Lisa and I had spent an enjoyable evening in the village after arriving in the late afternoon. We had walked up to the village Hotel/inn, which was nestled in between several shops at the furthest end of the main road.
It was a solidly built building, which looked as if it had weathered several centuries of wear and tear and welcomed numerous guests. It was also one of those Inns that had escaped the modernization process that had ruined a number of its contemporaries. We liked it instantly.
The publican booked us into the two rooms that he had available and after washing up, we made our way down to the bar for a meal and a few drinks. In keeping with the manner of the Inn, it boasted a huge open fire in the lounge, around which a few of the Inn's regulars gathered quietly sipping their drinks and talking. Around the room were chairs and several old solid tables, which looked to be as old as the Inn. Pictures showing farming scenes hung at various places on the walls, competing for space with old bills advertising shows and fairs that were long over.
Lisa and I completed our meals and sat around slipping beer. The light from the fire provided the lounge with a warm atmosphere. Several of the older locals engaged us in conversation about our travels in England and Scotland so far. Around 9.30, a young local lad joined us in conversation. When I say young, he was about 19 or 20 and reasonably stocky, his tan healthy look testified to him spending much of his time outdoors. The elderly gentleman who we had been talking with called him across. It transpired that the lad was the gentleman's grandson and worked as a grounds keeper for the local Lord, something that the Grandfather had done 40 years previously.
We started playing cards, something the old man liked and a habit that he had passed along to his grandson. Lisa had worked in a casino over several summers, while the last time I had played cards was when I was in junior High. Despite, my handicap I didn't do too badly against the wealth of experience that was around the table with me. However, it was very obvious that the old man was a skilled card player, winning most of the hands and only losing to his grandson once.
All in all, it was an enjoyable evening, awash with good conversation and good ale. Lisa and I were very disappointed when the old man and his Grandson finally departed and the Inn closed its doors for the night. After saying goodnight to the Publican, we climbed the old stairs to our rooms and went to bed.
I awoke early in the morning, just as dawn started to break. Peering through the window, I could ascertain the winding route of the river as it twisted and snaked through the wooded Valley, which was becoming more visible as the blackness of the night passed into grey. The Valley, Lisa and I had decided, was our destination for today. It had an interesting history and had several old Norman ruins within its boundaries, hidden within the trees and scrubs.
Lisa and I had a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs and sausages, after which the Innkeepers wife gave us an equally hearty packed lunch for the trip ahead. While, we were settling our accounts, the Innkeeper gave us detailed instructions for the route through the valley and onto the next village. We thanked them both and headed off for our day's adventuring.
It was a warm spring day and the blue of the sky with its lazy drifting clouds held the promise that it would get hotter later on. Lisa and I walked off the main road and in to the coolness of the forest, following a little track that the Publican had indicated. The forest was cool, the canopy of trees above us offering shade from the brightening sun. Birds sang from the branches and as we walked we could hear the soft tinkle of water from the river, which grew louder as we walked closer to it.
After an hour and half of walking we broke through the forest into a glade beyond which was the lazy flowing river. The sunlight was blindingly bright compared to the dimness of the wood and it took us several minutes to fully adapt to the light. We moved quickly to the river back, where Lisa sat down on a fallen log and I started to rummage through our packs for the food and the water we had been provided by the Publican's wife.
As I searched, Lisa and I became aware of a droning sound that I identified as a motorcycle, which came closer and closer to us. We stood up as the bike and its rider came into view and parked in the glade. The Biker dismounted and walked toward us, as he did so Lisa and I were able to see that it was the young companion from the last evening. He recognized us, smiled and quickened his pace. Lisa and I smiled as well and moved to meet him.
He blushed as we met. He had been into town and had spoken with the Publican who had told him the details of our plans including visiting the old ruins. He said that he had come out looking for us and to make sure that we did not visit the ruins, as they were on the Lords' land and "his Lordship does not like people visiting them."
Lisa and I were dismayed at the news. We had wanted to see the ruins as we had heard that they were reasonable spectacular. Our companion was mystified by our interest. "There's nowt, but crumbling rocks and stone," he said. Lisa was insistent and commented that it would not hurt to let us visit them. He could even come along as a guarantee to our good behaviour. He blushed and said that while our companionship was desirable to him, the Lordship was insistent about people not visiting the ruins. How would he know if we visited them? I asked. Lisa remarked that he could forget to tell the Lord and it could be 'our' secret. "No one" she said, "needed to know."
Lisa grinned, How about she asked, if they cut a deck of cards? If he got a high card then she and I would not go to the ruins if we got a high card, then he would let us go on our journey. He slumped his shoulders in apparent defeat at our obstinacy. "Fine," he said. He had a spare pack for his grandfather in his bag on the back of his bike and we could use that. He walked back to the bike and we could see him searching through the carrier bag, until he found want he was looking for.
Taking the pack of cards from the bag, he walked back to us and passed them to Lisa. She removed the wrapper and took out the instruction card and the Joker. Shuffling the deck, she then held the cards face down and cut the deck in half. She held up the 10 of Spades to show us. Placing the card back into the deck, she shuffled them again and passed the deck to him. He took the deck, cut it and held up the Jack of Hearts. Lisa and I looked at each other glumly. It appeared that our jaunt was over.
However, Lisa still remained stubborn about the matter. What else would it take? She queried our friend, to let us continue? How about a game of two out of three perhaps? Okay, he said, relenting in the face of her insistence. They could play another game and he would take us to the ruins. Lisa and I smiled at each other, although he was good, as we saw last night, he was not as good as his Grandfather. Lisa was sure that she could beat him.
"So what was the game?" She asked. "Blackjack? Poker? Go Fish?" He blushed and said that since she had pushed him into it, that it was a special game. Our ears pricked up at the words. He blushed further and said that he really needed to explain the stakes for the game. If we played the game, then he would take us to ruins, if we didn't that was fine, but he could not allow us to go any further. Lisa and I looked in wonderment at each other, "What sort of game," I said "was it?"
