Chapter 44: Out For Blood

"I still can't believe you talked me into this," Arthur said as he posed naked with his wife, standing behind her with his arms around her. They were both standing sideways to Charles' view and Arthur was thankful that his nether regions were not visible, although half his ass was exposed to the gentleman. Brian was staring up at Lilly's belly as if to protect the hidden cargo inside while James lay peacefully at the couple's feet.

"Oh, calm down," Lilly remarked as she caressed her pregnant belly. "At least this won't take as long our portraits done in Ireland."

"...What portraits?"

"Don't you remember seein' my family portrait at Darach ar an gCnoc?"

"Yes."

"Well, that was one of the things us nobles had to do. Sit or stand for hours on end to get painted. And that's what we're gonna do."

Arthur sighed begrudgingly. "Well, at least we won't be naked."

Charles looked away from the painting to glance at Lilly. "You are a noble?"

"Yes," Lilly said. "Granted, my father and mother weren't. My father earned the title for, uh, a wonderful deed."

"Ah, and what was that?"

"...Well, he killed someone who was apparently causin' all the famines in Ireland."

Charles blinked. "...Your father was Sir Jack the Godslayer?"

Lilly chuckled. "I guess I'm not surprised that he was famous but I didn't think it got past the pond."

"Oh, he was most definitely spoken of in France." Charles went back to painting. "I can concentrate on the wolves now if you want a break. We've been at this for five hours now and you are with child."

Lilly nodded and found a chair to sit in. Arthur put on his pants quickly and sat in a chair next to Lilly. "Ain't you gonna get dressed?"

"Nah. It's hot in here anyway."

"Seems cool enough to me."

"Abigail and the doctor in Rhodes said this might happen no matter how cold my environment is. "Hot flashes", they called it."

"Oh." Arthur laughed. "I'm glad I ain't pregnant. Seems like a lot of work and you're only a third of the way through."

Lilly gasped and grabbed her stomach. "Oh, the wee bairn is movin' about again."

Arthur put a hand to her belly. "I can't wait to feel hin kick."

"Neither can I, but Abigail said I'll regret that later on. Oof," Lilly reached for her shirt and put it on. "Now I'm gettin' chilly."

Charles stopped what he was doing and found her a blanket. She accepted gratefully and wrapped it around her body. Charles went back to painting. "This is my first time doing a family portrait. Maybe when the baby is born, I can paint you all together."

"That would be wonderful," Lilly said with a smile.

It took only an hour for the wolves to get done and Arthur and Lilly undressed once more to repose. Arthur still felt a little uncomfortable but Lilly wanted it done. And really, it wasn't that bad as time went on. Charles mentioned he only needed to finish the lighting of them and the background. It took only an hour for him to finish. "Ah! C'est fait! Come see!"

Lilly and Arthur quickly got dressed and came walking over. Lilly covered her mouth with a giggle. "Oh, Mrs. Châtenay, you painted Arthur's arse perfectly."

Arthur squinted at his bottom. "Does my ass really look like that?"

"Yes, Mo Fear Álainn. You have a wonderful ass."

Charles laughed. "Ah, you both are so in love. It pleases me. Arthur, what do you think?"

Arthur took a glance at the painting and nodded. "It's not bad, not bad at all. I...I like it."

Lilly giggled and kissed her husband. "Oh, oh, you wonderful man!"

Arthur laughed and kissed her. "Shut up."

"Arthur, Lilly, I was wondering if I could present this painting in my art show," Charles asked with a smile.

"Oh God yes!" Lilly squeaked.

Arthur groaned. "Fiiine, but...Lilly, don't you dare tell anyone in camp about this."

"My lips are sealed." They left the studio with the wolves and Arthur smiled at Lilly's happiness. "Oh Arthur, you've made me so happy! How can I do the same for you? There must be somethin'!"

Arthur laughed and held her close. "Just your smile will do, Lillian."

Lilly squealed and kissed her husband on the cheeks over and over again. "I love you! I love you I love you I love you!"

Arthur broke into hysterics and kissed his wife deeply. It turned into one of passion and Arthur grinned into her mouth. "On second thought, let's go somewhere private."

"Of course, mo fear chéile."

