CHAPTER 4

“I won’t hurt her, lad,” Alan said softly.

He knelt down and brushed aside the hair from her face and realized she was unconscious. There was a bruise on one cheek, but otherwise she didn’t look injured.

“Where is she hurt?” he asked Crispen.

Tears filled Crispen’s eyes, and he wiped hastily at them with the back of his grubby hand.

“Her stomach. And her back. It hurts her fierce if anyone touches her.”

Carefully, so as not to alarm the boy, Alan pulled at her clothing. When her abdomen and back came into view, he sucked in his breath. Around him, his men alternately cursed and murmured their pity for the slight lass.

“God in heaven, what happened to her?” Alan asked.

Her entire rib cage was purple, and ugly bruises marred her smooth back. He could swear one of them was in the shape of a man’s boot.

“He beat her,” Crispen choked out. “Take us home, Uncle Alan. I want my papa.”

Not wanting the boy to lose his composure in front of the other men, Alan nodded and patted him on the arm. T