Lord Walter and the Lady Paige along with their son Ralph sat in the front row of the concert hall as Katharine performed for the audience. As the performance neared its end Katharine took a moment to address the audience a final time. "For those of you who might not know, we have honored guests in the audience tonight. I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge them and to introduce you to the Lord and Lady of Scorpion Keep, Lord Walter and his lovely bride the Lady Paige. And I assure you I don't say that just because the Lady and I look remarkably alike."

The audience laughed thinking Katharine had made a joke, Lord Walter and the Lady Paige both stood. The audience collectively gasped as they saw how identical Katharine and the Lady Paige looked. They stood for a moment and then waved as the audience began applauding. They waved a bit longer before sitting back down.

Katharine smiled. "I got to meet with them for the first time earlier today and not only do the Lady and I share striking similar features, and tastes in men might I add, but she has a beautiful voice. My Lady, would you consent to join me on stage for a final song?"

The audience began applauding again and Paige looked at Walter. He smiled encouragingly while nodding as he stood and reached out for her hand. Paige returned his smile as she took his hand and stood before kissing his cheek. Walter began applauding as well as Paige walked over to the side of the stage. One of the ushers took her hand and walked up the steps with her so she could join Katharine on the stage. They repeated their performance of 'You Are' from earlier that afternoon. The audience cheered and applauded whole heartedly as they finished and as the Lady Paige returned to her seat.

After the performance Lord Walter along with the Lady Paige and the company returned to the Inn. Lord Walter stopped at the counter, "I just wanted to inform you we'll be leaving in the morning. We'll need a number of staff to bring our belongings down as well."

The young man nodded, "Of course my Lord. Will you be eating breakfast before you leave?"

Lord Walter nodded.

"If you will stop by the desk before you go to the dining room and drop off your keys we'll have all your belongings brought down while you eat." The young man told him.

"Thank you," Lord Walter told him before walking back to his bride.

Lord Walter looked at Sir Cabe, "Sir Cabe, did you get us a wagon to transport everything?"

Sir Cabe nodded, "The livery will have the pack horses hitched up to it and will have the wagon and all of our mounts outside the Inn around breakfast tomorrow."

Lord Walter nodded, "Good, as enjoyable as most of our visit has been I am eager to be back on the road for home. As it is the wagon will slow us down a day or two."

As they reached the top floor everyone broke off and went to their separate rooms as Walter and Paige walked over to their door. Paige looked at him strangely as he stood there staring at the door. "Is something wrong my Lord?"

Walter smiled at her calling him Lord, "My Lady, I was just dreading opening this door and seeing more presents inside."

Paige laughed as she kissed his cheek.

The chambermaid stepped up, "My Lord and Lady. Sorry to disturb you but I just got your leathers back. I had the seam redone from where the sinew had ripped through it."

Walter blushed a bit as he remembered exactly why they were ripped apart. He nodded as he took the pants from her. "Thank you," he reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a few gold sovereigns. "Was the repair put on our room or do I need to pay you?"

She smiled, "It will be on your bill my Lord."

Lord Walter nodded as he handed her the coins before he unlocked the door and Walter and Paige were both relieved as they couldn't see any noticeable difference in the amount of gifts in the room.

Paige looked at the chambermaid, "I think I want to take advantage of the tub one more time before we are back on the road, would you fill it for me please?"

The chambermaid nodded as she smiled and moved quickly to fill the tub and set a fire in the fireplace before she left after filling the tub.

As Walter considered all the many gifts and wondering how they would secure them for transport Paige quickly removed her clothes. She saw him still staring at the gifts and walked over. She slid her arms around his sides and hugged him tightly to her.

Walter smiled and as he turned to face her she loosened her arms and he saw she was completely naked and his smile turned into a huge grin. "Would you like some company in the bath this evening my Lady?"

Paige grinned, "I was hoping you would be interested."

Walter unbuttoned his coat, "Always my Love." Paige began unbuttoning his shirt as he pulled the coat off and tossed it over onto their bed. As Paige pulled the shirt open she grinned and bent forward and kissed and licked his left nipple.

Walter smiled as he pulled off his shirt and threw it after the coat. It took them several minutes to finish removing his clothes as they continued to play and caress each other and then finally Walter picked her up over his shoulder and began carrying her into the bathroom.

Just before he put her down he remembered something from before they left the inn that morning and his right hand came up and slapped hard against her left butt cheek. Paige yelped more in surprised but a bit more out of pain when he slapped the same spot a second time. The third slap struck a bit quicker and Paige began to squirm and she felt the fourth before she finally was able to give voice to a complaint. "Oww, Walter, what are you doing?"

Walter grinned, "Since you are so conveniently in position and I warned you this morning I might have to put you over my knee tonight, I decided to go ahead and spank you."

Paige gently rubbed her butt, and smiled in spite of the slight pain.

Walter eased her down to the floor, "I hope I didn't really hurt you."

Paige smiled and shook her head and reached up and they kissed. She slowly turned until his back was to the tub. She moved her leg until her right foot was behind his left heel and as she broke the kiss and they looked into each other's eyes she grinned and then smacked both hands hard against his shoulders and he stepped back in surprise and then tripped over her foot before falling into the tub.