Tilly getting kidnapped. Kieran riding into camp, decapitated and holding his head with his eyes missing. The bank of Saint Denis. A ship sinking in a storm. Roses. Orchids. Swamps. Darach ar an gCnoc and Lilly's oak tree in the distance. Lilly giving birth to a dark blonde haired boy and a red headed girl. Albert Mason, the wolves and Arthur in the swamps. Angelo Bronte.

Lilly finds herself on the river banks of Tír na nÓg once more. Her family plays outside on the other side of the bank.

"You'll talk to them again, child," a woman says.

Lilly turns around and sees a giant red wolf. Lilly smiles. "Hello again, Morrigan."

"Hello again, child. Walk with me." The woman and the wolf walk side by side on the river bank. "You have questions."

"I do. A lot."

"Remember, only three."

"Wait, last time I asked more."

"Last time you saw Badb. I am Nemain."

"Oh. Right, you are a triple goddess. That was your sister. So, my pregnancy. Did you heal my womb?"

"That was Macha who did that. She is a goddess of fertility and sovereignty."

"Heh, plenty of those in Ireland."

Nemain chuckled. "Yes."

"Next question. Why did I turn into Adair?"

"You are the reincarnation of Adair, daughter of The Morrigan and The Dagda."

Lilly stopped. That was an unexpected answer. Nemain stopped with her. "I know that is a lot to take in, but please walk. I have something to show you."

Lilly continued walking and they went up a hill. "Okay. Last question. How come I haven't seen-"

"Save your question for a moment, my child." Lilly peeked over the hill and gasped. There was a handsome, muscular blonde man with a giant club over his shoulder. The wolf transformed into the red lady. It was The Morrigan again. "This is Adair's father, The Dagda. You were about to ask his whereabouts."

"Yes. I was...worried about his existence, I sup-"

"Ah, my daughter!" The Dagda came running and hugged Lilly. "I have been waiting for you. Come come, I have-"

"Husband, this is Lilly. Adair is not here right now," The Morrigan explained to The Dagda.

"Oh. But she looks just like her," Dagda responded.

"I know. Why don't you run along now?"

The Dagda nodded and went running through the grass. Lilly raised a brow and looked at Morrigan. "Somethin' seems off about him."

"Yes. Ever since Adair's death, he's been...afflicted in the mind. As his wife, I've had to take over all his responsibilities and trust me, that is not an easy task."

"Why did my Uncle Levi try to kill me?" Lilly asked.

"To purge you. The Freemasons believe Adair was the one who caused the famines of Ireland."

"They believed...but you make it sound like she didn't do it."

Morrigan stared at Lilly with a sad look in her eyes. "I will explain that another time. It is painful to speak on."

Lilly inclined her head. "I know how you feel...talking about traumatic events is something I am all too familiar with."

The Morrigan hugged Lilly. "For now, focus on the present, not the past."

"Thank you, Morrigan." Lilly kissed her cheek. "I don't know what I'd do without our little meetings."

Morrigan laughed. "Meetings, hmm? Well, as long as you find humor in it, I am happy."

"I do. Humor helps me stay positive."

"Good. You'll need it when you have the twins."

"The twins?" Lilly gasped.

Lilly woke from her nap in the hotel bed and sat straight up. She immediately got out of bed and went rummaging in her bag for her journal. She got it out, along with a carrot, and chomped as she wrote down her dream. Oh, twins! She was having twins! Lilly looked over at Arthur's side of the bed but found he wasn't there. Brian and James were gone too. Damn. Lilly finished up her journal entry and got dressed. She had a feeling she knew where Arthur was. She ran out of the hotel room and down the stairs. It was getting dark. Lilly mounted on Liath when she ran outside and went barreling down the street to the north. She knew that particular area of swamp in her vision. It was on the shores of Lagras. Lilly galloped quickly out of Saint Denis and headed north, then eventually she took a turn to the west. It didn't take long to spot her wolves waiting on the swamp banks, waiting for Arthur and Albert who were in a little skiff. Oh boy.

"Hello, my brothers," Lilly said as she closed in on Brian, James and Rose. They ran to her and she smiled as she dismounted to greet them. "Havin' fun watchin' them boys row about?"

