Read Noble Hearts 03 - The Courageous Heart for Free Online

stable hand earlier. “Where are our carriages?”
    “What carriages?” His grin widened. He pushed the hood back from his head.
    Madeline screamed . “Roderick!”
    Joanna stumbled back. There was no mistaking the murder er ’s sharp nose and narrow eyes .
    “Lady Madeline.” Roderick nodded to her as if they were meeting at a faire. He pulled a knife out of his belt , his expression shifting to sick triumph . “Your father wants a word with you.” He grabbed her around the waist.
    Madeline shrieked , clutching Meg to her chest . Joanna didn’t have time for panic. She tugged Madeline’s wrist for all she was worth , trying to wrest her away from the murderer . Roderick swiped at her with the knife to chase her off . Joanna shouted and was forced to drop Madeline’s hand to avoid her or Wulfric being cut. Wulfric screamed as loud as Meg . Roderick took advantage of the boy and jabbed the knife at him. Joanna reeled back to protect the child.
    Roderick snarled in triumph and lifted Madeline off her feet to pull her away.
    “No! No!” Joanna yelled , panic closing in . She couldn’t help Madeline without putting the children in danger.
    Out of nowhere a stranger rushed at them and smashed his fist across Roderick’s face. Roderick stumbled . He let go of Madeline. She lurched towards Joanna as the man pounded Roderick across the face again. Roderick dropped.
    The man, their savior, spun back towards Joanna. “We’ve got to run ,” he ordered her, scooping Madeline into his arms as she passed out.
    Joanna caught Meg against her chest, struggling to hold both children. It was the man she’d seen in the gate way, the man she’d recognized.
    Her heart stopped as an avalanche of emotion slammed her . “Ethan!”
     

Chapter Three
    Ethan didn’t have time to acknowledge the fury of recognition that flew to Joanna’s eyes or the knot of emotion rising up from his soul . The royal guard s had their hands full with Crispin, Jack, and Aubrey now , but from what he’d just witnessed tucked in the crowded shadows of the White Tower , they would come looking for Madeline next . And if Roderick had been lurking in the courtyard there could be others.
    “We have to leave now.” He didn’t wait for a reply. He shifted Madeline in his arms and charged towards the gate. The loiterers in the courtyard hadn’t yet figured out that they should be stopped.
    “Where are you going!” Joanna demanded behind him , panic fighting anger in her voice .
    He didn’t answer. She was following him. That was all that mattered. He could hear the red-headed baby wailing as he dodged around a wagon parked near the gate .
    “Stop! Ethan! What do you think you’re doing?” Joanna continued to shout behind him. He pressed fo rward over the moat bridge and into the clogged street.
    “Follow me!” he called over his shoulder. He saw her pale face turn up towards the heads on spikes around the Tower wall, caught the dread in her eyes as she shot into the London crowd. There was no way life in Derbyshire could have prepared her for this, no more than it had prepared Toby to face the Turk. Joanna’s fright was a reflection of her brother’s. Ethan’s chest squeezed tight with long-forgotten guilt. “Come on!”
    The curious London masses glanced at them as they pushed past. Thames Street in front of the Tower had become a congested market since the king had returned , with people, carts, and animals everywhere. It could work to their advantage. Ethan mapped their escape route with a soldier’s strategy and pressed on. A woman who wasn’t watching where she was going cut in front of Ethan . He knocked her sideways but had no time to apologize .
    “They have our carriages! All of our things! ” Joanna yell ed as he edged around a cart selling fish. “Our drivers could be captive. We have to go back.”
    There was no going back.
    “ Stay close. Keep running ,” he told her, voice firm.
    He turned right at the first side