Chapter 25: Caterham
Lilly rode on Liath through town with the boys until she got to a place called Hyde Park, one of the largest of several royal parks in London. It was smack dab in the center of the city, basically. She was supposed to meet Mr. Pierce near Rotten Row, a gravel path mostly used for horse riding rather than walking. When she got to the entrance, Lilly saw Mr. Pierce and rode Liath to him. When the boys got a whiff of the man, they both snarled but Lilly hushed them both.
"Easy, fellas. Easy," she said.
The boys stayed on guard but they relaxed a little even when Mr. Pierce approached her on his white Shire horse. "Mrs. Morgan," he greeted.
"Mr. Pierce," she said coldly. "What's goin' on?"
"Your first assignment is in Caterham. There have been reports of livestock being killed and a couple people have gone missing. We believe both to be werewolf related incidents."
"Hmm, okay. And Caterham is where?"
"Six hours south of London."
"Alright, anythin' else?"
Mr. Pierce handed her a piece of paper. "After you're done with Caterham, here are some other villages and towns with werewolf reports coming in. They're close to Caterham so you won't have to travel too far. Report back to me when you are finished."
Lilly looked at the names on the list. "Jesus Christ, ten more villages and towns?"
"I'm afraid so, Mrs. Morgan."
"Where the hell are they comin' from?!"
"We don't know. We're trying to figure that out."
Lilly sighed and looked at her boys. "Well, we better head back and prepare for our journey, mo deartháireacha." [my brothers.]
Mr. Pierce raised a brow. "What's that mean?"
Lilly scoffed. "As if I'm gonna tell you. Is there anythin' else?" she spat out.
"No."
Lilly turned Liath around and trotted off with the boys. How much she hated that man. Of all the people she had to report to, it had to be the man who ordered her tortured and poisoned. Lilly wished she'd taken the offer from the king to have him hanged. She made her way back to the hotel with the boys. When she got up to the room, Arthur was nowhere to be found. She assumed he was out with Patrick. She went to Patrick's room down the hall and knocked but no one answered. Lilly sighed and looked at her brothers with resignation. She waltzed back to her room and started packing for her journey. The boys laid on the floor looking at her as she put clothes into her travel bag. She laughed at them.
"You guys look so forlorn. Why do you look like that?"
James whined, got up and licked her hand. Lilly laughed and kissed his head. "You wanna go werewolf huntin', huh?"
Brian groaned and started licking his paws. Lilly sighed. James barked at Lilly and the Irish woman laughed lightly. "I wish you two could talk so I could understand what you wanted."
Arthur walked in and smiled at Lilly. "There she is."
Lilly smiled back. "Yep, I'm here," she said, suddenly frowning. "I have to go away for a while."
Arthur wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Where are you goin'?"
"I got eleven different places with werewolves that I gotta go deal with."
"Well, I'm comin' with."
"Are you now?" Lilly turned around and smirked at him. "I dunno, it's soooooo dangerous..." she teased.
Arthur laughed and grasped her bottom. "Really, now?"
"Yes."
"Well I better come along and protect my wife."
"As if she needs protection," she giggled.
Arthur chuckled. "You never know." Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Come in."
Patrick walked in with a sad look on his face. "Lilly, did ya see Mr. Pierce yet?"
Lilly nodded. "Yes. Why?"
"I saw Mr. Bradley. He said we have troubles up north, but he told me yer being sent south."
"Yes, I am. Caterham is my first stop."
Patrick gaped at her. "Caterham?"
"What's wrong with Caterham?"
"Oh, I've heard stories," Patrick said as he approached her. "I've heard they're very, very religious, like a cult."
Lilly raised a brow. "Oooh, this should be fun."
"They might think yer a demon or something, Lilly. What if they try tah kill ya?"
Lilly sighed. "I'd like to see them try."
Arthur started packing things for himself. "Yep, I am definitely comin' with now."
Lilly laughed at Arthur with a light heart. "You were kiddin' before?"
"No, but I'm now more adamant about protectin' my woman."
Patrick sighed in what sounded like relief. "Good, because I have to go up north. Can't be around to save yer arse," he joked amusingly.
Lilly giggled lightly and watched as Arthur continued packing clothes and essentials for the journey. "So does that mean you're headin' north, Patrick?"
"Yes, but just for a day or two. They just want me money, not me skills."
Lilly awed and pouted. "I'm sorry."
Patrick waved a hand to dismiss her words. "It's fine, I do not envy yer job, Lilly. Yer the one who has tah go kill those things."
Arthur and Lilly finished packing and they all left the room. Brian and James trailed behind the humans as they left the hotel and went to the stables for their mounts. Arthur, Lilly and Patrick said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Soon, Lilly, Arthur, Brian, and James left the city via south and found themselves in some beautiful countryside. It started to rain, of course, and Lilly sighed.
"Why is it always rainin'? Fuckin' Ireland has rain, now England has rain."
Lilly chuckled. "I don't know, but that's why the grass is so green in both countries." Arthur scowled and pulled the collar of his jacket up. Lilly laughed and looked around. "Would you like to stop somewhere?"
"No, we just left. We got six hours to go, woman."
The entourage arrived in Caterham after a long trek through sprinkling rain. The town was actually bigger than Lilly thought it would be. As they walked into town, Lilly felt the scrutinizing gaze of many people on her and it instantly made her self-conscious. Arthur seemed to sense it and he hovered near her.
"You'll be fine, darkin'. Relax," he whispered.