She pat the boys then waved over to the men who were already on their way back. Lilly noticed the camera on the boat and laughed. Mr. Mason was shouting something at her and the boys started growling. Lilly turned and saw a huge albino alligator running right for her.

"Mrs. Morgan, run!" Albert yelled.

Lilly turned and began running to a tree. "Boys! Get outta here! Even that fucker is too big for us!" The boys refused and stood their ground in front of the alligator who was at least twice their size. It stopped and let out a low, prehistoric growl. Lilly got up in a tree and watched as her boys protected her. "Brian! James! No!"

They ignored her and Lilly spotted Arthur rowing as fast as he could. Lilly pulled out her revolvers and started shooting. Brian went around and tried to bite one of the creature's feet but missed as it banked around and snapped at the wolf's head. Brian jumped back and James went for the neck. He clamped his sharp fangs on and the beast growled loudly as it rolled and smacked James off. Lilly shot a few bullets at the white monster but it only managed to piss it off. Lilly watched in horror as it chomped on Brian's shoulder and put him in a death roll. She jumped out of the tree, ran to Liath and yanked out her shotgun before running across the way. Lilly shot the creature in the side and he let go of Brian. Brian limped off as James went for the tail. It turned around faster than Lilly thought possible and grabbed James in his jaws. Lilly shot the back of the beast and it turned once more, running to her again.

Lilly quickly reloaded and shot again but the monster kept coming. She backed up and kept shooting but the alligator closed in quickly and went for her legs. Lilly backed up into the tree and shot again. The creature hissed at her and charged. Lilly shot once more before another shot rang out into the air. The monster fell dead at her feet and Lilly looked to see smoke coming from Arthur's rifle. Lilly sighed in relief and they ran to each other. Arthur grabbed her and held her close to his chest. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she sobbed. "Oh God, the boys!" Arthur let go and they both ran to Brian and James. Brian was limping over but James was still on the ground not moving. Why weren't they healing? Lilly got to James side and knelt down. He was really hurt. "Oh, my brother..."

Brian came and licked his brother's face with a whine. "Lilly, we need to get James to a...oh, there we go..." Arthur started to say but paused.

The boys started healing and Lilly took a deep, shaky breath. James slowly got up and licked his sister's face. Lilly kissed both the boys and started to cry. Arthur hugged all three of them. "You're okay, Lilly. The boys are fine."

Lilly clung to Arthur. "I was scared they weren't gonna-"

"Are you alright, Mrs. Morgan?" Albert asked as he came over. "Are the wolves okay?"

Lilly laughed and nodded, wiping her tears away. The adrenaline was leaving her body to be replaced by euphoria. "Yes. We're all okay."

The boys went running off to play and Lilly laughed again. Arthur helped her up and kept his arms around her. "God, Lilly, that was close. How did you know where we was?"

"I got lucky," she said knowingly.

Arthur seemed to get what she meant. "Ah, okay."

"I don't know how your wolves aren't injured, Mrs. Morgan," Mr. Mason said with a confused look. "Is that not their blood?"

"No, they got tough hides themselves. I think they hurt the alligator more than I thought. Tough bastards," Arthur said. "Toughest wolves I've ever seen in my life."

"Quite. I'm sorry I wasn't more help, but I am a

bumbling, talentless fool in awe of God's creatures."

Arthur sighed and looked at Mason as they all walked to the boat. "You sure do make me laugh that way you talk about yourself, Mr. Mason."

"Well, I am good for laughing at, if nothing else."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I know. Still, I feel such a fool around you both," Mr. Mason said as he climbed into the skiff.

"Don't worry about it," Arthur said, pushing the boat into the water.

"I forsaw a many ignominious future for myself, but...never damsel in distress!" Mr. Mason shouted as he rowed.

Arthur laughed. "Well, uh, good luck, Mr. Mason."

"Thank you, and to you too, all of you. Hopefully there aren't too many other alligators like that."

"Try and stay out of trouble!"

"I shall certainly try."

The man rowed away and Lilly waved him goodbye. "You, on the other hand, can't seem to stay out of trouble," Arthur sighed. "You had another vision of me gettin' killed and you just had to come runnin'?"

