Page 50 of The Artisan and the Duke
Fredrick’s rough voice said, “Stop poking me, you knaves.”
The men turned to look over at Fredrick curiously. Gregory was well back in the shadows and cursing his luck. One of the men walked over and gave Fredrick’s wooden leg a kick. “What are you on about?” the man asked gruffly.
“I said leave me be,” Fredrick said as he kicked out with his good leg. The kick had apparently not been expected as the man howled in surprise as Fredrick’s boot connected with his knee.
The man staggered backward yelling for his companion, “He’s bent my knee. He’s crippled me!”
“The man only has the one leg,” the other man scoffed. “You are a louse and a beggar’s wife. How can you let him get the better of you?”
The man that Fredrick had kicked fumed, “I didn’t know he could kick me. He’s crippled!”
“Louie, if your mother weren’t a saint of a woman, I’d take you to the hangman myself,” the other man spat. “Now get over here and shut up before you call the whole of the countryside on us with your neighing.”
The wounded man limped over to the fire and sat down sullenly. His eyes cut over to Fredrick, but he was silent. Gregory let out a breath and whispered, “Fredrick.”
Fredrick stirred a bit and blinked. He looked at his captors then whispered hoarsely, “Who’s there?”
“It’s Gregory,” Gregory whispered back. “Listen, Thompson is with me. Are there more men here?” Fredrick’s head swayed from side to side. Gregory eased up and loosened Fredrick’s rope. “I’m going to go get Thompson, and we’ll draw their attention while you get yourself into the woods. Head straight this way, and you’ll run into the road. We’ll meet you there. Understand?” Fredrick nodded, and Gregory gave his brother’s arm a squeeze before he slipped back into the underbrush.
Thompson jerked his head around when Gregory came through the brush. “You scared me something fierce,” Thompson whispered. “Are there more?”
“Fred says there are only two. I loosened his ropes. We are going to draw their attention while Fred escapes through the woods then we will meet up with him on the road,” Gregory said quietly with more confidence than he felt. After riding all night, his legs were starting to feel like they were made more of custard than bone and muscle.
Thompson looked doubtful about their prospects as well, but the man nodded his head in agreement. “Let us proceed then before I pass out on my face,” Thompson said with a grin.
“Good man,” Gregory said as he clapped his hand on the man’s shoulder.
***
Jules drew in a deep breath as they stopped outside a building that she did not recognize. “Where are we? I thought we were going to see the guild?”
“No, I said I had to come back to London to help. This is the best place to help,” David said with a smile as he slipped out of his saddle and onto the ground.
Jules had no idea how the man could be so full of energy. She felt as if her legs were made of lead and her arms of jelly. She did not recognize the street, but it looked to be a more affluent street than she would expect David to have friends on.
David led the way to the door of the building and gave it three sharp knocks with his knuckles. The door opened, and David gave the person a smile. Jules could not see who it was, but she trudged up to the door and forced a smile to replace the worried frown on her face.
“Is this the Duchess that you were talking about? She sure doesn’t look like much,” said a young woman with dull, brown hair and a nose so pinched that it looked like she permanently smelled foul air. “Come in,” the young woman said. “I’m Nina, the housekeeper here.”
Jules wanted to snap at the girl for her rude tone, but she would do no service to Duke St Claire’s household by lashing out at the girl. “Nice to meet you, Nina,” Jules said with the forced smile still on her face.
“Go get Henry, would you, Nina?” David said with a wink. “I’ve got some business to talk to him about.
Nina gave David a smile and Jules a nod. “Right away,” Nina said as she left the room.
“Who lives here?” Jules asked curiously as soon as Nina was out of the room.
David shrugged, “Captain of the Guards. He’s a good friend of mine.”
“Are you serious? After what they did to the guild?” Jules was livid as she looked at the man incredulously. “How did this happen?”
David shrugged, “I got caught a time or two for silly little things, but things that could have landed me in jail for a long time. We all know that nobles are the only ones who don’t go to jail in London, Jules.”
David took a breath and said, “So, I made a deal. I give them information when they need it. Like who isn’t being a good citizen and so on.”
“But those boys had done nothing,” Jules said. “Did you tell them that they had?”
David laughed and shook his head. “No. You don’t get to blame me for this. I named the right names, but your Duke had to go and interfere. The Lords want someone to blame, or they’ll come for everyone, Jules. It’s just the way things are.”
