Chapter 5

At the morning meal, they served gruel and toasted bread. I discussed the farm with Barbara.

“Now that I possessed the farm, what can you tell me about it?” I asked her.

“The brothers have enslaved a young man and his wife to run the farm. They have a couple of children, a boy, and a girl. The brothers would help themselves to the young wife for sex when they wanted it, or me, except they called me a cock burner. They threatened to kill their children if the couple attempted to run away. Usually there was at least one brother at the farm most of the time.”

“I think we need to ride out to the farm and check things out this morning after we had a bath.” I said.

So, after we had eaten and taken a bath together, I had the stable boy saddle two horses and we mounted up and rode out to visit my farm.

“How far is the farm from town?”

“It’s about a two-hour ride.”

“What are the names of the couple and their children?”

“The man’s name is Mark, the woman’s name is Millie, and the children are Matt and Mary.”

Just before noon we arrive at the farm. It was a typical farm layout with a farmhouse and a couple of side buildings. I could see pigs and chickens running around the yard area. There were a couple of plow horses in the corral, with a few head of cattle. The land was plowed, and some crops were growing. Not a sign of the family. I hope they were just hiding from us. We pulled up to the house and dismounted tying out horses to the hitching post out front.

“Mark, Millie, it’s me Barbara. Don’t be afraid the brothers are dead. The man next to me killed them and now the farm is his. He is a good kind man, not at all like the brothers.” Barbara yelled out.

Soon a door on one of the side buildings opened and the four of them walked out. After introduction were made, I explained to them what had happened and now this farm is mine. I wanted them to run the farm for me. They could stay in the big farm house and I would stop by from time to time to check up on them to make sure everything was alright.

We spent the night in the farmhouse. Barbara packed some clothes and some personal possessions she wanted. Millie made us a wonderful dinner and after dinner I helped the family do the evening chores. After we got done with all the chores, it was bedtime. Barbara and I took the master bedroom, and she wasted no time in attacking me for some sex. After planting my seed into her twice, I begged for mercy and we cuddled up and went to sleep.

In the morning she showed me where the brothers had their money hidden. There was a considerable sum. I counted out fifty conches, two hundred and seventy shells, one hundred each of pinches and quids. I left Mark the one hundred pinches and quids and added to that twenty shells. He was to use the money to run the farm and to buy whatever supplies they needed. He couldn’t thank me enough. He took us out to one of the building and showed us the weapons that the brothers had stored there.

“I have had some training with the bow and the use of a short sword.” Barbara said to me.

We spent the next couple of days practicing with the bows and short swords. Barbara surprised me with her martial arts skill. Of which I have none. She taught me a few of the basic throws and punches.

“On Cassandra I practiced martial arts skills and practiced the bow. I wanted to have some skills to protect me; although a lot of good it did for me when the brothers got ahold of me.” She said.

After a couple of days, it was time for us to leave. We packed our stuff on Mark’s wagon; he and the family were going with us to town to get some supplies. While in town I met a young couple looking to get into the farming business. I directed them to Mark, and it looked like they will be working with him on the farm. Mark and family left later that afternoon to go back to the farm. The young couple followed them.

The next day Barbara and I saddled up two horses and two pack horses with provision for our trip back to Riverbend. Once we were loaded up we headed east. The journey should take around a month. We were both armed with bows, hand crossbows, swords, daggers, and throwing knives.