Lilly laughed. "No, I just knew where you were. I did have another vision, though, and wanted to tell you straight away." Lilly grabbed his hand and placed it on her belly. "We're gonna have twins."

Arthur gaped at her and his light blue eyes twinkled from awe. "What?"

"Yes. A boy and a girl. Now we both get to have the names we wanted."

Arthur laughed and picked her up with a spin. "Jesus Christ Almighty. Twins. I never would'a guessed."

Lilly giggled and kissed as he held her up. "Arthur Jr. and...what was it we decides, Aoífe or Cahira?"

"I think you really wanted Aoífe."

"I do."

"Then Aoífe it is!"

Lilly laughed. "Oh my...I'm gonna get really, really fat before this is all over. No wonder I've been so hungry! I'm eatin' for three!"

Arthur laughed and spun her around again. "You've made me the happiest man alive twice today, Lilly."

She grinned then looked at the dead alligator. "Well, we might as well skin the bastard and bring him to that trapper back in the city."

After skinning the giant albino, Arthur placed the pelt on Rose and they wandered back into the city with the wolves. People were usually in awe and shock of the animals Lilly had obtained, but now people were pointing and gasping in horror. Arthur looked at the boys and cackled. "We should'a given 'em a bath first."

Lilly laughed. "Yes, we should've. I should take 'em back out to go swimmin'."

"Alright, just no more alligators, please. Just meet me back at camp."

Lilly laughed and turned Liath around. "C'mon boys, let's go swimmin'."

"Mrs. Morgan!" Susan shouted as Lilly got back to camp with the boys. "We got a problem. A real problem. It's Tilly!"

"What? She play a prank on you? I didn't think she had it in her," Lilly giggled.

Grimshaw dragged Lilly over to one of the wagons with guns in it and grabbed a revolver. "She's been taken. By them Foreman brothers she used to run with. Come along!"

Lilly whistled for her brothers as she chased Susan. "The Foreman brothers? Well, shite. Let's go get Miss Tilly!" Lilly, Miss Grimshaw, and the wolves headed over to a wagon. "You know where these fuckers are at?"

Both the women climbed on. "I'll tell you on the way. Just drive." Brian and James jumped into the back and Lilly flicked the reins to get the horses to run. "Alright, head for Rhodes! And quick!"

Lilly gaped at her. "Ya want me tah go tah Rhodes?" Lilly snapped. "After all that shite that happened?" Not that Susan knew all the details, but she knew enough.

"It's just west of Rhodes, Lilly. It's called Radley's House!"

Lilly sighed in frustration. "As ucht Dé. Fine. But...I think Arthur mentioned somethin' about one of them boys harassin' Tilly in Valentine. The feck they want with her?"

"Yes! They probably followed us down here! You don't know what happened?"

Lilly smiled. "I'm sorry, but no. Mr. Morgan has, uh, been takin' up a lot of my time as of late."

"Yes, he has. We've all heard what you two do with your time."

"Ha! Then I guess it's a good thing our tent is far away from the rest of ya. So, what's with this Tilly issue?"

"She killed one of 'em. For good reason, but clearly they don't see it that way!"

Lilly squinted an eye. "Tilly killed a man? Ha, good for her!"

"Yes. She was defendin' herself. She fled and fell in with us right after that."

"Oh yes, I remember now," Lilly said with a laugh. "She's been with us for a while now."

"I iust hope we can get to her in time! If they touched a single hair on that girl's head, I will eviscerate the sons of bitches!"

Lilly laughed. "Good golly. Tilly killed a man, you're gonna kill some, Sadie's killed men...shite. I need to talk to you ladies more often! But I'm glad to see you care about the girls."

"Of course I care! I care about all of you fools! Some just require a firmer hand, like your husband. Not that I need to do that anymore, you handle that man better than anyone!"

Lilly sighed. "Yes, but I think he handles me better than anyone else...when we ain't fightin'. Then he just acts like a fuckin' jackass. And...I do too, now that I think about it."

"He'd rot in his own filth if it weren't for you. That just gives me one less hardass to deal with."

Lilly wheezed out a giggle. "Well he can't very well take up my time if he's rottin' in his own filth. I'd toss him in a lake and scrub him down first. Then I'd probably steal his clothes to teach him a lesson."

