“And his wife?”
The miller’s wife smiled sadly.“She died bringing her son to light.”
“I am most sorry,” Quinn said, feeling that his expression of sympathy was rough.Melissande would have known better what to say, but the miller’s wife nodded and blinked back her tears.“Tell me your son’s name and I will make his acquaintance in the village.”
She smiled then.“He and his wife have a boy and a girl, my lord, but they are very young.”Her husband nudged her then and she fell silent so suddenly that Quinn knew she tended to be fulsome in discussion of her grandchildren.
“I wager your pride in them is well-deserved,” he said and she flushed pink.“Now tell me of this assault.”
The miller told Quinn of how they had been awakened by the hooded thieves and their grandson had been secured in an empty sack from grain.He leaned forward to show Quinn the bump upon the back of his head and Lothair stepped forward to assess the damage.They had been bound, hand and foot, then the fiends had threatened to kill the wife if the miller did not reveal the location of the treasury.
The pair were still frightened, which was only reasonable.Lothair offered a salve for the torn flesh upon their wrists and ankles, as Quinn walked the site with the miller, listening to his tale.
“Were the villains not pursued?”he asked Jean and Robert.
“They had vanished by the time we freed ourselves,” one insisted.
“And it is folly to ride into the forest alone,” said the other.
Quinn was not impressed with their dedication to their task.Indeed, his sense of distrust was so strong that he wondered if they were in the employ of the thieves.
He had always trusted his instincts and would do as much in this matter, as well.
“How many were there?”he asked the miller.
That man grimaced.“I saw two, but I thought there might have been a third.”
Quinn sent Lothair and Niall to search the surrounding area, despite the protest of the men-at-arms that it was too late to find any detail.He ignored that and spoke to the miller.“Would you show me the mill?It looks most fine.”
He entered the mill with Bayard and Amaury, the two men-at-arms following behind.There was dust yet in the air and the millstone was grinding, sacks of grain still waiting to be ground.Quinn asked about the annual schedule, the volume of grain, the tithes, and the miller was clearly glad to explain.Quinn glanced periodically at Amaury who nodded approval of these details.Finally, the miller showed the damage done to the stores by the bandits.Both grain and flour had been spilled and fouled with mud.He also showed the hidden treasury that he had been compelled to reveal, and expressed his dismay at the loss of his coin.
This practice too, Quinn thought, showed that the area had been safe for many years.“Something must change if Annossy’s border and interest is to be defended,” he said.“It is unacceptable that you and your wife should be threatened in your own home.”
“Aye, sir.I am glad that you agree.”The miller bowed.“Although we are indebted to the Lady Melissande for sending us two guards.”
“Was there a guard before?”
“My son, my lord, then no other.”
Quinn did not approve of that.“Did the Captain of the Guard not see fit to ensure your defense?”
The miller dropped his gaze.“He believed that after we had been robbed once, there would not be another attack.”
Bayard and Quinn exchanged a quick glance, and Quinn knew he was not alone in his suspicions.
“You have another treasury,” Amaury suggested quietly and the miller’s eyes widened with shock.
He stammered a protest, but Quinn could see the truth.
“Millers always do,” Amaury continued, his conviction making Quinn aware yet again of how little he knew of such matters.
The miller bowed his head in silent agreement.
“Do the thieves know of it?”Quinn asked.
“Who can say, my lord?”
“They might guess, as Amaury did,” Bayard noted.
