“Finn?” Lachlann’s concern deepened, but Finn turned back to him and vigorously shook his head.
Bewildered, Lachlann could do nothing but watch as the two moved away, swallowed up by the crowd around them. He kept his eye on them as they weaved in and out, the lass glancing over her shoulder several times, until he lost them.
“Ye mentioned the caves?” Baker asked in a gruff tone, breaking into Lachlann’s disquietude.
He had only mentioned the Holy Man, but obviously Baker knew the story as well, so he nodded.
“Ye’ve just met two of the people who live there.”
Chapter 8
After only the slightest hesitation, Lachlann shoved the food he’d purchased into his satchel and pursued the woman with Finn. According to Baker, the two lived in the caves and those were the people he and his friends were here to become acquainted with. The perfect opportunity. Just what Lachlann might have hoped for. It certainly was not because his stomach had clenched when he lost sight of them after they’d hurried away so unexpectedly.
It took but a few seconds to get them in his sights again. The two weaved among the crowds, but he remained to their right. They’d glanced back several times but try as he might, Lachlann could not locate who it was she avoided. When they made a wide arc around the entertainment area, now overflowing with a lively, loud audience, he surveyed the area for the old man who had been her escort. He sat there, squeezed tightly between two young and pretty women, laughing so hard at the brightly colored jugglers that his whole body shook. So he wasn’t the one Ethne shunned.
At a clearing between two booths—one selling ornate silverwork and the other reading fortunes—the two ducked down the gentle green slope toward the trees lining the banks of a small burn. Lachlann paused at the table covered with combs, ribbons, and cloth, surreptitiously watching them duck behind a large, red-leafed tree and disappear. Lachlann glanced about, but no one showed them any interest.
“Anything ye like?” A dark-haired woman, a provocative grin on her lips, broke into his thoughts.
“Ah, no.” Lachlann quirked a smile before descending the path to the brook. At the river’s edge, he paused. His gaze searched up river and down, as well as both banks. They were nowhere to be found.
A tiny giggle from the tree above had him smiling. Hands on his hips, he eased out a breath before speaking. “Ye can come down now. No one follows ye.”
“No one but ye!”
His face heated at her sharp rebuke, but he kept his gaze on the drumly water. He hadn’t meant to anger her. He was simply concerned for her safety. That wasn’t true. He hoped to get information from her since she lived in the caves.
He cleared the sudden tightness in his throat, not wishing to think too much further about the why. “I dinna believe we were done speaking.”
“We weren’t!” Finn’s loud response was quickly followed by a loudershushing.
“Is there anything I can do for ye, lass?” Lachlann faced the busy market lane, blocked from view by the many booths lining the country path. One woman, a few stalls to his right, carried a bucket to the river’s edge, but never glanced his way. “I’ll leave ye be if ’tis what ye truly want.”
“Nay!” Finn spoke at the same time as the lass, who said, “Aye.”
“Well, as long as we have that worked out.”
Lachlann’s sarcastic comment was met with a solid laugh from the lass. A hopeful sign.
In a tight voice, she finally asked, “Are ye certain no one is about?”
“I see no one. This area is well protected from the road with the many stalls lining this side.” He withdrew the satchel from his shoulder and dropped it to the ground. “I have food I’m willing to share if ye’re hungry.” At last, he looked straight up into the faces of the two looking down at him. “But I must insist ye come down since I’ve no desire to be climbing trees.”
The two exchanged glances a moment more before Finn nodded and climbed down from the tree as if he’d been born to it. He went straight to Lachlann’s satchel. The lass clambered down a bit more slowly, but Lachlann was there to lift her off and set her gently on her feet. His hands remained at her narrow waist a moment longer than was necessary. She stood only as tall as his chest.
“Ye’ve made it.”
When she smiled, her eyes sparkled. “My thanks.”
She walked away, and Lachlann felt the loss of her closeness. He mentally shook himself. He barely knew her. Untying the mantle from his shoulders, he spread it out for them to sit on. “Would ye join me?”
Finn went to his knees and quickly tipped the satchel upside down. Bread and cheese were quickly sorted through. He held up the dark loaf of bread, a look of expectation on his young face.
Lachlann encouraged the lad with a wave. “Eat what ye like.”
“A generous man.” The lass accepted the cheese Finn tossed at her before sitting down beside the boy.
She closed her eyes as she nibbled at the cheese, its tart smell wafting around them. “My favorite.”
