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get
him into trouble now. Besides which, she wasn’t going to pay anyone
to come and look at the two men who had almost brought about her
ruination. The two men at her feet were undoubtedly the worst
trouble-makers the village had ever seen. Fresh out of Bodmin jail,
it had become apparent to the entire village pretty quickly that
they had left the dark recesses of the jail with more skills than
they went in with, and they weren’t the skills they could use in
any kind of worthwhile employment.
    “ It was only a matter of time,” Francesca murmured, knowing
that it was inevitable that at some point their paths would cross.
She knew she had taken a risk heading into the village
unaccompanied, but given that Bertie was ill, and Madeline was
still recovering from the flu that had befallen Bertie, it had been
left to Francesca to head to the village for fresh
supplies.
    “ What was?” Simon muttered, feeling fairly certain that his
burgeoning suspicions were correct. He tried not to stare, and
inched infinitesimally closer in an attempt to get a better
look.
    “ Oh, sorry, just thinking,” Francesca replied with a jolt. She
was completely lost for a polite way to take her leave of him, and
not entirely sure what he was waiting for. “Thank you again,” she
said, and began to turn around.
    “ Wait!” Simon moved to stand in front of her, blocking her
path. He needed to see her face just one more time, just to make
sure his suspicions were correct, and almost smirked when her eyes
reluctantly returned to his for a brief moment before quickly
sliding away. The lady really did have a few secrets. Intrigued,
Simon simply couldn’t stand back and allow her to leave without
knowing more.
    “ I’m sorry, but I don’t have much money to give you,” Francesca
mumbled, beginning to fumble in her pockets. It was then that she
realised she had dropped her basket further along the road; its
contents were now scattered across the pathway. Scurrying forward,
she began to gather the various vegetables, breads and cheeses and
shove them into the basket.
    “ I don’t expect to be paid, for God’s sakes,” Simon snapped,
highly offended at her presumption that he was loitering for
money.
    “ Thank you,” she muttered as Simon dropped several potatoes and
a small packet into the basket. She valiantly tried to ignore the
heat that stole into her cheeks, and hoped he hadn’t seen her
discomfiture for what it was; heightened awareness of him. She
wasn’t lost to the long, tapered fingers that were darkly tanned,
hinting at a life out of doors, or the broad sweep of his brows
that topped what was an exceptionally handsome face. Giving herself
a stern mental shake, Francesca shoved the cheese on top of the now
full basket and, as nonchalantly as possible, rose to her
feet.
    “ I’ll walk you home,” Simon murmured, hefting the basket into
one hand before Francesca had the time to even bend down to take
the heavy weight for herself. Ignoring her protests, he glanced
down the track toward the groaning men, who had started to wake
up.
    “ Oh no, I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that,” Francesca
protested, glancing worriedly down the road. She shifted from one
foot to the other, eager to be out of the area before the
attackers, Charlie and Tom, woke up entirely and realised she was
still there.
    They
were spiteful, and she had no doubt that they would look at heading
in her direction as soon as they were fit and able, but that was
something she would have to deal with at the time. She had no
intention of repeating the events of the afternoon. Glancing up at
the man beside her, she tried to tug the basket out of his hand but
he wouldn’t let go.
    “ Please, I need to go,” Francesca gasped, fear nipping at her
heels.
    “ I know we do, but you need not fear when I am around. I won’t
allow them to harm you.” Simon didn’t know where that came from. He
didn’t usually take on other people’s problems, and had