Armored Hearts Read Online Free

and hated having her hair braided would care about the color of her dress.
    The cat pounced from the floor back into her lap, and she patted it absentmindedly. She let out a sigh. “I wish there was some way I could help the people in town.”
    Gareth furrowed his brow and floated a few feet above his bed. He liked the feeling of weightlessness that came from not touching the ground or his furniture.
    Tabitha bowed her head in what looked like a silent prayer before opening her eyes and starting on Gareth’s arithmetic anyway. “The way our finances are going, I will probably need to look for employment by my sixteenth birthday.”
    “Have you been looking in Grandfather’s books again?”
    “I can’t help it. Working numbers is soothing.” Tabitha pouted. “We are barely hanging on. I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why Sarah and Thompton stay. Did you know Lord Gerald had to cut their pay by half and they stayed anyway?”
    Gareth blinked hard and lowered himself back to the bed. He had not known that. No wonder the other staff had left. He did know Grandfather had let out his home in London this year rather than visit for the season. They had little more than a title and the farmlands barley produced. Times were changing, just like the turn of the century. Those in trade had more in their bank accounts than their landlords. If Tabitha were legitimate, she would be Lady Smyth, daughter of an Earl. That could help her secure a good union when she became of marrying age. But instead she was penniless Miss Fitzgerald of dubious origins.
    Gareth flew to his wardrobe and pulled out his coat.
    “Will you take me flying tonight?”
    “Not tonight. I’m going to assess the situation over on the east side.”
    Tabitha leapt up from the chair, and the cat hopped to the floor. It eyed her indignantly. The girl looked around as if someone would hear her, and asked in a harsh whisper, “Where the robberies are happening?”
    He shrugged and buttoned his coat. “You were so worried about them, and it got me thinking. Those folks won’t get much attention from the authorities. They’re too low in rank for anyone to really care. Unless Grandfather pays a call to the authorities on their behalf…but we both know he never will.”
    Tabitha rushed in front of him. “But the robbers could be armed. You could get hurt.”
    Gareth flew to the balcony doors. “I’ll be fine.”
    “You can’t out fly a bullet.”
    He shrugged. “It’s dark.”
    Her voice rose, and she no longer spoke in a whisper. “How would you come home and explain a bullet wound to Lord Pensees? Or what if someone saw you and told?”
    Gareth stopped and bit his lip. She was right; he shouldn’t risk it.
    Tabitha’s face lit up. “I have an idea.”
    She ran to the door, stepping over the cat. The orange tabby darted under his bed. She stepped out into the hall and peeked back in with a mischievous smile. “All’s clear. Follow me.”
    Gareth threw up his hands but relented. When they reached the door to the attic, he had to ask, “Where are we going?”
    “I told you. I have an idea.”
    They reached the top of the attic stairs, Gareth reining in his flying pace to wait for Tabitha. She rushed over to a corner and pulled a sheet off of a suit of armor. “You could wear this.”
    Gareth parked himself on top of an old wardrobe. He laughed. “I’m not wearing that.”
    “Why not? You’d be bullet proof. No one would recognize you. And if anyone sees you, no one’s going to believe a story about a flying knight.”
    Gareth shook his head, but a smile formed on his lips. She might have something. She usually did. Tabitha was the smartest person Gareth knew, even if she were a girl. All the ladies he’d ever met bored him within minutes of a conversation’s beginning. Perhaps it was being trapped in the chair and on the country estate that made Gareth long for conversation that went beyond the current fashion and silly giggles.