MADAME DESTINE WATCHED meekly from behind the folds of her tent's entrance, as Prometheus argued furiously with Butter nearby. The discharge of the Irish giant's voice almost blew the tiny fellow off his feet, but to his credit, the Inuit stood his ground.
'That's easy for ye to say, lad, it's not ye's head on the block, is it!' Prometheus yelled. 'How'd ye feel if ye couldn't even close your eyes at night in case the law decides to sneak up on ye?'
'Ye might find this hard t'believe, Butter, but Cornelius ain't right all the time! We don't all see him with rose-tined specs like ye do.' Prometheus spun on his heels and set off down the slope of the lawns. 'Stay here with the Madame…that's where ye can do all the helpin', lad.'
'I heard 'im well enough, laddie,' snarled Prometheus. 'But the locals in Crawditch are knockin' down the police's door, bayin' for me blood. If I don't do this now, what d'you think's goin' to happen? They'll find me, man…they will! I'll be tucked up asleep one night and get a wee knock on me door. They'll chain me up and they'll drag me away…I won't know when and I won't know where.'
'Wait until Mr Quaint returns.'
'No, Butter-I'm goin' back t'Crawditch t'face what's comin' -before it comes after me first. Geddit? At least this way I get t'have a say in me own fate!'
Butter buried his head in his hands. 'Then…take me with you. I might be helping.'
Prometheus stared at the man as if he had just discovered an entirely new species of human being. 'Take ye with me, are y'in-sane, man? A second ago ye were tellin' me how I wasn't s'posed t'be going anywhere-and now you want to come n'all?'
'If I am to come, then when the boss ask why I did not stop you, he will know that I force myself to accompany you for own good.'
'Ye might find this hard t'believe, Butter, but Cornelius ain't right all of the time! We don't all see him with rose tinted specs like ye do.' Prometheus spun on his heels and set off down the slope of the lawns. 'Stay here with the Madame…that's where ye can do all the helpin', lad.'
Butter watched silently as Prometheus's voluminous silhouette walked off into the distance. 'That man is almost as stubborn as the boss,' he muttered under his breath. The Inuit chewed on his lip, considering his options, but within a few minutes, the Irish giant had disappeared completely from view. 'Now Prometheus is able to talk again properly, no doubt he gets himself in even more trouble.'
'Indeed he will, Butter,' whispered Destine, spying unseen and unheard from her tent. 'Prometheus should have heeded Cornelius's warning…for the only thing waiting in Crawditch is death.'