Page 34 of Once Upon a Reckless Rogue

“Anyone with eyes can see you two are in love with each other, and don’t tell me you did nothing but sleep in that bed upstairs. I had to shoo away the girls from your door they were giggling so hard this morning.”

Oh, lord! “Do not tell Elena that. She would never be able to look up again.”

“Well then, are you going to marry her?”

“She is an independent spirit, Carlos. I doubt she would marry me even if I asked.”

“Are you sure about that?” He handed Thomas a glass of wine.

No, he wasn’t, but he hoped it was true. He couldn’t stay here with her, and she wouldn’t want to come to England. They both knew this was only temporary.

“Tell me more about what happened when the French came through?”

“All right, I get the hint,” he said with a sigh. “They tried hard with their Spanish, but that French tone was too hard to hide. Everyone knew who they were. They had a particular look in their eyes, like they itching for a fight. The two with Dushard are nothing but obedient butchers. They like killing. And when they can’t kill someone, they terrorize everyone around them instead. I’ve never seen people in the market more on edge.”

Dushard would find their disrupting ways amusing. His lackeys might be the muscle, but Dushard was the mastermind. Thomas sipped his wine and thought that if Elena hadn’t acted to keep him asleep with the poppy, he would have died in agony. He had a feeling that the man had just been warming up, but thanks to the woman upstairs, he was alive and soon would be on his way home. He owed her a great debt he could never repay, but he could arrange for her to be settled somewhere and not be alone.

“Carlos. I need some money, a new pair of boots, and a pistol.”

“Is that all?”

“And a donkey.”

“Do I look like I buy livestock and footwear?”

“Absolutely not, my friend, but I cannot ask Elena to carry all her worldly goods all the way to Cadiz, and these shoes are making a mess of my toes.”

Carlos frowned, and for a moment Thomas thought he might not comply.

“What size boot do you need?”

He smiled. “Thank you, my friend.”

“It may take me a few days to source a bloody donkey. So, I guess you will still be here for the wedding.”

“The wedding?”

“My son, Hugo. The fool got his girl with child so…wedding.”

“Babies do happen.”

“Yes they do…just you remember that.”

Oh, lord. He had not even thought about the danger of Elena getting pregnant. That would complicate things considerably. He would never leave her in a predicament without any support.

“Is Hugo even old enough to get married?”

“He’s one and twenty. Plenty old enough. Am I happy about it? No. I can’t do anything to stop it so I may as well get drunk at his wedding with my good friend Thomas.”

“Well, I would be honored to be there.”

“Excellent. Now drink your wine and go back to your Elena. She will be missing your charming self. Oh, and go and see Mateo and have a shave; you look like a sheep herder.”

Thomas rubbed his jaw. “I was getting quite attached to it and Elena likes it.”

Carlos laughed. “I think she may be lying to you, my friend.”

Thomas rubbed his hand over his beard again. It had served to hide his bruises and scars. Did he really want to reveal them now?