Swift Justice

 

"So, tell me what you saw," the Captain of the Guard asked the jeweler with the bloody nose.

"Oi, me head is swimming. Am I going blind?" The young fop dabbed his nose with a blood-stained rag. His fancy silks were torn, but the Captain had seen worse carnage at a wedding celebration.

"I think you'll survive," the Captain said, already regretting his involvement. The sergeant and corporal of the gate were out chasing the hooligan, so he was stuck talking to the fop.

"It was horrible, I yell ya."

"What did you see? Be quick." The Captain was losing his patience.

"It was soldier in a green tunic with a white lion on his chest."

The Captain pondered the "white lion" comment. Most likely, the hooligan was a member of the North Regiment. They were encamped a mile outside of town gathering conscripts for their annual service.

The Captain said, "And he just walked in and punched you?"

The fop took a defensive tone. He also adopted a look that almost guaranteed he was lying. "He demanded a bauble I had in my case."

"Why would he do that?"

"I don't know. Oi, me head!" The fop made a great scene with waving hands and a wobbly step backwards as if he might faint.

A girl stepped out of the gathering crowd of gawkers and said, "I heard them arguing over a sister. And the jeweler pushed him first."

The Captain regarded the girl with interest. "I see." He turned back to the fop. "You better tell me the truth." He rested his hand on his sword hilt.

"I'll remember you next time," the jeweler growled at the girl.

"You threatening me?" She growled back as she reached for her belt knife. "We know how you cheat people. You're lucky he didn't gut you." The gawkers behind her applauded and cheered.

The Captain raised his hand. "Alright, missy. Go home and let me settle this." The girl made a rude gesture at the fop, and he reciprocated. "Now, I'm giving you one chance to tell me the truth."

The jeweler sat down on a stool beside his tables of wares. "I proposed marriage to a young lady, and she accepted me ring as a promise of me deep, deep love. Later, she changed her mind."

The Captain immediately assumed the young lady had learned what a fop he was. All the villagers hated him too. "And then what?"

"Well. I took me ring back. It was me right. I was a wronged lover."

The Captain snorted. He noted that the fop had not said she gave it back. "And her brother came to reclaim it?"

"Yes." The fop dabbed at his bloody nose.

The Captain snorted again. "Tell me, what was her name?" He had heard some tavern rumors, and this might be a missing piece.

"Cynthia du Hoden." The fop gurgled and spat a bloody mass into the rag.

The Captain nodded. The pieces connected. "You are lucky beyond measure. You crossed Phillippe du Hoden and lived."

The fop was clearly missing the significance of this revelation.

"Du Hoden personally killed twenty gargs, one at a time, all by himself at night to free a trapped squad that had been surrounded. He earned a medal from the Queen and a thousand acres."

The fop blinked. He looked suddenly pale. Sweat broke out on his forehead.

"I think we're done here," the Captain said, shaking his head and turning away.

He didn't see the jeweler's eyes roll back as he fainted.

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