Page 28 of The Beastly Earl

The immoral, sickening treachery of it all had pushed him to the edge of a deep chasm of fury. He'd barely managed to keep his hands away from the dowager's throat. Several hours later, Ewan had left Argaty Keep out of fear he might act on his dark urges. Instead, he'd used that darkness on the battlefield. The carnage he'd left in his wake had made the enemy call him, Savage Infidel.

The sound of McCallum’s voice penetrated his dark thoughts, and his gaze swept around the paddock. For the first time, he realized Louisa’s youngest boy, Wills, was nowhere to be seen. Usually the boy was sitting on the top rail of the fence surrounding the riding ring. McCallum had chosen to give the younger child lessons without the other two boys, which gave Wills the opportunity for mischief.

From inside the stable, he heard Louisa calling out to her son. The exasperation in her voice was evident, and he continued across the yard toward the barn. As he walked through the wide entrance of the stable, he saw Louisa with her hands on her hips looking down the corridor that extended the length of the building.

“Wills, where are you?”

“Here, Mama. I’m up here.”

The boy’s cheerful, disembodied response made Louisa look upward, and her face lost all its color. Ewan’s gaze followed hers, and he grimaced at the sight of Wills sitting complacently on one of the beams that ran from one side of the stable walls to the other.

“William Wallace Morehouse, get down from there this instant.”

“But Mama, I can see all the horses from up here.”

“I don’t care if you can see London,” she snapped. “Get down from there, now.”

As Ewan watched the boy get to his feet in a haphazardly fashion, he released a low growl of concern for the child's safety. He’d climbed the same rafters as a boy and had learned the hard way a fall could be quite painful. The boy looked around, clearly debating how best to climb down from his perch. Afraid of startling the boy, Ewan didn’t say anything as he strode quickly toward the stall directly beneath Wills.

Louisa’s sharp gasp of fear made him look up to see her youngest teeter on the beam. Increasing the speed of his stride, Ewan leapt onto Balgair’s back. The large gelding barely moved as Ewan centered himself on the horse. Directly overhead, he saw the boy regain his balance and continue looking around him for an easy path to safety.

“Mr. Morehouse, I want you to carefully take two steps to the left then hop down here onto Balgair. I’ll catch you.” At his quiet order, Wills frowned.

“How? You only have one arm.” The boy’s candid response made his mouth twist slightly with amusement despite his fear that Wills might fall. The child was as blunt and straight-forward as his mother.

“I might only have one good arm, but I had no trouble mounting Balgair. Are you doubting me when I say I'll catch you?”

“No, my lord.”

“Then I give you my word that I’m more than capable of catching you.”

The boy tipped his head to one side and studied Ewan carefully for a long moment. Then with a cheeky grin he nodded, took two quick steps to the side, and without any warning jumped off the beam. Ewan released a loud grunt as Wills landed hard on his chest. As his body protested the rough action, the boy grinned.

“You were right. You did catch me.”

“I’m not in the habit of making promises I can’t keep.”

With his good arm, Ewan lowered Wills to the ground. As he slid off the gelding’s back, Wills gave him a small bow.

“Thank you, my lord. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“There won’t be a next time, young man,” Louisa snapped as she hurried forward to meet Wills as the two of them walked out of Balgair’s stall. Her hands gripped her son’s shoulders as she bent over him. “If I ever catch you doing something so dangerous again, I’ll take a switch to you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mama.” The regret in her youngest son’s voice made Louisa close her eyes as she pulled her child into a tight embrace. The boy immediately squirmed against her. “Please, Mama. Not in front of his lordship.”

Ewan eyed the boy with amusement as Louisa released him. Before she could say another word, Wills darted past her and out into the stable yard. The moment he disappeared from view, she drew in a sharp breath of relief and turned to face him.

“Thank you,” she said softly with an expression that emphasized the fear her son's reckless behavior had caused her. “If something had happened to William…”

Silence filled the space between them as her voice trailed to a halt. Ewan couldn’t ever remember feeling so awkward with a woman before. As he studied her face, her gaze flitted away from his. With an abrupt movement, she began to walk down the row of horse stalls, and he fell into step beside her.

“He’s an adventuresome lad. Quite fearless. A trait I think he inherited from his mother.” Ewan didn’t look at her, but out of the corner of his only eye, he saw her jerk her head toward him in surprise.

“I’m not sure whether that was an insult or a compliment.”

“If you had thought it an insult, I've no doubt you would have verbally flayed me without hesitation.” Ewan heard a small indignant gurgle of sound come from her, and he bit back a smile.

“I do not flay people verbally,” she snapped. Before he had a chance to challenge her, she blew out a puff of air that was a clear sign of exasperation. “Although, I suppose my words the other night might be considered by some to be…mildly vitriolic.”