Naughty in Nottinghamshire 02 - The Rogue Returns by Leigh LaValle Read Free Book Online

wet. I need to see to the horses.”
    “You’re leaving me here alone ?” Her shrill voice pinged off the rock walls.
    “You will be quite safe.” He threw her a smile. “I promise.”
    Then he abandoned her with the bats and spiders and goblins.
    Helen stomped about for a bit, preferring her anger to cowering in a corner. Finally, she removed Roane’s cloak and lamented the ruined state of her clothing. Her shoes were muddy, her gloves ripped. The hem of her gown had fallen and her bonnet was stained and misshapen. It was useless to even attempt to repair her wardrobe. After swallowing a few bites of food, she dug through the saddlebag and opened the map.
    ***
    T HE NIGHT WAS PITCH BLACK, without so much as a glimmer from the moon. Clouds churned in the sky and a light mist fell over the world.
    It smelled like trouble.
    Roane fed and watered the horses, then secured them on a line strung high between two trees. Zeus was well familiar with sleeping out under the stars. He should help the mare settle down. Roane could only hope Helen would prove as amenable.
    With one last scratch behind Zeus’s withers—he’d heartily missed this horse—Roane sat under the cover of a pine and turned the thieves’ saddle over in his hands. Whoever the men were, they had expensive taste in horseflesh and tack. The mount he’d grabbed for Helen was a well-trained quarter horse, with trimmed hoofs and a gentle temperament. Someone had spent a pretty penny on the mare. Much more than these thieves could afford on their own, given the state of their garments.
    Either the thieves had stolen their mounts, or someone had equipped them for the job.
    But who? And why?
    Roane knew of any number of wealthy men who could afford such horseflesh. And men who couldn’t but would lie and steal to get it. Any of them were angry with him—and dangerous. Certainly not someone he wished to have on his tail.
    And here he’d hoped his return to England would go unnoticed. He scrubbed a hand through his hair, annoyed by the emotion spiking through him.
    How had his past caught up to him so quickly? For he didn’t believe these men were just after Helen, as they claimed. They were after him. And they were after his gold.
    He’d not written anyone, save James, of his plans to return. Even Roane’s own sister, Mazie, didn’t know he’d been at leave to come home. Though he was anxious to see her and trusted her with his life, he didn’t trust her household with the news.
    Yet he’d been found all the same. And, after only three days on English soil, three days in which he’d planned to avoid trouble at all costs, he’d broken a man’s nose, been held at gunpoint, and stolen a horse. To top it off, he must hide in the woods like old times.
    He was not the same man who’d sailed from London that cool June morning. More than just three years had passed—he’d gained a lifetime of experience and hard-learned lessons. Now, he had plans for his future.
    Plans that would be for naught if he didn’t hurry . He needed to be in Stamford in two weeks time with gold in his pockets.
    First things first, he needed to be rid of Lady Helen Gladstone. She was no match for the danger inherent in this journey. With thieves threatening from behind and difficult mountainous terrain ahead, Lady Helen needed to go back to London where she belonged.
    While he wouldn’t mind warming her up , she was trouble. Plain and simple.
    He’d be rid of her in the morning.
    Roane pressed to standing and, with his eyes trained on the shadows within shadows, he walked the area twice more. He scaled the hill and studied the nearby terrain. Visibility was limited with the rain, but no one was about. They had escaped their would-be robbers. For now.
    Silently, and without need of a light, he slipped back into the familiar cave. Helen had left the candle lit as if he had excess wax to spare.
    “You’re returned.” She looked up from her needlework. It seemed she was repairing