“You have some of the best ale, but I’m afraid I can’t drink while I’m seeing to business.” Alannah walked over to the wooden counter where Glasny stood, handing him the coin he’d earned for helping find customers for The Hart’s Rest. “We’ve had five guests in the last sennight tell us they came on your recommendation.”
He took the money, stowing it beneath the counter. “The Hart’s Rest is the best inn in Ath Luain,” he shrugged. “I wouldn’t have partnered with you if I thought otherwise.”
“I’ll be back next week,” Alannah promised.
“I heard some interesting news last night.” His deep voice teased. “The men are due back from the north any day now.”
Alannah’s heart stopped beating for a moment while her mind processed that. “You’re certain?”
“As anyone hearing news from drunkards can be, aye.”
Her brothers were coming home. It had been six years since they’d joined the king’s forces to make enough money for the family to survive. Alannah and Emer had been on their own, starting the hostelry when the drought came through and ruined their pitiful attempt at farming two years in a row. Alannah had protected her younger sister, the only one left to do so. They’d managed to build a successful business on their own.
But they wouldn’t be alone much longer.
“Thank you,” she whispered with a smile. “Emer will be thrilled.”
“As will I,” Glasny sighed. “I’ll finally get to stop worrying about them.”
“That makes two of us.”
Alannah had only one more stop to make before returning to her sister and The Hart’s Rest. She could hardly contain her excitement at the knowledge that their brothers would finally be coming home, and Alannah knew Emer would feel the same relief—not that anyone would be able to guess that she ever despaired.
Alannah’s little sister was a bright ray of sun on a frigid winter’s day, bringing light and warmth everywhere she went. Emer might be four years younger, but Alannah looked up to her in that way, in how she always managed to see good where no one else did.
Crossing back over the bridge, Alannah found Nolan and Clíona in the market stalls near the center of the town. They traveled across Éire peddling holy symbols and trinkets, magical herbs and children’s toys.Everyoneknew Nolan and Clíona. They had grown children, though neither looked a day older than thirty-five. Well, except for the strands of grey peppering Nolan’s dark hair. But his face held no wrinkles to match the changing colors. Clíona had deep brown hair that turned gold when the light caught it just right.
Much like Glasny, they partnered with Alannah and Emer in a mutually beneficial business agreement: in exchange for sending travelers to The Hart’s Rest, they received a portion of the profits. With the new addition of the bridge, things were finally starting to look up.
Their cart held forth in the center of the market square of Ath Luain, piled high with bags and boxes. The small table they managed to fit into the cart sat before them, an array of trinkets spread to entice the curious customer.
“I take it that family found you, then?” Clíona asked, taking the small bag of coins Alannah offered her.
“They did,” she smiled. “Thanks to you two. And a merchant who’d never been through town before.”
“Glad to hear it,” Nolan smiled back. “I’d much rather send folk your way than the alternative.” He raised his dark brows emphatically, as if Alannah wouldn’t know exactly what he meant.
‘The alternative’ was Oran, the closest the Devil had ever come to incarnating.
He also happened to have courted Alannah once,yearsago, and did not take it well when Alannah refused to see him again. It wasn’t her fault she saw straight through his good looks and into his black heart from the beginning.
When she and Emer opened The Hart’s Rest, Oran decided that what the town really needed was yet another inn, but on the eastern side of the river so that he could grab folk on their way into town long before they knew The Hart’s Rest existed. Alannah’s pulse pounded angrily as she thought of all the business he’d stolen from them over the years, simply because she refused him.
Though it more than validated her decision, it caused their business to struggle until the bridge went up. Now, they stole that business right back from him thanks to easy access and a bit of promotion.
“I’m not sure that being better than the worst is really a compliment, Nolan,” Alannah teased. “But I’ll take it.”
They all had a good laugh before Nolan raised his hand, trying again. “It’s the best inn in the kingdom. Not because you do anything spectacularly different, but because it has heart. It has character. It has a real warmth, and that’s not something everyone can create.”
Alannah shook her head, shying away from the compliment. “That’s all Emer,” she admitted. It wasn’t a jealous truth, either. Alannah could be calculating, cunning, and protective. She could plan the big ideas to move their business forward and keep things from getting rowdy when folks had too much ale. But Emer was the source of that warmth of which Nolan spoke.
Tossing a quick goodbye when a customer approached their wagon, Alannah hurried back to The Hart’s Rest to share the good news with Emer.
The building itself was massive but outdated. The constraints of a limited budget had forced them to use the cheapest and most efficient materials. Alannah had worked until her hands bled to build that roundhouse and though it may not look like much, it felt like everything—the sum total of all their work forthe past four years. A giant, physical symbol of their ability to survive even when the odds continued to stack against them.
As long as Emer was by her side, they were strong.
All of their guests had left that morn, giving Emer an opportunity to get a good cleaning done before more showed up today. At least, that was what she’d told Alannah as they broke their fast that morn.
