Red's grandmother was more fit than most women her age in Farrington kingdom, and she was in her seventies. She was full of life and charisma.
After the disastrous few days she’d had, Red kind of got over the lost stock. There was no point worrying about it. Yes, a few customers were asking her about it, but they were happy with drinking beer instead.
The tavern was still busy and Red figured she could keep everyone happy by providing the best service possible.
Earlier on, two hunters showed up causing a bit of a ruckus amongst the locals. They looked a bit disturbed, claiming that they’d witnessed a man turning into a wolf. Red pressed her lips in a hard line, still not believing that the wolf was actually a human. The hunters looked like they were only passing through Farrington, and Red suspected that they were trying to spread rumours. People liked believing in what they wanted, but Red wasn't stupid.
"Here you go, darling, but you know Dolores is going to be pissed. You were supposed to be sober for your upcoming anniversary," Red reminded the clerk, who lifted his head. He looked like he was just about to doze off.
"To hell with her. I provide for the family, so I should be allowed to have a drink once in a while," he said and then spilled half a pint of beer all over his waistcoat.
"Or maybe four," Red muttered to herself and then headed to see what her grandmother wanted from her.
Ruby was a little shorter than Red, and she was still really attractive. Her black curly hair was grey now, but Red thought that her grandmother had aged much slower than most people. She always had a smile on her face. She joked and still dated men from town. Red's parents were ripped away from her when she was only a child. At the time, her grandfather was still alive, so it was only natural that Ruby and Frank would take care of their only granddaughter. Things were tough in the beginning, and Red missed her beloved parents terribly, but over time she’d gotten used to her new life without them.
"What is it, Gran?" she asked Ruby a moment later.
"You see the group of young lads sitting to our right?" Ruby asked, staring at her with her deep hazel eyes. Red sighed loudly, already knowing where this conversation was going. "I think you should take another round to them."
Red glanced discreetly at the table to her right and saw at least four largely built men talking to each other. She didn't remember them walking through the door earlier on, but maybe she’d been too busy to pay attention. She noticed that the one who was sitting with his back to her was keeping an eye on the door, like he was expecting someone. From the back, Red thought that indeed he was kind of her type, and she knew that those men weren't from Farrington. Each one of them had skin a little darker than the locals, dark curly hair, and they were all dressed in leather jackets and pants.
Yummy, she thought, but then told herself that it was silly. She didn't have time for dates right now, especially after what happened with Carlos the night before. She was surprised that he didn’t come back to Farrington the next day, and that concerned her a little.
"Gran, remember how this ended up the last time. I really don't want to go through that again. I'm busy tonight, maybe we can try it another time," she told Ruby, and then felt a jolt of electricity shooting through her core when the man moved slightly, seeing that a few more customers came into the tavern. Red watched him as he relaxed after that and then took a deep breath.
She didn't know why her body reacted like that. Suddenly she felt a wave of heat rushing down her thighs while her heart sped up a bit. There was something wrong; this never happened to her before. All evening she had been busy with customers and the stock in the cellar, making sure everything was running smoothly.
"I’ve noticed that Mr. Ridley’s been eyeing me up all evening, but do you think I'm going to go to him?” Ruby asked, and patted her hair, winking at Red. “No, of course not. He needs to make a bit more effort and actually show me that he’s worth my time." She nodded toward the group of strangers she’d pointed out. “I think this one is a gem, my dear. Besides, I didn't like that Carlos man. There was something about him, I don't know. And you're too uptight child. Work is work, but sometimes you need to relax too. You aren't a young bird anymore who can jump from one man to the other."
"Maybe, but I won't let anyone use me for money. I’ve been working too hard for this." Her words came out a little angrier than she wanted. She knew that Ruby was only trying to look after her. "Anyway, the bar is full and Mr. Ridley still keeps looking at you, Gran. So maybe you should go speak to him."
Ruby muttered something under her breath about real men, but Red was already walking away. She went behind the bar and started serving other customers who were waiting. She thought that her Gran needed to take it easy. She had always been a free spirit. She was devastated when her grandfather, Frank, passed away. He had been ill for a while, and he didn't survive a second heart attack. Red had thought that her gran would never date again, but a year after Frank's passing, she started seeing other men, claiming that she couldn't stay alone for the rest of her life. Most women in town and her friends didn't approve of it, but Ruby never cared what other people thought about her. She raised Red to be the same way—to live her life the way she wanted, regardless of what other people thought. People were going to talk either way and it didn’t matter.
Several moments later, the group of good-looking strangers started heading towards the door. Red didn't even have a chance to properly look at the guy who made her a little weak earlier. She was curious to know who he was and if he would be staying in Farrington for a while.
"Here you go, John. Just take it easy this time around, all right," she said, smiling at the young butcher boy who was in the tavern for the second time in his life. Last time he had a drink, he lost his head for an experienced hooker who took all his money.
Ruby kept away from Mr. Ridley’s table and pretended that she didn't notice him trying to get her attention. The retired accountant was shy anyhow and Red knew the he wasn't confident enough to spark a conversation with her first. Ruby was one of a kind, and she liked being the centre of attention.
