Chapter 3Staring at his herd, Conner knew immediately that two were missing. He walked among the remaining cattle. The animals weren’t distressed and there were no signs of blood or a fight with a predator.
He had to milk the remaining cows, and then he’d go looking. Market would have to wait. He wanted to see if he could track down his animals. With his stout stick in his hand he left his farm. He hadn’t gone far toward the forest when a rider approached. He recognised the corpulent figure immediately. Boetius had been a tenant farmer but now owned his farm. A much bigger one than Conner’s.
Boetius had a reputation for callousness and greed. He’d been hard on his labourers, and was harder and more ruthless on his tenants. More than one tenant farmer and his family had found themselves t
