Skip wrote:So, to cut my early morning ramblings short (WAY too early ... 4:00 a.m.) if I were playing a game of Medieval Clue ... I'd pick the shady gameskeeper employed by Anthony
That's A LOT for two cents! LOL Nice deflection at the end there mate, but there's not a soul that would read your spiel and not suspect you ... So much for keeping that a secret?! *scowls at Skip and start looking for a new suspect*
All very true and accurate. As to the why and who, you'll just have to read to the end, the villian shall remain mysterious until the author deem otherwise. hehehe *evil laugh* Nice try though! 
But trust me, he or she is bad, angry, systematic, and not stupid. Has to be if you want to match him or her against Matthew. I love a good villain. And hopes I can pull it off.
A couple of points on the choice of weapon and ammo. All true, but slightly different on the border at the turn of the century. They remained true to their longbows for much longer than the rest of Britain, because they were bloody good using those things (and they were isolated from London - and Edinburgh). Firearms did become more common, but wasn't preferred in damp weather as one may loose a hand far more than getting your target, and they were expensive, so it all depends on the villain's budget. Crossbows were also used of course.
Also, on the border they didn't use any of the heavy plated armour (some of the higher class did to show off that they could afford it, but never for practical reasons). They used brigandines and jack of plate (or just jacks). Very good at keeping one's skin entact for a fraction of the cost. Chapter 2 will get into what Matthew was or wasn't wearing a little bit.
Bodkin point is an excellent choice, but again, there were a variety of arrow heads to choose from that would pierce armour and depending on the sniper's purpose, would inflict different grades of injury although the wound inflicted would be similar. Catherine was lucky in that the arrow didn't go through her arm, but rather nicked it deeply on the edge of her arm. 6mm to the right would have had her getting away unharmed. 6mm more to the left would have made for a very short and sad romance novel. Fiction gives one that kind of selective power - not at all costs though, it must be possible and or believable still.
But I for one am glad to see Skip joining our ranks, looks like he's going to keep us on our toes! I can do woth more of that always!
But I'm no closer to knowing whether readers will believe me when I have Matthew insist Catherine should ride with him and not on her own ...
ps - Skip, I left some more replies in my in-line review for you ... Hope it helps!
I'm still going to read the rest - let me know if you're still interested in a review because I think you've mentioned you didn't just write it for the contest ... Next week looks good.
