Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

The woods appeared so foreign, shrouded as they were in the cover of night. I wouldn’t have been able to recognize the road if the stars hadn’t been twinkling so brightly above us. The fresh scent of pine mingled with the heavy dew of night, and I took a deep breath of satisfaction.

I turned around and smiled at my sole carriage companion, Will. “You’ve shown me so many wonderful sights, but I think the best one is the view of your lands.”

He grinned and looped his arm around my waist, drawing me against his side. “I think the best view is in here.”

I snorted and swatted my hand against his chest. “Do you practice these when I’m not around?”

He leaned down and rubbed the tip of his nose against mine. “Whenever will that be?”

“When you’re plotting with Raines to keep me out of the trouble you’re trying to get yourself into,” I retorted.

“I am merely giving instructions to my servant to maintain some semblance of normalcy during these turbulent times,” he countered.

I turned my attention to the window. “Like when we’re going out to face the people on your land who are thinking about overthrowing you?”

Will chuckled. “I doubt the situation is as bad as that, but I must put their minds at ease that they are not my subjects but my friends and I wish only to protect them and their families.”

“So how are you going to do that?” I wondered.

“Some of them may have worries that entice them to believe the dark words of this Mr. Wrecan. I will listen and see if they might not be solved as soon as possible.”

A coy smile slipped onto my lips. “And where does the storytelling come into all this?”

He laughed. “At the beginning, middle, and end of my stay, if the usual pub goes would have their way. They are fond of a good story especially when they are true, and I have many of those. If they have heard one then they haven’t heard a dozen others, though there are a few favorites that are repeated.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Such as?”

“The tale of how I became an eagle’s subject,” he reminded me.

I snorted. “I can see why that one would be popular. Are there a lot of people who go to this pub storytelling?”

Will smiled. “There will be a tonight.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because Steven will tell the old-timers and they will tell anyone within earshot which will be most of the town and the countryside,” he pointed out. “It will be the event of the year second only to the harvest festival.”

I snorted. “They really want to see you that badly?”

He grinned. “Am I not worth seeing?”

I feigned indecision and rubbed my chin in my hand. “I don’t know. You can be pretty cold sometimes and your breath is kind of hot.”

Will wrapped his arms around me and drew my back against his chest. His warm breath wafted over me, sending chills down my spine. “Do you believe I’m too warm now?”

I wiggled in his grasp. “And you play dirty, too.”

He brushed his lips against my neck. “Do you not prefer it this way?” the carriage turned a corner and began to slow. A growl escaped him and the next moment he reluctantly opened his arms. “We’re almost there.”

I sat up and peeked out the window. The shimmering lights of Ainsley village twinkled back at us as we rolled into the quaint town. The odor that had so pervaded the area on our last visit was gone and everything was as clean as one could manage when fending off Mother Nature’s attempts at housecleaning. Raines directed the carriage to one of the larger establishments along the main road, a pub I hadn’t noticed on my first visit here, so engrossed was I in not losing my sense of smell to the gross odor.

I wasn’t sure how lit the pub usually was, but this evening they went all out. Lanterns hung across the front of the eaves over the windows and door and light spilled out through the windows and far onto the street. The murmur of voices could be heard through the thick wood walls and many horses were hitched to the post. Horse-drawn vehicles of all sorts lined both sides of the road and a nearby livery had its doors wide open and revealed every stall with a horse. A few older stable hands stood at our arrival and lifted their caps to Will.

“Do you think that one guy will show up?” I asked my quiet companion. “The one making all the trouble?”

Will shook his head as we pulled up to the pub. “I very much doubt it, but we should remain on our guard.”

Raines parked us near the entrance but didn’t immediately hop down. The horses whinnied and pawed the ground, and he was forced to pull them under his control. A few of the stable hands hurried over and grabbed the halters of the uneasy animals. He was then able to hop down from the box.

Raines opened the door but kept his sharp eyes on the entrance. “Something is amiss, My Lord. The horses sense it.”

Will kept a smile on his face as he alighted. “We’ll be sure to keep our eyes open as well as should you out here.”

Raines bowed his head. “Yes, My Lord.”

We walked arm-in-arm toward the entrance but the door was flung open before we reached it. A burly woman in pants and a woolen shirt stepped out. Her long golden hair streamed behind her in wild strands and her sharp blue eyes inspected us above a deep frown.

The scowl didn’t last long as her eyes lit up with recognition and a smile stretched across her lips. “Lord Thorn!”

She lumbered over to him and I released my husband a moment before she wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug. Will let out a muffled croak as she swung him around in a swift, dizzying circle.

“It’s about time you came back here!” she scolded him as she stopped and set him down where she’d found him, now the worse for wear.

He tried not to stumble when she released him. “Good evening, Hil. My apologies for the-”

“And you with that fine tongue of yours, too!” she guffawed as she clapped him on the back. Will was nearly sent sprawling but caught himself with his prodigious dragon speed. “You’re as sweet as a hive of honey!”

Will sheepishly smiled at her. “Thank you for the compliment, Hil, but there’s someone I’d like to introduce you to.” He grasped my hand and pulled me to his side where the woman looked me over. “I don’t believe you two have met. This is my bride.”

The woman held out her hand. “Never met her, but now’s as good a time as ever to greet ya. The name’s Hilda Den.”

“Rose, um, Thorn,” I replied as I accepted her hand.

I wasn’t ready for the grip and some of my bones crunched beneath her strong hand. I clamped my mouth shut to keep from crying out as Will clapped a steadying hand on my shoulder. His eyes twinkled at me. My evil husband knew my suffering and was laughing.

Hil finally released me and stepped back to take a long look at me. “You’re a sight for sore eyes around here, miss, and for that I’m sorry I missed yer visit last time you was here. It isn’t easy leaving this place even for a moment, especially when I was having to fetch fresh water from a spring three miles off with only a sorry nag to help me.”

I tucked my pulsing hand behind me and slapped a smile on my pain-filled face. “You don’t have to apologize. We weren’t here very long the last time, anyway.”

“Then you should stick around a little longer this time,” Hil insisted as she jerked her head over her shoulder. “There’s a crowd waiting in there for ya right now.”

“Friendly?” Will wondered.

She wrinkled her nose. “Well, there’s a bit of a mess around here lately so it isn’t as friendly as it should be. Still, they’re eager to hear what you have to say, My Lord, so you’d best come in and give ‘em what they want.”

She stepped aside and Will took my arm. He led me through the door and into the bright interior of the old pub. Smoky rafters hung above us and the dark paneled walls told a tale of countless pipes and hearth fires being burned in the large room that occupied the whole of the bottom floor. Two dozen tables of various shapes and sizes and a wild assortment of chairs crowded about the open floor. A huge chimney occupied much of the wall to the far left and a bright fire crackled away in its hearth. The early comers had taken up seats around the fire and many of them were men of advanced age with long gray beards and eyes that showed both wisdom and a touch of mischief. It was like looking into Will’s eyes but with more wrinkles.

A dozen such men and a few women occupied those chairs. The rest were taken by young men and women, but mostly families with children young and old. A few of the kids scampered about chasing one another through the maze of adults. Babies cried for bottles and men folk bounced a child on their knee.

We entered the room and almost every single pair of eyes fell on us.