Tornedalians

"Whenever she chooses to return."

"Why is it funny?"

Lucinda just frowned deeply at that.

"Go find your maid, Lucinda, tell her to keep you for a while until I return."

xD"Are you going to see the people that sent you a nasty letter?"

"Yes Luci."

"Careful then daddy… my maid said that people that sends nasty letters aren't nice and like to hurts people." She warned before turning and wandering off to find her maid.

Lucian sighed and went to his stables, mounting his horse before riding him out towards the place he was supposed to drop the money off.

Sat near the fountain, on the edge of it, was a pale, nervous seeming woman who kept looking over her shoulder nervously every few seconds. Obviously being forced to be there, being the person the money was suppose to be handed to.

"Take me to who you work for, I wish to speak to them."

"They did not instruct me to do so, my lord, they require the money and then who you want shall be safely returned to you when they have made sure you are not fooling them with trickery."

"And how am I supposed to trust that they wont be the ones doing the trickery?"

"I do not know, my lord," She replied quietly, getting to her feet and, after a moment of hesitant thought told him. "If you wish to follow than I shall take you to them." before age turned and walked down a few streets. Eventually leading him into the back room of an old, quiet tavern where two men were sat a round table. 

"You are back earlier than expected, Elise, has he given you the money…" The older men of the two asked in a gruff voice, lifting his light blue eyes to the olive skinned, light browned hair woman that had entered.

"Not exactly, Sir Tompkins," Elise whispered.

"I wish to have my wife back before you get your money."

The older man raised an eyebrow at Lucian and gave a short laugh and shook his head. "Do take a seat, Lord Dayne, we shall then discuss this further."

"You may go, Elise, we have matters to discuss that you do not need to hear of quite yet." The younger man that had been silent up to now told her in a much softer voice than the older man had, watching as she gave a simple nod and left.

Lucian sat down silently.

"Have you brought the amount we requested?" The younger man asked, though went quiet when he was glared at by the older one. Letting out a small sigh and asking instead, "Let us see the money first, give it to us, or we shall carry out our threats that is if you even wish for her back now. Some of our associates have been around the past hour or so and... soiled her."

Lucian's fists balled a little at that. "You will have the money, when I have my wife. If you kill her, then you have no way of making money from me, do you? I am a man of my word, give her to me, and I will tell you where the money is."

The older man just chuckled and got to his feet, "Leave the money on the table and I shall take you to her."

"I don't have it with me, I've stored it somewhere for you to retrieve when I have her."

"Then it appears we are in a stalemate. Collect the money and put it on the table or you shan't get her back and with every hour she shall become more and more soiled until she is such an emotional wreck you will not want her back."

"I shall give you half now, and half later when I have her back." Lucian proposed.

The older and younger man shared a look before both nodding in agreement, the older man musing, "Very well,"

"The first half is in the saddlebags on my horse."

"Take him to her, I shall collect the money." The older man told the younger one after a moment of hesitation before leaving the room.

The younger man grimaced and muttered a quiet, almost nervous sounding, "Follow me," before pushing the bookshelf at the back of the room to the side of reveal another door. Unlocking it and heading down the stairs that it revealed.