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

  He moved his head a bit to look around and there, some distance away, he could see the lights of the inn shining in the night. Whoever had done this to them had not gotten very far—yet. He could only pray they would be missed quickly and that a search party would be sent before they were moved again.

  It was not to be. A minute or two later he heard footsteps and he strained to look over his shoulder. Two men were approaching. It was dark and he could not see much about their appearance, but as they drew nearer he realized one of them was the man the knights had brought back with them—the man they called Morgan. The bruises and cuts did not show up in the darkness, but there was no mistaking the two black eyes. There did not seem to be anything wrong with his ribs, either, William realized as he reached down and picked up Juliet, slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

  So he was a sham! He most likely was one of the highwaymen himself and had allowed his friends to beat his face in order to disguise his appearance and gain the sympathy and trust of the knights. How desperate could that be! And not only had he gained their sympathy, but he had been brought right in among them where he could be close to his targets and watch for a chance to make his move.

  There was no more time for thought. The other fellow came over for William. He struggled against him, trying to head-butt and kick, but it was not much use, especially with his hands tied behind his back. The man lifted William now across his shoulder and followed Morgan into the night.

  They went rapidly—well, as rapidly as they could, carrying heavy burdens across the uneven ground of the meadow in the dark. To William, though, they were out of sight of the inn all too quickly. He knew somewhere out in the pasture, probably at the other end, there were knights standing guard over the horses. How funny that they were guarding the horses while the prince of the land was being stolen away right out from under their noses!

  No, it was not funny at all. If it had not been for Juliet he probably would not have been too terribly frightened. He trusted his father and his friend Noble and all the king’s men to search for him quickly and thoroughly and for as long as it took. And he trusted God. God knew where he was and was taking care of him. But Juliet—Juliet did not have the same assurances that he had about the Lord and she must be terrified. She had seen first-hand what these men could do. Somehow he had to protect her until help could come.

  Once they reached the shelter of the trees the men dropped them roughly to the ground. “Ye’ll walk now!” the man who had carried William growled. “And be quick about it!” The men pushed and prodded them along, and when Juliet could not go as quickly as they wanted, Morgan grabbed her by the arm and dragged her. William tried to go as slowly as he could, as well, but it did not slow them down much.

  They stopped only once along the way. As soon as they were far enough away from the inn they paused to light a torch. The light helped a little in moving through the trees, but with their hands tied behind them they stumbled and fell frequently. Juliet was always ahead of him, and though she tried to turn her head to look at him, Morgan would have none of it. “Walk!” he snapped. “Keep going!”

  They had been walking for at least an hour when they called a halt at last. William looked around the small clearing. The torch did not shed much light, and he could not see any reason why they should have stopped, but Morgan let out a loud whistle and a few moments later several men stepped out of some bushes on the other side of the glade. They let out a triumphant shout when they saw the prisoners.

  Their captors gave them another shove and they reluctantly crossed the clearing. The other men turned and disappeared into the bushes, and, to their surprise, they were shoved through, as well. Without their hands to hold back the branches and protect their faces, they were soon scratched up and nearly had their eyes poked out. When they came out on the other side, however, they discovered they were standing in front of the entrance to a cave.

  They ducked their heads and followed Morgan into the cave, with the other man pushing them from behind. Several torches lit the interior of the cave. William looked around. The cave was not deep but it was wide. There were even more men inside—at least ten or twelve altogether. A couple huge dogs were crouched on the other side of the cavernous room. They looked up at the strangers as they entered, growling menacingly at them.

  They were shoved to the floor with their backs to a wall. The two men who had brought them moved away, but another man—a youth, really—came over to them and removed the gags from their mouths and cut the ropes around their wrists. He did not speak to them, but held a cup to their lips and gave them a drink of water. Then, pointing at the dogs who were staring at them with drool running out of their mouths, as a reminder not to try to run away, he left them.

  They did not speak to him, either, although William was tempted to see if the boy was friend or foe. What he had done for them seemed like a friendly gesture, but who knew? William decided he would wait and see.

  “Are you alright?” he whispered to Juliet when the boy moved away. She nodded her head, but seemed to be afraid to speak. “Do you recognize any of these men as the highwaymen who attacked you and Peter?”

  She shrugged her shoulders and whispered, “I don’t know. They were wearing scarves over their faces when they ambushed us.”

  “Do not be afraid, Juliet. My father will come for us. And Sir Noble is the best! He will find us if no one else can!”

  “But will they find us in time? And how will they ever find us here in this cave! You saw it was hidden! We had no idea it was here and we were standing just a few feet away!”

  “The Lord knows where we are, Juliet. My father and Sir Noble both follow the Lord and He will lead them here. We must trust in Him.”

  Juliet moaned and put her head in her hands. Her red hair fell like a veil over her face but he could see that she was crying. He did not like to hold hands with a girl, but she was his cousin and she was frightened and he wanted to comfort her, so he took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Don’t worry, Juliet. Help will come.”