Susan and her laughed. "You already did that! Remember?"

"Ha! Oh yeah, after he'd sunk all of mine in that lake! Ha, I haven't played a prank on any of yas in a while."

"You've been busy. Oh, I think that's the place up ahead!"

Lilly slowed down for a moment. "I think I got an idea, if you don't mind a little performance from the boys and me."

"I don't care as long as those fuckers die."

Lilly laughed and increased the pace again. "And people say I'm scary..." she chuckled. "Boys. I need you to play dead back there, okay? And when the guard comes back there, you can eat him on my signal."

The boys laid down and stayed still. The cart pulled up to the house. There was a guard sitting on the steps. "Whatchu want?" he demanded.

Lilly jumped down from the wagon. "Weeeelp," she said in a very thick western accent. "We seem to be lost, sir. We was tryin' to get to Saint Denis. I got some rare pelts to sell."

The guard stood up. "What kinda rare pelts?"

Lilly smiled. "You ever heard about that Wolf Witch that was here a bit ago?"

"Yeah. What about her?"

Lilly patted the side of her wagon. "Weeeelp, I done gone and shot me some two giant white wolves. These fuckers are huge! I had to use the damn horses to get their heavy asses in here!" Lilly heard a low growl and she puckered in her lips.

The guard came walking. "Are you serious? Well let me see!"

Lilly leaned against the side of the cart. "Be my guest."

The guard ran to the back and his eyes looked like they were about to fall out. "Wow! They are huge!"

Lilly waved over to Miss Grimshaw, who got off the wagon and went storming towards the house. Lilly walked to the guard. "Yeah. Ain't they pretty? Wanna see the heads? Them heads is massive! And the teeth? Oof." Lilly shuddered. "I get the chills just thinkin' about 'em."

"Hell yeah! How did you even get them?"

Lilly pulled the wooden gate down and climbed up. "Well, first I shot their witch, then I set up a trap and...yeah. They wasn't all too smart without theys owner."

Lilly picked up Brian's head. Lilly dragged him over to face the guard. The boys' fur was really losing its puppish fluffiness. Brian had his tongue hanging out. Lilly thought that was a nice touch. "Wow," the guard said in awe.

"You wanna see the teeth? C'mere, I'll show ya." The guard hesitantly walked over. Lilly lifted Brian's lips, his fangs almost glistening in the sunlight. Lilly stood and jumped off to the side. "Yeah, I might make them teeth a nice necklace. Hey, ya know how I caught 'em? All I had to do was shout KILL!"

Brian lunged for the guard and bit his head. The man died instantly. The wolf shook the man's body around like a ragdoll. Lilly's jaw dropped. Brian's jaws completely covered the man's head. Her and Arthur were going to need a bigger bed. And a bigger tent. And a bigger rug. She put that on the "to-do list".

"Deartháir mór..." Lilly went back to her normal voice and shook her head with a grin. "I honestly don't know if I should be disgusted or amused by what the hell you just did." Brian dropped the body and sat up. James poked his head up and whined. "Well, go on. Get out and stretch your legs. Exercise, ya fat little shites!"

Both the boys growled at her playfully. Lilly heard a door bust open and some men riding off on horses. Lilly and her brothers ran to the back of the house. Tilly was holding a gun. "Lilly, get on this horse and let's go!" Miss Grimshaw shouted.

Lilly spotted a white and black speckled horse and jumped on. Miss Grimshaw got on behind her.

"Catch that bastard!" Tilly growled. "He's the one in the front."

"With pleasure, Miss Tilly!" Lilly smiled before heading over after the men. "Boys! You ready for some real fun?" The boys kept a good distance from the new horse so as not to spook it. They barked at Lilly. "Alright! Scare the fuck outta all of 'em, but don't kill the one in the front."

The boys increased speed and Lilly pulled out her gun. She was surprised at how fast Brian and James were going. Miss Grimshaw and Lilly started shooting at the man lagging behind in the back of the troupe. "Lilly, did those two understand you just now!?"

Lilly laughed and shot. James jumped up and knocked the slow man off his horse. Brian ran for the next one. "You thought me comin' back from the dead was a doozy of a tale? Ha! That might pale in comparison to what I'm about to tell you, Miss Grimshaw!"

