Elizabeth of Rosepath by Kelly River

Author:Kelly River
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Historical
Publisher: Kelly River
Published: 2023-12-20T18:09:53+00:00

Chapter 20

That summer, Sam persuaded Isaac to break the king's law. Like so many of Sam's schemes, Isaac doubted it would miraculously alleviate all their woes, but it would at the very least earn them a few shillings. And right now he needed a few shillings. David, the horse courser in Tannersfield, had made it clear that he wouldn't keep Blackberry stabled much longer. He allowed Isaac to spend time with his horse and ride her around the yard when he came by to pay for her upkeep, but he was a hard businessman, and after half a year he was growing tired of holding on to a mare for a man who kept promising he'd have the money soon. After Isaac's last visit, David had thrown down an ultimatum: get the money by the end of the month, or he'd sell the horse to someone else.

Sam's scheme with the draught horses hadn't been the reliable investment he'd made it out to be. From the moment Isaac met the seller in a discreet paddock outside Tannersfield he'd suspected the animals were stolen. Every farmer Isaac rented the draught horses to had been disappointed with their performance. Some paid their rent begrudgingly, others, like the one who'd kept losing horseshoes, had devised ways of costing Isaac as much money as he charged them. After David's ultimatum, Isaac took the horses into town and sold them wherever he could. He got a fair price for each, but it was still a few shillings short of what he needed to buy Blackberry. There was no hope of making up the rest of the money through honest work. Labouring on farms and a building site near Tannersfield had provided for his living expenses that year, but it was basic work for basic pay.

That was when he turned to Sam. They'd stayed together throughout the winter and spring, finding work on the farms and sharing the burden of building a rough wattle-and-daub hut together. Despite their companionship, Isaac had never grown to fully trust the man. He slipped away from him as often as he could to bury his money in the forest, still half-expecting to wake up one morning with his purse strings cut. But whether he trusted him or not, Isaac liked Sam, and he sensed the feeling was mutual. They were cut from the same cloth; adventurers who lived life from one day to the next. Commitments and responsibilities were worries for the future, even if that meant travelling from farm to farm never knowing where their next meal was coming from. It was an existence fringed with excitement and a hint of danger. Sometimes, when the nights were cold and the bread stale, Isaac thought about going home to Cairnford, but the memories of his father and Lady Emilia stilled that temptation. For once in his life, he was truly free, and that was worth more than all the warm hearths and fresh bread in the world. The only worry worth dwelling on right now was his separation from Blackberry.

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.