Lady Kathleen And Lexie Head To The Palace

Lexie and Lady Kathleen looked at each other. They were dirty, their nails were broken, their clothes were torn. Lady Kathleen said, "Who are you and why are you here?" Lexie went on to explain about who Geoffrey was and what he had promised her. She said, "I had no idea that a little girl was involved in his scheme. I know that little girl. Her name is Marlee. She and her mother used to sleep on the streets in London down by the docks. I did too. I don't have a family. My family is gone. I don't know what I'll do now with no coins to buy food with. You look like a pirate, do you need any help on your ship?  I can cook and sew a little bit." Lady Kathleen started asking Lexie many many questions. She wanted to know all about her because she had an idea. She had lived long enough to realize that she needed a family. Little Marlee had taught her that in the short time she was on her ship. Lexie seemed like a nice lass who was down on her luck so she took a chance. She had taken her pirate hat off and looked at Lexie. They actually looked a bit alike. "Would ye like to move in with me? I can give ye some food and clothes. I appreciate your help tonight with that Geoffrey fella. I wanted to adopt that little scamp, but we weren't fast enough to rescue her from both of those men. I hope he will treat her well."
Lexie said, "That wasn't a man. That was a woman dressed up like a pirate. She said she was that little lass's grandmother."

Lady Kathleen said, "What? Did she tell you her name? How do you know she wasn't lying to you too? What to do. What to do. I'll tell you what we'll do. We will go to my house and get some runners to do some asking around. They will find the answers for me or I'll know the reason why."

Grandma Lu said, "Well they had a ways to go. They traveled just as fast as they could, but it still took most of the night to reach her palace. Lady Kathleen's palace was surrounded by water and trees. That was to keep people and strangers away. It also provided food and water for the exotic animals that she had collected on her voyages seeking treasure. Finally they arrived after climbing what seemed to Lexie a hundred steps.
One of her youngest crew members, Nick, was waiting for her on the lawn. He had been keeping himself busy trying to round up the Lady's fancy chickens before she got back. He smiled so big when he saw Lady Kathleen. Her servants and pirates loved her, but she did not realize that. She was much too busy to take notice.
 He had heard about the small lass being kidnapped by the strange pirate. All the men were talking about it and were very upset and angry. They didn't want to admit it, but they had fallen for the little twinkie. They loved to let her wear their hats and give her treasures to wear. She gave them something to think about other than how hot it was, or how terrible the food was.
While Lady Kathleen and Lexie were traveling by foot to the palace, Lady Bonita and Marlee had already boarded ship and would soon be traveling back to England. Lady Bonita was troubled however, because Marlee was not happy. She kept crying out, "Capin! Capin! Come get me! Please Capin take me home."
Nothing that Lady Bonita said or did seemed to work. She had not been around little ones for many years and this little one seemed to be attached to that crazy pirate. "I wonder what Katherine is like after all these years at sea. Could she be so bad just because she has lived differently than I have?"
 She had to think. Her little granddaughter was so unhappy. All she seemed to do is stand at the railing and stare out at the sea. She had to think of a solution soon.