Lords of Freedom 2 - Chapter 19
Introduction
Lords of Freedom is an exciting trilogy that includes adventure, realistic action, surprising insights, and a touch of romance. (Movie rights open)
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The serialization of Lords of Freedom 2 (book 2 of the trilogy) is in progress. Lords of Freedom 2 includes many intriguing parallels with Joan of Arc, George Washington, Francis Marion (The Swamp Fox), Henry Knox, and the American Revolutionary War. Chapters of book 2 are being published weekly. Please follow and subscribe on X or Substack.
Lords of Freedom 2 - Chapter 19 - Hailey Abducted
A light breeze stirred the air in the manor garden while birds chirped merrily in the trees. Hailey Knox breathed in the scent of roses, marveling at the beauty around her. She was tall for a woman, with emerald green eyes and a spatter of freckles across her cheeks. Her russet-colored hair fell in waves just past her shoulders when, like today, she left it down.
A cobblestone path wound around birch trees, surrounded on either side by rose beds and clusters of pansies and peonies as well as rows of irises of varying color. There was a four-foot-tall birdbath near the entranceway and several ornate iron benches positioned further in.
The garden was well-tended and breathtaking, making Hailey consider something similar at her own home. Marius would love it, she knew, and she smiled, imagining walking alongside him, hand in hand.
Reaching into a pocket of her dress, Hailey stroked the talisman there. It was a swatch from a fox pelt sewn around pillow stuffing to resemble a fox tail. Mayor Yardley had presented it to her after Marius and his troops had successfully ambushed a Kingmen supply train.
She bit her lip; her husband, now general of the Freemen army, had been away for months battling the Kingmen. Every night she prayed for his safety and for God to bring him home to her, victorious.
“You’re thinking of Marius again, aren’t you?”
Hailey looked over at the woman walking beside her—the manor and garden’s owner, Collette. She was tall as well, only an inch or so shorter than Hailey, with brownish blond hair swept up in an elegant chignon.
“Yes, as though he’s ever far from my thoughts,” Hailey replied.
Collette was witty and smart as a tack with grace and manners to spare. She’d inherited a fortune, she’d told Hailey, enabling her to purchase the manor and staff it. Beyond that, she claimed wise investments with cunning bankers kept her wealth safe and afforded her a most comfortable life.
The two women had first met a few weeks ago in a Leighford clothing store. Collette struck up a conversation about the dress Hailey was considering, suggesting a pair of shoes to top the outfit off. Then she asked Hailey’s opinion on a certain hat.
Over the next few days, they ran into each other at the library; then in the city park, and finally in a quaint little tea house. That day they took a table together to get better acquainted. Hailey invited her to dinner at her house the following week, which both of them enjoyed. Now Collette was reciprocating, having invited Hailey to her home for lunch and afterward an afternoon play at the theatre.
Collette had been amazed to learn that Hailey’s husband was none other than the Freemen General, aka Knox Fox. He was a master strategist, but up against a formidable foe. If anyone could lead the Freemen to victory though, it was Knox Fox, everyone agreed.
Once the moniker Knox Fox took hold, Marius began wearing a fox fur cap and vest, so the story went, to spite General Banastre, who’d come up with the dub. The latest strategy on the battlefield was for all battalion leaders to wear either or both themselves. This caused much confusion for the Kingmen, as General Knox seemed to be everywhere at once, but also nowhere to be found.
This was what had inspired Mayor Yardley to design and present the faux fox tail talisman to Hailey at a Town Hall gathering. He’d gone so far, in fact, to dub her “Lady Fox” to further spite General Banastre. Once again Hailey slipped a hand into her pocket to stroke the talisman’s soft fur.
“Shall we go inside?” Collette suggested. “I’m sure Henry has lunch ready by now.”
“Absolutely,” Hailey replied, linking arms with Collette. “I’m famished.”
Henry served as Collette’s cook, a squat, balding man with rather shifty eyes. He didn’t look like a typical chef, but the aroma of the soup he’d been cooking when Hailey arrived had been heavenly.
A tall, lean man with dark scraggly hair and a pockmarked face was waiting in the drive when Hailey first arrived, introducing himself as Kurt, Collette’s coachman. After helping her down from the carriage, he’d taken the reins with the promise of seeing to her horse while she and Collette visited.
It was odd, watching Kurt lead the horse to the distant barn rather than mounting the carriage and riding the distance. In addition to that, he seemed nervous of the gentle mare and clumsy in his manner, as though he’d had little experience with horses. Perhaps he was down on his luck or a friend of Collette’s, and she was training him as a coachman, Hailey thought at the time.
Then there was the butler, Gerald who was intimidating and somewhat frightful. He was burly and shaggy-haired, with a scarred lip and a lurching gait. When he opened the door of the manor, Hailey had stepped quickly back, nearly toppling down the front stairs.
Gerald eyed her up and down before swinging the door wide and ushering her inside. Hailey felt a bit bad for her initial reaction as she wasn’t prone to judge on appearance. The butler had a sinister aura about him though, and Hailey Knox was one to trust a gut hunch.
The women found a tantalizing spread awaiting them in the dining room: ladyfinger sandwiches, an array of fresh fruit, crackers, and of course the steaming soup. The china was state of the art, as were the goblets filled with grape juice and the sterling silverware.
