The Hibernian Runaway

Chapter 8

 Halt woke up on a bed with a throbbing pain in his head. Two faces swam into view, but were out of focus. Will and Pauline relaxed when Halt frowned.

 "Thank god. I thought she killed you." Pauline said with relief.

 "What happened?" Halt asked.

 "You slipped on the stairs and hit your head. You're very lucky that it didn't happen farther up the stairs or you would've been killed." Pauline replied.

 Halt sat up, but almost fell down again. Will grabbed his mentor's shoulder and helped steady him.

 "You probably have a major concussion." Will said. "What do you remember of yesterday and today?"

 "I remember doing a sweep through the farmlands for someone, with you before coming back to the castle. I didn’t get to the castle before the gates closed and I got a room at Gary’s.” Halt said. “Then yesterday, I was at the cabin finishing a document; then I went back to the castle. I was there when the kid, I don’t remember his name, said that the person we were looking for was here. Then we went out to search the farms for this girl.”

 "We were searching for the murder criminal, Lilly McMatthew. You said you knew who the criminal was." Will offered.

 "The girl that was there that you were chased off was definitely Lilly McMatthew. I saw her watching you with the medics. She saw me and ran off." Pauline replied

 "She was kneeling over me as I was losing consciousness." Halt said.

 "Probably to finish you off!" Pauline said, but corrected herself. "I'm sorry, but she probably meant to do you more harm until the medics forced her to stop."

 Halt nodded, pondering his wife's words. "Pauline, can you go get the medics? I want to know how quickly I can get out of this bed."

 Pauline nodded and walked out of the room, closing the oak door behind her.

 "Will, go after her." Halt said, looking at his former apprentice.

 "What do you want me to do?" Will asked, looking at his mentor oddly.

 "Bring her back. I don't think that she's the murderer." Halt explained.

 "Why? You saw Crowley's report." Will asked.

 "When she was kneeling over me, she was concerned. Why would a murderer, who knows that if we catch her she will go back to a Hibernia, be concerned over the life of a Ranger?"

 "I don't know."Will said.

 "Then find out."Halt said.

 "I'll go tell the Baron what happened if he wasn’t informed already. Then I’ll go have a chat with Nial." Will said.

 "Just be careful." Halt said.

 Will looked at Halt quizzically, but he had already closed his eyes.

 He jogged down the stone steps and almost collided with Alyss. Her blonde hair framed her face, making Will wish he could stop and kiss her.

 "Where are you going?" She asked.

 "I'm following the girl who attacked Halt. She deserves to answer for attacking Halt." Will said.

 "Oh, is he okay?” Alyssasked. She continued to walk up the steps, hand on her stomach. Will shook his head when she disappeared from view. Three months ago, Alyss started to act all strange. She never did anything active and she started to sleep in late. Alyss also kept eating more than two helpings each meal, something any girl wouldn't do, unless it was Jenny’s cooking.

 Pushing his personal thoughts from his mind, he hurried down to the castle stables. He saddled up Tug and rode out to Wensley. He dismounted Tug outside of Gary's Tavern and walked in.

 He took a seat at the bar and Gary placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of him. Before Gary could walk away, Will grabbed his arm.

 "What can I do for you Ranger Will?" He asked.

 "I need to speak with Nial, ask him a few questions." Will said.

 He knew that Gary took good care of his sons, taking precautions to make sure that they stayed on the right side of the law. Whenever someone joked about them doing something criminal, Gary would always put them back in their place.

 "What did he do this time?" Gary asked, his face as hard as rock.

 "Nothing. I need to ask him some questions about a person he was seen with." Will said.

 "Oh you mean little Miss Lilly. She came in the other day. Now that I remember it, you were here when she was leaving." Gary said. "Why, did she do anything wrong?"

 "No. I just need to talk to her about her problem with Christopher. I was hoping to talk to Nial for another side on the story." Will said, hoping to keep Gary's suspicions down.

 "Nial, hurry up on those tankards. Someone needs to speak to you in private." Gary yelled.

 Nial stuck his head out of the back to see who his father was talking about. Nial's eyes flashed and he waved Will into the back room.

 Will couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw fear in Nial's eyes. He knew that Nial knew that Lilly was in trouble.

 ial sat at a stool by a counter full of drying tankards. He slid another stool over to Will, who sat down.

 "What can I do for you?" Nial asked.

 "Where did Lilly go?" Will asked.

 "As far as I know she went back to her farm. Why? What did she do?" Nial said.

 "You know what she did. She assaulted a senior Ranger, and murdered a knight in Hibernia." Will almost yelled.

 "Who are you talking about? Lilly is a farm girl, who wouldn't touch a fly." Nial said, his face betraying nothing.

 "Damn it Nial. Do you know that you could be punished severely for helping a criminal? You could do labor, for up to three years! There is a knight dead in Hibernia because of her. She's dangerous and needs to be brought in. Now you can help me or not." Will yelled.

 "If you promise to get her an audience before Baron Arald before her hearing, I might think about telling you where she went." Nial said.

 "What is with you? She is a murderer, and you're treating her like- like she's a princess. First with the meeting, now this. Where did she run to?" Will asked, his frustration evident in his voice.

 "She went to Whitemarsh to get her horse, and then I don’t know what." Nial sighed.

 "Thank you." Will said.

He hurried out of the tavern, sliding two gold coins to Gary as he walked out. He remounted Tug and wheeled him to the road to Whitemarsh. The coastal town was about half an hour on horseback away. With some luck, Will would set out the moment Lilly arrived at Whitemarsh. It would be easy to find her; having two horses would be a rarity in a fishing village.