Red kept working, trying not to think about the strangers. Around midnight, people gradually started to go home. Red knew that tonight would be another late night for her. She didn't mind working all night. It wasn't like she had anyone waiting for her at home. Charles hated when she couldn't spend time with him, and now she was glad that he wasn’t her man anymore. In a way, her grandmother was right. Red needed to sort herself out, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to settle down just yet.
The evening had gone smoothly, and the tavern was almost empty when three scruffy looking men barged inside. They pushed a drunk peasant away and stormed straight towards the bar. Ruby stopped what she was doing and frowned, sensing the upcoming trouble.
The three individuals were definitely highwaymen, and she had a feeling that they were Carlos’s buddies. The truth was that she hadn’t seen him with them, but her gut told her so. The leader was standing in front, dressed in a fleece jacket with a high standing collar and dark trousers, along with heavy boots. He had a patch over his eye and his skin was pale, riddled with scars, his hair buzzed short.
As they approached, Red could smell whiskey on them, and she instantly felt sick. She had no idea why, because she was supposed to be used to the odour of alcohol, but this smell was extremely unpleasant. Two of them were grinning like they’d just won the lottery, and the one on the right with blond messy hair was staring straight at Red's cleavage. Luckily for Red, the tavern wasn't filled with that many customers. It was late, but those that were inside gaped at the strangers in fear. Yep, Red could sense it in the air, and she didn't like it one bit.
"Hey, love, how’s it going tonight? Anyone giving you any trouble?" the leader asked, showing her a few gold teeth.
Ruby slowly approached the bar, but the men disregarded her completely, probably thinking that the old granny couldn’t cause them any harm. Red frowned and folded her arms over he
r chest.
"No, all good here, gentlemen. Would you like a drink?" she asked. She wasn't planning to serve it to them, but she wanted to at least try to be polite.
The two men nodded enthusiastically, but the leader shook his head and leaned over the bar.
"We ain't here for the rum, love," he replied and his voice changed, growing serious. "My name is Robin One Eye and one of the little birds around here told me that some wolf men from the forest took over your stock in the early hours of the morning."
Anger rushed through Red's veins, but she told herself to stay calm. One Eye looked like the sort of guy who wanted to see how far he could push her. Ruby was moving even closer to the bar, holding a broom in her hand. Red shot her a sharp look that was supposed to say, “keep away.”
"Maybe, but that's none of your business. This is a friendly tavern and you’re scaring off my customers," Red barked, thinking that she needed to be firm. Showing him any kind of weakness or fear wasn't an option.
One Eye lost his smile and scratched his jaw with his dirty fingers. Red saw blood under his nails and shuddered with revulsion.
"There are werewolves in this area that have been stealing from farmers, killing innocent men and kidnapping kids. We’re highwaymen and we’re here to protect the innocent," One Eye said, and fixed his eye on Red's cleavage, then licked his lips.
She was wearing a low-cut blue dress today that exposed her legs, and her black hair flowed down her back. Red was confident about the way she looked, and she knew that men liked looking at her, but she thought that One Eye was more than a little creepy. There was something about him that instantly put her off, aside from the strong smell of whiskey and his lack of personal hygiene.
She would bet that Carlos was one of his men. How could she not have seen what kind of guy he was? Now she regretted that she ever went out with him.
"And I don't think anyone here is scared, love. Right?" He shouted the last word, glancing around the tavern like he knew that no one would dare to disagree with him.
Ruby kept moving closer to the bar and Red truly wanted to avoid violence. She already knew that One Eye wanted gold. She also knew what he was going to say next.
"We’re fine, thank you. So far we’ve had no issues with werewolves, and besides, I don't believe that they even exist to be frank," she replied, trying to mock him. Unfortunately no one laughed. People were scared and she could sense it.
"You lost your stock, Red, and you're running the tavern on your own. This–"
"She isn't running this business on her own, young man. I'm helping her,” Ruby stated loudly, “and if my granddaughter said that we don't need any protection, then I suggest you be on your way. Well, unless you want something to drink." She approached the three men, and all of them looked at her with confusion in their eyes, like they couldn't believe that an old lady was telling them off. Red tensed her shoulders and switched her weight to the side. Her gran was short like Red and she barely reached One Eye's chest.
He glanced at her and burst out laughing. "You’re kidding me, right?" he asked. "Granny and a hot girl. You think the two of you will be able to protect yourselves from wolf-like men? They could barge in here at any moment and have their way with your granddaughter while you watch, old lady."
"King Caspian protects his people and the stories about werewolves are just rumours. Magic is just a myth." Ruby laughed and then came out from behind the bar, approaching the men. One Eye’s companions backed away a little, but their boss slammed his fist over the bar, glaring at both of them.
"This deal is done, my sweet ladies,” One Eye said, raising his voice. “We will be around and we are going to protect the tavern, like we do with most of the businesses in Farrington, for a small fee, of course. After all, we’re risking our own lives to help you, and I believe it’s only fair that we be compensated."
Red was glad that the tavern was almost empty, but she knew people were going to talk about this in town tomorrow.
