Page 38 of Taken By the Broken Duke
A sound in the undergrowth caught his attention.
Something large, drifting amongst the bushes. Not unusual in these woods, but he would not have expected deer or foxes to venture so close to a human making as much commotion as he had been doing.
There was a further sound, that of stealthy movement away from the path on which Horatio walked. Not the kind of sound an animal made. Horatio knew he was hearing aperson, sneaking in the undergrowth, spying on him.
He continued walking, tracking the sound but not looking in its direction. As he neared a large birch tree with a thick, fissured trunk, he left the path, using the tree as cover against whoever was watching him. Then, moving with the stealth of a man who knew the woods intimately, he made his way through the undergrowth, back toward the stealthy spy.
As he neared the spot where he had first caught the sound, he was rewarded with the sight of a man crouched among ferns, scanning the path that Horatio had just left. The man had thinning, greasy dark hair, and a thin, slope-shouldered frame.He was dressed in a leather jerkin and patched trousers with heavy, creased, and shabby hobnail boots. In his hands, he clutched a musket. A satchel was worn at his hip and a brace of rabbits hung from his belt.A poacher.
Horatio inched closer until he stood directly behind the man. Not a very good poacher if he hadn’t heard even the small sounds that Horatio had made as he approached.
“Can I help you, sir?” Horatio said aloud.
The man whirled, raising his musket. The barrel smacked into Horatio’s forearm and he gripped the metal, twisting as he pushed it upwards. The stock contorted in response, causing the poacher to lose his grip. Horatio heaved the weapon from his hands and lifted it over his head, pulling the trigger to discharge it. The weapon would take four or five minutes to reload and was no longer dangerous. He tossed it into the undergrowth.
The man turned to run, eyes wide, but Horatio caught the shoulder of his jerkin, hauling the scrawny fellow onto the tips of his toes.
“I believe that my man, Hall, has delivered the message to all the local inns and pubs that Ravenscourt property is off-limits to poachers?” Horatio began.
“I… I… let me go… I’m not doing no harm. Everyone knows you don’t hunt your own lands.”
“That is my prerogative. What it doesnotmean is that you can steal from me. Not you, nor anyone else,” Horatio grated, dragging the man with him as he strode back to the path. “If I catch you here again—and if you dare return, I certainly will—it will be the magistrates for you. Understood?”
He released the man’s jerkin, who stumbled with his own momentum—almost fell—and then straightened, looking at Horatio balefully.
“You’ve no right to deny a starving man the means to feed his family!” the man spat.
Horatio could smell the brandy on his breath even from six feet away. He saw a sheath on his hip for a long-bladed knife.
“If you have no work and no means to put food on the table, I can provide you with gainful employment. I have plenty of honest work on my estates and I am well-acquainted with all of the local farmers,” Horatio said reasonably.
The man simply spat, darting to a safe distance first. “That to your work. I have my trade and you’re stopping me practicing it!”
“If you refuse honest work, then you take the consequences of dishonest,” Horatio muttered, taking a threatening step that sent the man into a sprint.
He was instantly lost to sight amid a great crashing of foliage.
Juliet looked over her patient with a critical eye.
The wound appeared to have healed nicely and the rabbit showed no sign of favoring the injured leg. Juliet had removed the dressing and was watching it hop around the bedroom, hunting down pieces of vegetables she had requested from the kitchens. He was ready to go back to the woods and rejoin his warren family.
She smiled, satisfied with her work and the good turn she had done the innocent little creature.
Then her mind returned to her own predicament, and her smile faded. She had not seen, nor heard from Horatio for almost a week. The message that sent to Juliet was painfully clear. He was having second thoughts about her. Possibly, he would not marry her at all, perhaps choosing Frances instead. Or maybe he would reject both and banish Juliet and the Godwins from his house. Maybe he would then move to Carlisle to rekindle the flame of his love for Jane Bonel.
Juliet closed her eyes tightly against the pain that thought brought to her. It was like a rapier of ice, slicing deep into her heart. Bad enough to think of him marrying Frances. At least that would be a loveless marriage which Horatio would end once the scandal was over. But Jane Bonel, the woman he had loved until the scandal arose, that woman would capture Horatio’s heart all over again.
A knock came at the door. Juliet experienced a momentary thrill of anticipation, thinking that Horatio had decided to speak to her. Then the door opened and she heard Frances’ voice calling out. Juliet rose as her cousin entered the room.
“Cousin, I have missed you! It is very remiss of you to stay away from Mama and myself during our stay with the Duke.”
“I am sure you have both coped admirably with the loneliness,” Juliet replied.
Frances paused for a moment, unused to sarcasm from Juliet.
“And how are you getting along with the Duke?” Frances asked, seating herself on the end of Juliet’s bed.
Juliet hesitated before replying, considering her cousin’s reason for speaking. Frances would not have come to her and asked such a question without a reason.
