The Hibernian Runaway

Chapter 3

"Do you know that Connor is really your son?"

"What?!"

"Yes, you blundering fool. He's your son. If the fool of a King realizes that he's not his son, he'll divorce me and my plans will be put to an end!"

"But you said to Sean…"

"I know what I said to Sean. I couldn't let him know that you and I are having an affair! It would be the end of us both!"

"What does it matter? He'll never find out. You have a fool on the throne, so it will be easy to over throw him."

"Yes, but his daughter will prove to be a problem. She's quick-witted and smart. I'll soon have my men capture King Sean and execute… What was that?"

"I don't know; it came from behind the bookcase."

"Hey you what are you doing there?"

 "NO! It's the Princess. Guards get her, get her!"

 Lilly woke up to a light touch on her arm. Her reflexes told her to react and she shot her arm into where she knew the person's stomach was. After she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, she saw that she had accidentally attacked Nial.

"Sorry." She said quickly.

 "It's okay." Nial groaned, "But you sure pack a punch."

 "Reflexes." Lilly replied. “And the farm work.”

 "Yeah, I can see that. Anyway, it’s dawn. Let's go get breakfast and help Jonathan get his money back." Nial said.

 Lilly nodded and sat up on the cot. She stretched and followed Nial out the door and into the kitchen. In the middle of the table was a platter with eggs, bacon, toast, and potatoes. The farmhands filled their plates and sat down to eat the hearty breakfast. Nial and Lilly finished quickly and began to talk with Jonathan who was sitting next to Lilly.

 "We were planning on going to Baron Arald." Nial told Jonathan, "To get your money back."

 "You comin’?" Lilly asked.

 "Fine. I can't wait to get Christopher in trouble with the Baron, so his father would stop sending him out to deal wool." Jonathan said.

 "Once ask your father, we go." Lilly said.

 Jonathan nodded, shoveling a forkful of potatoes and bacon into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed and began to tap his fork on his plate.

 "But, I don't want to slow the harvest of the crops. The faster we sell, the better our produce will be. The Harvest Festival is in two weeks. And we have a ton of produce. I can’t risk not getting my money back over losing a profit for the farm." Jonathan said.

 "But you were cheated. You could get your money back from Baron Arald if you go and state your claim." Nial protested.

 "Those three silvers don't matter with what we'll sell this harvest." Jonathan replied.

 "I go and tell Baron then." Lilly said. Despite her irritation, she was a little pleased that Jonathan was more mature.

 She got up hastily and walked over to Joseph.

 "I’m asking permission to see Baron about wool problem." Lilly told Joseph.

 "Okay if it means we'll get our money back." Joseph agreed.

 "Can take horse again?" Lilly asked.

 "You can take the smallest one, but you'd better be quick about it. We'll need all our horses to haul the harvest." He said sternly.

 "Thank you." Lilly said and hurried out the door, followed closely by Nial.

 The couple almost ran to the barn to get the horse and mule. Quickly they put on the saddles and bridles. Once they were finished, they mounted and rode out of the barn towards Wensley.

 The two riders made it to Wensley within a half hour. Before they went to Castle Redmont, they checked in with Nial's parents. Gary treated them to some coffee and they sat down at the bar.

 "We're going to Baron Arald about Christopher. He purposefully got Jonathan drunk so he could cheat him out of his wool. “Nial explained to his father.

 "Good, good. He deserves to be punished. All he does is bring trouble to my tavern." Gary said.

 "He brings trouble everywhere." Lilly reminded him.

 "We're going to go once we finish this marvelous coffee." Nial said.

 Gary left to wait on other customers. Nial took out a charcoal stylus out of a pocket in his jacket and began to sketch in his notebook. Lilly looked over his shoulder at a brooch that began to form on the page. When Nial finished, she smiled at him and nodded towards the notebook.

 "Good." She said pointing at the brooch.

 "Thanks." Nial replied.

 He looked at the drawing and tore it out of the notebook. He folded the paper and handed to Lilly.

 "This is for you." Nial said.

 Lilly took the vellum piece and stuck it into a pocket in her trousers. She nodded her thanks to him and looked up see who had entered the tavern. Nial looked over his shoulder when he noticed Lilly's distraction.

 A figure in the Ranger's signature mottled green and gray cloak had stepped into the tavern. He unslung his longbow from his shoulder and set it aside the bar as he sat down on one of the stools. Gary came over with a mug of coffee. The Ranger slid some coins to pay for the drink and everyone relaxed in their seats.

 Everyone had a fear of Rangers. It was believed that they practiced the dark arts. They also had an uncanny accuracy and speed with their bows and knives. People went out of their way to avoid Rangers because they believed some evil would befall them if they did something wrong.

 "Why’s Ranger here?" Lilly whispered.

 "He likes my father's coffee a lot. He says it's the best in the town." Nial answered, bringing his mug up to his lips.

 "I got be careful." Lilly whispered.

 "Yeah." Nial replied, "But let's get going to the Baron."

Nial and Lilly left their empty mugs of coffee on the bar top. Lilly felt someone looking at her as she was leaving. She looked over her shoulder before she went out the door and met the dark eyes of the Ranger. She quickly walked to her horse and rode with Nial towards Castle Redmont.