Page 44 of Ladybird

“It was Lightning we planned to bring,” she corrected him. “Unfortunately, that plan has changed.”

“Really? Why?”

“Roger is ill today,” she told him. “He stayed in the village this morning with his family. It seems he must have eaten something that didn’t agree with him yesterday.”

“I see. So, who is going to watch over the other birds then?” asked Hunter.

Regina looked up to see Cassian standing in the doorway of the mews watching them. “Cassian will be here to look after them,” she said, getting a bad feeling about leaving the care of the birds to the man.

“You don’t sound as if you like that idea,” commented Hunter.

Regina let out a deep breath and looked over to Hera on her arm. “I wish I could bring all my birds with me today, but since I cannot, I suggest we leave for the hunt.”

One of the huntsmen blew a horn to announce their departure. Robin led the way with his squire and the huntsmen rode right behind him. The kennelgroom was on foot, with the hounds pulling him as he held onto their leads.

“Is the kennelgroom going to run the whole way?” asked Hunter in disbelief, feeling sorry for the poor man. He almost wanted to offer Abe a ride atop his horse.

“Yes, he will run. He needs to do so, in order to control the dogs,” explained Regina. “Don’t worry about Abe. We don’t ride very fast. He’ll be able to keep up with us.”

“If you say so.” Hunter looked at the land, liking the feeling of being in nature. The sky was so blue and wide. The trees were turning green quickly, and even some of the flowers were already blooming, filling the air with a sweet scent. The castle was nice, but it felt so confining and crowded to him. He wasn’t used to always being around so many people. Part of him longed to get back to his home in the woods. “I’m sorry about that scene with Luke earlier.” Hunter rode up beside Regina. “I will reprimand the boy and get to the bottom of things when we return.”

“He does seem to be a handful,” said Regina, reaching over to give Hera a treat as they rode.

“I thought William could give me some pointers on parenting, but since he has girls, he wasn’t much help.” Hunter wasn’t sure why he told this information to Regina because it probably only made him seem weak. But he was searching for things to talk about because he liked being with Regina and wanted to spend as much time with her as possible before he had to leave.

“You saw my Uncle William?” she asked, sounding surprised.

“Yes,” he answered. “William stopped by my chamber this morning to make sure my clothes fit right and we talked.”

“What else did you talk about?” she asked curiously.

“Just…things,” he said, quickly looking the other way.

Regina smiled. She had a feeling Hunter had been talking about her to William and she couldn’t say it displeased her. Now, she only wished she knew exactly what had been said.