Walter came up sputtering and Paige began laughing with her hands on her hips. Walter shook his head as he leaped up out of the tub and landed on the edge of the floor by the tub. He grabbed her in his arms and fell back pulling her down into the tub with him. Paige gasped just before they splashed into the water. They shared a passionate kiss while under the water before they came up for air laughing.

As they came downstairs for breakfast Lord Walter took a moment to step up to the counter in the lobby, "I want to check out." He set all the room keys up on the counter.

The girl at the desk smiled as she took the room keys, "The night clerk left us a message that you would. I'll have the bell hops go up and bring your belongings down."

Lord Walter nodded, "How much do I owe?"

The girl shook her head, "Your stay has been taken care of by Lord Beyon."

Lord Walter looked surprised but nodded, "That was very kind of him. Do you know if our transportation has arrived?"

She smiled and nodded, "Just out front my Lord."

Lord Walter nodded. "Can you tell me, Katharine, the singer, is she staying here?"

The young woman looked around, "I'm sorry. I can't give out information about whether someone is staying here or not."

Lord Walter nodded, "If the concierge is available, would you have him come speak with me in the dining room please?"

She smiled and nodded her head.

Lord Walter walked away to rejoin his bride and friends. "They'll bring our belongings down shortly," he kissed Paige.

Paige looked at him, "You aren't wearing your armor. Aren't you going to change first?"

Walter shook his head, "I decided for the trip home I wouldn't wear it. The biggest risks on the roads would be some simple robbers but they wouldn't attack a group of our size."

Paige smiled and hugged him, "I remember you saying something similar and our first night out of Aaron Springs, you ended up with an arrow stuck in your arm and you had to shield us from a fireball."

Walter laughed hard as he rubbed the back of his arm as he remembered.

The hostess seated them quickly.

Allie joined them after coming out of the kitchen carrying a glass of juice which she sat in front of Paige. Paige grinned, "Thank you Allie."

Allie nodded with a smile, "Always my Lady."

As they ate Paige leaned over to Walter, "I think I am going to miss this place."

Walter smiled, "I'll just have to make sure that Scorpion Keep measures up for you."

Paige laughed, "I didn't mean that, I just meant the trip home. Nice soft bed, hot water in an enormous tub. Lots of privacy to enjoy you with," she grinned wickedly.

Walter blushed as he smiled and nodded. He loved hearing her calling Scorpion Keep home.

"My Lord Walter, I was told you wanted to see me. I trust everything was okay during your stay with us." The concierge said as she stepped up to their table.

Lord Walter nodded as he quickly swallowed the bite of food. "More than okay, once again the Bronze Dragon has lived up to its well deserved reputation. What I wished to discuss with you, I understand you can't discuss your other guests but I was wondering if you could pass along a message for my Lady and I?"

The concierge nodded, "Of course, I would be only too happy to."

"Would you get word to Katharine, the singer, that if she is ever passing through our lands, she is more than welcomed to stop by to visit or just relax from her travels." Lord Walter told her.

Paige smiled and squeezed his hand gently.

The concierge smiled, "It will be my honor to pass that on my Lord. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

He shook his head.

The concierge smiled, "We've got all your belongings placed in your wagon out front and security is keeping an eye on it for you. We had another batch of gifts arrive this morning and have stored them along with all the rest."

Paige and Walter looked at each other and laughed lightly. Lord Walter finally nodded, "Thank you."

"We're going to have a lot of thank you cards to send out when we get home," Paige told him.

Walter smiled as he nodded.

They stepped outside and found their gear and items were well stacked and secured with tarps in the wagon. Seeing how many more gifts there were they looked at each other before they both began laughing.

Lord Walter looked to his friends, "Are there any volunteers."

Instantly Sir Cabe, Happy, Sylvester and Toby all raised their hands before he could finish.

Lord Walter laughed as he shook his head. "Sir Cabe, would you and Allie like to drive the wagon today?"

Sir Cabe grinned, "We would my Lord."

Lord Walter nodded.

Lord Walter took a moment to move where his armor was in the wagon to a more accessible point just in case. While he did that Sir Cabe lashed Allie's and his mounts to the back of the wagon and climbed up on the buckboard.

Walter walked towards the front of the horses and as he passed by Ralph he grabbed him up and hugged him tightly, "Did you get enough to eat?"

Ralph smiled and nodded, "I did Dad."

Walter smiled and threw him up into the air before catching him and put him on his mount. "Would you prefer to ride on the wagon?"

Ralph shook his head, "I've ridden on wagons before Dad. They are misleading in comfort."

Walter smiled at him as he turned to walk over and he grabbed Paige up in his arms and kissed her, "Are you ready my Love?"

Paige smiled and nodded, "More than ready to return home and get married again so we can take a well deserved honeymoon."

As Walter held her, "While I must always be in the vanguard my Love I would understand if you would like to drive the wagon tomorrow."

Paige shook her head, "I'd rather be beside you. Not to mention it is a little difficult to drive a team and play my lute at the same time."

