Once Upon a Romance 02 - As The Last Petal Falls Read Online Free PDF Page B

knowledge.”
    “No such luck.”
    “It’s a hard life I live.” Baines sat up in his bunk, rubbing the last sleep from his eyes. He was a solid man, and rough from his mountain life; the kind of man that nobles would call “my good fellow” and expect to leap at their command. Fain had found him to be a loyal and devoted friend, and full of the wisdom of his years. Baines had often given Fain the sort of council he might have gotten from his own father. The difficult life of a mountain-bred man had whittled away any falseness that might have been allowed to linger in a softer, city life, until all that remained was steadfast and dependable.
    With a quirky sense of humor.
    “Don’t suppose you’d be willing to don a dress and pretend for me?”
    “I think I’d make a disappointing maiden, Baines.”
    “It’s true, MacTíre, your bosom leaves something to be desired.”
    “Buck up, my friend. Get dressed and meet me in the kitchens, and we’ll see about getting you a chance at some better-endowed wenches.”
    A short time later, they were both seated at one of the trestle tables that stretched in front of the immense stone hearth where the keep’s meals were prepared. Even late at night there was always a small fire banked here, and it didn’t take long for MacTíre to build it back up and set a kettle to boiling.
    Tea was the one thing they never ran shy of in the keep. When Connelly went to forage for the ingredients to his herbal concoctions, he invariably came back with tea as well.
Dried
tea. Fain supposed that Connelly might have a secret drying shack out in the mountains, but tea didn’t even grow locally in the wild. He’d tried getting Connelly to give up the secret of his source—the man must have a contact in the city that smuggled tea out to him—but Connelly was very tight lipped about it. He’d even tried to follow the mysterious little man on one of his foraging expeditions, but even with his well-honed tracking skills he’d been unable to do so. It was like Connelly just disappeared altogether.
    Once Fain had served them each a large, steaming mug of Connelly’s tea, he began.
    “Baines, how would you feel about a trip into Albion?”
    The man grinned. “Travel is good for the soul but hard on the feet. I’m comfortable with the state of my soul, so I’d need a decent reason to risk my feet like that.”
    “I need to you check out a story for me.”
    “This wouldn’t have anything to do with the young lady the wolves found outside, would it?”
    “A bit, aye.”
    Fain shared the tale told by the lass lying in his bed. Baines listened mostly in silence, only snorting here and there to indicate his opinion of her actions. When Fain finished, the other man spoke.
    “So, you’d like me to check out the little lady’s story, would you? Why don’t you believe her? Sounds a likely enough tale to me.”
    “Aye, I know, and yet…” He trailed off. “She
is
very believable. She seems like just what she claims to be. And she certainly got righteously offended when I told her she’d behaved just like a spoiled brat should.”
    “But?”
    “My guts say she’s lying.”
    “Well, that’s enough for me. But my feet and your guts will have words if it turns out you’re wrong.”
    “Fair enough.”
    Baines gave him a skeptical look. “Who will be watching out for you while I’m gone?”
    “I’ve a whole keep of armed men here, Baines; I think I’m well guarded.”
    “Not from someone who will be right by your side.”
    Fain laughed. “You can’t think I’m in danger from the lass! She could hardly best me in a fight, even if she didn’t have a broken arm. I think I’m safe for the time being.”
    “Don’t be daft, man. A woman can carry poisons as well as a man, and it doesn’t take much strength or skill to stab someone while they sleep. She’s well placed to do you some harm.”
    “ I doubt she can cook, but if she brings me a pie I promise not to eat it. And as