Once a Bride (38 page)
He scowled at the woman. “No more, Abigail. If I do not get up and move I will rot here.”
“Not on my stool, ye will not.” She refilled his mug. “Man asking for you. Want to talk to him?”
Another reason he liked the Red Rooster. Hugo, the owner, considered it a great privilege to act as Logan’s go-between. A convenient and profitable arrangement for them both.
“Has he shown coin yet?”
“Enough to pay for his ale, and yours.”
“Say what he wants?”
“Same as they all want. Healed enough yet?”
Logan shrugged. “Send him over.”
Abigail placed a work-roughened hand on her ample hip and narrowed her eyes. “You sure?”
No man had dared to question Logan Grimm’s commands for many a year now, for fear of finding himself staring at the tip of a huge, well-honed broadsword. However, a man made allowances for the woman who picked lice from his blankets.
“Send him over.”
Abigail ambled back to the bar and pointed Logan out to the man he’d thought might be a merchant. Middle twenties or so. Garbed too fine to be a messenger, too drab for a knight or higher lord. Somber. Wary, possibly frightened. He didn’t want to be in this dockside inn. Only loyalty to the lord he served, or the prospect of a reward, forced him to pass through the Red Rooster’s door to find Logan Grimm.
A quick judgment, but likely accurate.
Over the course of his nearly thirty years, he’d made few mistakes when judging the men who hired him or those he fought against. He resisted the urge to rub at the wound that reminded him of the humbling misjudgment of his last opponent. He’d won the day and earned his fee, but at a price to his pride and reputation.
The man stopped a couple of feet away. “I am Harold Long, captain of Lynwood Manor’s guard. You are Logan Grimm?”
The man seemed too young to have risen to the rank of captain. Still, even given Harold’s discomfort, Logan liked the solid tone of the man’s voice. He waved Harold to a stool, not to put the man at ease, but because he didn’t like anyone hovering over him.
“I am.”
Harold glanced around before lowering onto the stool. He leaned forward and folded his arms on the table. “I am most pleased to have found you so quickly. Can you be ready to leave on the morn?”
An urgent matter, then. Of course, when men sought his services the matter was usually urgent.
“For the right price I can be ready to leave as soon as I finish my ale. Have you the right price?”
From the leather pouch tied to his belt, Harold plucked several coins and put them on the table. “This now, the remainder when your services are no longer required.”
A full week’s fee in advance? How unusual.
“How long might that be?”
“As long as it takes for you to complete your task. Are you free to hire on?”
Logan took a sip of ale, debating the wisdom of engaging in battle so soon. “What must I do?”
“Lynwood Manor is harried by a band of outlaws. Her ladyship wishes you to dispatch them with all haste.”
Her ladyship. The hair on the back of Logan’s neck prick-led with warning.
“You come at the behest of a woman?”
“Lady Joanna, widow of Sir Bertrand de Poitou.”
Logan had no idea who either the lady or lord might be, but he didn’t need to know.
“Pick up your coins, Harold. I do not work for women, particularly widows. If you like, I can give you names of those foolish enough to do so.”
Harold paled. “Her ladyship wants you.”
“She does not get me. There are others—”
“None with your reputation. Surely her coin is as good as any man’s.”
Logan glanced at the lovely silver on the table. The coin might be good, but not enticing enough to lure him into working for a woman, especially a widow. He’d done so once. Never again.
“I do not work for women.”
Harold gave a resigned sigh, his chin hitting his chest. “These ruffians grow bold. The last time they raided the village, they not only stole a prize goose but injured several children. If they are not caught, the next time someone might be killed.”
Logan suffered a brief, sharp pang of what felt oddly like sympathy, an emotion a man in his profession couldn’t afford. Perversely, his curiosity prodded him to ask, “Children were hurt?”
Harold’s chin rose slightly. “Aye, four of them, including Lady Joanna’s daughter. Took seventeen stitches to close the gash on her little arm.”
The wound on his thigh required only ten stitches to close, and he could still feel the jab of the needle on each one. Seventeen stitches on one of tender age and skin … no matter, wounded children or no, he wasn’t taking this job.
“Perhaps the lady should apply to her overlord or her family for aid.”
Harold glanced away, hesitating before answering. “My lady prefers to resolve the matter herself, if she can.”
Logan knew he’d been lied to or, at the least, not given the whole truth. There were deeper problems here. Or was the woman simply mule-stubborn?
Compared to some of his past feats, this might be an easy job. Hell, he might not even have to draw his sword. Too bad a woman was involved.
