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sure why the basket was not already prepared. Steven had been sitting at the table waiting for me this morning. The kitchen had plenty of time to prepare it. Or so I thought.  
    Once the boys left, I turned toward the kitchen deciding not to wait for Mary. I wanted to see what the complication was.
     
     

 
     
    Chapter 6
    Winner Takes All
     
    The kitchen was full of people. The dark wooden floors were scuffed, from the constant wear on them. A large fireplace stood at the far end of the room. It was flickering with a small dying flame. It stood out beautifully against the yellow walls. Three windows provided light to the area, lined up along the right side of the room. In the center was a long rectangular table covered in bowls and baskets containing a variety of items, mostly food. The large cast iron stove was immediately as you entered the room.  
    I searched the swarm of people until I located Mary who was by the fireplace. Her red hair stuck out from the sides of her cap, giving her away. I made it through the chaos to her.  
    “Morning miss, are you here to collect the picnic basket?” Her voice was so calm even with the chaos swarming around her. Her accent had a lilt to it. Irish perhaps? I could not be certain.
    “Yes Mary, I am.” I smiled sweetly at her. 
    “Absolutely miss.” She made her way through the herd of people and returned to me carrying a large wicker basket, only moments later. “Here you are, miss. Master Steven told me to hold on to it until you came looking for me. I reckon you came along much faster than I had originally presumed.”  
    What? Steven had told me to wait for her. I had only come looking because I wanted to see why it was not already prepared. I did not want her to realize anything was out of sorts, so I thanked her and headed towards the stables.
     
    * * *
     
    I quieted my steps as I approached. The hushed sound of disjointed voices escaped from the entrance. Curiosity got the better of me, as it had so much recently, that I huddled close to the opening, listening to the voices inside. “What are you doing...?” “It is different...” “Be careful...” “I think I...” The wind picked up so I could no longer hear them. What I heard made no sense nor could I distinguish which voice belonged to whom. I stealthily walked a few paces back before walking as normally as I could into the stable holding the large wicker basket filled with the contents of our picnic. 
    I plastered a smile on my face so they would have no idea I had been eavesdropping. Steven's eyes locked on me showing some signs of frustration. Just like with Mary, I had obviously come along earlier than he expected. I glanced over at Conner but he was intently focused on saddling the horse.
    “Well, I found Mary and got the basket,” I said. 
    Why did I just tell them that? I knew they were both aware of that otherwise I would not be here.  
    “Yes. Well... I’d best be off,” Steven said his gaze still boring through me.  
    He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but as earlier, he seemed to decide not to. He mounted his horse and took off, but not before shooting a menacing glance towards Conner.  
    Conner did not look at me after Steven left. I assumed it had something to do with the conversation he and Steven had just had. Could they have been fighting? I was not sure. He stayed focused on the horse adjusting the straps and buckles of the saddle. After several moments of silence, I decided to break the tension that was mounting between us.  
    “You know,” I approached Conner, his back still to me, “I do believe that part of the bargain was that I got to pick whichever horse I wanted first .” I was standing to his left when he finally paused in his task, looking down at me. “And here you have already picked and saddled this one.” I gestured to the horse in front of him.
    Conner’s piercing blue eyes made my heart pound against my chest. It was so loud I was almost