"Are you sure? What if they are a cult?" she asked him quietly. Some children started giggling and pointed at the wolves. Brian and James trotted over and sniffed at them. The children screamed playfully and ran away. Lilly put a palm to her face and shook her head. "Boys, don't scare the locals, please."
The wolves ran back to Lilly and she looked at Arthur. Arthur smiled at her. "Relax. Let's go have a drink," Arthur said, pointing at a pub.
Lilly and Arthur hitched their horses just outside and walked in. Everybody stopped what they were doing, including the piano player, when the couple came in. Lilly and Arthur looked at all the faces and she wanted to hide in a hole. They walked over to the bar and each ordered a pint. The barkeep took their money and poured their drinks, then he handed them over. Lilly and Arthur took their glasses over to an empty table and sat down. Everyone was still staring at them. Lilly started fiddling with her fingers. Why was everyone staring at them? Lilly took a sip of her drink while eyeballing everyone. Her eyes narrowed as she put her drink down.
"What are ya starin' at!?" she asked the bystanders angrily.
Most of the patrons looked away, the music started playing again, and Arthur cackled with glee. "That's my girl," he said.
Lilly smiled and they both took a drink of their pints. "Yes, that is me."
Arthur scooted closer to her. "So how many towns do we have to investigate again?"
"Eleven total. This one has some people missing as well as some dead livestock, so we need to investigate."
"Ah, okay. And after that?"
Lilly pulled out a map with with some villages and towns circled. "Then we go to these places and deal with the werewolf problems there."
Arthur glanced at it and sighed. "Lots of different places."
"Mmhmm. At least they're close by. It won't take me so long like my last tour did."
"Your last tour?" Arthur asked, taking another sip of his drink.
"Yes. Before you came home, I spent three weeks exterminating a ton of werewolves in Ireland. That's how I became the Monster Slayer of County Galway."
"Hmm." Arthur leaned in close. "And after we kill these werewolves? Then what?" he asked, putting a hand on her thigh.
Lilly giggled. "Oh, we'll have plenty of time in between killings to fuck, mo chuisle."
Arthur wheezed out a small guffaw and smiled at her brightly. "You little minx."
Lilly feigned innocence with an expression of it and looked away. "I haven't a clue what you mean, Mr. Morgan."
"Oh, shut up and c'mere," he said, pulling her into his lap and kissing her.
Lilly giggled and flung her arms about him. While the kiss was going on, Lilly looked out from the corner of her eye to see a small group of men still watching them. She decided to ignore them and went on kissing her husband. When the kiss was done, Lilly grabbed her glass and drank the rest of her beer. Arthur finished his and they both got up. Lilly grasped his hand and they walked out of the pub together. As they went to mount their horses, the group of men came out and started hassling them.
"Hey you," one of them said to Arthur. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"
Arthur stopped and turned around. "Excuse me?"
"I said who the fuck do you think you are?" the man repeated.
Lilly sighed and shook her head. "Here we go."
Arthur grasped his belt and pivoted his hip, looking at the men in disbelief. "I'm not sure I follow you, boy," Arthur said in slight amusement.
"We don't like strange folk in our town," one of the other men said. "Why don't you two get the fuck outta here?"
Lilly bowed her head and chuckled. "Gentlemen, I would advise you to not make my husband mad. He has a cantankerous disposition at best."
The group of men laughed as one of them approached her. Lilly rolled her eyes, but she saw Arthur's hands clench into fists. Oh boy. "Well, little lady, what about your disposition?"
"Oh, I'm worse," she said with an evil smile. "Ask him."
The man reached out to slap her but Lilly smacked his wrist away and pulled out a revolver, aiming at him. Arthur quickly pulled out his own revolvers and aimed at both the man in front of his wife and the group of men harassing them. "Fellers, I recommend you go back inside and go about your day unless you wanna get shot."
A crowd started to gather and Brian and James chose this time to show up with rabbits in their mouths. Lilly watched as the men backed away from the wolves, who dropped their quarries and focused their attention on the irritating men. They snapped their jaws at them and backed the men into a corner. Lilly laughed at her brothers. "Boys, boys, boys...settle down, now. We're here to kill werewolves, not people. Back off, now."
Brian and James backed off and went back to eating their rabbits. The men looked at Lilly in disbelief. "Those are your wolves? You're the Countess of Moycullen?"
Lilly sighed happily. "Well, so glad my reputation precedes me." She and Arthur holstered their guns. "I hope this clears up any problems you have with my husband and I."
The men nodded with great enthusiasm. "Sorry, Countess Morgan. We um...well, last time strangers came into town, some of our lot went missing. My wife, included," said the man who almost slapped Lilly.
"I see. Well, my husband, my wolves and I are here to help take care of that as well as your werewolf infestation. Now, if you could point us on the direction of where it's been the most troublesome for you?"
The man pointed south down the road. "Go a few miles and you'll see Alco Farm. They've had the worst of the problems."
Lilly mounted up and so did Arthur. "Much obliged, gentlemen," Lilly said before heading down the road with Arthur and her brothers.
Arthur laughed as they got further from the pub and slowly walked through the crowd. "Woman, you never cease to amaze me."
Lilly beamed at him. "I'm glad that is the case."
Arthur leaned in close. "When we're done here, I'm goin' to show you how much I can amaze you."
Lilly blushed a little as they headed towards the direction of the farm. "Can't wait, mo grá." [my love.]