Cursed by Bandits (Once Upon A Curse)

16. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

N ews of our shopping excursion made its way around town in an instant, drawing out merchants who hadn’t planned on opening their shops, much less leave their homes. Before long, Lockersley felt more like the town from my past and less like the place I had come home to. My people wandered through the streets laughing with each other, bringing the place to life. Their happiness almost allowed me to ignore how flower boxes sagged, and shop signs hung by one nail, and paint chipped off every surface.

I wiped away the tears that threatened to fall from my eyes .

Connor leaned over. “Is everything okay?”

“It feels so alive.” I smiled up at him.

He took my arm and looped it through his. “Shall we go and make someone else happy today? Maybe get some cock-a-leekie or some cullen skink? And get to know each other a wee bit better.”

I looked up at him, his golden hair rippling in the breeze. It didn’t feel the same as when I looked at Milo. There were no sparks. My heart didn’t race. But he had been kind, not only to me, but to the people I cared about. Maybe he was the solution to my problems. If I did what my uncle wanted and married, marrying him would bring wealth and power and potentially the ability to punish my uncle for the things Tuck believed he had done.

But it would mean moving away from Lockersley. I couldn’t be queen and live in my childhood home. The question was, would giving up my home be worth my people’s security? And there was only one way to answer that question.

“What made you come calling—unannounced, I might add—today?” I asked, our gait falling into a comfortable rhythm as we walked to the public house.

“You intrigued me the other night. Disappearing at your own ball,” he said.

I shrugged. “It was hot. I didn’t want to have a party, and I was tired of dancing with men my uncle approved of, so I left to cool off. I didn’t think I was gone long enough for anyone to notice.”

“I noticed.” His words were quiet, almost a whisper. He cleared his throat. “Why didn’t you want to have the party?”

I looked at the ground and watched my feet peek out from under my pants with each step. “I just found out my father had passed. For everyone else, it’s been six months, but for me, it feels like yesterday. Especially since I was so excited to finally see him again.” I looked up and waved my arm towards the town. “It was also an unnecessary expense. The money should have been used here, not on a silly party.”

“Events like that bring hope.”

“Not when you’re starving.”

“The town must be happy to see you home.” He turned to me, his honey eyes filled with concern.

I looked away. “At the time, they weren’t, for reasons that I would rather not share. But hopefully, as time passes, they will see I am the person they remember. Not the one someone told them I was. ”

“Coming home was nothing like you expected, was it?” He opened the door to the public house and let me enter before him.

I stood there staring up at the prince, unsure of how I felt. This was only our second time meeting, and he was more intuitive than most. It was nice, if not a bit unsettling. His lips quirked into a half smile as I stood there pondering.

“Why don’t we go inside and you can tell me everything that’s running through your head right now?” He gestured towards the open door.

The room itself was dimly lit despite the rare sunny autumnal day happening outside the public house. The lack of light would have been off-putting if it wasn’t for the most heavenly aromas wafting from the kitchen. It brought back memories of food from my childhood. Whenever my father and I came into town, we would always stop for lunch. My father believed that supporting the local businesses was the best way to show the town that the laird and his family believed in them.

My eyes prickled with unshed tears again. Jane handed me a handkerchief. She was a saint, keeping the sheriff occupied while I talked with Connor. I owed her. It would probably take more than my first-born child to pay her back, or maybe I could commission one of those reversible rings she loves.

“Are we going to sit or just stand here lollygagging?” The sheriff’s nasally whine interrupted my wayward thoughts.

Jane took his arm, glancing back at me with a grimace. “Of course not. Let’s find a table for the four of us.”

He stood firm for a moment. “But I’m . . .”

Jane kept drifting towards the tables, away from me and Connor.

“He seems persistent.” Connor watched Montfort with a look of distaste.

I studied my nails. “Jocelin Montfort is my uncle’s selected suitor to take on the role of husband. I’m not even sure I’m ready to marry, and that’s who my uncle prefers.”

Connor stroked his chin. “Even over me? I am a prince, after all.”

“Which means I would have more power than him. That would never do.”

Connor departed after lunch, leaving Jane and me with the sheriff. He hadn’t done any of the tasks my uncle had set out for him, so we were stuck in town while he collected the taxes I had stolen just the other day.

