“Allow me miss,” the old man said and hung the lantern he was carrying on a nearby hook. “Name’s Jasper, Jasper Fenn.” He introduced himself and held out a hand. de Baard looked at it but did not take his hand, so Fenn eventually dropped it.
“A Captain ya say,” he said, talking over the slight and pulling the heavy saddle from the horse’s back. “Master Gwaynn sure put a hurtin’ on the Deutzani I’d say.”
“King…King Gwaynn,” de Baard corrected.
“Yes miss,” Fenn answered bobbing his head. “You’ve been riding hard,” he said noticing the slick coat of Baal.
“Yes,” de Baard answered. “Is there a place where I can clean up as well?”
“Of course miss,” Fenn said and led her back to the door of the barn,
“Cyndee!” he yelled and for a brief moment de Baard thought he was yelling her name. When she turned rapidly toward him, he smiled and shied from her a bit. “My Missus,” he explained as he walked closer to the house.
“Cyndee!” he yelled once more and an extremely large, harsh looking woman appeared in the light at the back door. She eyed de Baard suspiciously.
“I heard ya the first time ya old fool,” the woman spat loudly and Fenn stopped walking toward the house.
“This is…this is…” the old man started, looking to de Baard for help.
“Captain de Baard,” she said softly, in sharp contrast to the hulking woman at the door. For some reason she did not want them to know she shared a name with the beast of the house.
“Captain?” Cyndee asked, eyeing de Baard with open hostility.
“Captain,” Fenn said quickly, taking a few steps forward. “In Lord Gwaynn’s army,” he explained.
Cyndee eyed de Baard a moment longer.
“She needs a room,” Fenn said in her defense.
“Well of course she does fool, it’s already dark out,” Cyndee yelled then shook her head. “Idgit,” she repeated with no attempt to even lower her voice. “Follow me.”
de Baard followed the large woman into a spacious kitchen that was full of delicious smells. de Baard’s stomach growled as she realized she had not eaten since very early that morning. Food would be good and from the look of her Cyndee was undoubtedly a very good cook. The woman led her through the kitchen and up a set of stairs. Cyndee was so large in her lower half that her hips nearly brushed both walls of the narrow staircase that led up to the second floor. When Cyndee reached the top she was breathing heavily from the strain. She opened the first door and de Baard squeezed past her, not expecting much. Her instincts were as sharp as ever. The room was small and contained a narrow bed and a large chamber pot in the far corner. There was no fireplace and no chest of drawers. de Baard stared at the chamber pot, wondering why on earth it was so large. The old woman, who was following de Baard’s gaze, sniffed.
“You’ll be emptying that yorself,” she said gruffly and lit the lone candle in the room. “I’m not runnin’ an inn here.”
de Baard smiled slightly and her eyes actually twinkled. “Of course,” she replied in her silkiest voice and then set her small bag on the foot of the bed.
“There’s water in the trough out back,” the woman added already descending the stairs, “and if ya be wantin’ to eat, you’ll be helpin’ with the cookin’.”
Anger flared in de Baard’s chest and she was near the point of drawing her kali and sprinting down after the fat woman when she realized just how hungry she was, perhaps she would let the woman cook before she died. The aroma wafting up from the kitchen below was near paradise and her stomach growled loudly. de Baard took a deep breath then closed the door, again a slight smile on her face. She was going to kill someone today.
As she changed out of her riding clothes, de Baard could hear the old couple arguing downstairs but she had no interest whatsoever in their conversation. She no longer cared what they thought and a great pressure lifted from her shoulders. This trip was exactly what she needed. She was satisfying a craving for a need she hadn’t realized was empty.
Once changed, de Baard moved downstairs fully intending to let the old woman cook before killing anyone. Her kali were still strapped at her side however, and she was making no promises.
Cyndee, who was standing over the sink, glanced back and frowned when she noticed the weapons hanging from the woman’s waist. “Fenn thinks I ought not to make ya work, you being a Captain in the army and all,” the large woman began, turning just enough for de Baard to see she was stirring a large pot of boiling vegetables. On a spit over the fire was what looked to be a freshly plucked chicken. It was browning nicely and smelled divine.
“You a Captain in Prince Gwaynn’s army?” Cyndee asked.
de Baard nodded. “King Gwaynn’s army,” she corrected softly.
“Hmmmph. Well I’ll be lettin’ you decide then,” Cyndee said turning an intimidating glare on the tall beautiful woman relaxing in her kitchen. “You can help or not.”
de Baard took a seat and smiled sweetly at the large woman. “Alright then, I guess…not.” She answered and lifted one leg and rested her foot on the chair opposite her.
Cyndee’s brows furrowed in disapproval.
de Baard laughed, light and joyous, and for the next half hour she made no move to help at all. She just sat as the fat woman made a mixture of boiled potatoes, carrots and onions, baked a small loaf of bread and periodically turned the chicken as it cooked. As she worked de Baard ran over the many ways she could kill the Fultan slut without being discovered. Poison and miscarriage might be the best, though de Baard loathed the idea of not slicing into the bitch with her kali. Finally the heavenly smells of the food coaxed de Baard to rise. She moved past Cyndee to the stove where the vegetables were simmering. The old woman eyed her scornfully as de Baard picked up a spoon and stirred the boiling mixture, raising a piece of carrot and a potato to inspect them.
“Smells delicious,” de Baard said and meant it.
Cyndee frowned deeper, though the compliment pleased her. “It’s the chicken broth. Brings out the vegetables.”
Fenn pulled open the back door and walked in and caught de Baard with the spoon in her hand. He smiled.
“Smells wonderful…both of you,” he said. Cyndee glared at him.
“Shut it ya old numbskull.”
de Baard smiled but said nothing and both she and Fenn sat down and discussed the war news as Cyndee set the table and served the food. They all ate quietly for a time. The food was very, very good and de Baard ate heartily.
“So the old Deutzani King is dead?” Fenn asked obviously delighted, taking a large bite of bread.
“Hmmmph,” Cyndee said.
“Oh yes. He’s very dead,” de Baard answered with a slight smile for the nice old man and he beamed back at her, slightly dazed by her beauty.
“And ya say Pr…King Gwaynn is a fighter?”
“Yes…he’s very good,” she answered as she finished her chicken. It was every bit as good as it smelled. The vegetables were also excellent, but the bread was a bit undercooked.