Never Less Than A Lady | Herophine

Chapter Three

Hero

Hero was halfway through a plate of Mrs McGellar chops when he heard pounding at the door of Hartley Manor. The sound was so frantic that he considered answering the door himself, but the chops were excellent.

A few moments later, voices sounded from the front hall as the door was opened. Hearing the name "Mrs Thomas" yanked him from his chair and sent him striding to the front hall. Emma, the pretty maid who had invited him to stay earlier, looked shocked as she talked to a young woman with anxious eyes and bloody wrists. Something was very wrong. He snapped, "What has happened to Mrs Thomas?"

"Three men came and took her away!" The young woman wiped at her teary eyes. "I'm Faith Samuels, her apprentice. My baby and I live with her. The men who took her tied me up. When I managed to get free, I came here hoping for Mr Townsend's help, but Emma says he's away. I don't know what else to do!"

Hero's fear kicked up higher. "Do you know why they took her?"

"The man called her Lady Josephine, but that might just have been to be mean. He said they were taking her for justice." Faith swallowed hard. "He said that...that she was a murderess. But that's impossible!"

Hero also had trouble imagining that, but no matter. His first consideration was to rescue Josephine from her kidnappers. "What exactly was said?"

The girl took a deep breath, then recounted the conversation she'd overheard. "They're taking her on a long journey," she ended. "And...and she doesn't expect to come back alive. She wrote a note leaving her cottage and everything in it to me." The tears started again. "I don't want the house! I want Mrs Thomas back safe!"

"How long is it since they left?"

Faith furrowed her brows. "Maybe an hour, or a little more."

He glanced at her bloodied wrists. "How did you escape your bonds so quickly? You dragged your hands out?"

"They didn't tie my Bea," Faith explained. "She's only fourteen months so they left her free. After they left, I had her bring me a knife so I could cut myself loose."

"Clever girl," he said approvingly. "Were the accents English or Scottish?"

"English. Southern English."

"So they'll probably take the road east to Carlisle, then head south into England rather than north to Scotland." He turned to Emma. "Mr Townsend had a fine blood bay, Grand Turk. Is the horse here?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'll take him then. Have the horse saddled."

"Be careful, sir," Faith said. "They're dangerous men. I...I don't want to think about what they'll do to Mrs Thomas."

"If they wanted her dead, they would have killed her when they found her. She is safe until they reach their destination, and I will find her before then. I promise you that." He spun on his heel and headed to his room while he thought about what he needed to take. Money and his hat and cloak, plus a pack with bread and cheese and ale so he wouldn't have to stop to eat.

Luckily, he always travelled well-armed.

On his way through Hartley, Hero paused to talk to old Mrs Morse, who was working in her garden and saw all the local comings and goings. After getting as many details as he could of the carriage's appearance, he headed east toward Carlisle. Grand Turk was as good a horse as Hero remembered, his long strides eating up the distance.

There were no posting houses on this road, so the kidnappers would be unable to replace the horses tired by the drive to Hartley. With luck, he would catch up with them before they reached Carlisle. Once the devils reached a busier road, they would be harder to track.