The Highwayman

[Binnie Ryman]

Abigail's tears subsided, yet she was none the happier. She was still scared and lonely, and longed for her brother and father, the only two men, or even the only two people who she felt actually cared about her. She was so afraid of what might happen to her if the ransom wasn't paid, and she doubted it would. Her mother was practically made of steel and she acted like a queen, whose subjects were the residents of her house. She ruled over the house with an iron fist. While Abigail did love her father very much, she hated how he could never stand up for himself. If her mother wanted something, her father would get it for her, no matter how expensive or unreasonable it was. And her mother displayed dominance in every aspect of her life, especially over her children. She let them know that she was head of the house first, and their mother second. She acted like she was a queen and her husband and children were her subjects. She always said she could have married a prince, yet she was stuck with a duke. She always made it sound like a duke was the lowest of lows in rankings, even lower than the homeless on the street. Her mother would never pay the ransom, if she could help it. She was a queen who couldn't be bothered by the kidnapping of one subject.

 

[Castellan]

"What are you doing, big guy?" Adham asks with a smile when Stitches notices his eyes. He shows him the wooden figurine, looking excited that he asked. "You can finish your set." Adham grins, knowing how much it had meant to Stitches.


"I don't know what to do next." The large man says, returning to multitasking.


Adham tapped his chin for a moment. "Well, you could always carve people." He suggests, making Stitches brighten.


"People!" exclaims Stitches. "I can do people!"


"Sure you can." Adham encourages, looking over the set of horses he had displaced on the wall for his friend. "Look how good you are."


"Adham." A new voice interrupts, making the grey eyed man turn. "Dinner is ready."


Adham nods and gets up. "You ready to eat, big guy? Let's go get some food." Stitches drops his tools haphazardly and follows him out. Adham went through and set up two meals, one he intended to bring to Abigail. "Stay here, okay?" Stitches gives him a nod, too busy collecting his own food to look up or protest.


Adham climbs the stairs quickly and knocks before he opens the door to Abigail's room. "I brought you dinner." He says simply, setting it on the desk. "If you don't mind, I'd like to join you." He flashes her a small smile. "Eating alone isn't fun." His smile disappears. "I understand how hard this is. It really isn't anything personal, m'lady."

 

[Binnie Ryman]

"I, I understand," said Abigail sadly. "Thank you for the food, but really, I'm, I'm not hungry."


The rumbling in Abigail's stomach said differently. Her cheeks heated up at the sound her stomach made and looked down, totally and completely embarrassed, even though the sound made wasn't that loud. She hadn't had a lot to eat today. She had a light breakfast before she left her house and since she was on the road all day, she had missed lunch. She hadn't even realized how hungry she was until now.


"P-pardon me," Abigail said quietly, her face red. "O-on second thought, I think I will h-have something to eat. Th-thank you, sir. You, you are more than welcome to join me, sir."

 

[Castellan]

Adham gives her a smile and goes to hand her the meal he had set down only moments ago. "Please, call me Adham." He takes a seat at the desk, crossing his legs. "I hope it's not rude to ask, but would you honor me with your name? I know your family name, but I dare say it doesn't seem like you associate much with it. I won't pry any further on that, but knowing each other's names will, hopefully, make things between us less... antagonistic."

 

[Binnie Ryman]

"M-my name is Abigail," she said in a soft voice as she began to eat, still nervous, yet less so than she had been before. "Y-you won't get your money, Adham. I'm sorry to say, but you won't. My mother cares very little for me. N-not nearly enough to pay to get me back. She, she's not going to pay."

 

[Castellan]

Adham sighs and nods. "You keep saying that. It's fine." He takes a sip of his wine before speaking again. "There are people who don't pay. It does happen." He shrugs. "Don't completely give up." He sets his wine glass back down and starts to eat, obviously well mannered.

 

[Binnie Ryman]

Abigail nodded, not knowing what to say. She continued to eat quietly and politely, just as she had been raised to do. Her mother would be furious if she had done otherwise, even in the company of a highwayman. She took small, dainty bites, and she sat up straight, even though there was no reason for her to do so.

 

[Castellan]

Adham didn't seem to notice as he kept his eyes down on his plate. "I hope you don't mind me saying so, but... you seem... very unhappy." Adham seems ready to take back his words almost immediately. "I must sound odd saying something like that from your point of view, but..." He trails off, not really knowing what to say next.

 

[Binnie Ryman]

"Oh, I've, I've never been very happy," said Abigail quietly, before realizing what she said. Her cheeks heated up again and she was embarrassed again. "I, I mean... I meant, please, just f-forget I said anything."

 

[Castellan]

Adham gives her an almost concerned frown before shaking his head. "My apologies. I shouldn't have even said anything."

 

[Binnie Ryman]

"N-no," said Abigail softly. "There is nothing to apologize for. It was only curiosity."

 

[Castellan]

"Exactly." Adham persists. "Curiosity is not always a good thing." He slices into a potato with the side of his fork. "You can ask me something. We can be even then." He gives her a smile, trying to encourage her. "I insist."

 

[Binnie Ryman]

"D-do you ever miss your family?" Abigail asked. She quickly added, "I'm sorry if i-it's too personal."

 

[Castellan]

Adham's eyes widen slightly before he fixes his expression with a smile. "No, not really. Why did you choose to ask that?"

 

[Binnie Ryman]

"I, I don't know," Abigail answered honestly. "I guess I didn't know what else to ask."

 

[Castellan]

Adham nods his head. "Well, don't be afraid to ask me any other questions when you find something."

 

[Binnie Ryman]

"All right," Abigail said quietly, as she began eating again. "Thank you for your hospitality."