Page 43 of Legacy of Thorns
It was one of the many reasons he loved her.
Love. The word echoed through his mind. When had he become so certain of his feelings?
“He’s here.” The words from beyond the trees made Finley snap back into the moment. They’d been seen!
But no sound of running feet reached his ears, and when he cautiously took another look, all three men were looking toward the manor, not the forest. Did they have another target besides Archie and Finley?
The men began to move, but their steps were measured, and they circled the barn toward the manor. Finley gestured for the other two to remain in place and carefully eased around the tree. His quarries hadn’t gone far, stopping on the far side of the barn, but it took Finley longer to weave his way through the trees until he found a place that allowed a view of them while keeping Fin himself hidden.
From his vantage point, he watched a tall, slender man approach from the back steps of the manor. He was dressed in much richer clothes than the men waiting by the barn, and his hair style must have taken at least thirty minutes to arrange. If he was their new target, they had set their sights higher than Finley and Archer.
But the men by the barn made no attempt to approach the newcomer, instead waiting for him to approach them, their faces lined with impatience. Finley frowned. It was even less believable that the men could have business with the lordly man from the manor than it was that they planned to abduct him. What in the kingdoms was going on?
The man from the manor glanced toward the trees, and Finley caught his first full view of the man’s face. He was furious. But he didn’t appear to have seen Finley.
His cold fury broke over the waiting men. “Whatdo you think you’re doing?” he hissed at them. “I have been very clear about approaching me while I’m at the manor. What if it hadbeen someone else who had seen you lurking outside? What if they started asking questions?”
One of the men tried to respond, but the newcomer held up a hand to silence him, and the man fell instantly quiet.
“We must get out of sight of the house. Immediately.” He stalked off in the direction of the trees, sending ice down Finley’s back.
The lordly man was leading the ruffians directly toward Daphne and Archie—and from their hiding place, they wouldn’t have been able to hear the man’s words to give them warning.
Finley plunged back into the trees, running as fast as he dared between the trunks, ducking and weaving and leaping over underbrush. His instinct was to run straight back the way he had come, but that path would intersect with the men. Fighting the screaming voice in his head, he aimed deeper into the trees, drawing a wide circle that would take him back to his original position from a different angle.
His breath sawed through his throat and lungs, but he pushed his legs faster. He had to reach Archie and Daphne first.
Running at speed, it was impossible to be completely silent. Some sound must have reached the waiting pair because when they came into sight, they were peering in his direction. And already, behind them, he could see flashes of the approaching men through the trees.
Finley froze, his face a grimace of alarm. Archie responded instantly, looking over his shoulder to follow the direction of Fin’s gaze. He went still at sight of the men, only his head moving as he turned back to look at Daphne and then Fin.
“Move! Move!” Finley mouthed, not wanting to speak or move himself in case he drew unwanted attention.
Archie sprang into action, leaping straight into the air and catching a branch above his head. With enviable ease, he swung himself onto it, reaching one arm back down to Daphne. Shewasn’t usually one for fast movement, but she didn’t hesitate. Taking his hand, she let him haul her silently into the tree, her feet scrabbling at the trunk as she moved upward.
Her foot whisked above eye height mere seconds before the men stopped only a few trees away. If they had arrived thirty seconds earlier, they would have discovered Daphne and Archie, and even now, if one of the men scanned the forest canopy, they would be spotted.
Finley eased himself slowly backward, moving silently and carefully so as not to draw any eyes. Safe behind a tree trunk, he peered carefully around it. He finally had a good view of the newcomer, and he intended to memorize his appearance. If Fin ever saw the man again, he would recognize him.
Unfortunately, Finley’s new position put him too far from the men to hear more than the general murmur of their quiet voices. It was obvious, however, that the newcomer wasn’t happy—and equally obvious that the ruffians answered to him.
Finley waited with growing impatience and fear as the conversation stretched on for what was probably only minutes but felt like hours. Finally the murmur stopped, and Finley peered back around the tree. The man from the manor stood alone, watching with a sour expression as the ruffians traipsed off.
Only when they were out of sight among the trees did he turn and walk back toward the manor. Finley waited until the newcomer, too, had disappeared from sight, and then forced himself to count to one hundred and twenty.
He stepped out from behind the tree at the exact moment Archie dropped to the ground. The two brothers’ eyes met, and Archie grinned. Finley had been the one to teach him to always count out two minutes before coming out of hiding.
Finley rushed toward his brother, but he didn’t arrive in time to catch Daphne as she slid from the tree. Instead, she dropped into Archie’s arms before quickly stepping away.
“Well,” she said, dusting herself off, “that was interesting.”
“You could hear them.” In his anxiety over their safety, Finley had forgotten that the two in the tree were perfectly positioned as spies. “What did they say?”
“Not the key information we want, sadly,” Daphne said. “So we still don’t know why they want to harm you. But we do now know that the first men are in the employ of that other one. And he’s growing increasingly angry at their failure to capture you. I assume that wasn’t Lord Castlerey? I had the impression from his words that he’s a guest in the manor.”
Archie nodded. “Lord Castlerey is older. I’ve never seen this man before, but it definitely sounded like he was a guest. From the way he talked, I’d say he’s been visiting Lord Castlerey for some months.”
“A guest?” Finley shook his head. “Who is he? A relative? A wealthy merchant? How did Father get tangled up with someone like that?”