James came up the rear as Brian knocked the next man down by a lake. "What now?! What the hell could be more strange than you gettin' resurrected?"

"Brian and James are the reincarnations of my dead brothers." They turned and headed along a trail in the forest.

"What?!"

Lilly and Susan holstered their guns and Lilly took out her lasso. "Boys! Be gentle with this one! Tilly ain't done with him yet!" Brian and James barked in acknowledgement and went racing down the path. They got around in front of the man and stood their ground, causing Foreman's horse to buck up. The man fell off the horse to the ground as Lilly trotted up to them. She tossed the boys some meat chunks. "Nicely done, mo dheartháireacha!" [my brothers!]

Lilly put a foot on Anthony Foreman's chest and swung the lasso a bit. "You gonna rope me like a damn steer?" he shouted.

"Well, it's either that, or...I let my brothers here drag you back. I don't really have a preference for either mode of transportation...or which body part they choose to drag you by. And, well, their teeth are rather sharp."

Anthony glanced over at Brian and James, who were showing off their pearly whites aggressively. The man held up his wrists. "Okay okay! I'm a steer!"

"I thought as much." Lilly stood him up and made him lay belly down on the speckled horse's rear. No point in putting in extra effort if it wasn't needed. She hogtied him, Grimshaw took the other horse, and Lilly saddled up. She patted the horse's neck. "You know, I...I kinda like this horse. I think I might keep him. He got a name?"

"You can't have him!" Anthony shouted

Lilly trotted back in the direction of Radley's house, Brian and James trailing behind. "Boys, if you're hungry, go huntin'. I got this covered. I'll see you back at camp."

Brian and James barked happily and went running off in the opposite direction. "How the hell did they understand that?"

"I don't rightly know, Mr. Foreman. Maybe this 'Wolf Witch' stuff I been accused of is true."

"You're the Wolf Witch?!"

Lilly chuckled. "You ain't very bright, are ya Mr. Foreman? I should think havin' two giant wolves help me chase you arseholes down woulda been a big feckin' clue. Speakin' of that, I'm takin' your horse. You made me chase you. Now what's his name?"

"...Spots."

As ucht Dé. "Seriously? Well, I guess it makes sense. I used to have a colt named Scoot. God, he was fast as hell."

"Why are you even talkin' to me?"

"I'm takin' my time a little bit. I like conversin' with folks. Think of it as a mercy that I'm delayin' your meetin' with Tilly."

"Why are you showin' mercy?"

"Because chasin' ya was fun."

"Oh for fuck's sake."

"Yes, I know. I'm a real shite. But, if I may ask, sir, why did you kidnap my friend Tilly?"

"She killed my cousin."

"Huh. I see. You wanted revenge." Lilly jerked her head to the side and made a 'tsk tsk tsk' sound. "See, that's a real shame."

"Why?"

"Revenge is a nasty business, sir. I should know. I've been wantin' revenge for the death of my brother for...15 years now. And I'll tell ya, I done bad things recently because it came back to haunt me."

"What came back?"

"The man who was involved with my brother's murder. Oh, don't get me wrong, I still intend to kill that fucker. But...it's not for revenge. It's for justice."

"I don't understand."

"A wise man once told me the difference between justice and revenge is that justice is unbiased; it restores balance to what was done wrong. Revenge? He said it brings out the worst in people. All based on negative feelings, like wantin' to harm people. And it eats at you until you get a giant hole inside. And even if you get your vengeance, you'll try to fill that hole with more violence because...that hole ain't gonna go away on its own. And it will always be hungry for more."

"Well, what did you do that was so bad?"

"I shot out an old lady's kneecaps, crushed her knees with my boots, poured alcohol all over her, cursed her with a lot of Irish curses, and tossed her into a burning house. I watched her burn alive."

"Jesus. Why?"

"She gave my nephew to the very man who gave the kill order of my brother. But...doin' that almost cost me my marriage. More specifically, keepin' the secret of the circumstances surroundin' the murder of my brother almost cost me my marriage. What I did...was not equal to her crime. But at the time, I didn't care. I just wanted that bitch to burn."

