This is an 18th century English adventure romance novel. Think of Robin Hood meets Downton Abbey.

Chapter One

Lawrence Smith came from a poor farming family southwest of Chesterfield, England. They lived on and worked the land that belonged to Lord Huntington. They were paid nothing but were given a small plot of land they used as their garden. Lawrence was the middle son. Lawrence disliked working on the land with his father and older brother. He was called to hunting.

The land around them was covered ion great green forests. There were also cleared farms all around them, but the massive forest still held countless deer and other animals worth hunting. Lawrence thought it was the most beautiful land in the world.

The Smiths had to hunt to supplement their meager diet. It was a matter of survival. Lawrence loved the damp smell of the huge, thickly packed trees as he stalked his prey. The sun shined through the leaves and limbs and revealed the animals that Lawrence was searching for. It took a very keen eye to see his prey, let alone hit it with an arrow.

Lawrence snuck away from the farm one day and was looking for anything he could find to hunt. The family was in dire need of meat. He was stalking a great stag in the woods when he heard a disturbance off to his left on the main road.

The sound of several men arguing spooked the animal he was stalking, so Lawrence, still hidden in the thick green woods, walked slowly toward the road and the loud voices.

He could see a small group of finely dressed men who had been stopped and surrounded by six or seven men with bows and swords. These highway men had stopped the entourage of prince George. They didn’t know it at the time, but they figured it out soon enough. They had already killed several of his well-armed guards from a distance with their bows. Those men were lying dead at the feet of the rough-looking highwaymen.

Prince George had been trying to catch up to his grandfather’s hunting party. He had slept in that morning and was now trying to catch his grandfather, King George II, at one of their hunting encampments.

Lawrence began inching his way closer through the trees and tall grass to see who these men were and perhaps to hear their conversation.He could hear birds calling and chirping from up in the tall trees.

It soon became obvious that the men were very wealthy and presumably were traveling with a prince, who was in danger. Only a king or prince would be dressed so richly and have so many guards.

He could see that these were wealthy and important and wealthy men, no matter who they were.Lawrence heard the phrase, “your money or your life.” He knew instantly what he had to do. There were three men on his side of the wealthy men’s horses and another three on the opposite side. the presumed prince and his companions were trapped on either side by the rough-looking highwaymen.

Lawrence thought that he might be able to hit the three closest men to him easily, but he wasn’t sure about those on the other side. They were quite a distance from him.

He squatted down in the shadows of the large, ancient trees of this deep, dark forest to watch the event unfold. He then stood up slowly and moved quietly through the trees as if he were an animal himself.

He had done this nearly all of his life. He was seventeen years of age. The forest had been his home. This was second nature to him. He was like his prey, at home in this wonderful forest world. He knew where the crystal clear streams ran, and he knew that the animals of these woods came to drink water in them as he did.

He stood up and crept closer to the trapped hunting party. He felt the arrows in his quiver, counted them, and knelt down again. He was left-handed, so he held the bow in his left hand and pulled the bowstring with his right.

He would target the men farthest away first and hope for a little confusion among the other three to give him some time to hit the other men. He pulled one of the long, deadly arrows his father had made for him from his quiver and placed it in position on his bow. Lawrence was ready.

Everyone in the county knew Lawrence was the best man alive with a bow. He was the quickest to find his target and he had the sharpest eyes.

He could see his human targets now, close at hand, and he knew what he had to do. He shot three quick arrows at the men farthest from him. Two men fell instantly to the ground in silence. The third robber spun his horse around quickly looking for an enemy but saw nothing. The third arrow had just missed him, flew across the road and stuck into a large oak tree.

An old man on his way back to the village was standing next to the tree watching all of this. The fourth arrow hit one of the men closest to Lawrence in the back and passed thorough is jacket and the his shirt and entered his heart. He was dead before he hit the ground. The other two men closest to Lawrence didn’t know where to turn. The fifth arrow found it’s target as did the sixth.

All of Lawrence’s arrows had found their mark except that one, which had nearly hit the old man quickly running away to Oak Junction.

The man on the far side of the group was the only man left alive. He slapped his horse with his broad sword, and the great horse bolted away. he left his five cohorts dead on the grond as he escaped. The highway man was soon out of Lawrence’s range.

That man would live to kill again.

Lawrence walked out into the bright sunshine and addressed the group of men who had been held captive. “Gentlemen, are you hurt?

“Why no, young man, thanks to you and your friends.”

I am alone in these woods sir.”

“What about all those arrows flying past us?”

“I’m here by myself gentlemen.”

“What is your name?” one of the well dressed men asked.

“I’m Lawrence smith sir.

“Well, I’m Prince George, and you’ve done a great service to your king by helping my friends and I survive this attack.”

