A Country Life

CHAPTER 15 - THOMAS

"Come, come! Sit down and we can start. I must say, I am absolutely famished! MEART!" Lord Kilvern's face was flushed as he called for the cook. "MEART! Come on you scoundrel, we're wasting away!" 

The Knights and other guests who had followed the lord into the hall began to sit noisily at the benches as Meart, the Lords ageing cook, brought trays of sweetmeats, pastries and baked root vegetables to the tables, assisted by boys and girls from the Protectorate who volunteered to help in return for the pick of the remains once the meal was over. From the looks of furtive chewing, some of them had made a start already.  

Two of the Knights were leant over the mechanical dog still, their heads almost touching as they leaned close, whispering to each other. Thom walked towards them, thinking that they meant to take some part of it as a trinket. One of them saw him approach and alerted the other, who stopped pulling at some part of the dog and turned to face him. 

"A very intriguing thing, this dog. Our master would love to have such a object!" he said. 

"Well, he'll have to find one for himself, this one's not for the taking." Thom glanced meaningfully at the dog, and noticed the smile fall from the knights face. 

"I never meant to take it, sir, if that's what you are implying." 

"Good," said Thom. "Food has been served. It's rude to make the Lord wait." 

Thom walked away, leaving the knight fuming behind him. He wondered why he had been so blunt. Normally he would be gracious and welcoming to anyone passing through the Protectorate if they were of worthy nature or high standing, and the knights were certainly that, if a little odd in their mannerisms.

His uneasiness increased when he spied one of the visiting Revenant Monks peering in through the doorway. In his white cloak, with the red double cross of the order emblazoned on his back, the monk also had the air of a knight, albeit without the martial air and muscular build that hours spent wielding heavy weaponry gave real knights of the realm. This particular monk appeared to be looking for someone, or some people perhaps, judging by the movement of his lips as he scanned the room. Thom could tell the monk was counting - he was nodding with each soundless word, and his motion was exactly that of the teacher counting off her children at the school. What the monk found obviously wasn't to his liking, however, and he restarted his count, this time with a strained look on his face. When Thom's eyes met those of the monk, he paused, staring at Thom with a curious look of having being caught doing something wrong. The monk looked nervous, too.

His instinct for impending trouble was usually very good, and at this moment, Thom's instincts were screaming at him that something was happening right now that involved the monks and the knights, and that whatever it was, it didn't bode well. With twist of insight, he thought too of Farron. Certain things clicked into place in his mind - the anonymous assassin, grey cloaked and heavily built, would not have been out of place in the company of the knights. The appearance of both a troupe of Revenant Monks and the knights at the same time was a coincidence too unlikely to be chance. Why hadn't he though that before?

The monk left, and Thom decided to follow. Leaving the hall via the kitchens, he watched as the monk headed across the courtyard towards the gate. Thom exited the kitchen through a rear passageway that came out into the courtyard in the shadows of the curtain wall. From there he strolled through the gate, noting with growing unease that the guard was no longer present. He checked the brazier, finding it still lit. The monk couldn't be seen. He must have gone around the castle and not towards the church where the rest of the monks were seated with Pellow at their own meagre evening meal. He considered for a moment which way to go, but before he decided, he saw Peter, Wes and Jep emerge from the trees near the church, heading towards the castle. He beckoned them to come quick, and took them away from the gate where anyone hiding in the shadows might hear.