Page 5 of Lion and the Lamb: Easter

“Fred?” Lionel’s head snapped around and his heart lodged in his throat. “God, nay!” He ran across the room just as the lad named Fred slammed Gilly’s hand to the table. Everyone cheered. Fred grabbed the bottle and held it high in the air in triumph, then brought it to his mouth for a quick swig. When he did, his hood fell back, and exposed his face and hair. Suddenly, the room became deadly silent. Long dark locks spilled down around the lad’s shoulders and everyone realized that it wasn’t a lad at all. It was none other than Lionel’s daughter, Winifred, in disguise.

“I’ll take that, Winifred,” said Lionel, snatching the bottle out of his daughter’s hand.

“Father!” Her head snapped around and her round brown eyes looked up at him in surprise.

“It’s a wench!” shouted one of the men.

“Gilly was bested by a girl?” called out someone else, laughing.

“She tricked me!” yelled Gilly, slamming his hand down on the table.

“I want my money back,” shouted another man from across the room.

“You’ll all get your money back, and this is yours, Gilly.” Lionel started to hand him the bottle, but took a good swig of the whisky first. Then he clamped his hand around his daughter’s wrist and dragged her to the door.

“Let me go,” spat Winifred, struggling against his hold.

“Daughter, this is the last time you’ll sneak away from me,” he told her, hauling her to his horse. “Where’s the horse you took?” he growled.

“My lord, I found the horse but not your daughter,” called out Raff, riding up holding the reins of the horse that had disappeared.

“Never mind, I’ve got her,” Lionel told his squire. “Get up on my horse, Winifred,” he commanded, knowing she could do it on her own quite easily. She’d been able to mount a horse with no help ever since she was eight.

“I don’t want to ride with you, Father. It’s embarrassing. And stop calling me Winifred. I go by Fred now.”

“You’ve got three seconds to get up on the horse or I swear I’ll tie you up and drag you home behind me. And don’t think I won’t, young lady!”

“Mmph,” she mumbled, clenching her jaw, hopping up atop the horse with no trouble. Lionel mounted behind her, putting his arms around her to grab the reins. She squirmed in his embrace.

“What is the matter with you?” he asked, losing his patience. “Your grandfather has just died and you’ve got your grandmother worried.”

“No one cares about me,” she said. “I don’t want to go back to the castle. I want to live on the docks.”

“Don’t say that!” he spat, ready to slap some sense into the girl. “You have no idea how dangerous it is down here.”

“That’s right,” agreed Raff, riding next to them now. “I saw three fights just during the time I was looking for you, Lady Winifred.”

“Fred,” she said through gritted teeth. “And stop calling me Lady.”

“When we get back to the castle, you’ll go to your chamber without being part of the wedding celebration tonight,” Lionel told her, wanting to punish her.

“Good! I don’t care to see you marry someone who I’ll never consider my mother. I wish you weren’t getting married at all.”

“Is that what this is all about?” he asked, surprised to hear her say this. “You don’t want me to marry again? Why?”

“I take that back,” she said. “You can do whatever the hell you want, but don’t think I’m going to be there to watch it.”

“Watch your language or I’ll wash your mouth out with lye soap,” he warned her.

“You are so mean, Father. You were never this way when Mother was alive.”

“And neither were you,” he grumbled, heading back to the castle. The sun was already starting to set, and he could only hope his betrothed would show up soon, because if she didn’t make it here before midnight, his daughter might get her wish of him not being married after all.