Hasten to Their End by Penny Richards

Author:Penny Richards [Penny Richards]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Level Best Books
Published: 2021-07-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Cade and Rose were sitting at the table, having shepherd’s pie when Robbie burst into the tent. Surprised, they both looked up. Rose had forgotten about him, which was no wonder with everything that had happened. McShane pinned him with a look of annoyance.

Robbie cringed. He’d forgotten that they’d not spoken since his arrival.

“Well, hello, Mr. Jenkins,” McShane said. “I thought I left you safe and sound at my brother’s, contemplating a life free of delinquency.”

As if he hadn’t a care in the world, Robbie sauntered across the small area and reached for a slice of bread. “Stop with the fancy words, McShane. I’ve no idea what ya mean.”

“I mean, you were being punished. You were supposed to stay in your room and think about the things you’d done, and—”

“Crikey!” Robbie burst out, as annoyed as McShane. He didn’t much like being taken to task for his wrongdoings. “It was just a bunch of lads and lasses having a race! What’s the harm in that?”

Cade continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “—the trouble and worry you caused everyone—”

Once again, Robbie interrupted, determined to be heard. “I told Seamus I was sorry, gave my profits to the church, and promised Megan I’d do the dishes fer a fortnight. Ain’t that penance enough?”

McShane exhaled sharply. “It’s a start.”

Robbie mumbled something beneath his breath.

“What was that?” McShane got to his feet.

Robbie took a step back and flung his arms over his head as if to protect himself from a blow.

Stunned, McShane stopped in his tracks. “Stop it, damn ya!” he commanded in a low voice that sounded all the more menacing because he wasn’t shouting.

Robbie lowered his arms and stood before the man who’d taken him in when he had no one. He didn’t know why he’d reacted as he had. The McShanes had shown him nothing but kindness, but some memories from the past were hard to set aside. Sometimes they came back without warning.

McShane pulled out a chair and pointed to it. “Sit. Rose, get the lad some supper, please.” He glared at Robbie, who did as he was told. “Have I ever laid a hand on ya?”

“No, but Seamus—”

“Seamus gave you three stripes on the buttocks with his razor strap. Hardly a beating.”

Rose set a plate of steaming meat and vegetable pie in front of him. Robbie was so hungry it was all he could do to keep from picking up his fork and attacking the food. Instead, he was still as McShane returned to his seat.

“I’ll have Seamus come for you tomorrow.”

“I’ll just sneak out and come back,” Robbie told him, digging into his supper.

McShane regarded him for a moment, and then gave a weary shake of his head. “You would, wouldn’t you?”

“Does a bear sleep in the woods?” Robbie pointed his fork at his mentor. “You need me here, McShane. I’m findin’ out some interesting stuff.”

“Is that right?”

“It is.” Robbie glanced over at the cot where Lilly still slept, unmoving. “How is she?”

With another shake of his head, McShane picked up his fork.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.