(Vegetables) Chapter Nineteen: A Disconcerting Discovery For Richard. The Chickens Weren’t Too Happy Either.

Richard was back again after work. Honestly, you’d think he didn’t know how to cook, or have his own home for that matter! Though, having seen his stately pile with the basement full of junk, it’s not surprising he preferred to spend his time with people who actually seemed to like him.

Though Felindre was still reserving judgement.

He also seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time in the back garden, messing around with bits of wood and hammering things. The chickens seemed unfazed by this activity; actually, they seemed quite happy as he’d made them a perch so that they could look in the kitchen window. Morwen seemed happy to have him around⁵⁴.

The past few days had been surprisingly quiet, without any other attempted break-ins or attempts to extort cookery books, though someone kept pushing pieces of paper with random addresses written on them through the letterbox⁵⁵. Felindre had taken the cook book into work with her on the grounds that she was the one least likely to get hurt if someone tried taking it off her. Even the pigeons had stopped following Felindre, word must have spread in that community about her slingshot and willingness to use it.

Morwen was spitting bullets about rabbits in her vegetable patch and Rosa had brought back a load of carrot and orange fairy cakes from the office, which no one would eat because they were horrible. Even the chickens, who’ll eat most things, turned their beaks up at them.

Anyway, this particular evening, the happy couple⁵⁶ were out in the back garden, when Morwen said:

“What’s this?”

Lying in the middle of the lawn was a small pile of cogs, and a jointed brass limb. It looked like a model animal paw of some description, but it was small, like it belonged to a toy.

Richard picked it up and looked closely at it. He turned pale, but his voice was steady when he said:

“Dunno – a toy of some description? Maybe a magpie picked it up from somewhere and dropped it?”

“Well, it is shiny,” said Morwen, dubiously.

One of the chickens pecked at her wellington boot, while another clucked at Richard. He quickly pocketed the brass leg and went over to the hen house.

“What’s up, cluck?” asked Morwen. “Oh, you poor thing, you’ve been hurt! Rosa! Bourboun’s been hurt! Get the first aid kit!”

Sure enough, the poor chicken was missing a few feathers and had some angry scratches on her side. She clucked at Morwen hopefully.

Morwen disappeared into the house for a few minute, and came back with Rosa, the first aid kit, some antiseptic powder, and a big box of meal worms⁵⁷. The two women fussed over the injured chicken, and looked over the others, which gave Richard just enough time to pick up the remaining pieces of a shattered brass oriental dragon from where they were hidden in the nest box and hide them in his toolbox.

“Poor girls,” said Rosa, liberally dishing out chicken treats, antiseptic powder and first aid. “I hope you’ve given that nasty cat what for.”

The chickens crowded around her and Rosa, while Richard looked around the garden, looking worried.

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⁵⁴ Don’t ask me why. More squishy human stuff, probably.
⁵⁵ They got ignored and recycled with the rest of the junk mail.
⁵⁶ Ew!
⁵⁷ Favoured chicken treats – the girls go mental for them