Juliet Hawthorne. Come with us, Sir Noble.”

  Locke led the way to his room. He knocked at the door and then stepped back. The door opened and Juliet Hawthorne looked out at the men standing before her. “Miss Hawthorne,” Noble said, “please allow me to present you to His Majesty, King Stephen.”

  A tiny gasp escaped her and she quickly curtsied. “Your Majesty!”

  “Now, now, Juliet—if we are indeed cousins let us not stand on formality. Please call me Stephen.” He reached out to give the young woman a hug.

  “Th-thank you.” Juliet seemed shocked to so suddenly be in the presence of the king. She held the door open and stepped back so that he and Sir Noble might enter the room.

  The king went immediately to the side of the bed. He looked down at the young man lying there. Noble noticed that while Peter had been as white as a sheet the day before, today his face was flushed a deep red. They could almost feel the feverish heat radiating from him. “How is he?” the king asked Juliet.

  She shook her head. “His fever is so high. The wound itself does not look so bad, but there must be infection somewhere inside his body. I-I am afraid he will not be able to fight this, Your—I mean, Stephen.” Suddenly her face crumbled and she buried it in her hands as she began to cry. “I am sorry! I just don’t think I can handle this! First Father, and then Mother and now Peter, too? It is all too much!”

  “Juliet,” the king said quietly. “He is still alive, and while he is alive there is hope. Let us pray to our Heavenly Father for Peter. He will—”

  “He will—what? He will do nothing! He does not hear! He does not care!” Juliet cried bitterly. “I poured my heart out to Him when Father died, and then again when Mother became so ill. What did He do? He took her anyway, and then on top of that He took our home away, as well! I swore I would never pray again but yesterday I begged and pleaded with God to spare my brother. And look at him now! Peter is worse than ever. I will never trust God again! I will never pray again! Never!” With that, the suffering girl fled the room.

  They were about to go after her when a whisper came from the bed. “Forgive her. She does not understand.” Peter Hawthorne was looking up at them. “Who—who are you?” he whispered weakly.

  “I am your cousin—your cousin Stephen. You were on your way to Caernarfon to see me.”

  “Stephen? Your Majesty!”

  They could barely hear him. His eyes were closing and they could see that he was fighting to stay awake. “Noble, go find her! Tell her that Peter is awake and talking. Hurry!” the king said urgently. “Peter! Peter, hang on! We are bringing Juliet back. You must speak with her!”

  Noble rushed from the room. There were a few knights still in the common room, but Juliet was not there. “Did you see a girl…?” he asked them as he passed through.

  One of them nodded and said, “She went outside.”

  Noble ran through the door and looked around the courtyard. It was empty, but finally he caught a glimpse of her red hair in the meadow behind the inn. The grass was tall and it was not until he got closer that he could see William was sitting next to her. Hero was in her lap, licking her face vigorously.

  He was about to call out to his dog to get down and leave the poor girl alone when he saw her arms go around the small animal and she buried her face in his fur. Juliet hugged Hero closely and cried against him. Hero sat quietly, tolerating the crushing embrace, and reaching up to softly lick her face every few seconds.

  Noble stood back for a few seconds and watched. Finally. This was the Hero he had always known. When no one else could bring the heartbroken girl comfort, his Hero did.

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  CHAPTER SIX

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  Mystery in the Meadow

  “Miss Hawthorne!” Noble called. “Hurry! Your brother is awake and is speaking with the king! Hurry!”

  Juliet jumped up and ran toward him. William followed, while Hero dashed on ahead, barking loudly. “He’s awake?” she gasped. “Truly?”

  “He was a few minutes ago when I left to find you,” Noble replied. “But you must hurry. We could see he was struggling to stay awake.”

  They wasted no more words but ran directly into the inn and to Master Locke’s room. Juliet burst through the door and rushed to the bed. “Peter!’ she cried.

  It was too late. Her brother had already slipped back into unconsciousness. “Peter!” she cried again. “Wake up! It’s me—Juliet! Talk to me!” She gently shook him and took his hand in her own.

  There was no response. “What did he say?” she finally asked with tears in her eyes.

  “He asked who I was,” the king said.
“When I told him I was his cousin Stephen, he understood. It was not more than a minute that he was awake, and he only said a few words but he spoke clearly.” The king paused and then said gently, “The last thing he said, my dear, was to tell Juliet to trust God.”

  She did not say anything for a few moments. Finally she turned to the king and said, “I am sorry, Stephen, for my little outburst earlier. You are right. Where there is life, there is hope. Please forgive me.”

  Noble wanted so badly to tell her that where there was God, there was hope. That there was hope even after life when one trusted in Him. He said nothing for the moment, though. He could sense she was not yet ready to listen to anyone about the Lord. There would be time for that later.

  The king patted her arm. “There is nothing to forgive, Juliet. Now I want you to get some rest while Peter is still sleeping. You will need your strength to take care of him when he wakens.”

  “Yes,” she said. “I will not leave him again.

  “And I do not want you to worry about anything, either. When Peter is well enough to travel, we will bring you both to Caernarfon and I will do whatever I can to help you begin a new life there. You have family once again, Juliet—someone who cares.”

  “Thank you. Thank you, Stephen,” she whispered as tears flowed down her cheeks.

  “Get some rest,” he said again. He nodded to Noble and they left the room.

  William and Hero were waiting in the common room for them. “Who was that girl?” William asked as soon as he saw his father. “She was very upset.”