  Across the cave voices suddenly rose in an argument. Several men, including Morgan, were standing in a circle and yelling at one another. “Look at him!” he heard one man say. “He is wearing an apron! He was serving the customers! How can you think he is the prince? Would the king’s son be doing such a thing?”

  “I say get rid of him!” another man growled. “If he’s not the prince, we have no use for him! Get rid of him and go back for the real prince!”

  Morgan’s angry voice rose above the others. “I tell you he is the prince! I spoke with him myself and he admitted that the girl is his cousin! If she is the king’s cousin, then he must be the prince! Besides, I was listening and watching through my cracked door in the inn when others called him ‘Your Highness!’ He is the prince, I tell you, apron or not!”

  He stopped and took a deep breath. “And even if he weren’t—and he is—we could not go back for the real prince anyway, you fools! The king himself and every knight in the kingdom, as well as every ‘able man of Aber.’ as they so ridiculously call themselves. will be looking for us! No, we will stay right here until the ransom money is delivered to the place we tell them. Then, and only then, will we be on our way. We will leave these two tied up right here and if they find them in time—well, good for them! We will be long gone by then! And if they don’t—well, it is their own fault then if the girl and the prince don’t make it! They should have been smarter!” He laughed—an evil, hateful laugh.

  Juliet shuddered at the sound, but William’s mind was racing too fast to even give it much thought. He knew that voice! He had not recognized his battered and swollen face, but now that he heard him speaking more than a word or two at a time there was no mistaking it—Morgan was the man he had talked to out in the pasture!

  The other thing he took notice of was the debate over his fate! Putting the apron on had been his idea of a joke—laughing at his princely title, mostly. Now it did not seem
so funny. Thank goodness, Morgan had convinced them he was, in truth, the prince. Well, he hoped he had! What they meant by “getting rid of him,” he did not know—and he did not want to find out!

  Finally there was that part about leaving them tied up in the cave. Somehow, either rescue had to come in time, or he had to think of a way for them to escape. And that would not be easy with those two enormous, ugly dogs watching them over there! They were not somebody’s cute little pets like Hero. They were guard dogs, attack dogs. They probably ate people like him for lunch!

  The men were arguing again. Morgan was saying, “Listen! I am the chief here and what I say, goes! There will be no more discussion! The king has until nightfall tomorrow to get the ransom to us! That gives them just enough time to send someone to Caernarfon for the treasure and to get back here with it. Once we have the ransom, we will travel under cover of darkness and will slip into Conwy and disappear in the city. Now let me tell you how I have figured out how we will collect the treasure without getting caught!” He lowered his voice, and although William listened as hard as he could, he could only catch an occasional word here and there.

  Talk of the ransom money and Morgan’s plan seemed to settle the outlaws down. William and Juliet listened to the rough laughter and joking among the men. Every now and then one of them would glance over at the prisoners with a leer or a crude joke and laugh at them. That seemed to frighten Juliet most of all, so William began to whisper to her to take her mind off of their situation. He was not used to making conversation with girls, though, so he had to cast about in his mind for something to say.

  “Peter is doing better!” Yes, start with something positive! he thought.

  She nodded but then said, “He must be terrified for me! Oh, I hope he does not have a relapse!” Her eyes filled up with tears.

  Oh-oh! Change the subject! “So Hero reminds you of your own dog Freckles?” Hero brought her comfort before; perhaps the thought of him will comfort her again.

  The tears slipped down her cheeks now. “Yes, I lost my precious Freckles when I was just a little girl. It was the most awful experience of my life—until I lost my father, and then my mother, and then my home, and then Peter was attacked, and—and now this!” The tears were really flowing now. He was not doing a very good job of taking her mind off of things.

  William looked at her helplessly. Girls. His own mother was a girl but he did not remember her ever being so much trouble! If he had known girl cousins were so difficult to talk to he never would have begun! He shrugged. This probably was very much the wrong question to ask at this time, but he couldn’t help himself—he was curious. “Juliet, how did Morgan manage to kidnap you?”

  He expected her to start wailing. Instead she leaned over, wiped her nose on his shoulder and stopped crying. “Oh!” she sputtered. “It makes me so angry! I was in my room, washing my face, when he barged right in with a knife in his hand! He didn’t even bother to knock! Why, I might have been standing there in my underclothes, for all he knew!” Her face was red—nearly as red as her hair which was standing out every which way—and her green eyes were flashing.

  William wanted to laugh and say, “Well, Juliet, I hardly think kidnappers politely knock on the door and ask admittance!” but somehow he knew he had better not. Instead, he nodded politely and listened patiently as she raged on…and on…and on… At least her mind was off their predicament for the moment!

  “…and then he went back into the inn through the back door, and I assume he carried you down the back stairs, as he did me (so undignified and humiliating!), and sneaked through the kitchen when Master Locke was busy elsewhere and out the back door again! You were still unconscious when he tossed you down on the ground next to me. I was sorry to see that you had been kidnapped, as well, but at the same time I was very relieved to have someone there with me—even if you still are a little boy!”

