The Hibernian Runaway

Chapter 7

 It was dark when Halt and Will met up. Halt had searched at least ten farms, looking for this girl that no one had any memory of seeing. Will had searched as many farms as Halt did, but there was still no sign of Lilly McMatthew.

 “Are you ready to go back?” Halt asked, rubbing warmth into his hands.

 “Yeah, there’s one more farm that I want to check though.” Will said, looking over his shoulder. “Why don’t you head back to the castle?” Will said.

 “Okay, but if you lose any of your fingers in this weather, don’t blame anyone but yourself.” Halt said.

  

He turned and rode Abelard towards Redmont. On the way back, he saw glowing in the road and shouting. He rode Abelard up quietly, to see what it was. There were a group of men that were packing up their horses. There was a small fire off to one side, casting flickering shadows over the ground.

 “Hurry up. We have to go; otherwise we won’t get there by sunrise.” A man shouted. He was the only one on a horse.

 “Henry! I can’t find my horse!” A man shouted. “I swear I tethered it.”

 “Jeremy, you’re always setting us back. We won’t be able to make it to the next town within the week. We’ll have to go to town and buy another horse!” the man called Henry shouted.

 Halt kept riding, unseen by the men. They didn’t present any obvious threat, and Halt wanted to get home.

 He rode past the town of Wensley, the streets empty. Most of the people were already asleep, the only light coming from the windows of Gary’s tavern. Halt stopped at the tavern, unsaddled Abelard in the stables, and went in.

 Gary nodded hello. By now he was used to having the Rangers come in for his coffee.

 “Do you have any coffee beans?” Halt asked. “I ran out at home and the castle’s supply isn’t as good as yours.”

 “Yeah, just let me go get them. Do you want anything before I get them?” Gary said, wiping the bar top.

 “No thanks.” Halt replied, taking a seat at the bar.

  

Halt looked around the tavern. There were a couple of travelers dispersed throughout the tavern, all with food in front of them. The door to the tavern opened and two figures strode in. At the same time, Gary came back carrying a bag of coffee grounds. Halt slid over the payment and walked away, leaving Gary to tend to his customers. Halt saw a flash of purple as he walked by the two newcomers that disappeared behind a gray cloak. Paying it no attention, he walked out to Abelard and rode him to Will’s cabin.

 He unsaddled his horse and rubbed him down. He walked into the cabin and went immediately to the bed. He laid down and closed his eyes. In less than a minute, he was fast asleep.

Halt woke up at the crack of dawn and climbed out of the bed. He had slept without interruption and was ready to go back to his wife. He left money for the room on Gary’s side of the bar and saddled up Abelard.

He got to the castle gates just as the guards opened it up. They nodded to him as he passed through. He unsaddled Abelard and rubbed him down.

 “Can I have an apple?” Abelard asked.

 Halt looked at his horse and raised an eyebrow at him. “Really?” Halt asked. He stared down his horse for a minute then looked away, smirking. He pulled an apple from a barrel and held it out for Abelard to eat. The horse munched on the apple and ate it; core and all. Abelard sniffed the barrel rim, wanting another one, but Halt put the lid on it; preventing his horse from getting to the treats.