It was his first reaction, the first thing that came to mind. He was attempting to be a gentleman. He swore that he was. He tried to keep his distance and ignore the sound of her dress rustling as she changed out of her clothes. The half glance that he chanced when she stepped into the water was only because of the gasp that she made—strictly only for her own safety. If he happened to see the skin of her back, and the taper of her waist… it was purely accidental.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Between all the supplies for themselves and their horses, Freya and Nathan were running low on coin by the time they arrived in the next small town. The fare for their inn nearly depleted the rest of their meager supply, but it would be worth it to sleep in a soft bed once more, and to have a warm hearth and hot meal without needing to keep looking over their shoulders every few moments. A small comfort, but a worthy one.
“This is the time fer some gambling, I think,” Nathan remarked after they had stabled their horses for the night, ensuring they had enough food and water to rest properly.
“Oh, is that right?” Freya teased, not seeming to have any real issue with the prospect of playing cards.
“We just have tae find a game ye’re good at.”
“I’m good at most games. Dinnae insult me, Nathan.” Freya said sharply, but he knew it was all in good fun. He grinned, stepping closer to her.
“Are ye now?”
“That’s right. I wouldnae bet against me.”
“Never.”
The moment stretched as he looked deeply into her eyes, blinking slowly as the temptation to kiss her again started to grow stronger with every passing moment. He ought to keep to himself. If he kept allowing the temptation to build, he was only going to get them into more trouble.
He could do it.
He knew he could close the distance between them and kiss her, and she might even welcome the contact, but he couldn’t allow such a thing. He needed to keep moving forward, they had work to do. But damn it if it wasn’t getting harder to stay focused on the task at hand with each and every passing day.
“Tell ye what,” Nathan started. “I’ll head tae the tavern next door and see what they are playing, and then come back and meet with ye after ye ask about the ship. Though, I think the likelihood of us getting satisfactory answers is getting smaller and smaller.”
Freya nodded. “I ken. But that doesnae mean I want tae stop trying.”
“I will say, if they are playing cards and ye wipe the floor with them as ye did before, it does make me a might nervous.”
“I’m nae going tae pander tae their fragile egos, Nathan.”
For the life of him, he couldn’t imagine hearing any other name tumbling off her lips in a way that would make him feel the same. He might have been somebody else before, but he was her Nathan now, through and through.
“I’m nae saying tae pander to them, I’m just saying there isnae any reason tae have ye walking into harm’s way either,” he said, hoping it would get her hackles down a little bit more if she understood where he was coming from.
She took his words to heart and contemplated. She tapped her chin with her index finger thoughtfully. “Hm, well, I suppose I dinnae have tae be the one playing, technically.”
Nathan didn’t understand, and cocked his head to the side, waiting for her to continue to explain.
“I think if I explained some of me tricks tae ye, ye might be able tae dae so yerself. Then, we could both play separate tables and double our possible profits.”
How could any man hear such a scheme from lips like that and think she was anything less than wholly and utterly perfect?
“Aye, now that’s a good idea.”
“I can sit across from ye, and perhaps we can come up with some sort of signal for one another if ye need me assistance, or the game daesnae look like it’s going yer way?” Freya asked, and he nodded happily.
“I think that just might work, actually.”
It was a crazy plan, and certainly there was more than a lot that could possibly go wrong but weren’t all the very best plans that way? He was oddly excited to see her in motion once more.
They sat down in front of the comfortable fire, and he lost track of time as Freya regaled him with one story after another of all the tricks and the various things the nuns had taught her. He wasn’t going to lie, a good portion of it was rather confusing to him, and he was likely going to need her help, but it was still a decent start.
“That’s as good as it’s going to get.” Freya said. He had no idea how long it had even been, but the sky was dark and the streets were quiet by the time he left the inn and walked next door to the tavern. It seemed like every soul of working age was packed into the small space. The hum of conversation provided a short burst of noise as he opened the door.
Nathan wove slowly through the room, heading toward the bar and trying to get a proper feel for the games those around him were playing. All seemed to be a variation of the game Freya had spent the afternoon teaching him. He was a terrible player, but he hoped he would manage to help. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt as if he had truly played games like that.