“My honor sir,” Lawrence said, unsure if he should believe this well-dressed man. The prince looked down at Lawrence standing in the deep grss and spoke.

“Hop up onto my horse and we will find my grandfather. He will want to thank you for your quick action and courage.”

Lawrence grabbed the man’s extended arm and swung his right leg up and onto the back of the large black horse and wrapped his arms around the waist of the prince as they quickly off to find the king.

This was the first time Lawrence had ever been on a horse. He held on for dear life with his bow slung over his shoulder.

When they finally found the king’s party camped up on the road a mile or so on the edge of his favorite hunting spot, the prince and his men dismounted and handed their horses over to several servants.

The servants walked away with the horses as the prince and the others were invited to sit in front of the king and told him what had happened. The king was most grateful to Lawrence for saving his grandson after hearing the account of what had happened. He could hardly believe it himself.

The prince and his friends told the king exactly what had happened and with great excitement and precise detail. The men with the prince spoke of how Lawrence had saved the prince and the others from certain death. Lawrence was asked to spend the night with the king and his entourage, and he gladly accepted the invitation. How many times in his life would he have the opportunity to dine with a king, after all?

The men drank well into the night and ate their fill of the animals that had been hunted in the forest. There were two great stags and several large turkeys and other game for everyone to feast on. There were more than a hundred men with the king, including eighty soldiers armed with more arrows than he had ever seen before. Lawrence looked over the weapons with great interest.

Servants were serving food and drink for everyone, including Lawrence. He took a sip of the ale set in front of him in a large tankard and forced himself to swallow it. He preferred goat milk to ale, and gost milk wasn’t his favorite.

A large group of men were sitting around Lawrence and when they were busy talking he turned the tankard upside down behind him and poured the remaining contents onto the ground. One of the king’s guards saw him do it.

“Oh please, sir, don”t tell anyone that I dumped it out. I just didn’t like it.”

“That’s fine, Lawrence, I think it is an acquired taste. It took me years to enjoy it myself.”

Lawrence was relieved and ate a great meal. He was amazed at the amount of wine and ale that these noblemen and soldiers could drink.

In the morning, as Lawrence sat waiting to return to his family, he was given a parchment at the request of the king. a very tall, thin man with a sharp nose and deep set eyes handed it to Lawrence with a forced smile after it had been written by a scribe recording the king’s own words.

It was a deed to three large parcels of land far to the west of where they were camped. The king pointed several times in that direction as he spoke to Lawrence.

“You have done your country a fine service that will help change the course of history, Lawrence Smith. I will not forget you or what you have done. This deed is for your reward for your bravery.”

“Thank you, sir,” was all Lawrence could think of to say.

“I will be here if you ever need me for anything. I am in your debt, Lawrence Smith.”

Lawrence didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what a deed was and he couldn’t read. he was just a young uneducated man. he was poacher and reluctant farmer with nothing except the clothes on his back and his bow and arrows.

“Thank you, sir,” was all he could say.

The king seemed pleased with the response and walked away to more important things, or so Lawrence thought.

Lawrence was eventually dropped off on the road near Lord Huntington’s farm as the king and his entourage passed slowly by it on the way to one of his grand estates nearby for more hunting and merrymaking.

When Lawrence his small home, his family was very relieved to see him. They had no idea what had happened to him and were very worried. They were all quite surprised at his tale and would not have believed it if not for the parchment that he showed them. It had the royal seal affixed to the bottom in purple wax. Lawrence was not one to tell tales but his story was incredible.

While he was working slowly in the hot, dusty fields the next day he saw an old nun walking by the road near his small house and approached her, taking the parchment out from under his shirt and walked toward her. He begged her to read the parchment to him that the king’s servant had given him. She couldn’t believe it.

He handed the parchment to the nun as they both sat on a patch of cool, green grass under a large tree. They were both awestruck after she finished reading it.

Her thin, wrinkled hands told Lawrence of her age and wisdom. Lawrence’s gift was described in great detail. The deed explained where the parcels were and described the landmarks near by so they could be easily found. There would be no mistakes as to where they were and to whom they now belonged.

The document freed Lawrence and his family from the land of lord Huntington. It gave Lawrence the opportunity to take his family off the land when he was prepared to do so. he was amazed by the hing’s generosity.

The skinny old nun spread the word quickly when she returned to the village. She was a gossip even though that habit did not put her in a good light with her mother superior or God. It was intriguing news to everyone who heard it.

When Lawrence was befriended by Prince George and the king it changed his life overnight.

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This is just the beginning of a long story of adventure, romance and danger.

The follow up book is “Sailing Away.”

Lawrence’s younger brother, Sam, finally gets his wish answered, but it takes some time before it happens in this next novel.

These books are available on Amazon in paper back and ebook.