Read Noble Hearts 03 - The Courageous Heart for Free Online Page A

street, picking up his pace as they passed down the dim alley between two buildings. Joanna had enough sense to follow as fast as she could. Ethan shifted Madeline in his arms, clamping a hand around her tiny waist to keep her from slipping. Her head flopped against his neck. She was blazing with fever. Another problem.
    They burst out into the next street. It was as crowded as the last.
    “Where in God’s name do you think you’re going, Ethan Windale !” Joanna screamed at him. A pair of young men passing in front of them startled at her shout.
    “I’m taking you to safety,” he told her. He glanced up and down the street. The Stag Hunt was three more blocks over. It might as well have been three shires over. A trio of royal guards had turned the corner at the crossroads behind them . Their pikes were at the ready and they searched through the crowd like dogs sniffing out a rabbit. “Come on.”
    He bolted into the crowd , hoping Joanna would follow. The crying of the baby she carried told him she had. They picked thei r way through a cluster of city folk an d around a carriage draped with n oble livery.
    “Halt! You there!”
    Ethan didn’t need to turn around to know the guards had spotted them. They shot past a store front where a group of shoppers looked up from the wares to see what the commotion was all about. Madeline’s feet knocked a few balls of twine from a table set along the sidewalk. The merchant hollered at them and stepped out to shake his fist. He also blocked the guards who were swiftly gaining on them.
    “Down here!” Ethan cut into another small alley, Joanna following. Their footsteps echoed as they ran. They shot out into the light of another thoroughfare . Ethan ran for a few yards, checking over his shoulder to make sure Joanna was still with him . He dodged into another alley heading back to the street they’d just come from.
    “What are you doing?” Joanna panted.
    “Tryi ng to lose them,” he answered.
    Time was running out. He could give chase indefinitely, but Joanna was red-faced and sweating. She couldn’t go on for long with two children in her arms. The street was empty of guards when they spilled into it again but still packed with people. He slowed down, marching on, checking over his shoulder to be sure Joanna was keeping up.
    “Where are we going?” she asked, out of breath.
    “Somewhere safe.”
    She didn’t push the question. They continued at a swift walk. More than a few passersby shot him curious looks. Madeline was still unconscious in his arms. The baby had stopped crying but now the boy Joanna carried was fussing. At least they had lost the guards.
    By the time they reached The Stag Hunt they were far enough from the main road that no one paid attention to them . Several children played in the side street and a woman was putting out her laundry. A dog barked and chased after a butcher’s cart. David sat atop his loaded wagon at the entrance to the small courtyard behind The Stag Hunt, the inn’s stable master helping him back it up. Ethan picked up his pace, dashing down the street to squeeze between the wagon and the courtyard wall with Madeline in his arm.
    “Whoa, whoa, what have you got there?” David called as Joanna rushed to keep at his side.
    “A friend,” he replied. “She’s ill. I’ll take her inside then come out to help.”
    “A friend?” David repeated, cautious amusement twisting his face between mirth and curiosity. “Who’s the other one then.”
    “I’m Joanna Dunkirke.”
    Ethan winced.
    “Oh?” David’s smile grew. “Sister or wife?”
    “What?” Joanna snapped.
    A scuffle in the street kept Ethan from answering. He pressed against the wall and craned his neck to see if the royal guards had found them. The children squeal ed into view, chasing the dog. He let out a breath of relief.
    “I will explain later, sir.” He shuffled around Joanna, guiding her towards the inn’s kitchen door.
    Joanna stumbled through the