  She finally stopped for breath. William was nearly as indignant with her as she had been with Morgan at her last remark. Little boy, indeed! Why, she could not be more than five or six years older than he was! He decided to overlook her error and instead he patted her arm sympathetically. “You are tired. Why don’t you try to get some sleep?” he suggested. She nodded and laid her head on his shoulder.

  It was not quite what he had in mind, but—well, she was his cousin and he must do his duty. If that meant serving as a pillow—and a handkerchief—he would do it. He was beginning to have second thoughts, however, about this cousin thing! At last, he, too, fell asleep. They did not see Morgan leave the cave with two or three of the others or hear as the rest hatched their evil plans.

  The cousins sat there with their backs to the wall, leaning on one another and snoring together, unmindful of all that was going on around them in the cave or back at the inn.

  _________

  CHAPTER TEN

  _________

  Follow Your Nose

  The king and his captains leaped to their feet at the news Sir Noble and Sir Michael brought them. They wasted no time in organizing a search party, and when the men of Aber heard what had happened, they offered their services as guides and organized another group of their own. There would be no waiting for dawn to begin the search. Torches were gathered and lit and the knights and townfolk began to disperse—some up and down the road, some throughout the town, and others to the fields and forest surrounding Aber. The captains each lead a group, as did Sir Michael. Thomas was to be his guide. The king called for Sir Noble to ride with him.

  They had just begun to lead a group across the pasture to the woods directly behind the inn when the innkeeper came running out. “Wait! Wait!” he called. “Your Majesty! Come back!” He was waving something in the air.

  King Stephen wheeled his horse around and came galloping back with Noble and several others. “What is it, Master Locke?” he asked impatiently.

  “A note, Sire! I found a ransom note under the candlestick in the upstairs hall!” Locke held it up to him and the king snatched it from him. He motioned for a torch to be brought closer and hurriedly read it. Without a word he dismounted and ran back into the inn.

  When he returned he called one of the knights to him. He handed him the ransom note. “Take this to Caernarfon as quickly as you are able. Go directly to Lord Edmunds. He is my treasurer. Have him gather the ransom. I have written an order to him on the back of this and put my seal upon it. While he is doing that, go to Sir Charles. Tell him that I want him to lead half of all the knights that are left there at the castle back here with you to guard the treasure and to help us in the search. We must leave some men there to protect the queen, but I want as many as are able to come here immediately! You must hurry! We have only until nightfall to get the ransom to the kidnappers!”

  “Yes, Sire,” the knight nodded and started for the gate.

  “Oh! And one more thing,” the king called after him. “Do not tell anyone else what has happened! I do not want word getting back to the queen just yet. It will only worry her.” The knight waved and disappeared into the night at full speed.

  They started once more across the pasture. They had nearly reached the trees when the king suddenly pulled his horse up short. “Sir Noble!” he bellowed.

  Noble quickly urged Valiant forward to the king’s side. Never had he seen the king so agitated! “Yes, Sire?”

  “What is he doing here?”

  Noble looked to where the king was pointing. There was Hero, trotting just ahead of the horses, leading the way.

  “I’ll not have him tagging along!” the king said with a frown. “He will only get in trouble. Now we will be delayed again while you take him back to the inn!”

  “I am sorry, Sire. I will take him back if you want me to, but Your Majesty, may I remind you that it was Hero who first noticed that there was something wrong? That it was he who first suspected that Morgan was evil? That he was tracking their scent before we even left the inn? Look! He is still following their trail!”

 
The king looked down at the dog who had his nose to the ground and was snuffling though the tall grass. He sighed. “You are right, Sir Noble. I am sorry. I am just frustrated, I suppose, and eager to get on with the search. Let us waste no more time. Hero seems fairly certain as to the scent he is following. We will follow him—at least while he seems to know what he is doing!”

  Hero seemed already to have found something. He turned in circles right where he was, pawing at the ground and obviously excited. He looked up at Noble and barked several times, and then repeated the circling and pawing. When he started barking again, Noble dismounted, took a torch from one of the other knights, and went over to the place Hero was exploring.

  He knelt down and ran his hand over the ground. “The grass here is flattened, as though someone was lying here.” He lifted the torch and looked around. He moved over a few feet and said, “And here also! The grass is too tall to see footprints, I am afraid, but it definitely seems as though two people were lying here in the pasture within sight of the inn!”

  He swung back onto Valiant’s back and said, “Hero! Let’s go! Lead the way!” Hero barked happily and moved on toward the trees.

  It was difficult indeed not to be impatient as they moved more slowly than they would have had they not been following the small dog, but on the other hand they did not know where else to go anyway. Hero went as quickly as his small legs could carry him. He, at least, did not seem to have any doubt as to where he was going.

  The torches cast long, dancing shadows on the trees as they rode through the dark woods. A group of armed knights like theirs had no real fear as they moved forward, yet some of them still glanced back over their shoulders every minute or two, or peered nervously into the shadows. They had never been required to ride through a thick, black forest like this in the midnight hours and if they had been asked to answer truthfully, they would have had to admit, they were a bit spooked.