To the OP and those replying to the OP, I personally just came across the Barons men trying to rape the lady in the cottage. I personally got BOTH a thanks, SOME EXP, and dont forget the loot off the corpses. It really is an easy fight. FYI I did just transfer my game over from the ps4 version to the next Gen version for my PS5... so perhaps the newest patch fixed something or the upgraded content... but I just wanted to report that I did recieve both a thanks from the lady as she walked past me and exp. I think it was only like a whopping 15 points... but better than nothing lol. Just came back here for the armor vendor anyways to craft my Griffin chest.