Hal - The Duellist #1

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Dal Reniac

A few hours later saw them waiting in the courtyard, where Arec and some guards loaded the last few sacks of grain onto an open wagon. The ground was now wet with thick dirty slush and there was a nip in the air which chilled to the bone.

"Will you be needing some help, Sir?" Arec was clearly a man who relished adventure.

Franc shook his head. "Sorry, Arec. I need you here for the time being. There's a possibility things may not go to plan. If anything happens, I'm leaving you in charge. Understand?"

"Yes, Sir." Arec's face grew grave.

"If I change my mind, I'll get word to you, so stay alert," Franc added. He turned to Hal. "You're my serving lad. I have some business in the city and you're accompanying me."

"Right you are, Franc." Every step now seemed to take her closer to Meracad. She felt her face flush, her nerves singe with excitement

"Hal!" he warned, rounding on her. "Remember what I said. No madness. Understood?"

"As you wish."

She leapt onto the wagon and Franc climbed up beside her, taking the horses' reins. A few well-wishers had come into the courtyard to see them off as they rolled through the gates of Hannac, turning right to skirt beneath the fortress walls and then down through woodland on the northern side of the plateau.

The track wound through conifers, and their way was littered with pine cones and brown needles which stuck to the rims of the cart wheels. Water dripped from the trees onto the sacks of grain and their breath turned to vapour. She shivered, shrouding herself in the winter great coat that Lavinia had given her back in Caraden.

Franc explained that he often accompanied his tenants on their journeys to Dal Reniac, just as he made frequent visits to Colvé. "If the master doesn't understand the work his tenants do, they'll be sure to cheat him. Don't forget that, will you?" His eyes interrogated her from under the broad brim of his leather hat.

She observed him in silence. Her thoughts pivoted around Meracad and Dal Reniac. She had no wish to complicate matters by imagining her role as Franc's future heir. The prospect of so much responsibility made her feel physically sick.

"Once we're back, Hal, I'll teach you everything. How to plough in the spring, the winnowing and harvesting of the autumn and how we cure meat and preserve food for the winter. You must know it all."

"It was never my intention to become a farmer, Franc."

"One day Hannac will be yours. It'll be a home for yourself and the lass you say you're so in love with."

She shivered and her stomach bounced as the cart jolted down the uneven track into the darkness of a steep-sided glen. "Let's find her first, eh? Then we can talk about my future at Hannac."

He nodded and focussed on steering the horses round a tree stump in the path. In spite of the gloom and the cold, the glen had a kind of aura to it, with the rushing noise of a swift-moving river at its base emanating up through the trees, and birds calling as they flew overhead. She experienced a surge of excitement as the wagon bolted down the steepening path and Franc had to work hard to rein in the horses. By the time they had reached the valley floor her heart was racing and the rushing wind had left her dizzy and teary-eyed.

"So, tell me Franc, any great romances after Cara?" Hal had been itching to uncover a few more of Franc's secrets and decided that they were now far enough from Hannac to do so. He pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes, but she could see that he was smiling.

"Well?" She was determined to extract a few confessions.

"You know what they say, Hal. Once bitten, twice shy."