"Do you regret it?"

"Hmm. I honestly don't know. She was a particularly nasty woman. And...I think I wanted justice, too. Because that man...he's done a lot of harm to a lot of people. But he's virtually untouchable. Law won't arrest him. So, if they won't do nothin' about it, I have to do somethin' about it. Because no one else will."

Anthony sighed. "You know, what Tilly did. I...get why she did it. My cousin had it comin'. But...he was family. How could I not go after Tilly? I had to do somethin'."

"Oh, I understand that. But...you did go after her. And now you're hogtied on top of Spots here. Was it worth it, gettin' caught? Is it revenge you seek, or is it justice?"

"Revenge, for sure. But you may be right about it. It's not worth it. I...I shouldn't have done it."

"Ah, well, I don't blame you for tryin'. But you can still make it right. Apologize. Ask for mercy, if you feel like it. Tilly might let you live. She might not. Miss Grimshaw, on the other hand...well, she's very maternal. Like a momma bear. She will encourage Tilly to kill you, but...I think, if you really are sorry, and you leave her alone from now on...I will speak on your behalf."

"You will? Seriously?"

"Sure. You ain't so bad. Just dumb and angry."

Anthony laughed. "I am."

"This is why I like conversin' with folks. Especially troubled ones."

"You are a very wise lady. It's too bad people think you're a witch."

"Nah, it ain't that bad...except for the occasional witch hunts and tryin' to burn me alive at the stake." Lilly smirked to herself.

"Do you do this often? The conversin'?"

"I haven't lately. I need to do it more."

"Why?"

"...Atonement. For all the wrong I done in the name of vengeance." Lilly saw the house in view. "Well, we are here, Mr. Foreman. And as promised, I will put in a good word for you."

"...Thank you."

Lilly patted the man behind her. When Lilly approached, Miss Grimshaw was furious. "What took you so god damn long, Lilly?"

Lilly helped Mr. Foreman down. "Now, Miss Grimshaw, before you go all out on this poor son of a bitch, I believe he has somethin' to say to Tilly. Somethin' important. Please refrain from interruptin' until he is done. We...had a nice chat. I said I'd put in a good word. So, Mr. Foreman? Care to say somethin' to Miss Tilly?"

Anthony looked at Tilly and frowned. "I am very sorry for kidnappin' you. And beatin' you. And pursuin' you. I know you killed my cousin, but...you were defendin' yourself. I...shouldn't hold that against you. And, uh...ma'am, I never got your name."

"Mrs. Morgan, or Lilly."

"Yes, Mrs. Morgan. She uh...heh, helped me see what I did was wrong. So, I am sorry for all the pain I caused you. And your...momma bear."

Lilly snickered. Miss Grimshaw scoffed. "Damn right you did."

"Susan...please," Lilly urged.

Miss Grimshaw crossed her arms. "Fine."

"Tilly," Anthony continued. "I...shouldn't ask for forgiveness. But I am. And...if you want to kill me, I won't protest. I...would like to atone. And if my death achieves that, fine. But...make sure you're doin' it for justice, not revenge. Revenge is what got me in this mess in the first place. It's a...nasty business. So, I am sorry. Please show mercy."

Lilly stared at the man on the ground. She honestly did not think her words would not have much effect on the man. But it did. Lilly looked at the two women. They looked just as shocked as Lilly felt.

Tilly sighed. "Alright, Anthony Foreman. I accept your apology. I...don't know about forgiveness, but I will let you live. As long as you and the rest of your boys leave me alone."

"I will, Tilly. I will tell them, I promise," Anthony said.

Lilly gave a soft smile. She cut Anthony's ropes and she helped him up. "That was good. Now...go take Spots there and go keep your promise."

"I thought you was gonna keep Spots?"

"I changed my mind. Now get out of here before I change it again."

Anthony smiled at her. "Thank you, Mrs. Morgan. I won't forget what you said." Lilly tipped her hat to him.

He walked to Spots, got on, and galloped away. Lilly felt...awed. Astonished. She'd just changed a man's negative perspective on a quest for vengeance to the exact opposite. And she felt good. Lilly did a good thing, she knew this. "Well, let's go home."