Page 3 of Ladybird

“Hunter, I’m ready,” said Luke, calling him by his Christian name like he’d been doing more and more lately instead of calling him Uncle. “I can’t believe I finally have my own horse and that we won’t have to ride double anymore. This is great! I’m going to give her a strong name. Maybe I’ll call her Gertrod. Nay, I want to name her Zelma.”

“That’s nice,” mumbled Hunter mounting his horse, his mind on anything but naming a horse at the moment. He’d never even named his horse. He just called her Mare.

“You always said we couldn’t afford a second horse but now we have one just like magic.The best part is that we got her for free!”

“Aye, Luke. With two horses we’ll be able to travel and track much faster now. Therefore, we’ll be able to take on more work. With more work comes more money and hopefully a new home and a better life for us somewhere.” Hunter headed away with Luke keeping up at his side.

“Hunter, how did you know those guards were cheating you?” asked the boy. “I didn’t see you actually count the coins in the pouch. Did you?”

“Nay. I didn’t.”

“Then how did you know?”

“It was a risk I took and it worked in our favor.” Hunter continued to ride.

“What do you mean?” asked Luke. “Are you saying you were lying?”

“I was…bluffing.” Hunter didn’t like being called a liar, even though that is exactly what he was.

“We gained so much from just a little lie. You sure are good at lying.”

“A bluff,” Hunter said once again, feeling unsettled by the boy’s awe of his deplorable vice. “I was only bluffing, Luke.”

“What if you had been wrong?” Luke’s eyes opened wide. “What would those guards have done to you?”

“I wasn’t wrong so it doesn’t matter.” Hunter didn’t want to talk about this anymore.

“But what if you were wrong? What if they hadn’t stolen part of your fee yet you accused them of doing so.” Luke continued bombarding him with his questions. “They could have killed you for that, right?”

“Nay, because I would never let that happen. Besides, I saw the way the guard couldn’t make eye contact with me when he handed me my bounty. That told me all I needed to know. Plus, they were both nervous and fidgety and that was after the criminal had already been apprehended. You need to watch people’s actions, Luke, to know what they are thinking. Actions always reveal the truth.”

“You knew they weren’t to be trusted and you were right.” Luke nodded, sounding impressed. “What about the pouch of stolen goods? Did you really know exactly what was in Lord Bohun’s pouch?”

“Nay. There was jewelry and coins in there but I have no idea as to how much,” Hunter admitted, already regretting his answer because Luke was smiling even more.

“You lied about that too! It sounded so real that even I believed you knew.”

“Bluff. I’ll tell you again, I was only bluffing,” Hunter said under his breath, realizing his nephew must think he was the biggest liar to walk the land. “However, those two men won’t try to steal any of Lord Bohun’s money or jewels now, nor will they let the prisoner escape before they return to Sheffield. I’ve seen to that.”

“How can you be sure? Is it because they’re afraid what you’ll say to Lord Bohun when you contact him in a few days?”

“Mmmph,” snorted Hunter, not wanting to admit that he had no plans of contacting Lord Bohun again. After all, he had his pay not to mention the man’s horse now. He didn’t want to give the steed back or for that matter be imprisoned for tricking the guards into letting him have the damned thing in the first place.

“I hope I grow up to be just like you someday,” beamed the boy with pride.

Hunter’s stomach soured at hearing this. The boy admiring him was pleasing but not for the reasons he did. “Luke, no matter if I contact Lord Sheffield or not, I had to put the fear of God in those guards, and I did. Do you understand? It was only to ensure our own well-being and safety and to seek retribution for Bohun. Plus, to make certain Guimart gets what he deserves and to make sure he doesn’t escape.”

“I understand,” Luke answered much too quickly. Hunter had hoped the boy would at least take a moment to think about what he said. “That thief got what he deserved, the guards got what they deserved, and we got what we deserved, too. We got a horse out of the deal! All because of you.”

“I’m not sure that you’re understanding what I mean, son.” Although Luke was only his nephew, over the past five years Hunter had started to think of him as his own son.

“I understand completely. We’re better at this lying game than they are, that’s all. Hunter, can you get me a crossbow and a new pair of boots next? Oh, I think I want a pet cat, too.”

“Nay. Nay, I can’t. You’re not old enough or strong enough to handle a crossbow. Besides, you have no need for one.”

“Why not? You gave me my own sword, even though I’ve never had a chance to kill anyone with it yet.” Luke unsheathed his sword and held it up proudly.

“That sword was my father’s and you need to respect it.”