I turned towards Jane and pointed at something off in the distance. “I’m going to take the money as he collects.”

Jane stared at where I was pointing. “Do not do that. You’re going to get caught.”

“I’m an excellent pickpocket. This is going to be fun.” I squeezed her arm before letting go and walking over to the sheriff.

Jane just shook her head and followed me, graceful as ever.

“So, Jocelin, may I call you Jocelin? What do we have left to do in town?” I slipped my arm through his.

He looked down at me, a look of shock and disgust written on his face. “I would prefer not.” He removed my arm from his. “And the weekly taxes need to be collected.”

I pouted. “Does that really have to happen today? It doesn’t sound like much fun. ”

“Your uncle would be very unhappy if I did not finish this job.” His back stiffened, clearly expecting me to put up more of a fight.

“He’s scary at times. I would want to stay on his good side, too,” I whispered. “Let’s go then. I don’t want to be the cause of upsetting my uncle.”

Tension left Montfort’s body as he heard my words. I looked at Jane with a broad smile. She rolled her eyes. But I thought I saw her nod, letting me know he was primed to have his pockets picked.

The three of us walked around the square in silence, while my mind buzzed with ideas about how I was going to carry out this new plan. Taking the gold was not enough. Eventually, Montfort would figure out it was missing by the lack of weight he was carrying around. I needed to cover up the fact the gold was gone by replacing it with something of a similar weight, without him noticing. And for that to happen, I was afraid I needed help. Something my spontaneous mission didn’t really allow for.

My eyes scanned the town green looking for someone I recognized. I looked for Tuck, but he was nowhere to be seen, and I was sure Milo was still back at the keep performing some experiment or another. That left Will, someone I had yet to see during my time in town today .

Wait— Was that him in the widow’s yard, chopping wood?

I stared at Jane until she looked back at me. Which she did just like I knew she would. I nudged my chin towards where Will was looking handsome wearing his kilt and swinging his ax. Jane rolled her eyes at me and mouthed the word no. I made my eyes as large as saucers and stuck out my lower lip. I even made it quiver. She rolled her eyes and shrugged. I knew I had her when she started browsing the shop stalls while I stayed back with the sheriff.

“I don’t remember you living here before I left. What brought you to Lockersley?” I asked.

Montfort’s brow furrowed. “I moved here with your uncle.”

“Oh, really?” My ears and brain didn’t understand the words spoken. Followed my uncle: why would anyone do that?

He stopped in front of me. “He’s always been more than decent to me.” He paused. “When he offered me the job, I jumped at it. I finally had an opportunity to prove myself.”

“But surely you could make a name for yourself another way. Something that helps rather than hurts people.” I gestured to the town. The sign at the general store chose that exact moment to give up and fall to the ground with a wooden thud .

“If the people took pride in their town they would make sure it looked nice.” Jocelin shrugged. “This isn’t about the taxes or your uncle, it’s about not caring how they live.”

I had to look away. It was that or punch him in the mouth. I didn’t even know how to respond. The people in this town cared so much they didn’t leave, but kept living here because they thought it would get better. But the way things were going it was never getting any better.

“It’s very hard to paint a sign when you don’t know if you have enough money to eat.” I sped up my steps, wanting nothing more but to run away from here, but now I desperately needed to steal back everything the sheriff took.

Jane was emphatically shaking her head. But Will just held up his hand and walked away, came back with sacks of something, and put them into Jane’s hands, who miraculously hid them somewhere. She casually walked back to me and the sheriff right as we approached the first house.

As Jocelin knocked on the door, Jane handed me a bag of rocks. She scampered back to the shops while I waited for the sheriff to finish his business.

My heart skipped a beat when the door slammed behind me. The anger belayed by the action was understandable. I turned back to the door and bumped into Jocelin, freeing the bag of gold coin and replacing it with the rocks in one fluid motion. I held my breath, waiting for him to grab me and accuse me of stealing. But all that happened was a steadying hand on my elbow before he walked towards the next home.

It worked! I hurried to keep up with the sheriff. Jane and I repeated the process at every house. Afterward, I would give her the bag I had stolen and she would take it to Will, who delivered it back to the family. It felt good; I felt good. This might only help for a short time, but at least for a little while, it would help.