“This is marvelous, Collette,” Hailey said, pulling out one of the plush high-backed chairs.
Henry cleared his throat deliberately and Collette furrowed her brow. Then, catching Hailey’s elbow, she guided her around the table.
“If you don’t mind, I always sit in this chair,” Collette explained. “I...er...like to face the mantle, whether or not there’s a fire blazing in the hearth.”
“Of course,” Hailey said, settling into another chair that faced the window. This pleased her, but it was odd nonetheless, to have been all but dragged from the first chair.
“Now tell me,” Collette said, stirring her soup. “Have you heard anything lately from Marius—a letter perhaps or word from a courier?”
“Alas, no,” Hailey replied. “I’ve sent two letters to him, but he hasn’t replied. That isn’t surprising, of course, with him in the field. You know as much as I, as to how the war is progressing.”
“You must be so worried; I can’t even imagine.”
Hailey nodded, taking a spoonful of soup. It was as delicious as it smelled, and she remarked as much, then took a sip of her grape juice.
“My brother is involved in the war, a spy actually, but I hear from him regularly. Then again, he comes into Leighford often, to relay news and such.”
“Is that so? It seems quite dangerous, being a spy. Were he to be caught he’d be a prisoner of war, and the Kingmen are barbaric,” Hailey said, straightening in her chair.
Collette’s lips thinned, but she busied herself, reaching for her own goblet of juice. “No more so than serving as an army general, but my brother is quite accomplished at blending in and gathering intel. He and those like him will be the unsung heroes in this conflict.”
Hailey raised a brow, but after quick consideration nodded. “You have a point.”
Both steered the conversation to lighter subjects then, and in no time they were smiling and laughing again. As they finished their lunch, a sudden wave of fatigue washed over Hailey, and she struggled against a yawn.
Collette, watching her closely, signaled Henry to the table and said, “Perhaps we should set off now, so we’re not late for the play.”
“Yes, we should.” Hailey stood from her chair, but swooned, grasping at the chair back for support.
The cook caught her deftly and guided her across the room to one of the couches. It was a bit awkward, given their height difference, but Henry was strong and managed it.
With the room swimming around her, Hailey tried to sit up but failed. Drawing in ragged breaths, she fought to keep her wits, looking at Collette helplessly.
“Go fetch the carriage and tell my brother we’re ready. Oh, and be sure Hailey’s mare is tended to properly; Kurt is an idiot when it comes to horses.”
“Gerald did that already; I’ll go get him, to carry Mrs. Knox to the carriage,” Henry said. “You should have switched their roles. Kurt isn’t as frightful-looking and Gerald is a capable horseman.”
Collette had a scoff ready for him and waved the advice off. “Water under the bridge; now go.”
“What is going on?” Hailey rasped, mind racing. “The coachman Kurt is your brother? Then...”
“Exactly,” Collette purred. “He is a spy, as I told you—all of us are, gathering intel here in Leighford and passing it on to General Banastre.”
“You drugged me,” Hailey said, her words slurred now. “I thought we were friends.”
“You thought wrong,” Collette snapped. “You are a tool: the wife of Knox Fox and the means to crush this silly rebellion once and for all.”
Hailey shook her head as best she could. “No.”
She cringed back when Gerald leaned over and scooped her from the couch. Then all went dark.
*****
Hailey stirred an indeterminate time later. She was sitting in a carriage, propped in one corner, with her hands bound, she realized. The carriage was in motion, racing through the night. Collette sat beside her, speaking with her brother, Kurt, who occupied the facing seat.
Hailey closed her eyes, still feeling woozy, as she sought to make sense of the fix she was in. The chance meetings with Collette had been anything but—the lady spy had targeted and stalked her most handily. Further, Collette’s surprise at learning Hailey was married to General Knox had been feigned, obvious now, but well played. Now she saw why Collette had insisted she sit in the chair facing the window for lunch: that was where the drugged food was, or perhaps it had been the juice.
Then she honed in on Collette and Kurt’s conversation, learning that Gerald was on the outside bench, guiding the horses while Henry had remained at the manor. Their plan was for Henry to weave the lie that Hailey had been abducted from the manor by Kingmen and was en route to General Banastre. This, they expected would lure Knox Fox in; then they’d capture or kill him, as he sought to rescue her. They’d gone so far as to have Gerald rough Henry up, to make the story more convincing.
“Where are you taking me?” Hailey demanded, feeling a chill race along her spine.
“Awake so soon?” Collette purred.
“This won’t work, you know; Marius is far too clever to be ambushed,” Hailey said, trying to sound convincing. In truth, it was a very good plan they’d laid.
“Of course it will. Once your Knox Fox is captured or dead, the Freemen will lose all resolve.”
Hailey paled, but then fury rose like a torch and she took a swing at Collette with her bound hands. “You’ll never manage that.”
Collette reeled back, making the blow a glancing one against her chin. Matching fury lit her eyes then and she slapped Hailey smartly. “Stop that.”
Kurt stood from his seat with a sigh. “Now now, girls; that isn’t ladylike.”
He motioned for Collette to switch places with him, then sat down next to Hailey.
“Sit nicely, won’t you? If not, I’ll tie your ankles—or perhaps switch seats with Gerald.”
Hailey considered that and then slumped back. “Fine.”
Copyright 2025 Gene Van Shaar