The Green Rose by Kathy Lynn Emerson

Author:Kathy Lynn Emerson [Emerson, Kathy Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Romance
Publisher: Belgrave House
Published: 1994-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Grey left for Staffordshire without seeing Meriall again. Five days later he was on the road that led back to London, plodding ever onward in a pouring rain.

He was not in the best of moods. He had been sent on a wild goose chase. The countess’s household had moved to another of her properties closer to London and there had been no one in Staffordshire for him to talk to.

Disgruntled and tired, and increasingly anxious to put matters right between himself and Meriall, Grey did not stop before dusk, as a sensible traveler would. He had not been able to stop thinking about Meriall since she’d left his bedchamber in the middle of the night almost a week earlier. Each mile brought him closer to seeing her once again.

The attack came out of nowhere, just at twilight. Grey reacted quickly, but was unseated from his horse. On the ground he fought valiantly against three ambushers, knocking one senseless against a tree and kicking the second in the groin to disable him temporarily. The third villain had a knife.

Grey’s weapon was kept in one buskin. The high boots reached to his knee, making access easy, but he’d barely drawn the blade when his enemy was upon him, knocking it away.

They struggled for possession of the remaining knife, a life and death battle that left Grey little time to notice anything else. And yet, out of the corner of one eye, he caught sight of a familiar face.

It was Lovell. Or Brooke. Whatever his true name, the fellow was mounted and just riding away, close behind one of Grey’s attackers.

Pain lanced into Grey’s leg, forcibly returning all his attention to the man who was trying to kill him. It came to him then that what he’d most regret if he died now was losing the chance to unravel the mystery that was Meriall Sentlow. He fought with renewed determination. He had two missions to complete. Capture Lovell and the heart of one sweet woman. He’d have her, and her secrets, as soon as he returned to London.

With a lunge and a deft blow, he disarmed his opponent. The craven fellow took off at a dead run. Grey started after him but had only traveled a few steps when his leg gave out and he nearly fell. A red stain had blossomed on his thigh.

Reluctantly, Grey gave up his pursuit, stopping to stanch the flow. Staggering slightly, he looked around for his horse.

It had not gone far and was contentedly munching grass beneath a nearby tree. Under the same boughs lay the first of Grey’s assailants, still unconscious from striking his head on the trunk.

“Well, my friend,” Grey said to him, “how do you feel about talking to the nearest constable?”

He would have to say he’d been the victim of a robbery attempt, though Grey knew it had not been his purse they’d been after, but his life.

* * * *

Three days later, Grey located the countess in one of her smaller country houses near London.

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