“We believe there could be a connection with the boy wandering nearby that a farmer found with markings on his chest. If it’s possible, we’d like to speak with him,” Toby said.
“My nephew, Frank, was found with the markings on him. Not sure what he can tell you, but I’ll get him.”
“We’d be grateful,” Toby added.
“If you’ll sit in that booth, I’ll find him for you.” The man waved them to the right.
Toby put a hand on Anthony’s shoulder and maneuvered him toward the booth.
A young man approached with his uncle just when Anthony was about to storm into the kitchens and find him. He looked nervous, which was understandable, considering three gentlemen wanted to speak to him.
“My name is Frank, and my uncle said you wish to speak with me.”
“Sit,” Toby said waving him to the empty seat beside Jamie. His uncle stood, watching in case he was needed at the bar.
“Can you tell us what happened the night leading up to you being found with the mark on your chest, Frank?” Anthony asked.
Frank shot his uncle a look, and Anthony had a feeling he didn’t want to speak about the matter with him there.
“We’ve had a long journey, sir. Could we prevail upon you to get us three ales?” Toby said, clearly seeing what Anthony had.
The man nodded, shot his nephew a look, and then walked away.
“Perhaps if you have no wish for your uncle to hear what it is you want to say, tell us everything you know quickly,” Jamie said.
“What I did was wrong, and I can’t tell my uncle,” Frank said. “It would kill him and my aunt. They took me in, you see, when no one else would.”
“Your secret will be safe with us, Frank,” Anthony said.
“I took the cart with some supplies out for delivery, and on the return journey, I stopped up a track in the forest to eatwhat my aunt had packed for me. Three men approached me on horseback. They said they needed something picked up and delivered, and I’d be paid handsomely for it. They handed me more money than I could earn in a year, so I said yes.”
The boy looked for his uncle, but he was still behind the bar as another customer had arrived.
“One man, he handed me a flask, and I didn’t want to insult him, so I took a drink. They then told me they needed supplies collected from the next town over. I tried to say it was too far, and my uncle needed me back, but the words seemed stuck in my throat. After that, I don’t remember much. I thought I heard a woman’s scream, but I couldn’t open my eyes, and my limbs felt heavy.”
“Can you take us to where you last remember being?” Anthony asked.
The boy nodded. “When I woke up from whatever they’d put in my drink, I was still in the forest with my horse and cart. But a full day and night had passed.
“Were you hurt, Frank?”
He shook his head. “Just the red symbol on my chest.”
Anthony, with a flicker of an eyelash, acknowledged that the boy’s words had shaken him. He remembered the feeling of waking with no memory and finding that symbol on his chest.
They drank the ale and left with Frank and a warning from his uncle to look out for him, which they assured him they would.
“Our horses are fast, and if you’re happy with it, Frank, I’d like you to climb up behind me,” Anthony said when they reached the stables. Wide-eyed, the boy nodded.
They rode back out of town until Frank stopped them. “There.” He pointed to a narrow track between the trees.
Anthony turned and soon they were riding deeper into the forest. They stopped when the track opened to a clearing surrounded by trees.
“This is where I was.”
Dismounting, Anthony looked around him. There appeared to be no tracks leading anywhere.
“Frank, I need you to stay here and watch our horses. Can you do that?” Jamie asked.
