The Faithful Heart by Merry Farmer

Author:Merry Farmer
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781465701343
Publisher: Merry Farmer

Madeline pressed herself into the ground in the corner of the tent, eyes wide. Jack grunted once more in pain as he was marched away. She swallowed, listening to their footsteps retreating until the sound was indistinguishable from the rest of the noise of the camp. She hardly dared to move. Fiancé?

The sound of more footfalls focused her in the present. The tent was now deserted but that didn’t mean it would be for long. Lydia had sent Connor to search for her but no one had bothered to search inside the tent. It was a small miracle. Well, that or a sign that Lydia and her goons might not have known what they were doing after all. She couldn’t wait around to find out which it was.

Holding her breath, she lifted the bottom of the canvas to peek at the immediate surroundings. Everyone had gone. She rolled to a crouch and fitted the mask over the bottom half of her face, settling the hood over the top. She crept out of the tent and scanned the area as fast as she could before zigzagging through the paths towards the corral. The sun was now up in earnest and sounds of stirring came from all around. They weren’t the only sounds.

“You there,” Connor’s voice cracked from the other side of the tent she was passing. Her blood froze. “Get up and show your ugly face!”

He wasn’t talking to her. A grumble was followed by, “What the fuck do you want?”

She swallowed and rushed to the end of the tent to get away from the investigation. Two women were walking on a path to intercept her. She pulled back, waiting for them to pass. They were chattering away like magpies as they crossed in front of her. One of them looked right at her with a strange frown but walked on.

Madeline’s legs quivered. She blinked as a thought struck her. Changing tactics, she yanked the mask off of her face and undid her cloak’s clasp. She ruffled a hand through her hair, bent over to grab a handful of dirt and rubbed it over her face. Then she wadded the cloak into a ball and set off towards the corral again, breathing steadily to make it look like nothing was wrong.

“You! What are you doing?” Connor’s shout was straight at her this time.

She closed her eyes, said a prayer, and turned to face him. “What, me, sir?”

“Yeah, you.” Connor strode up to her, arms crossed, face fiercer than ever with the gash Toby had given him.

“I’m … Lady Lydia told me t’ go get her cloak washed.” She screwed her face up like a page sent on a nasty errand.

“Yeah?” Connor didn’t look convinced.

“Yeah!” she snarled back at him, imitating his bullying stance.

Connor scowled. As much as she wanted to cower Madeline knew she couldn’t back down. Her matching glower was met by a sudden twinkle in Connor’s eye. “Carry on, boy!” Connor grunted, cuffing her upside the head for good measure.

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