The High Sheriff of Huntingdon (39 page)

It
to
o
k
amazing
reflexes
to avert it. It
took
considerable
strength to make
the
horse
rear
from
the
child,
to
bring
him
down
a
g
a
i
n
out of harm’s reach
. I
t took
a certain
amount of
caring
for
t
h
e unknown
child even to make
t
h
e
effort.

Alistair stood
up
in
the
saddle,
and
she released
her
stranglehold
around
his waist, letting
out
her
pent-up
breath when she
realized
the danger was past. Alistair
had averted
certain
tragedy. “Whose brat is
this?” he
bellowed.

The
child
had
fallen
in
the
dust,
and
with
t
e
a
r
s
rolling
down
his filthy face, he
was crying, almost as
loudly as
the
sheriff was
shouting.
No one moved to comfort
the child, everyone
too terrified
of
their lord
a
n
d
master
to move.

Elspeth
didn’t
hesitate.
S
h
e
slid
off the back of the
restless
horse
and
scooped
the
child
into
her
arms as she
struggled
to
keep
the overlarge dress
decently
around
her.
Alistair
cursed as
he wheeled
the
horse
a
wa
y
from them,
and
then he jumped
off
the back
of
the
gelding,
arrogantly certain
that someone
would
take
control of his
horse.

He came up beside
E
lspe
t
h
as she
held
the
weeping
child,
not touching
her.
“I
a
s
k
e
d
a
question!”
he thun
dered.
“I
expect
an answer.”

In
return
came
Elspeth’s
voice,
loud
and
c
l
e
ar.
“Stop
it, my
lord.
You’re
scaring the child.”

The shocked silence
was
deafening.
The assembled inhabitants
of
Huntingdon
Keep watched with horror, expecting
to
see
their
new
l
ady
struck down.

There was
no
reading the
e
xpre
s
s
i
o
n
in
Alistair’s golden eyes.
For
all she knew,
he
would do e
x
a
c
t
l
y
as his
people feared he might. But
she
wouldn’t
let him hurt
the
child. She
tightened
her grip, and
t
h
e
filthy little mite
shrieked
in protest.

“You
might
show
a bit
m
o
r
e
gratitude
to
your lady,”
Alistair
told
the
boy in
a
deceptively
mild
voice.
He
took
th
e
struggling child from Elspeth’s grip, and
she was
too shocked to try to
h
o
l
d
on.

The
child
looked up at
the
sheriff in
fascination.
“Devil,”
he
observed pleasantly, and began
to howl
again.

Alistair
set
h
i
m
carefully
on
the hard ground,
a
n
d
as the child
raced
off
on chubby
little
legs, he
gave him
a
good
swift
s
m
a
c
k
on
his
bottom.
And
th
e
n
he caught Elspeth’s
arm
in
his,
a little
more forcefully
th
an
was
strictly
n
e
c
essary
,
but
she
decided she’d
let
it
pass
this
tim
e
.
“Come
along,”
he
said
beneath
his breath,
g
i
v
i
n
g
her a
jerk.

She stumbled after
him,
plastering
a
calm
expression on
h
e
r
face.
He was
in
a
fury,
that
was certain,
but
then
she
was
g
ro
w
i
n
g
used to his
furies. As
she
struggled
to
keep up
with him
she stumbled
over
t
h
e
dress, almost falling.

He caught
her
expertly when she hadn’t even
thought
he was aware
of
her. He s
c
oo
ped
her effortlessly
up
in his arms,
s
t
r
i
d
i
n
g
into the
keep
as his
body
vibrated with
tension.