Masterful Trickery

XIII. A Test

It was Barto's turn to gape. "Ye traitor!"

Alex gave her cousins a smug look. "I won't be if ye keep yer mouth tight, eh?"

Ralph watched as the two men gritted their teeth and stormed ahead. He heard Alex chuckle as she pulled at the rope. "Keep walkin', guv. And keep yer mouth tight."

*****

All of Ralph's suffering through the rock forest, the clearing and the journey through the narrow pathway was momentarily forgotten when he finally saw the true Meriwether.

Perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps no Town Guard would dare see this place to its ruin.

It was perfect.

He looked up and saw the giant hole above, moonlight streaming down to provide him a magical picture of the place where Alex probably spent her entire life growing up.

If he was a lone traveler and he had stumbled upon this place, he would never have thought that it was built by bandits, of men and women who robbed rich gentries in the middle of the road. For this very place was treasure itself.

"Ye wait right 'ir, guv," Alex said beside him.

Ralph was snapped back to the present, reminded that he was, in fact, standing at the entrance of a secret bandit village every Guard in the Town dreamed of infiltrating. And he was still bound.

"The rope, bandit," he muttered under his breath.

Alex stared him up and down, looking at his entire form as she considered his words. Her two cousins were standing behind her, looking as though they were mentally debating whether or not to risk their secrets. But by the reaction they allowed earlier, Ralph was certain that his identity as a Town Guard would remain a secret.

"Yer fine with the rope fer a while, guv," Alex said with a wink before she whirled around to walk away to the direction of a large stone house.

When she disappeared from inside, Ned and Barto walked near Ralph, eyeing him with utter distrust. He felt a sudden urge to call out for Alex not to leave him alone with these two.

"We've always liked yer siblin's, guv, but never ye," Ned said, circling Ralph.

"Aye. We liked Levi and Max," said Barto.

Ralph would have loved to ask the two men about how his other two brothers became associated with them, but he was currently trying to preserve his life. No one was certain what these two young men could do. They may claim to be friends with his siblings, or most of the Everards, but Ralph was a Town Guard. He and his comrades had captured a ton of bandits to gain the fury of the rest of them.

"And Ysa and Emma, don't ye forget, Barto," Ned was adding, now facing Ralph again.

"Truly, gentlemen, I come here not to cause havoc. I came here in peace and to solve a case entirely not related to bandits," he said but the two men continued to scowl.

Barto crossed his arms over his chest. "What are ye plannin' with Alex, guv?"

"Dinna deny ye spent time with her at Ysa's weddin', guv. The both of ye disappeared fer quite some time that night."

Ralph gulped. "Well, that is something I cannot possibly share. The fact that you are asking me means that Alex did not share anything and I would rather suffer whatever punishment you want to give me than suffer it in her hands."

Ned and Barto scoffed at the same time. "Ye believe we believe somethin' happened?" The two men laughed and Ralph frowned.

"Ye must be insane if ye think we'd believe Alex would allow anythin', guv," Barto guffawed.