*
Winifred wrapped herself in her coat and put on her hat. “I am leaving for Phoebe and Farkle’s now. I do not know how long it will take, but I shouldn’t be long.” Winifred opened the door and closed it behind her.The winter wind gnawed at Winifred’s face as she made her way through the almost deserted streets. She kept a wary eye out for strangers. To her relief, she made it to her sister’s house without encountering any trouble. Candlelight streamed from the windows and smoke billowed from the chimney. ‘Good, someone is home,’ she thought. She walked up onto the stoop and knocked. She waited a moment and knocked again. Footsteps sounded from inside and she heard Phoebe cussing up a storm. The door opened swiftly and Phoebe ceased her swearing when she saw who it was. “Sister!?” Phoebe peered back inside, and the color faded from her face. “I am sorry, Winifred, but this is not a good time for a visit. Could you please come back tomorrow when I am free to chat?”
Winifred barged through the door, catching Phoebe totally by surprise. It was Winifred’s turn to be surprised. At the table sat a tall human, the candlelight accenting the chiseled features of the man. Over in the corner sat Farkle with a worried look on his face. “My goodness, Phoebe, why did you not tell me you had company? I am Winifred of Tinker Hollow, and who are you, sir?”
“Please sister, please leave.” Phoebe said with a note of hysteria creeping into her voice.
“I am sorry that I came at a bad time, Phoebe...” Winifred scowled and spoke sternly to her younger sister. “I came to tell you that I had Gertrude move father into our place. You have failed to uphold your part of our bargain. We had agreed that you would watch father and keep him fed. He almost froze to death one day making his way to my hovel and his bones are showing from underneath his clothing. You gave me your solemn word that you would do this. You have disgraced your name!” Winifred’s anger mounted to the point that she burst into tears.” You do not have to worry about me coming back tomorrow, sister.” Winifred sobbed. “I will expect you to come to my hovel to talk.”
Winifred did not look at the human or her brother-in-law. She pushed her sister to one side and stepped out into the cold. It was snowing again and the street was a little darker. She found herself out of breath and paused for a moment. Frog trolls ears are sensitive to sounds and she heard footsteps coming her way, sensing that it was not a frog troll following her because the footsteps were too light. It must be the human that was at her sister’s hovel. She knew that she could not take the time to knock and wake someone. Her only hope was to make it home, behind the safety of her own door. She lifted her dress and started running. Winifred did not know what was racing faster - her feet or her pounding heart. She had never felt the fear that she held in her heart at that moment. Dread seemed to overshadow her thinking. ‘I must remain calm.’ She glanced back and saw a shadow chasing hers.
She had to make it home, she just had to… She saw the hovel and her heart gave a leap. With all strength she could muster, she screamed, “Gertrude! Ger-tru-de!!” She felt the human’s ever-growing presence behind her and hear his heavy breathing. A hand from behind, pawing to catch a hold spurred her to move faster. “Gertrude! Gertrude! Gertrude!”
A voice behind her uttered, “I almost have you, you filthy creature….” A glint of a sword and a muffled thud caught Winifred’s ears. She continued running. The door to the hovel was wide open. Her legs were so tired that she did not pick them up far enough and tripped over the threshold, landing on the floor with a crash. She glanced around and saw the shadow of a figure coming through the door. Winifred screamed and grabbed for her broom so that she might defend herself.
Gertrude got down on the floor next to his trembling mother. “You are all right, Mother.” Laying down his bloodstained sword, he grabbed her in his arms and rocked her as she sobbed and sobbed. “Shhh… You are all right, everything is fine. Calm yourself. Everything is fine.” Gertrude thought of all the times when he had nightmares as a child and how his mother would cradle him in her arms and whisper it was all right.
“Oh, my!” Derry appeared at the door. “I thought I heard screams, and I saw the door to your hovel open.”
“Take care of my mother, Derry. I have to go check on something.” Gertrude got to his feet and lit out the door. When he returned a while later there was blood on his hands and clothing. Gertrude looked pale and tired as he entered the hovel. Derry and his mother were sitting at the table, holding each other’s hands and drinking a cup of blog. “How are you doing, Mother?” Gertrude walked over to where she was sitting and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“I am doing much better, thank you. Did you find the person who was after me?” She peered down at Gertrude’s blood-stained clothes and gasped. “Are you hurt?!”
