Agent Chaplen pushed open the barn door. He was greeted by the warm glow of a lamp. Directly in front of him stood Midnight. The black mare glanced in his direction, but returned her attention to the cloaked figure stroking her nose. Clasping his hands behind his back, Chaplen approached the horse slowly, trying not to spook her. As it was, she shied away from him.
The Shadow Fox held her nose gently and spoke soothingly. “Come now, girl. Agent Chaplen may not be a very nice person, but I don’t think he particularly likes horse meat.”
The horse snorted as if she wasn’t quite so sure.
“I thought you might be here.” Chaplen couldn’t help noticing the sword had returned to the boy’s hip.
“Midnight becomes lonely if I don’t visit often. She has Ben, of course, so she’s alright most of the time.” He circled in front of the horse and tapped her left back leg. She lifted it, and the boy set to work removing a small stone from her hoof. “As you have no sword, and there are no soldiers standing outside, you must be here for a chat.”
“I admit that I am.” Chaplen vacantly wondered where the boy had the horse shoed. He guessed he would have to be right next to her the entire time.
The boy released the horse’s hoof and tossed the offending stone at the wall. It clattered nosily. “Oops.” He paused, listening. Shrugging, he hunted around the barn. After finding a brush with the rest of the horse tack, he returned to Midnight and began to brush her. “Come now, agent, speak your piece. I’m only here until I’m finished with Midnight.”
The horse tossed her head in pleasure at the feel of the brush.
Chaplen cleared his throat. In truth, he had been fascinated by the interaction between horse and boy. “I assume you have heard of my so-called replacement?”
The other snorted. “Mr. Reid Remington?”
“Corporal ,” Chaplen corrected with a slight smile.
“Isn’t that another word for a glorified private?”
The agent laughed—something that he didn’t think had happened in a while. Not a true laugh, anyway.
The Shadow Fox smiled and peered at him from under his hood. “Was that a laugh? My, my.” He returned to brushing the mare. “I don’t think you have need to fear. I will get rid of him soon enough. From what I’ve heard, I don’t think I particularly like him.”
“Why, because he tried to flirt with Miss Rivers?” Chaplen asked with the ghost of a smile on his face. He arched an eyebrow at the Shadow Fox.
Seeing the look, the boy chuckled. “He also tried to flirt with Miss Willow, if I’m not mistaken. I think perhaps my dislike of his was transferred through Ben. Plus, Howe sent him.”
Chaplen nodded, understanding. He didn’t doubt that he and Ben were quite good friends. Feelings of one friend can often be transferred to the other. His mind turned back to Robyn, and he thought maybe the boy would know more about her. “Do you know Miss Rivers well?”
“Not really, why?”
Chaplen frowned. “She is usually quite silly. However, today, she was acting rather different.”
“How so?”
The man noted the Shadow Fox sounded far more interested than he thought he would. “She completely flouted Remington’s attentions to her, and one would think that a silly young girl would enjoy the attentions of a young man. She also gave me a most pitying look as if she knew what was going on and felt sorry for me.”
“Perhaps she was just sorry you had to deal with him.”
Chaplen nodded. That made sense. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Of course she wasn’t faking silliness. No one could act that idiotic so well unless they truly were.
The agent noticed the boy was finishing up, and decided it was time to make his exit. “Well, it was nice to talk to you, and I’m glad we share the same sentiments about Corporal Remington.”
Just as he was about to disappear out the door, the boy lifted his head. “What was your real purpose for coming here?”
Chaplen smiled. He would have been disappointed if the boy hadn’t asked. “To study your mannerisms. Next time I meet you without your cloak on, I want to be able to identify you.”
“Then I’ll try to make certain we do not meet again.”
Chaplen’s smile widened. “Something tells m you won’t be able to avoid it.”
The Shadow Fox’s mouth moved into a grim line, and Chaplen knew that he was right.
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Ahem. Please forgive me. The week before last I was on vacation,and last week, I sort of was busy. Yeah, let's go with that. Anyway, here I am, posting a day late. Bad me. Very sorry. I've got books to read this summer, too, you know. Hahaha. Anyway, hoping you're having a good summer thus far! I've just been informed that I'm going to Chic-fl-a for supper, so I'll see you later!
C.P. out!
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