"Gram, you said the events would lead to a ton of tragedies. Why? What happened after Osegod's death?" It was Valerie who dared ask while her twin sister merely looked on at their grandparents as if all the answers were there.
It would be very unfair if they did not know how things ended with the Everards and those who had become complicatedly attached to them.
"Osegod got what he deserved," Fiona said, not addressing her granddaughters, but more like talking to herself. "The tragedies started in Emma's story, my dears."
The twins frowned. "The story you wrote told of a story of a woman who delved into conspiracies and discovered secrets of the Town. It talked of a woman who never married."
Fiona Trilby shared a look with her husband who simply raised his brows. "You tell them, dear."
The twins narrowed their eyes. "She married, did she not?" Valerie asked, hopeful. "I have been hoping she and Samuel would end up together, thus my disappointment when I read the last book—when Emma chose herself—when she said she was fine alone."
Fiona looked apologetic as she said, "I am dearly sorry, my dears. I did not mean for anyone to read my stories. I wrote the last book as I imagined how everyone would have been different if the things did not happen the way they did, if they unfolded exactly the way the Everards wanted."
"Then tell us, please. She married? She was caught in bed with Samuel after all!" Violet insistently said, leaning over. "The brothers wouldn't allow for nothing to be done."
Fiona smiled. "Well... wouldn't you want to know?"
"Of course!" they chorused.
Edmund chuckled and slowly rose to his feet. "I will boil more water."
Valerie and Violet continued to expectantly look at their grandmother. Fiona Trilby blinked and sighed. "Very well... where were we?"
*****
"What happened this time, guv!" Ned shouted from above a stone tree as Ralph rushed across the stone forest atop his horse, face filled with intent.
"Your bloody cousin, of course!" he shouted in reply and heard Barto's roaring laughter from another stone tree.
"Kick her arse, we say!" a voice shouted from somewhere above.
"Yer too nice te her, guv!" added another.
Ralph ignored the bandits, even the boy who shouted, "Nancy!" before he crossed the clearing.
Finally reaching the very heart of Meriwether, Ralph was ignored by the people, most of them now used to his constant presence there. He climbed off his horse and allowed a little girl to lead it to the stables and entered his father-in-law's stone cottage where he found his wife, slouching in a winged chair, eating an apple and reading a book.
She ignored him completely despite the loud thumps his boots made as he crossed the room.
Gustav groaned from the kitchen where he was slicing bread fresh from the oven. "Don't make a ruckus, ye two." He muttered something else under his breath but Ralph was too angry to even bother.
He stopped in front of Alex and grabbed the book from her hand. She shot him a sharp look.
"It is time you go home, wife," Ralph said.
She took a big bite from her apple and continued to ignore him, eyes on her father.
"Do not make me haul you over my shoulder, Alex," Ralph warned.
YOU ARE READING
Masterful Trickery
Historical FictionTHE BANDIT She merely meant to steal and get away with it. She did not mean to find a dying woman and be chased for it. She merely meant to help. She did not mean to be dressed in a gown and be a target for murder. THE GUARD He was tasked to chase...