“I am fine, Mother. It is not my blood that you see. It belongs to the human that was chasing you. He had a knife in his hand, ready to use it on you. The scoundrel’s black heart caught the tip of my blade when he made his final lunge at you. I went back to check out who he was. I have never seen this person before. Do you know why this human was after you?”
Candlelight accented tears welling up in her eyes once again. “I do not know why he was after me. I accidentally came upon the human at your aunt and uncle’s hovel. I had barged in when Phoebe opened her door and refused to let me in. I gave her a piece of my mind and left. A short distance from their hovel, I became aware that someone was following me.” Winifred picked up the corner of her apron and wiped the tears from her eyes.
“You apparently weren’t supposed to know that he was there, even though you did it by accident.” A pounding sounded on the door. A familiar voice beckoned for someone to open the door, a voice filled with terror and concern. Gertrude unlatched the door.
“Winifred, Winifred, oh, I am so sorry!” Phoebe practically knocked Gertrude to the floor in her haste to see her sister. “Are you all right?!” She ran over to Winifred’s side and fell to the floor sobbing, her head resting on Winifred’s lap. “I was so afraid, so afraid... Please forgive me. I did not know what to do…”
Winifred hesitated for a moment, and then laid her hand upon her sister’s head. “What in the world has possessed you lately, sister? It was so unlike you not to care for father. Now you and Farkle are entertaining demons that wish us harm.”
“He is one of Lemerich’s men. He was here to relay any information that I had gleaned from working up at the castle and convey it to Lemerich.” Phoebe stood up and looked at Winifred and Gertrude.
Gertrude shook his head. “But why are you helping Lemerich? How does he control your will to do right?”
“Lemerich is a devious man. He controls people by blackmailing them to do his dastardly deeds. Toggart fell into his clutches with the mere promise of having the title Grand Frog Troll again. His greed and stupidity will be his demise. Zeon and Meade are followers. They have twisted ideas of how everything should work. They fell into Lemerich’s scheme of things through Toggart. They were promised power and money. Then after Meade got burned, Lemerich got his viperous way with us. He told Farkle and me that if we didn’t cooperate, that our son’s bodies would be floating in the river.” Phoebe started to cry. “Oh why have I been so stupid?”
Gertrude walked over to the stove and poured two mugs of blog. “Sit over here, Auntie, and please tell us all that you can. Maybe we can help you out of this mess. To ease your mind as to the safety of my cousins, Zeon is safe up at the castle. After tonight I will make sure that Meade is given a room up at the castle also.”
Phoebe smiled wanly. “I am so sorry that I did not come sooner to tell you about all of this. My heart has been sick with worry and my conscience has been keeping me up at night. When Lemerich’s man went after you, I realized that my troubles would only grow.”
Grumps walked into the room holding Agabus. The kitten had survived and now found it a delight to crawl up Grumps’ arm and lay on his shoulder. Phoebe looked up at her father and smiled. Then she noti
ced how his clothes were hanging on his large frame. She started to cry. “I am sorry, Father, that I have neglected your needs.” She got up from her chair and went over and hugged him.
“Mother, I must go and tend to business. I must go see the mortician. Then I am off to the castle to see Norman and Octavius. I am also going to stop at Gillion’s hovel to let him know what has taken place.” Gertrude put on his coat and hat and disappeared out the doorway.
Phoebe’s eyes opened to the size of saucers. “Who has died? Is it someone I know?”
Winifred looked at her sister and paused before she answered her questions. “Yes, you did know him. He met with the end of Gertrude’s sword just before I was about to feel his blade in me. Your visitor meant to kill me.”
Phoebe gasped and put her hands across her mouth. “Oh, what have I done?! Farkle warned me that we were doing the wrong thing, but I wouldn’t listen. If something had happened to you, sister, I would never have forgiven myself…”
“I am tired of all this gloomy talk. Let us change the subject.” Winifred got up from the table and went to her room. She returned as quickly as she had left. In her arms she was carrying her mother’s dress. “I thought that you might like to see what I will be wearing to the ball, sister.” Winifred held up the dress for the other two ladies to admire.
“I remember another doe who wore a similar dress to that one. She was so beautiful…” Grumps shook his head as he reached up and pulled Agabus down from his shoulder onto his lap.
Phoebe let out a gasp. “Winifred, the dress is beautiful! What extraordinary appliqué. Where did you learn beading like that? I dare say that it makes mine look shabby.”
“Thank you for the compliment, sister.” Winifred was beaming.
Derry eyed the gown. “I am very jealous. I will be the only frog troll at the ball that will look like a frog troll.” She smirked and started laughing.