Walter grinned as he lifted her up and put her up on her mount. His left hand came to rest against her stomach and he looked up in her eyes, "I love you."

Paige smiled as her right hand came to rest against his, "I love you Walter."

Walter called out to the company, "Happy. You and Toby can drive the wagon tomorrow. Sylvester, you and Kaylee can drive it the day after." Walter turned and stepped over to his charger before climbing up in his saddle.

Paige moved her horse over to his, "You know, I'm starting to get used to being lifted up and down off my horse. So you better not grow tired of doing it now."

Walter laughed, "Never." He nudged his charger and she began moving out but she huffed several times looking at Paige.

Paige laughed and began playing her lute. Walter's charger instantly began prancing to the cadence of the song and Walter and Paige both began laughing.

Raynold stepped out of the carriage as it stopped along the edge of Lake Athena. He looked up at the dwelling under construction. He'd selected this spot over a year ago. It was far enough away from the Keep that prying eyes would never spot it unless they happened to come all the way out here. He had to creatively conceal the cost as part of the normal upkeep of the Keep itself. He didn't like to do that but he knew that the Lord probably would have resisted the idea.

The foreman came running down, "Raynold, I don't understand your visit, is there a problem?"

Raynold kind of nodded his head, "I mainly wanted to see where we stood. I increased your budget a month ago to get more workers to get this done in time."

"I still don't understand what the rush is. You gave me the money four weeks ago." The foreman told him as he turned to follow behind Raynold.

Raynold looked about, "I don't really see that many more men working here Terry."

Terry nodded, "Most of the new workers are inside since you said the inside was priority. I don't really understand why our Lord needs a second residence. He already has the Keep."

Raynold looked at Terry, "And as long as he is there he is constantly bombarded and interrupted and besieged with every little problem in the lands. This way he has someplace close at hand to retire and rejuvenate himself."

Terry frowned, "Why do I get a feeling our Lord doesn't really know about this place?"

Raynold walked up to the front door and opened it, "Because, left to his own devices he would never do it. But as our Lord, I need to make sure he has the privacy and time to himself that we all do." As he thought "Not to mention with a wife and child now, he should have a private place to call home." As Raynold stepped inside, "And the rush is, we no longer have at least four more weeks before the Lord returns. His mission was completed over a week ago and they should be leaving Lancaster within a day or two unless they already left. At best we got just over a week before he returns and I want this place ready within a week of him returning. That will give us a week to air the place out before the furniture is brought in."

Terry frowned, "We'll get it done somehow but it will probably require more overtime. Who designed this place anyway? It's been a bit of a challenge meeting their specifications."

Raynold nodded as he walked through the house smiling, "If that is what it takes I'll get you the money to pay for it. But if I find out you are taking advantage of the situation you'll spend a month in the dungeon for every one hundred gold you cheat us for. The designer's name is Sheilah. She designed the Bronze Dragon inn in Lancaster that our Lord loves so much. I was able persuade her in designing this place for him. Speaking of which, she will be here in a couple of days to look everything over. Hopefully after seeing this she will agree to drawing up new plans to modernize the Keep itself. Our Lord has been trying his best to engage her in that endeavor for quite sometime."

Terry swallowed hard at the prospect of the dungeon.

Elizabeth sat on the buckboard looking up the road as the wagon plodded along the road at its seeming snail pace. They heard Bobo screech out a greeting as he flew in from the North. Elizabeth smiled as she reached out and Bobo landed on her arm and chirped and clicked his beak. Elizabeth paid serious attention to what he had to say, "Thank you Bobo, I'm sure she would appreciate that." She reached into the pack she kept up front with her and pulled out a large cylinder. She grabbed both ends and pulled and the cylinder extended as it opened up into a spyglass. She looked off to the north through it and smiled. She looked back at Megan as she sat talking with her Mom. "Megan, Bobo believes you would like to see something."

Megan tilted her head back and smiled with a quizzical look, "Okay."

Elizabeth climbed back and helped her turn over onto her hip so she could look forward and held the spyglass up for her. "That is Lake Athena over there to the North East. And on up to the north you should be able to just make out the south facing of Scorpion Keep, just six more days until we arrive."

Megan smiled as she looked at it through the spyglass. "Are we really that close finally?"

Elizabeth smiled, "We are. Just don't be disheartened when we get there and the Lord hasn't returned yet. By my estimate we'll be there two days before he returns with his bride and company."

Megan nodded, "I've waited this long. A couple of extra days won't hurt. At least with thanks to you, your gift of music helping me to stay awake so I could eat has given me new strength."

Elizabeth nodded, "Being able to get to know you and your folks personally is all the thanks I require."

"It looks like someone is building something on the east bank of Lake Athena," Megan said as she looked back over the lake.

Elizabeth nodded, "Raynold, he is the seneschal of Scorpion Keep. He is arranging a new private home as a surprise for the Lord."

And so draws a conclusion to 'A Knight in Lancaster'. The next leg of the story will be something like A Knight of Celebration. I don't see the trip home being really involved so it probably won't be a lot of chapters to it. To the Adventure! -Tim