A tall man strode down the gang plank to the waiting man below. The former was dressed in London’s finest attire and carried a sword at his left side. He had long black hair and piercing green eyes. His shoulders were broad and powerful in appearance. The later wore the uniform of a captain in his majesty King George the third’s army. He had mousy brown hair and grey eyes. He was slightly shorter than the other man and a not as robust. It was the captain who spoke first. “Agent Chaplen, I presume?”
James Chaplen nodded. “You presume correctly. You must be Captain George Long?”
“Yes, sir. I am to direct you to your lodging and tell you all I know.”
Chaplen smiled. “Good. I trust I shant be here long, considering your problem is not but a lad.”
The captain swallowed. “Yes sir, but he is very clever. He outsmarted my entire squad just last night.”
Chaplen glanced disbelievingly at Long.
Long held up his chin. “They are highly trained soldiers, Agent Chaplen, some of his majesties finest.”
Chaplen clasped his hands behind his back. “You mean to tell me that five grown men were outsmarted by a mere boy?” The agent shook his head. “Perhaps I am underestimating my opponent. Tell me about this boy.”
“He is extremely cocky, and runs around in a black cloak with the hood hiding his face. He’s short for his age-or so I am assuming because he is the height of a boy of fourteen. He rides a black mare who only lets the lad ride her. He keeps her in the Rivers’ stable. You will be staying in the Rivers’ house. His first escapade was freeing Dr. David Rivers from the prison. Dr. Rivers was scheduled to be executed the next day for spying for the rebels.”
“He could either be one of the Rivers or related to them. The Rivers family is composed of?”
“There is Dr. Rivers and his wife, Elizabeth, who are both with the rebel army now. They have an adopted son, Benjamin who is about sixteen.”
“Any other children?”
Long tilted his head. “Yes, there’s their daughter, Roberta, who goes by Robyn. She’s nothing but the typical fifteen year-old lass-- dense and silly.”
By this time they had come to the Rivers’ house. It was a relatively large house, with a decent sized stable out back.
Long knocked on the door. After a minute, it swung open to reveal a young girl with black eyes and hair hidden entirely beneath a white mobcap. “Oh, hello, Captain Long.”
“Miss Rivers, this is Agent Chaplen. He will be staying in your house until he catches that confounded boy.”
“I trust I shant be trespassing long on your house. I do appreciate your willingness to board me here.”
“Oh, It’s no problem at all.” If either of the men had been looking closely, they would have noticed the corner of her mouth twitch. She opened the door further to allow them to enter.
After Robin showed Chaplin his room, Long took him to the stables to see Benjamin. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed Benjamin Rivers had been adopted by Dr. Rivers when he was eight years old. The boy’s parents had died and Dr. Rivers had been looking for an apprentice. Benjamin had not completed his apprenticeship when Dr. Rivers had been thrown into prison, but he was father advanced in it than most boys his age. A clever boy, indeed.
As they entered, Benjamin looked up from feeding Midnight. Captain Long nodded towards horse and boy. “The black mare is Midnight, the boy’s horse. The lad standing next her is Benjamin Rivers.”
The boy nodded. “You must be Agent Chaplen. My sister told me you were coming.”
Agent Chaplen regarded Benjamin carefully. He was standing next to the horse that supposedly only the agent’s opponent could ride. Interesting. The man shook his head to clear his thoughts. Turning to Long, he said. “Well, I believe the tour is complete, I think I’ll retire to my room until the midday meal.”
Robyn sidestepped as they walked out. Glancing back at them, she strode up to her brother. “Why did he just stand there staring at you?”
Benjamin patted Midnight. “I do believe he thinks I’m the Shadow Fox.” Ben did notice the corner of his sister’s mouth twitch. “What was that for? The first person he rescued was father, he keeps his horse here, no one can ride her but him, and I was standing right next to her as they entered.”
“You’re way too tall.”
“I don’t think he’ll think about that.”
~~~~
Long glanced at Chaplen. “So? Is he Benjamin?”
Chaplen shook his head. “No.”
Long stared in disbelief. “But all the evidence-”
“Benjamin Rivers is too tall. He his taller than most lads of sixteen. By your description the Shadow Fox is short for his age.”
Long shrugged. “There is one way to find out. According to what I know about the Shadow Fox, he will show himself tonight.”
-----
Aaaaaand there's the first chapter of "The Shadow Fox" which is a book I have been working on for quite some time now. This might force me to finish it, yay! I'll post the next chapter tomorrow, and then we'll go back to every Monday.
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