“I think I should start at the beginning, like all good stories, only this one is nae so sweet or simple,” she said, wiping her fingers on her little lace kerchief.
Slaine nodded.
Honestly! Would it hurt him to say something out loud once in a while instead of lying there so gruff and quiet? He might be the biggest man I’ve ever seen, but he could do with his manners matching his size. Still, he was the only one to come forward, so beggars cannae be choosers...although I’m nae quite a beggar yet!
“Here’s me tale in short: Me name’s Blair Carmichael and me faither, Farmer Angus Carmichael, has been a fool. There’s a noisome tavern back in Flichity called the Phoenix. They lured him into running some errands for them whenever he was in town attending market, and these tasks have become more dangerous and unlawful over time. He didnae come back to the farm three days ago, so I need ye to help me look for him. I cannae offer ye much.” Blair decided to throw caution to the wind. “I’ve brought a scant four gold coins with me, and part of the first one has already been broken into, but ye can have the rest after all is said and done, and Faither is back safe. There it is.”
Slaine got up and mounted Maximus. Then, rethinking his movements, he dismounted again and went to stand beside Pooka, his hands cupped together, waiting for Blair to use them to mount her own horse.
“Wherever are ye going?” Blair asked, her voice raised in surprise.
“The Phoenix,” was his short reply, and he jerked his head to where he still waited to give her a leg up.
Blair scrambled to her feet, dusting her skirts down for crumbs, and stuck her foot into Slaine’s hands. She was flung up into the saddle as lightly as if she were a feather, and soon they were riding back the way they had come.
In less than half an hour, they were back in Flichity and reining in their horses outside the tavern.
“Stay here,” Slaine said.
Blair was quite happy to obey him. The words of warning Mistress Hardie had given her were still ringing in her ears.
Not much happened for a few minutes, and Blair was so bored she was tempted to dismount and peek through the grimy tavern windows to see what was going on inside. She began to wish she had asked the harbormaster if he was able to give her any spare maps to read. That would have been fun.
Without warning, the tavern doors swung open and twenty or so men ran out into the street. They did not stick around to see the time of day, and every single one of them broke into a run, hither and thither, as fast as their legs could carry them. Soon, the street corners had hidden the trails of dust they had left in the road behind them.
Intrigued, Blair stayed on Pooka to see who else came out.
There were sounds coming from inside the tavern now, and from the noises being made, everyone inside was deeply unhappy at not being able to run outside with the first exodus of men. Blair could discern the occasional shriek and plea amidst the crashing of furniture and breaking glass. When only a few whimpers could be heard, the doors swung back once more, and Slaine came out.
“Yer faither went home via Cromachy,” he said, vaulting onto Maximus and urging the stallion into a brisk trot. He did not bother checking behind him to see if Blair was following.
Blair was thrilled. In all her quiet existence back home on the farm, she had never imagined that men like this one lived and breathed beyond the pages of fairy tales! A tingle of pleasure coursed through her veins as she visualized what Slaine had done, and he made it look so easy. She gave Pooka the order to follow Slaine’s stallion and, for the first time in three days, gave her venture a better than average chance of success.
She had to make Pooka canter to catch up with Maximus.
“Hoots! I say, ‘twas marvelous what ye did back there, Chulainn...I mean, Slaine. Did ye use yer sword or fists? Did ye kick them with yer boot a bit? I would have loved to see that,” Blair babbled when she caught up with her hero. “They spilt the beans pretty fast, nae so?”
“Aye,” was all the reply she got.
“Goodness me, is that all ye have to say? Will ye nae share with me a few more details about what happened?”
“Nay.” Slaine spurred Maximus to go slightly faster.
Blair grew angry. “Listen up, mister! I pay ye, at least I promise to do so when we’re finished, so when I ask for details, please give them to me!”
Slaine gave her a sideways look, saying gruffly, “I gather ye get yer own way a lot back at the farm. What is it? Yer mither’s an invalid, nae able to do much, and ye’ve had to pick up the slack reins? Faither’s away from home enough to make ye feel ye’re in charge?”
Blair closed her mouth, too shocked at how accurate some of Slaine’s assumptions were. It was the first time in her life that she was torn between anger and admiration.
7
First Night Together
“We’re never going to make it all the way to Cromachy by nightfall,” Slaine said after two or three hours of their riding the horses, half at a walk and half at a trot, toward the town where they had every reason to believe Angus was held. “How do ye feel about makin’ camp?”
“Well, I never!” Blair had decided that the best course of action when talking to Slaine was by resorting to biting sarcasm. After hours of silence, she was overjoyed to hear him speak to her but too resentful at what he had said to her miles back down the road to forgive him for it. “I had forgotten I had anyone riding beside me at all! And when ye spoke up just now, I nearly fell off me horse with shock.”
Slaine said nothing, but eased his leg tiredly over the horse’s saddle and went to stand beside Pooka with his arms outstretched to catch Blair as she dismounted. She had no other choice than to accept his offer with all the grace she could muster and allowed him to lower her gently to the ground.
