People stare, and I’m thankin’ all the Saints under heaven, and beyond that I didn’t try to stuff my gun in my trousers. The rich. Damned blue b...ooded arrogant bastards, same kind o’ people who put me behind bars. Murder One, the jury said. Guilty. No one ever even stopped to ask why, just whether or not I did it. I couldn’t tell you if any o’ these people had judged me, but they’re judgin’ me now. Too rugged. Too rough. No grace. These bastards all look alike to me. Ain’t no one movin’ a. After a night of feasting and drinking, Mac asked to have a private discussion with Alfred and his most senior lords and advisors.He set out the plans Scott had devised in Inveraray, emphasising the many positives for Alfred and his Saxons. He talked about the possibility of peace and an end to the bloodshed. He explained how the Scots were willing to help improve the land and teach them better farming methods so Alfred would have access to significantly increased food reserves. Mac emphasised. I best keep you fed.’ He released her to swing his bag up onto his shoulders. ‘You pick, I’ll pay.’ He grabbed her bag with one hand and her hand with the other. She squeezed it affectionately and tugged him down the Strand looking for a place to eat. ~o~ It was past midday when Paul got off the train in Tralee and glanced around the station. It was one of the older stations built in the early 1900s and probably never fully renovated. There were pigeons wandering the floor and Paul grumbled,. There were dozens upon dozens of people around, but I was alone in this moment. A sea of grief divided within my heart. There was an insistent throbbing somewhere deep within my soul, and I felt as if it could go unanswered no longer. It was now or never. She sat before a glass case, alit with sparkling jewels and metals. A casual grace suffused from her, filling the air and the room with a radiance that these mere stones only wished to match. Her eyes glittered like moonlight on the ocean, an.