Page 9 of Ladybird

Chapter 3

“Uncle William. Aunt Bernadette. So nice to see you again,” said Regina trying to be polite as they entered William’s tailor shop on the streets of Shrewsbury. William had been raised as a brother to her father, Madoc, even though they weren’t blood related. William was thirteen years older than her father and had helped to steal Madoc and his twin sister, Echo, from Blake Castle when they were babies. Although William and his wife were kind people, Regina never fully accepted them. After all, Bernadette had been a mere handmaid and William naught but a pirate and a thief even if he had talent where sewing was concerned.

“Oh, my lady, we haven’t seen you for years.” Bernadette hurried over and took Regina’s hands in hers.

“Aunt Bernadette, there is no need to call my sister, Lady,” said Robin with a chuckle, closing the door behind them. “After all, we are family.”

The shop was small but clean and tidy. There were bolts of fabric leaning against the wall. The wooden floor was swept except for the area around the work table where William seemed to be sewing a gown. Scraps of blue silk and white lace piled up under the table where a black cat played, swatting at the pile. The place had a second floor where Regina’s father had lived while growing up. William had been an apprentice to a tailor at the time named Dion. Dion had been sweet on his and Madoc’s mother—their fake mother. The woman had actually been the wife of a pirate but was living a secret life.

Regina had been upstairs only once. Atop the roof was a coop with some of her father’s birds. This is where Madoc had started training carrier pigeons. It eventually spread to all their relatives’ homes. Coops in each of the places made it quick and easy to send messages back and forth between them. It actually came in handy and kept the family informed of trouble, visitors, and births and deaths on more than one occasion now. Regina respected her father’s clever ideas as well as his skills. Madoc may have been raised as a thief, but because of her Uncle Corbett her father was now a noble, a lord and a knight.

“Robin, I suppose you are here about this missive?” William put down his sewing and picked up a small piece of parchment, carrying it across the room to them. “Madoc said he wants to hire the thief-taker?”

“Yes,” answered Robin. “There have been a string of robberies at the castle lately. I cannot let it continue. I need to catch and punish the culprit. Mayhap even sentence him to death.”

“I see.” William looked flustered as he put the missive into a pouch at his side. Regina figured his reaction was because having been a thief most of his life, the thought of sentencing the robber to death was disturbing to him.

“Have you summoned the thief-taker yet? Where is he?” asked Regina looking around the room.

“I went to his home in the woods yesterday, but he and the boy weren’t there,” explained William.

“He has a son?” asked Regina in surprise.

“Nay,” Bernadette interrupted. “Hunter is guardian to his thirteen-year-old nephew. He takes Luke with him on all his missions.”

“A boy tracking down and bringing in dangerous cutthroats and thieves?” Regina was aghast to hear this. “What kind of a man would purposely put a child in such danger?”

“I often wondered that myself,” said Bernadette. “When our two girls were young, I didn’t want to let them leave my side. It is dangerous in the streets of Shrewsbury, not to mention the rest of the world.”

“Yes, it is,” agreed Regina, not even liking the fact she had to come to town. The streets were filled with trash and feces like most towns were. The stench from that as well as the foul scent filling the air from the tannery sickened her to her stomach. It was amazing anyone could stomach living here at all. Regina had even seen whores strutting their wares down at the tavern where drunkards were always fighting. Life within the castle walls was so different and much safer, not to mention less offensive.

“I left a note for Hunter in his cabin,” William explained. “Our daughters said they saw Hunter and his nephew at the edge of the woods when they were out this morning, so I’m sure he is back by now. I would go to him myself, but I have garments to finish constructing and mending.” William nodded back to his worktable where the clothes seemed to be piling up. The black cat was now atop the table inspecting the wares.

“No problem. We will go to him ourselves,” said Robin heading for the door. He stopped and looked over to some cloaks hanging from nails on the wall. “Are those cloaks for nobles?”

“Yes, they are.” William hurried over and picked one up to proudly show them. “I’ve been getting more and more work orders from nobles lately. It has taken many years but word has spread about my master skills. Now the nobles are coming to me not only for mending or alterations, but to have me design and sew new clothes for them as well.”

“My husband’s talent has always been admired by the nobles, ever since the guild made him a master tailor years ago,” added his wife in admiration.

“My father doesn’t want anyone inside the castle walls to know Hunter’s true identity,” Robin said, still eyeing up the cloaks. “I’ll need disguises for both Hunter and Luke. These two cloaks will work for now. Once they get to the castle, I can give them some of my clothes to wear so they’ll appear to be nobles.”

“You’re saying you want these cloaks?” William’s heart seemed to sink. “My lord, my clients will be here to pick them up any day now.”

“Can’t you make more for them?” asked Robin.

“You sound just like Madoc. He never respected my skills, and thought he could take and use anything he wanted,” complained William. “Because of him, I almost lost my chance to become a master tailor.”

“William, please. You are talking to a noble,” Bernadette gently reminded him.

“We’d be more than happy to pay for the cloaks, of course.” Regina stepped forward, bringing forth coins from her pouch and handing them to her uncle. “Will this do?”

William looked down at the money in his hand. “That is kind of you, Lady Regina, but this is too much.” He ran his thumb over the coins, desire showing in his eyes.

“I insist,” she told him. “Your work is valuable and so is your time. Please, take the money and use it to sew more cloaks for your clients.”

“That is a very thoughtful gesture. We thank you and appreciate it, my dear,” Bernadette thanked her. “Don’t worry. William can make more cloaks before our clients arrive.”

William wasn’t happy about having to remake the cloaks so quickly, but the money Regina paid him did seem to ease the pain. All she wanted was to get back to the castle to watch over her birds.