Welcome to Tuesday Tales, where you’ll find entertaining excerpts from a group of hard-working writers. Writing is our passion. You can enjoy stories and see works in progress unfold. This is a picture prompt week, and I chose the one of a cherubic babe. We continue with the adventurous and romantic story of the knight Nicholas Wycliffe. Make sure to visit all the talented authors of Tuesday Tales.
He found Will Harding in the stables, kneeling to inspect Champion’s shoes. He gave his destrier an affectionate pat and then addressed his old friend. “Fenn said you wanted a word with me. Trouble?”
The older man glanced up at him, his brow furrowed. “Mayhap.”
His belly tightened. He moved around and knelt beside Will, peering at the hooves. “Something the matter with Champion?”
“Nay, your steed is fine. See here though. Feel the rounded edges of the shoe?”
Nicholas ran his fingers over the iron. “Aye.”
“Now look here.” Will hurried to the back of the stable and opened a chest that stood against the wall. He extracted a horseshoe and passed it to Nicholas.
At first glance it looked normal, but he ran his thumb ran over a rough protruding ridge. “Where the blazes did this come from?”
“Tis from the batch Sherbourne provided as fee last month. Not all are inferior, but some are.”
Nicholas’ jaw tensed. Since they were both babes in arms, but in particular since his sire’s departure to the Holy Land, Oren Sherbourne had proven to be a perpetual thorn in his side. “Have any of these been used?” he inquired.
“Not that I’ve discovered so far, but I have not finished checking.”
“Why did the marshal not notice the inferior quality?”
“Sherbourne was late with payment, remember? It came in after Clyde was taken sick. Young Edgar is not as knowledgeable and much more careless.”
“Strange…how quickly the sickness overtook him.”
Will gave him a meaningful look. “Aye. My thoughts exactly. What do you want to do?”
Nicholas considered for a moment. “Are these all from Sherbourne or did Edgar mix them?”
“I had him keep them separate.”
“Good man. Tally the chest, noting the number of inferior ones. Then lock it. Continue your inspection to make sure none have been used on our herd. Make Edgar change them if they have. Giving the benefit of the doubt, he still needs to take responsibility. I’ll devise a time to confront Sherbourne. Either he was also duped or…”
Will nodded. “Or he cheated apurpose. He was ever a wily one.”
Coldness settled over him. “He won’t get away with it.”
I hope you enjoyed the snippet based on the picture prompt of the babe. Thanks for stopping by. Read the other amazing excerpts at Tuesday Tales.
Happy Reading!
Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Spirited Stories
All rights reserved, copyright @ 2021 Flossie Benton Rogers
Wow. I would think poorly made horseshoes could cause a horse discomfort. Glad he noticed it. Looking forward to more.
Exactly. Would be awful.
Well done as always!
Thanks!
Great scene – it totally has us in the period you’re writing in.
Funny – you and Susanne both used the baby picture prompt, but the two stories went in such different directions. I love how that happens in this diverse group.
I’m glad it fit the period. Thanks, Trisha.
Oooh. It’s a good thing this guy was caught. There seems to be some deviousness at play. Can’t wait to learn more. Great job!
Thanks for the comments, Tricia.