Ruby clenched her fists.
"No, Gran, let me deal with it. We aren't giving them a penny." Red quickly stepped in front of her. "We don't need your protection, One Eye, and as far as I’m concerned, you can go to hell," Red snarled, losing control, ready to show the highwaymen that she wasn't some kind of fragile girl afraid of men like them. She was ready for a fight if it came down to it. She wasn’t about to be intimidated by bullies or scam artists looking to swindle her out of her hard-earned money.
Chapter Three
"We took care of a wolf man earlier on. He was snooping around this area." One Eye continued with his sales pitch, looking around, but Red had a feeling he was lying through his gold teeth.
He must have learned about her nickname from someone in town, most likely Carlos. Her real name was Pamela, but no one who knew her had ever called her by that name. Everyone always referred to her as Red, and it had been like that for as long as she could remember. Red was beating herself up that she trusted him in the first place. Now she knew he was much more interested in her tavern than her.
"No one reported anything suspicious and I don't care what you’ve done," Red said, folding her arms over her chest. She was considering using the gun that used to belong to her father—it was hidden under the bar—but she would prefer to resolve this peacefully if possible. However, she wouldn’t hesitate to use it if necessary.
"We done you a favour, girl, so you should be more grateful," one of his men barked, stepping forward.
"I don't think that any of you understand what I'm telling you. We don't need your protection, so you might as well leave now!" she shouted, losing her patience. The tension inside her unfurled. A lump of fear was growing in her throat. She was scared of One Eye, scared of what he truly might be capable of—he was shady and seemed dangerous, but Red refused to show and outward signs. She knew that sometimes robberies and kidnappings were common in other kingdoms, but she never thought that she would have to deal with that sort of thing so early in her career. She was still new to the whole business world.
None of the highwaymen moved, and Robin One Eye kept watching Red. He started chewing on his bottom lip, staring at her with a mixture of anger and admiration. Red knew that he wasn't just going to back away. There were too many witnesses around and he needed to maintain his reputation.
"I really suggest you think about this, Red,” he said, completely ignoring the fact that she’d just said she wasn't planning to take him up on his offer. “Others have and they feel much safer under our protection. Otherwise, this may complicate things for you and your grandmother. People go missing all the time nowadays, so it's better if you have us on your side."
Then he nodded to his two companions, and a split second later the one on Ruby's right grabbed her broom. Everything happened so quickly. One of the highwaymen smashed all the glasses along the top of the bar that Ruby had collected earlier. Red wanted to reach for her gun, but thought better of it when she saw that the three highwaymen were already walking away towards the door.
Even Ruby was too shocked to react.
"See ya’ll later, and this was just a warning, Red," One Eye yelled, just before he vanished outside with his men.
Red swore under her breath when she heard the door close. She glanced around the tavern, seeing that the customers who were left looked petrified. Ruby picked up the broom, shaking with fury. Her hands were shaking too.
"Calm down, Gran; otherwise your blood pressure will spike. One Eye was only testing us," Red said, lowering her voice to make sure that no one heard her. The rest of the customers were nodding toward Red, paying their bills and leaving quickly. Soon the whole tavern was empty.
After Red took care of them, Ruby started shouting and waving her hands. "He can't get away with this. We must stand up to him, go after him. We both worked too hard to buy this tavern, and he is not getting a penny from us!"
"Don't worry, Gran. I wasn't planning to pay him anything. They need to understand that their intimidation t
echniques won't work on us," Red assured Ruby, although she wasn't certain herself what she would do when One Eye came back. She knew that there were many highwaymen in the area, and they were all most likely armed. Red was on her own, and she couldn't stand up to all of them. Things could get out of control quickly.
"You need to be more careful, Red. One Eye is a right scumbag. He’s wanted for murder in another kingdom," some other voice said. When Red turned around, she realised that Mr. Ridley was the only one that stayed, and he suddenly appeared next to her and Ruby.
"It's all just rumours, Harold, so please do us all a favour and don't scare my granddaughter,” Ruby said, looking at him. “King Caspian is going to take care of them soon enough."
Red noticed that her gran was a little flustered. "I'll be back. It's late and we need to close down," she said, leaving the two alone. Mr. Ridley and Ruby began discussing their options, while Red started cleaning the glass from the floor.
She was still furious with what had happened. The sudden appearance of One Eye had her worried about the future of the tavern. Red suspected that this was only the start of what was to come. Her Gran was right: King Caspian had always looked after his people, but everyone in the kingdom knew that the head of his army was known for using people. Either way, Red just had to talk to him and think about her options.
She thought about Carlos and realised now he hadn’t shown up in the tavern out of the blue. Robin One Eye must have sent him to figure out if Red was going to be an easy or difficult target. Her blood boiled when she thought about the fact that she’d slept with Carlos, not once but a few times. Either way, what was done was done, and now she had to figure out how to get rid of One Eye.
Harold and Ruby were immersed in conversation. Red quickly cleaned the floor and made sure that the bar was tidy. Her gran looked like she was glad that Mr. Ridley finally decided to talk to her.