“Of course he was.” Ewan shook his head. He had a strong suspicion that the person in his stables the last two nights had been none other than Lady Theodora Ballard. Even though the person who’d been seen was dressed as a lad, Ewan wouldn’t put it past the chit to wear such clothing. It was either her or someone she’d sent to try to steal the horse. But something about the entire affair didn’t feel right to Ewan. It didn’t make sense that neither night had an attempt been made to actuallystealthe horse. The stall door hadn’t been opened and the barn door hadn’t even been opened. A thief, however skillful, couldn’t exactly push a horse through a window. Not to mention, if the Arabian were to be stolen, the first place Ewan would look would be Lady Theodora’s father’s stables. If she was the thief, she had to realize it would be madness to try to take the horse from him.
But what other reason did she have for sneaking into his stables at night? Had she sent one of her father’s stablehands to spy on his horse for some reason? She couldn’t possibly be sneaking in merely tovisitthe animal, could she? How bloody stubborn was this young lady? Or how bloody mad?
Ewan had received a very similar report the night before. Whoever had been in the stables had managed to escape before either Mr. Hereford or the stablehands could detain him. Ewan’s orders had been to be prepared if it happened again and to detain the culprit if so. Apparently, whoever it was, was a bit too surefooted for his sleepy stablehands.
“I intend to call the constable this time, my lord,” Humbolt continued, “but I thought you should be aware, first.”
Ewan narrowed his eyes and rubbed them, wiping the sleep from his mind. “Did anyone notice anything new tonight, Humbolt?”
“No, my lord. At least Mr. Hereford didn’t mention anything.”
“You said they believe it’s a boy, Humbolt?” Ewan continued.
“Yes, my lord. According to the stablehands, he can’t be more than twelve or thirteen years old.”
Ewan rubbed his jaw and sighed loud and long. “Don’t call the constable yet, Mr. Humbolt.”
“My lord?” Humbolt’s eyes widened in surprise. “Would you like me to have the stablemaster put someone up all night to watch the Arabian?”
“No, thank you, Humbolt,” Ewan replied with another grim sigh. “I intend to catch this particular thief myself.”
CHAPTER TEN
Ewan sat in the stables atop a bale of hay. The bale was pushed against the wall directly to the right of the thief’s preferred window. The culprit had entered this way both times before, and Ewan hoped the chap would attempt it a third time. This was Ewan’s fifth night of waiting, however, and he was both tired and impatient. After the first two nights when he’d been seen, the thief had yet to return.
Either he’d been scared off by being nearly caught twice, or he was merely waiting for the moon to be fuller. Ewan suspected that latter, which is why he had high hopes that tonight would be the night for the so-called thief’s return. The moon was nearly full.
Ewan had nearly drifted off. His eyes had shut just as he heard a distinctive thump against the outside wall.
He immediately sat up straight. His body tensed, ready to catch whoever this was and put an end to this nonsense once and for all.
Ewan bided his time. By all accounts the thief was slender and young. If indeed it was a lad, Ewan expected he’d be able to easily overtake the child … and if it was Lady Theodora, well, he’d easily overtake her too.
He remained crouched, alert but entirely calm, as he watched the window creak open, and the shoulders and torso of the intruder emerge. The culprit was wearing a dark cap and a black shirt with an equally dark neckcloth. No wonder the stablehands hadn’t been able to see him in the meadow. As the form emerged through the window, Ewan also saw dark breeches and dark boots. He couldn’t make out a face, however.
Ewan waited until the intruder was perched atop the windowsill and poised to jump to the ground inside of the stables. “Evening,” he drawled, ready to pounce if the intruder tried to escape back through the window.
Instead, his voice startled the thief. The lad wobbled on the sill and fell, hitting the ground with a loud thump. The distinctive sound of a bone cracking made Ewan wince.
A half groan, half whimper came from the slight form lying on the ground. Ewan could tell the thief was doing his best not to cry out, but Ewan was certain whoever this intruder was had just broken a leg.
Ewan cursed under his breath and lit the lantern he’d hidden behind a nearby blanket. The area lit up. “You’re hurt, aren’t you?” he asked. He knelt down and reached for the culprit’s leg to take a look.
“Don’t touch me,” came a slight, but extremely certain voice.
Ewan pulled his hand away. Based on the voice alone, he still wasn’t certain if the intruder was a lad or Lady Theodora. “Who are you?” he asked. “And what are you doing here?”
“That’s none o’ yer affair,” the culprit said. If it was Lady Theodora, she was obviously doing her best to disguise her voice.
“On the contrary,” Ewan replied, “it’s entirely my affair. You see, I own this entire estate and if you don’t want me to call the constable, I’ll thank you to tell me why you’ve been breaking into my stables.”
The thief tried to jump up, presumably to run, but quickly fell to the ground again with an agonized, distinctly ladylike whimper. “Call the constable, then,” the small form replied defiantly.
Ewan sat back on his heels and regarded her for a moment. Apparently, she wasn’t frightened of the constable. Or if she was, she was certainly doing a fine job of maintaining her bravado. Pain was etched on the small mouth, but the culprit’s cap was pulled down so low and her chin was tucked down so tightly that Ewan couldn’t be entirely certain it was Lady Theodora.
But there was one way to find out.
“Very well, what if I call the doctor instead? To look at that leg,” Ewan said next.
