Page 10 of Ladybird

“Take the cloaks and let’s go, Robin,” Regina told her brother, heading for the door. “I don’t want to be caught in the woods or on the road once the sun starts to set.”

“For heaven’s sake, Regina,” scoffed Robin, taking the cloaks from William. “I’m there to protect you. You don’t have to worry about bandits. God’s eyes, I’m a skilled knight who has fought for the king. I can handle a few bandits by myself.”

“Who said it is bandits that hold my concern?” she asked, walking out the door, wondering who was going to protect her from this man they called the thief-taker.

“Hunter, I found this missive on the table.” Luke ran out of the house holding a piece of parchment as Hunter tended to the horses. They had just returned from their trip to Blackpool after a long journey. All Hunter wanted to do was to sit down and relax with a bottle of whisky in his hand.

“What are you talking about?” he asked the boy, brushing down the new horse that was now his nephew’s. Their cabin in the woods was tiny. It was one room and barely big enough for the two of them. Hunter had constructed it with his father when he was a boy. It wasn’t in town, but then again Hunter didn’t want it to be. He liked his privacy and getting away from the gossipy townsfolk. They only had an open-air structure to stable the horses, but it would have to do. The enclosure was barely big enough for the one horse and he already realized he’d have to build onto it to make it large enough for two.

“Someone was in our house when we were gone and they left this.” The boy held it up to show him. Luke couldn’t read, so he waited for Hunter to tell him what the note said.

“Let me see that.” Hunter walked over and took the missive, realizing it was from William in town. William’s brother was a noble who had once known and befriended Hunter’s late father.

“What does it say?” asked Luke, stretching his neck to try to see it even though he couldn’t decipher a word of it. Hunter had tried to teach the boy to read but Luke had never been interested in learning.

“It’s a request for another job,” he told his son, scanning the missive quickly. “Oh. At Shrewsbury Castle,” he said with a groan.

“We have a job at the castle?” asked Luke, sounding thrilled at the idea. “I can’t wait to go. I want to see the knights up close. Mayhap I can even spar with them since I own a sword, too.” He whipped out the sword and held it up, pretending to be fighting an imaginary knight. “I’m going to learn to kill people the way they do. I want to be the greatest warrior that ever existed.”

“Put that blade away,” scolded Hunter. “I told you, I gave that to you for your protection only. I don’t want to hear you talking about killing anyone.” He had worked with Luke in showing him how to use the sword, but the boy’s strength for such a heavy weapon was still lacking. Hunter wasn’t at all sure that Luke could actually use the blade to protect himself if he got into trouble. It would take a lot more work and a few more muscles before Luke was really able to wield a sword.

“Why not? You kill people,” said the boy in his normally defiant manner.

Hunter felt the knot return to his stomach. True, sometimes he did accept jobs to bring back men dead as well as alive. Or, at least, he used to. Once Luke saw him kill a man, Hunter decided it wasn’t what he wanted a child to every see. Since that day, he only accepted non-killing missions. “We won’t be accepting this job. Now brush your horse. She is your responsibility now.” He shoved the brush into the boy’s hand and headed for the house.

Once inside, Hunter first removed all his weapons. Then he picked up a bottle of whisky, and read the missive once more. Shaking his head, he threw the note on the table. Then he headed for his bed which was naught but a lumpy, dusty old pallet right on the floor. After kicking off his boots, he took a deep swig of the whisky, laying down and sinking back against the pillows. Hunter yawned and closed his eyes, finally about to get the well-needed rest he coveted more than anything right now.

A big or lengthy job like this last one always seemed to drain him. Mainly because of the energy it took. Energy not only to track down the thief but at the same time keep a sharp eye to protect his nephew and keep him from being killed. It would take days for Hunter to feel rested. He thought by giving Luke a sword it would ease his concerns. Now he realized that all it did was make his worries even worse. Luke was a handful to say the least. Hunter was getting to the point where he wasn’t sure what to do with the boy anymore.