Harold picked up one of the coins and twirled it through his fingers. “Could we not come to a bargain?”
“Nay.”
“Come with me to Lynwood Manor. Meet Lady Joanna. Judge for yourself the character of my lady and her need for your services.” He put the coin back on the table. “Should you then decide you cannot accept her offer, these are still yours for your trouble.”
Logan arched an eyebrow. “Does your Lady Joanna know you squander her coin so foolishly?”
Harold rose. “Think on it, Grimm. I will return on the morn for either you or the money.”
Logan was sure he’d made his position clear. “I have decided. Take the damn coins with you!”
Harold bowed as he took a step back. “Until morn,” he said, then nearly ran out of the inn.
Logan scooped up the coins, resisting the urge to fling them at the fleeing captain.
He’d not keep the money, of course, but give the coins to Hugo, let the innkeeper return them to Harold when he came back on the morn.
The coins warmed in Logan’s fist.
What a foolish man, offering a full week’s wages to take a ride in the country, to Lynwood Manor, wherever that might be.
Logan got up and adjusted the broadsword in the scabbard angled across his back, needing to stretch his legs as he’d been about to do before Harold showed up. He should walk out to the stable and check on his horse. The poor beast had been confined to the inn’s stable for several days, would likely welcome a long, hard ride.
Like a ride to Lynwood Manor.
Harold claimed all Logan had to do to earn the coin was to meet Lady Joanna, not work for her.
He glanced around the room, at the men quaffing ale, at Abigail bustling about to keep the mugs full. He could either take that ride to Lynwood Manor or remain here—nursing his wound, spending his hard-earned money on ale and stew.
Rotting on Abigail’s stool.
Or he could earn some coin to tide him over until he was fully healed and able to take an offer more to his liking.
Mayhap in Harold’s absence the outlaws who stole geese and wounded children had been caught. Perhaps there was no longer a need for his services.
Mayhap he’d been too hasty to refuse Harold’s offer, or more likely he’d simply lost his wits. Either way, Logan Grimm strode out of the Red Rooster, resigned to leaving on the morn to meet Lady Joanna of Lynwood Manor.
Dear Reader,
They say blood is thicker than water. But what happens when love is thrown into the mix? Find a comfy chair because you’re not going to want to put down
TELL ME NO LIES
and
ONCE A BRIDE
, our two Warner Forever titles this April.
Romantic Times
calls
Annie Solomon
“a powerful new voice in romantic suspense” and it’s easy to see why in Annie Solomon’s latest book,
TELL ME NO LIES
. Alexandra Jane Baker has a secret. Thirteen years ago, her father jumped out of a window after being accused of embezzlement. Everyone called it suicide, but Alex knows the truth—it was murder. So she’s set a trap to catch the man who murdered her father and she won’t let anyone stand in her way—not even Hank, a homicide detective. To Hank, this is a textbook open-and-shut case … until he discovers a trail that leads directly to Alex. Beautiful and wealthy, she arouses his suspicions and stirs his desires. But as a new lead surfaces, uncovering a ruthless predator, Hank must break every rule and cross every line to protect Alex … before it’s too late.
Moving from the skyscrapers and the hustle and bustle of New York to the rolling hills and the intrigue of 13th century England, we present
ONCE A BRIDE
by
Shari Anton
.
Rendezvous
raves that “Shari Anton creates a spell that keeps her readers captured” so prepared to be ensnared. Eloise Hamelin’s life has been one nightmare after another. First her betrothed dies on the church steps. Then her father flees after being charged with treason. Worst of all, the king places her home in the hands of Roland St. Marten, the one knight she loathes and the one face burned into her memory. Roland is not exactly pleased with this assignment either. But his loyalty lies to the King and Roland must follow orders. Yet as sparks fly and their clashes become even more heated, Roland is drawn to her loyalty and fire. Any love between them would ruin him, but how can he turn his back on this irresistible woman who wants only to clear her father’s name?
To find out more about Warner Forever, these April titles, and the authors, visit us at
www.warnerforever.com
.
With warmest wishes,
Karen Kosztolnyik, Senior Editor
P.S. Spring is here and that means love is in the air! So don’t get left behind—grab our two Warner Forever titles this month.
Kathryn Caskie
pens a sexy and hilarious historical about a woman determined to avoid marriage and her two equally determined aunts who hatch schemes using an old military guidebook in
THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
; and
Melanie Craft
delivers a romantic screwball comedy about a woman who’s helping her reporter friend get the inside scoop from a millionaire who’s out to convince this respectable woman to pose as his fiancée in
MAN TROUBLE
.