He needs someone he can look up to, came the voice of his departed sister in his head once again. This had been happening a lot lately, usually every time he desperately needed sleep. It only made him feel worse than he already did. Mayhap being around noble knights would be good for him.

“Go away!” he shouted, taking another long draw of whisky with his eyes still closed.

“I’d love to, but I’m afraid I can’t leave without you.” This was a woman’s voice but not his sister’s.

“Huh?” Hunter’s eyes snapped open. There in the doorway to his home stood a lovely woman. For a minute, he wasn’t sure if he was dreaming. She had long brown hair tied back in a braid and wore an amber gown trimmed in white lace. Her long tippets or sleeves hung to the ground. Her cloak was fur-lined and elegant and in the color of purple. She had to be a noblewoman to look like this. “Who are you? And why are you at my door?” Curiously, Hunter pushed up on one elbow.

“I am from Shrewsbury Castle,” she answered. “I am looking for the thief-finder named Chase Hunter. Is that you?”

“Yes. No,” he answered, still trying to figure out what was going on. He lifted the bottle and took a swig of whisky.

“Well, which is it? Yes or no?” Her face turned dark as she waited for his answer.

“First of all, it is thief-taker, not finder,” he corrected her with a smack of his lips. “And you’ve got the rest of it backward as well.”

“Backward? What do you mean, backward? You make no sense at all.” She blinked several times, only managing to make her large hazel eyes seem even more alluring if that were even possible. She had to be an angel. No wench ever came to his door since he didn’t have trysts when Luke was around. If Hunter needed a wench, he usually went to her. He hadn’t met a woman as pleasing to the eye as this one in a long, long time now. Then again, the places he inhabited were where one would find whores and beggars, not women of her stature. There was no doubt she was a lady.

“My name is Hunter Chase, not Chase Hunter,” he corrected the mix-up of her words. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, still clutching tightly to the bottle. “If you are here about the job offer, I am not interested.”

“Not interested?” Her eyes narrowed to mere slits. “Why not? Are you looking to be paid more? Is that why?”

“I have no idea what the job pays but neither do I really care.” Hunter never had a job offer from Shrewsbury Castle and neither did he want to go there. He wasn’t allowed to live there after the death of his mother and the lord of Shrewsbury had even relieved his father of his job. No one there had liked him, even though they’d never known him. Nobles didn’t treat people like him well. He didn’t want to go there even for a job and be around such pompous pride. He’d probably do or say the wrong thing and end up in the dungeon with his luck. “Please leave. I’m busy.”

“I can see that.” Her eyes settled on the bottle in his hand. “How about tomorrow when that whisky is all gone and you need money to buy more? Will you be free then? Thief-taker?”she stressed his title in a mocking tone. Then she boldly walked over to the side of his bed, standing there staring down at him with her hands on her hips making him feel like a scolded child.

Hunter didn’t like the fact that the woman was insinuating he was a drunkard when she didn’t even know the first thing about him. Neither did he appreciate the way she looked down her nose at him as if he were not as good or worthy as she. He didn’t have a lot of money and he might not be a noble, but he still had his pride. He’d be damned before he let her take that from him too because it was all he had left. He put the bottle down on the floor and slowly stood, towering over her.

“My, you are a tall one.” She slowly uncrossed her arms, letting them fall to her sides. “And your chest and shoulders are so…wide.” Her eyes trailed upward, meeting his gaze. He would have liked to think she was perusing him in a sexual manner the way most women did, but this wench showed no pleasure in her gaze and held disdain only. The fresh spring breeze drifted in from his open door, bringing her scent of rosewater and cinnamon with it. It assaulted his senses, even if it was in a pleasing manner. Her skin wasn’t as white as most nobles, telling him she was no stranger to the sun and it made him wonder why. Was it by accident or by choice? A rather ruddy tone stained her cheeks, making her seem as if she were blushing. Her turned-up little nose and turned-down pouty mouth made her look sultry, even for a rigid noblewoman.